Men in Tights

I've been out of town for a week in Atlanta, celebrating my mother's 85th birthday. More about that, and a few choice quotes, later. In the meantime, a Halloween season rerun.

As noted in an earlier post, my family had an almost disturbing obsession with Halloween when I was growing up. Everyone would dress up, including my grandparents (who usually wound up with the same look on their faces that a cat gets when you put a bonnet on him).



There was always a party, with PRESENTS! And Halloween games like ducking (dunking?) for apples... although I couldn't bear the thought of touching my face to the swirling saliva. "We're FAMILY!", they'd squeal. I never quite understood what difference that made.



The costumes were usually anything but politically correct. My father dressed as a "Chinaman", my sister as Aunt Jemima. My uncle was a laugh riot when he showed up as a blind beggar. And all the men wound up in drag at one point or another.






My array of costumes ranged from the Virgin Mary:



to a gypsy (dig the 60s "finished basement"):



to Ringo Starr (gotta love my mother as a pack of cigarettes):



Of course, a much as I mock this obsession, I've clearly inherited it. Here are a few recent examples of what I mean:

Lucas and Kelso last year:


Me as "Old Spice" a few seasons ago:


And I even had a costume WEDDING in 1989! Who am I kidding? I love this stuff.