ab :
i : ”
IN the last few years I
seem to have lost mv:
enthusiasm for
Halloween. |
“One of the reasons (orher

ethan the effort it rakes te
~ keep Halloween candy inthe

“house winil Hallaween night) ©

“is that my kids, who dre all
“teenagers now, usually come
to me around 3:30 pan. on,

Halloween Day and ask)". 24

“Mom; what’ SY COSTUME
this year?"
We: cmake our customary
rip 10 the’ closer. dew atthe

rend of the hall, to-a flagging -:

rdboard box. with bits ‘and
eves of costumes datitig:
“hack years. There's a “Veenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle mask in

_it, a real Japanese Kimono, an,

“old white well L think it.was
vhite-at one time) sheet fora
ghosts costume; and a bright”
red fireman's: hat with a shiny.
gold badge.

There’s atleshy coloured
‘conehead (very stinky rubber,
‘no takers for this since the
ar the! cat hadian accident:

vit); a plastic knight's shield,

anda bee costume that has a
arp picee of wire in it that
okes: vou every. time you sit”,

he most coveted of our
Js the tried and truc

ling regulati
In: order:to: increase th

approved
Handsworth ''s
pr
the! equisite' finan
stry approval is sitti
y ‘MacPh il’s’ desk, and ha

prepared
and: ‘community-based

pans!
#Plans are even: in-place to

complete
other. castumes in our’ box,

“Close te
home

plaid shirt and gray pants
wid broken red felt suse.
‘penders. Roth the pasty and
shirt are clumsily patched
with scraps of fabric from one
of my Granny's old: dreyses
(may sherest in peace), an
old work shirt of ine-dad’s,
and one of my motiver’s
faded dressing gowns:

© Amisshapen gray felt hat
tops off the tramp costume.
We phicked it from the ned-
ding head of one'of my dad's
‘poker playing buddies on a,
particularly fate night when
we were kids, and the thing
“has miraculously survived
more Halloweens than’ ! cate,
count. | ;

Nowadays ther § alw

a fight for the tranip, because

it is simples artable, and

‘unlikeany ef the
When my children were
‘Tile the annual prospect of

“having. to-assemble

‘Halloy “een costumes for then

filled me with angst.

Thev
would dream up claborate,
sometimes impossible. charac

“ters CP hated the dinosaur cra}

and we would spend days -
hunting for the appropriste
gear only to have them
change their minds totally
onee they had everything
they needed.

When one of my boys was.

he wanted desperately tes

ie “Superman for Halloween,
Thinking. | was on the

right track Pavent to the local

de partinent store and hought .

him red leotards; overtop. of
whieh [thought he should ©
wear royal bhie underpants.
He, in typical manly tashion,

« Rickid pra huge fuss about

even just trying on the lee:
tards, and f had to ite rally
wrestle him to the ground to

wget the taiderpaiits on over:

top of them. >,

“Doak like a girl” he
argued, disgustediy, as I
marched hint tothe mirror to
have a look.

“No yourdont, you look
like the real Superman,” J
tried to convines him.

ve “People will see my
wiener,” he complained, cov-
cring the front of the under.
pants with his litle. hands.

“Sr's inside the tights and~

othe underw ar” “TL explained.

nally” invisible, see??

‘who vo doc r to door ic. col: “
“feet bottle
“much anoney?

Oris it ‘that peapte w ‘ho
~ collect.and:, return battles,
; don’ t; belong to unions ;

“will make

For-a long-tim have

“thought ‘that’ depos

‘00,

But no mater how TP tried
to-persuade him that wearing
the tights and underwear did--
Wtmean he was a girl and
didn’t expose his nianhood,
he would lave no part of it:
He ended up wearing black
Swearpants instead,

A few vears Later my
votingest boy totally
combraced the idea of wearing,
his underpants over the teo-
tards for Halloween,

In fact, he liked the idea
so much that he took to
wearing his underwear over
his panty for every day As]
recall it was Christmas before
he finally tired of that fashion

: statement. . ‘

Some kids are just ¢ sic

“to please,

L found that if | “oohed”
and “abhed” enough, my 4.
daughter actually believed
thar! her costume was spectae:
lar, For four Halloweens |»
had. her sold on wearing a
witch's hat and a black
garbage bay with a hole in
the top for her head and two
in the sides for-her arms, Ie”
“was perfect because she
jtayed “dry when it rained,
which it, always does here on
Halloween, “And her legs
Were nice and warm under
her brother's red leotards.”

One year, my three-year-

old son wanted desperately to: §

“been:
than

should’ have.
rather

* values
increased. -

“reduced in order to give peo-

ple more . rather, than less:

“ineentive.
D. Carlson’

Surrey
dvvight@sharpe. bese cai

3, people i in ‘the doar

fot

h-tou iy personnel Services.

CH

or that injures

et House .

(80. min. sessions!)
’ Expires Dec 311998

24 Ninja fighter. In early
Seprember | ‘threw together a
rgakeshiti jmone out of an
old, bhick ‘T-shirt, which we
sashed at his waist with a

scrap of sheet trom the ghost

costame. He wore that Ninja,
costume every day-— and -,
Most nights too — for nwo /
nionths, brandishing a plastic
sword tied with household
string as.be charged with cas
like grace through the house.
The nwo older. kids poked
fun at him, but. he was
undaunted in his quest for

1

justice, Ninja stvles Bethe

time Halloween finaily rolled
around the dittle kimono was
held together largely by

peanut ‘butter smears from his

grubby hands, and the scrap
ofa belt was hopelessly knot
ted

Yup, Pve lost ny enthusi-
“sm ioe Halloween ‘all sight.
Bat Pkeep thar any, tattered
Ninja costume back therein
the Halloween box, always
will. With the tramp, the

“witch hag, and the little red
ieotards, ,

: Ot Cia Gyo

“DENTIST
ANNOUNCES NEW HOURS

* Every second Tuesday and every other
oat Open 4 monday per month. :
New patients are welcome.

seo 7499

‘Can you find: a Gore-Texe shell

>>
@,?

at this unbelievabie,

Ores
spontour

North shore cistomer oprectation’ @