A Star Wars Halloween

The world's tiniest Darth Vader was having a sword fight with the world's youngest "old man," she using her light saber and he his cane.  At the same time BB-8 was racing around on a scooter... 

...while a Storm Trooper, riding some sort of wheeled vehicle was crying because the dog wouldn't stop following him.  

In the meantime, Princess Leia was in the kitchen carving a pumpkin.

This was the end of our Halloween day, but it had started at Bri's school, where there was a musical presentation for all the parents, grandparents, and interested parties.

Most of the time, Brianna, in her BB-8 costume, was hard to find. But these were a few of the costumes I liked.  I loved Dorothy and the witch together and am sorry I didn't get a better picture of Dracula, whose facial features were just marvelous.

When the assembly was finished, everyone went out to the basketball court where the third grade performed the dance they had done for the flashdance downtown a couple of days before.

After the school festivities, I went home to get my nap in before the evening festivities.  I went to Tom's around 5.  They have their own "pinata group," with two other couples.  Each of the 3 couples has 2 kids and the kids are all growing up together like our Pinata kids did.  

We had dinner and then everyone got into costume to go trick or treating.

I stayed home to pass out trick or treat candy and it was a v-e-r-y slow night.  The first group of about 4 didn't arrive for more than an hour and there was only one other group, of 3, who came a few minutes later.  Needless to say we had a LOT of candy left over!

Despite what looks like an awkward costume for collecting candy, Brianna made out OK for herself.

While Tom and Tim were enjoying trying on the Princess Leia wigs (I thought Tim looked more like Norman Bates).

At some point during trick or treating, Alice Nan had returned from Lake Tahoe and came over to sit with me in my lonely task of waiting for trick or treaters.  We eventually decided to come on home and compare notes on our respective weeks.

I'm a wookie mama

 

It's Just What Happened--and it IS a great story

I don't know how long Ned and Greg, his best friend, have been collaborating together to turn Greg's house into a haunted house for Halloween.   Greg is a tech guy.  He has traveled with big name stars to light their big arena concerts and now he works big corporate shows in places like Las Vegas.  So he knows electronics and gadgetry inside out.  He and Ned have been doing ever-increasingly complex projects ever since they became friends in junior high school.

For the haunted house, they block off the back half of Greg's house and put scary displays in the windows of the front of the house.

Some are animated, some windows have a real person, in costume sitting, looking like the mannequins in the other windows.

But when you get to the window of the real person and he/she leaps at you, you scream (well, if you aren't expecting it, you do).  One year Marta was a mad woman in one of the windows.  You watch all the show while walking around the path that leads to the back of the house.  There are strobe lights and things that hang and bump and blasts of air when you least expect them, and at the end, a ghoul to guide you back out onto the sidewalk.

We went over to check out this year's display and as we got out of the car, we could hear the screams of the kids who were going through the path.  A mother and her costumed kids were standing on the sidewalk trying to decide if they were going to go in.  She asked me if I knew the people that lived in the house and I assured them that I did and that it would be fine to go through the path.

When they started this project, Greg's kids were little.  Now they are in high school and have learned enough about everything that they can run the show themselves, leaving Greg and the older folk to sit inside, have some hors d'oeuvres and soup and talk with each other.  So we joined the "old folks" (who are our kids' friends) and settled in to visit.

Ned told me about the once in a lifetime experience he had on the night of the 7th game of the World Series.  He and his friend Jessica had tickets for a Phish concert in San Francisco.  Ned and Jessica are huge Phish fans and get to as many of their shows as they can.  The concert was to be held at the Bill Graham auditorium, which just so happens to be underneath the San Francisco Civic Center plaza, across from City Hall, where the city had set up a Jumbotron and a million or so Giants fans were watching the game.

Ned, not being a sports fan, watched the game with their friend K.C., who also had tickets for the concert, but left at the 7th inning so he could get to the concert on time, leaving K.C. behind to finish watching the game with his family and then meet them at the concert afterwards.  (I don't know how anybody could have left that game!)

Anyway, Ned and Jessica got to the concert and it started.   Phish played one upbeat song and then started a kind of mellow tune.  Ned said that what happened next could never have happened 10 years ago, in the years before smart phones.  In the middle of the song, suddenly the entire auditorium erupted in a huge cheer--all those people who had been monitoring the game on their phones and jumping up and down, waving their arms in the air in the manner of a last act finale.  Phish stopped the song they were playing and started playing "We are  the champions," which everyone sang along to, swaying together, and when it finished, the band picked up the original song right where they left off, to louder audience cheers.

Listening to Ned tell it, it was obviously one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you just hadda been there to appreciate.  He said that yes, K.C. had the thrill of watching the game with his family, but he missed the camaraderie of an auditorium filled with Giants fans and Phish fans and the moment when those two were in perfect harmony.

Sunday Stealing

This week's Sunday Stealing is really short, so Olivia P. will be happy to see that I will fill up the extra space with cute grandchildren-Halloween pictures!

1) Do you think Daylight Saving Time is still necessary?
Being a city girl, I never understood the need for Daylight Saving Time, so...no.

2) How long does it take you to adjust to the time change?
As long as it takes to change the clocks.  I am so completely un-time regulated that other than the dogs' demands for mealtime, I don't notice any adjustments for me personally.  I never have. 

3) What's the hardest part of the time change?
Trying to explain it to the dogs.

4) How many clocks are in your house?
Five, I think--one in the family room, 3 in the kitchen (microwave, stove, and wall clock) and one in the master bedroom. (this doesn't count the built in ones on the computers and cable box, which reset themselves)

5) Are you generally early, late, or on time?
I have to fight not to be early for things.  It bothers me if I am as little as two minutes late.

6) If an invitation to an event listed the time as 8-11pm, what time would you arrive?
It would be difficult, but I would force myself to wait until 8:30.

7) Do you wear a watch?
I haven't worn a watch in years, ever since Ned mentioned that he had stopped wearing his...it never occurred to me that I could live without a watch, but I've never missed it.

8) Have you ever glanced at the time and had to glance again because you didn't pay attention the first time?
All the time.

9) Are most of your clocks digital or dial?
Of the five, two are digital, two are dial and I can't remember what the one upstairs is. Then there is the four-legged, furry alarm clocks...

10) What does your alarm clock sound like?
It snores (it's a dog)

11) Do you use the snooze feature on your alarm clock?
Yeah right.  You try to get a dog insistent on waking you up to wait another 20 minutes.

12) Does clock ticking drive you nuts?
Nah...I  never even notice.

OK...in answer to impatient requests, here are some Halloween pictures (thank you, Laurel).  This year's costumes combined Star Wars and Angry Birds:

Lacie was Yoda.

For Brianna, it was her first school Halloween parade.

 

At night they went trick or treating with friends.

And this was just too cute.

 

Tricks and Treats

Davis was celebrating two events today.  There was a Dia de los Muertos gathering downtown, with folks meeting at the railroad station and then processing up to the E Street Plaza (which we refer to as "Paul Plaza," because of the performing area that is dedicated to him.)  The Day of the Dead is, of course, November 1 but they were doing it a day early in Davis. There were to be altars built to the dead and I don't know exactly what was going to happen, because I knew that I wouldn't be able to attend.

And, of course, little kids were going to be trick-or-treating at downtown businesses all afternoon.  Years ago, concerned about the growing negative experiences that kids were having while just trying to stock up on candy from the neighbors, Davis de-emphasized trick or treating after dark, house to house, and started having celebrations at schools, and the downtown merchants also agreed to give out candy so the kids could still have the fun of trick or treating, with little chance of finding poisoned Tootsie Rolls or razor blades in apples and other fun stuff that sick people do to innocent little kids.

It was supposed to be my day to work at Logos, but Walt was going to the opera, so would have the car, and I decided I didn't feel like taking the bus home on Halloween after dark (though later I realized it was still quite light and I cheated myself out of giving out candy to the little kids coming through Logos).  I did tell Susan that I would stop by and take pictures of the kids, before Walt needed the car, though.

When I read abouat Dia de los Muertos a week ago, I decided that since the altars were going to be built on the part of the plaza that has a dedication to Paul, I wanted Paul and David to be there, so I printed off a couple photos, framed them, and took them downtown.

There was nobody around, so I left the picture on the little plaque.

I got my camera out to take a picture and discovered that my batteries were dead.  Sh*t.  

I walked over to the nearby housewares store and bought new batteries, then walked back and took the above picture.  On my walk, past lots of stores with signs that they were ready for trick or treaters, or baskets of candy in the window, I didn't see one. single. child in costume.  Doh!  Kids wouldn't be coming until after school. 

Well, not to make it a total loss, I decided to have lunch at the Indian/Nepalese cafe right by the plaza and see if people would be marching over from the railroad station.  But they were doing remodeling or something, so I sat there trying to decide what to do and decided to eat at the Mexican restaurant right behind the plaza, only it was a gazillion degrees inside and I knew I wouldn't be comfortable there -- but they did have a sign for Dia de los Muertos and I saw that I was wrong--it didn't start at noon, it didn't start until 2:30. So there was nothing to see on the plaza, and apparently no kids to photograph.

But I was all geared up for lunch out, so I went to the Irish pub across the street and sat outside watching the crowd.  I didn't see any kids, but I did see a dog in a cow costume, peeing on its udders, which were dragging on the sidewalk.   Then I started seeing some grown ups in costume.  This guy was carrying a skull into a yogurt place

.

Then there was Batman all dressed up for business.

And there was even a skateboarding banana.

I was in my own costume...

(I was dressed as an old lady drinking a beer.  Gawd, look at those wattles.  Memo to Self:  buy a camera with a front facing camera so you can do decent selfies!)

As I left the restaurant, I finally saw my first costumed child.

But I drove around several blocks and even passed by Logos and didn't see another one, so I decided that I wasn't going to be able to find kids and still get the car back to Walt on time.  I'm sure this entry would have been a lot more interesting if I had!

I came home and got into Halloween curmudgeon mode.  When Walt left, I locked the door, made sure the lights were turned off, and closed the living room curtains, then headed to the back of the house to lock the dogs in and turn the sound on the TV down so it couldn't be heard from outside.

My idea of a good Halloween.

October at Logos

Halloween has come to Logos Books.

There are little touches of Halloween in several places, like this jack-o-lantern which looks out onto the side street.

And this one, tucked away on a high shelf.

Incidentally, the pumpkin sits next to a book called "The Book on the Book Shelf" and what you see is the front cover, not three books standing upright.  If I weren't so close to finishing "Babi Yar," I would have taken this to read.  It's the history of the book and one thing it discusses was how it was decided that books should stand on a shelf, upright, like this.  From the little I thumbed through it, it looks fascinating.

This being a new month, we have a new artist on display with a collection called "Surprised by Life."  These are pen and ink animal drawings by Ann Wright and all of them quite whimsical.  I keep commenting on these two paintings.

I've been telling people that the fish on the right is food for the fish on the left.  My humor is not appreciated.

It was really a pretty quiet day today.  A guy came in and spent nearly $50 on an eclectic selection (and then went to the "new" book store in the next block and bought three books there and then came back and bought another book at Logos.  His purchases will help make this a decent day, moneywise.

I did have a few high points.  This guy on the right came in.   He's been in before.  He looks through all the books, and never buys anything (from me, anyway), but the noteworthy thing about him is that he appears to make his own hats.  The last time he came in he had a ball cap (like the one he is wearing here)   made out of a newspaper.  I don't know what this one was made of, but perhaps paper plates.  Today he had on regular shoes, but the last time he had on very ratty, holey shoes.  Both times he was dressed all in white.

When I started reading "Babi Yar" today, on the first page, I found the word "tendentious," which I remember finding the last time I was at Logos and at that time I had looked it up.  It means "strongly favoring a particular point of view in a way that may cause argument : expressing a strong opinion."  When I came across it today, I felt good that I knew what it meant.

A couple of women "of a certain age" stood outside for a long time.  The woman on the left here was on her cell phone the whole time while her friend, with snowy white hair, looked through out bargain shelves at mystery books.

Eventually she came into the shop and bought "I, Michael Bennett," the James Patterson book that I took home with me last week and returned today. She said she was looking for something to read on her fight to Madison, Wisconsin.   I didn't tell her it was a terrible book.  Let her find out for herself--she might like it.

When the guy with the $50 purchase came to the desk, I had to ring him up three times because I kept screwing up.  At one point I had his bill up to $140.  But eventually I got the right amount rung up.  And then at the end of the day, I discovered I had forgotten to enter one purchase and it threw the whole column of numbers off.  First time ever I've done that.

I think I've been at Atria too long.

At the end of the day, I had a helper ring up almost every sale.

I had a single fly attach itself to me last week too.   Almost makes me believe in reincarnation and think that this was a long lost friend come to pay a visit.

Chills and Thrills and Terror

I have been a critic for nearly 13 years.  In that time I have seen my share of shows that I didn't like, and reviewed shows that I suspected I was not going to like, but I have never refused to review a show, unless I was not going to be in town and couldn't review a show.

However this week I received a notice about an upcoming performance that chilled the marrow in my bones.

Upon arrival at “The Haunt at xx,” visitors will be led in groups of 15 by a Guiding Spirit to the first of seven performance stages. Be prepared for terror of every dimension as the cast employs its considerable talents and special effects hosting guests through eerie scenes of mayhem: The Bargain without Knowing; The Dismemberment; The Wandering; Finding Love in the Underworld; The Harrowing of the Soul; The Realm of the Wild Men; and The Wild Bride and Bridegroom. Audience experiences are intimate and immersive and include two mazes where demons and goblins dwell in and around shattered mirrors and dense, foggy marshes.

Did ya get that bit about "audience experiences are intimate and immersive"? It is also suggested that people come dressed in costume.

I don't want to be an old poop, but I am an old poop.  I threw myself on the mercy of my (new) editor.  I told her this is a show that I want to see less than having root canal without anesthetic while all of my fingernails are being pulled out simultaneously.

She told me she would excuse me and I didn't have to review it.

But would that mean the show would go unreviewed?  I recently arranged for someone to review a show for me when I was going to be out of town and that person made the decision that he didn't want to see the show, so he just didn't go.  This meant that all the work of all the actors went unreviewed and the theater company lost the opportunity of people who might have bought tickets based on the review.

I was very upset by that and thought it unprofessional that this reviewer had not been honest with me up front and had lead me to believe that he would review the show.

But aren't I doing the same thing if I refuse to review this Halloween themed show?  I am a bit more professional than that, so I have let my editor know that if she absolutely cannot find anybody to review, I will do it.  It will probably be a great, fun show for those who like that kind of thing, but the whole "intimate and immersive" thing just throws me into a panic and I am hoping that someone who actually likes   this sort of thing will jump at the chance.

It has always amazed me that someone like myself, who is SO shy and SO afraid of being in the public eye (in person...obviously being in the public eye in print doesn't bother me at all), gave birth to a whole litter of people who love performing, who have always been comfortable on stage, and who would, given the opportunity, jump at the opportunity to review this show...and have a fabulous time.

The show should be reviewed by someone who is looking forward to attending, not someone for whom the very idea of entering the theater fills her with terror.

Cross your fingers and hope there is an alternate reviewer out there!

I've always had a problem with Halloween anyway.  It brought out my biggest insecurities.  I always tried to be supportive of the kids, but felt that as a "good mom" I should make their Halloween costumes, not buy something cheap at the store, but my talents don't lie in that direction, sadly. The most inventive I ever got was "diaper man" when the older boys were in superhero costumes and the baby wore pink leotards and a blue cape.

And then there was the problem with trick or treat candy.  In those days it as a lot more popular than it is now and the kids would come home with big sacks full of candy.  That's five big sacks of candy and Mom having to decide how much they could have and when they could have it.  It was great when they were little and hadn't learned to count their candy and didn't notice when the Snicker bars (my favorite) disappeared.  Eventually they paid much closer attention.

And then when the kids moved out, there were the neighborhood kids coming for trick or treat which is a huge pain in the butt with three dogs there to either lunge at them or try to get out of the house.  I always wanted to put in a gate that would keep them in the house (thus not barking outside), but away from the door.  Ultimately it was easier to turn off the lights in the carport and not answer the door.

As Halloween approaches each year, I dread it because I know that no matter what part of it I look at, I'm going to feel guilty.

But then I see something like this...

But, oh dear God let there be another reviewer who wants to do this show...!

A Halloween Report

We planned to do what we usually do for Halloween, turn off the lights and stay at the back of the house, but then just as dinner was coming out of the oven, Ned called and invited us to come over to his friend Greg's house and see what they'd been doing all week.

We stuck dinner in the fridge and drove across town. I chose not to bring my camera, because we were going to see a haunted house, and any picture I would take would spoil the magic by lighting things up.

I've heard about this haunted house that Greg and Ned do each year, but this was the first time we had seen it. Oh. My!!!

Greg and Ned have been making video, making movies, and doing technical stuff ever since they became friends sometime back in junior high. Greg went on to become a professional theater technician and, among other things, Ned makes videos and writes jingles for the radio station for which he works (the videos are for the radio's web site). So this is something they have literally been doing together almost all of their lives.

Ned says they plan and create this haunted house over the week before Halloween, and the work shows.

We drove across Davis, seeing literally no trick or treaters anywhere (in fairness, it was kinda late for the little guys). There were no trick or treaters on the street leading to the turn-off to Greg's street. There were no trick or treaters in the two blocks before you got to Greg's house.

Even if we hadn't been to Greg's house before, we would have known it by the trick or treaters, by the cobwebs hanging all over the house and by the four heads on the ground singing (a projection from Disney's Haunted Mansion projected onto styrofoam heads) and the cemetery you picked your way through to get to the front door.

When you knock on the door, it slowly swings open (I didn't recognize the person at the door, but later it was their friend Sarah, dressed as some sort of a zombie bride) and someone hands you candy and directs you around the side of the house.

There is something to see in each window, whether skeletons lounging in a chair or playing the piano (the controls are behind the wall built to hide the room from the rest of the house), in another window Ned, whose body language a mother recognizes, was in a gorilla suit -- we had missed it when Marta had been there in a straight jacket ranting and raving. From time to time jets of air suddenly blew at you from the bushes. The whole effect was just great, and nothing short of professional.

Inside the house looked like a TV studio, with monitors and controls in one room and a monitor in the kitchen so those who just wanted to watch everyone's reaction on the closed circuit TV could watch it.

Greg's wife Kendra had goodies for the observers, some provided by Sarah's new restaurant, Stone Soup.

What a fun evening. It absolutely amazes me that they go through such a tremendous amount of work--and expense (for starters, Kendra guesstimated that they gave away ~300 full sized candy bars for treats) and that when they finally turned off the lights for the night, they were going to tear the whole thing down and pack it up to be moved back to storage for another year.

As Greg said, it was all about the memories and that even when these little kids who had been scared out of their wits (over and over again, as they insisted on going back around for one more fright experience) were adults, they might not remember their costumes, but they would always remember going to Greg & Kendra's house on Halloween.

And meanwhile, in Santa Barbara...

...and in Santa Barbara

A Halloween Meme

What was the scariest movie you have ever seen?
I don't, as a general rule, watch the monster/undead/vampire types of movies, so the scariest movie would probably be something by Hitchcock -- "The Birds," "Psycho" or something like that.

What is your favorite written work of horror fiction?
I don't read a lot of horror fiction, but "Pet Sematary" was pretty creepy, as were "Cujo" and "The Exorcist."

What is your favorite work of science fiction/fantasy?
David Gerrold's Dingillian series ("Jumping off the Planet," "Bouncing off the Moon" and "Leaping to the Stars") because he has written a wonderful character in the books named "Bev Sykes." (thanks, David)

Who is your favorite monster?
Cookie Monster, of course

What was your favorite Hallowe’en costume as a child?
I don't remember most of my costumes, but in 8th grade my father built a haunted house and I hosted a party and wore a gypsy costume, with a long skirt, full make-up, and dangling black plastic hoop earrings. I felt really good in that costume until Eddie Garavanta complained I was stepping on his feet when he tried to dance with me and then I just felt like a klutz again.

What’s the best Halloween party that you’ve attended?
It would be that party. Eddie was a jerk, but it was really a fun party, even though my father told me for the rest of my life that I "never really appreciated all his work enough."

What did you do for Halloween as a kid?
We went trick or treating in the neighborhood. We also went to Swensen's Ice Cream (which was only in one location then). Earl Swensen gave free licorice or pumpkin ice cream cones to any kid who showed up on costume.

Given enough money what would be your fantasy Hallowe’en costume?
I'd love to look like some beautiful princess, but given the size problem, I would probably go with something like Shrek or Hagrid, or maybe a Snuffalupagus.

When was the last time you went trick or treating?
When the kids were little. I wasn't the one doing the trick or treating, of course... :)

What is your favorite Hallowe’en candy?
Snickers!!! (Always so sad when the kids got old enough to know when Snickers were missing from their haul!)

Tell us about a scary nightmare you once had.
I don't really remember dreams and don't think that I've had a "nightmare" that stayed with me after I woke up.

What is your supernatural fear?
That there is no life after death and I reallywon't see Paul and David again.

What is your ‘creepy-crawlie’ fear?
Being locked in a room with any sorts of creepy crawlies. Those pictures of people in boxes with snakes or spiders or whatever just give me the willies.

Tell us a time you saw a ghost or heard something go bump in the night
I hear bumps in the night all the time, with three dogs running around the house.

Would you stay overnight in a real Haunted House?
Oh sure. I've read about hotels that are supposed to be haunted. I think it would be fun.

Ghosts or goblins?
Ghosts. Particularly Casper.

Are you a traditionalist or a creative carver of your Jack-o-Lantern?
We were always very traditional and unimaginative. I was better about cooking them and making pies with them after Hallowe'en was over!

How much do you decorate the house at Hallowe’en?
Not at all any more. I don't remember doing much when the kids were young either, but we did do a semi haunted driveway one time, which was kind of fun. Scared some kids.

What do you want on your Tombstone?
It really is all juice and crackers!"It really is all 'juice and crackers.'"