Sad Dog Happy Owner

Buddy thought he caught a break this year with the Favorite Panamanian on the other side of the continent. He mistakenly believed he would not be subject to the annual indignity of being costumed up for Halloween. He vastly underestimated the reach and influence of said Panamanian. Every day we talked this week she pestered me about what I was going to put Buddy in for Halloween and was decidedly unhappy with my breezy responses. What is about women that they feel the need to humiliate dogs by festooning them in costume? At any rate, since I can deny her nothing, Buddy donned an old Army PT shirt and succumbed to his annual humiliation.

Buddy the Army Dog

At least this year he had more entertaining activity at the front door. He immediately achieves critical mass any time the front doorbell rings and last night was of course the mother of all doorbell ringing nights. I initially leashed him by the front door but when the first group of kids almost fell down the stairs when he cooked off right in front of them I moved him to a less confrontational location in the living room. He still sounded off robustly at every door ring and there were some nervous candy procurers throughout the night. He must have made an impression on possible tricksters though as the pumpkin laying undefended on the front steps went untouched.

Awaiting Victims in his Initial Location
Leashed so He Couldn't Jump on the Toddlers

It was so cool to finally be in a neighborhood with actual kids for Halloween although some of the costumed accompanying mothers also made an impression. When did that start happening? My favorite son and the ABFA were at some sort of Halloween Party last night. The ABFA was predictably cute as a fairy queen but I’m still trying to figure out what my son was. I’m sure there’s a story there.

Son (on the Right) in Mystery Costume

Son and ABFA in the Middle

The best part of the evening though was the arrival of my sister and brother in law from Rhode Island. They had their Saturday night open up unexpectedly and decided to assail my loneliness. They caught the end of the candy dispensing and then dragged me kicking and screaming into Worcester to Brew City. Alright, I may be exaggerating the kicking and screaming part. We left the remaining candy on the front step in a paper bag for any late arriving trick or treaters. When we returned only half was gone – honest kids who knew!

Sister and Brother in Law in Front of Ancestral Lodgings

My brother in law recently traced some of his ancestry and discovered his grandfather, upon emigrating from Italy, first lived in an apartment in Worcester in the highly Italian neighborhood surrounding Shrewsbury Street. When he googled the address of the apartment it was none other than where Brew City is nowadays. He didn’t need to google that fine establishment because he, a regular reader of the blog, was familiar with the First Friday feats of legerdemain accomplished there by his very own brother in law. Brew City was packed with some scary and ultimately questionable costume choices but we had a very good time. My favorite waitress stopped by to chat, wondering at my Saturday appearance, as did the land tract owning bartender almost unrecognizable with a purple wig. My sister had to educate the kitchen staff on gluten protocols but the manager personally insured the situation was resolved.

Sister and I

The best part was just sitting around trading stories and jokes with two of the finest people drawing breath. This is exactly the type of night I envisioned when I retired ten years ago and it lived up to its advance expectations; not an easy task. Moving into Worcester has made it so much easier to accomplish these type outings. It was all of 5 minutes to drive to Brew City. We missed having my wife alongside but understood the importance of the work she’s performing as a pre-grandmother on the left coast. 

The Stars are Up! Cali-Daughter Completed Nursery Decorations