As a theme this Halloween was house parties, it was something wicked this way comes up and down the detour, as if that was not scary enough.
People often chose to walk either from the downtown if starting early in costume, or from as far as North Hudson to get to the mongo bash on Second Street, nearer the main city then the village. It even attracted a moderate-length limo, whose driver waited curbside with baited breath while dropping off comely clients, and when asked if this was the big deal for the evening, smiled and nodded with chin slightly up.
The lady of the house of the evening, greeted guests in a gently filled doorway, and the fact that they were such — and I must say thirty-something and very classy — beautiful people showed this was the party in demand that night. One such good witch coming on down the way of the sidewalk –where there was little else — when asked if her destination was obvious, said this: “Take one guess.”
Back behind the limo driver, someone walking toward their sedan said that the minions, the full-size ones, were coming with him.
Just past midnight, most of the folk were strolling downtown to partake in other ghoulish goings-on, and was said to me, as I was heading northward, by a woman with a pair of flashlights on her chest, As She Lit Up A Candle And Showed Me The Way … “you’re going the wrong direction!”
Back at a backyard outing that had been going strong in North Hudson, there was not much Livin’ After Midnight.
But there definitely was at costume contests under Big City Lights.
The costumes that were naughty and bawdy and nice were way over the top, going to new lengths in creativity and out-there-ness. Enuf said about that, with this exception as a summary of what was the most prevalent, and not much seen in prior years: The (appearance of) multiply stitched together lips, especially in female (and she-male?) zombies.
Oh, three other notables: (1) A shark-head actually on the top of someone’s scalp, flared out almost a foot with big teeth front and back in true Jaws-like style, and something looking like either a great big tongue or caught fish about by the forehead. Ghastly! (2) An astronaut/alien, but no Ziggy Stardust, with a globe-head big enough to befit Neil Armstrong (sorry!) that was all allow with green color when flashing so you could see a skeletal face! (3) The proverbial and very prolifically prize-winning Eve/Irish hair/Lady Godiva (move over Lady Gaga), who I greeted with a “Same costume. Great look.” To my surprise came this adamant Addams response, “It is NOT the same costume!”
In North Hudson, trick-or-treating traffic was late and light, although those who did show were even more polite then ever, by all accounts. New this year were three things: A truck pulling a trailer-load of trick-or-treaters way in back, a just-in-time newer detour route over to the city itself that was if anything less bumpy, and a noticeable lighter police presence handing out there usual glow-sticks. Ugh, as that has always been popular. The last two might have something to do with each other.
Don’t know if there was any response to the inquiry to the online neighborhood, for a little help from friends in low places, to establish another pirate ship in the front yard (also don’t know if this is a copycat from the one on the Main Drag, Johnnie Depp). I do know there is/was a big display with a similar skull and crossbones theme over on Third Street.
Not long before seeing that, I saw a Still Runnin’ ad for the Addams Family2 movie, right after flipping through channels and briefly viewing the TV show itself, shortly after hearing the theme song on my way home.
And while there, back to trick-or-treating, here were what I consider the three top quips.
(1) A small child said about my (back to the story’s beginning) Something Wicked This Way Comes warble, “His voice sounds way too high and funny,” to which came the reply, “I only sound this way once year. Otherwise its very low (like Morticia).”
(2) “These are cool big candy bars.” Got them at Family Fresh. Blatant plug from a previous post. “My grandfather owned the Hershey’s Company. My great-great-great-great-great grandfather.” Now dead. Or undead?
(3) A third child couldn’t stop staring at the feet of my pirate — leaning against the wall and positioned at his head level. “He’s standing on his head just for you!”
But that’s it for now. Got to go eat my supper of Chicken Afraido and Muenster Cheese.
Well done, I am in more ways then one, since my blood sausage thusly, for dessert, is no longer medium-rare. So now looking ahead to a weekend of just music, without costume contests:
The band Distilled — do not be Disturbed — but hey, by any name they won’t diss their fans, as they come a distance to play the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Friday, Nov. 5.
This too is about a name. Drink 182 is all about the ’90s, which you don’t often see, and they show their grunge physically and musically at Ziggy’s on Saturday night.
Its all around the Upper-Midwest-named-band-acts, city and state, at the Treasure Island Event Center. If you missed Chicago the night before Halloween, you can still catch Kansas on Nov. 12. No word on “Iowa” and Slipknot, but we think it unlikely.
“The casinos don’t want you to see this,” says an online ad … but there are five slot machines allowed in every bar in St. Croix County.