Costumed Up

And, all of a sudden, it’s November. I’m down to just one Panamanian lady in the house but she is a handful so there’s no let up in sight in that direction. We dutifully turned on the porch light last evening and only got sporadic trick or treaters. I think it’s a combination on living on the top of a hill and being surrounded by immigrants. That’s not a bad thing but they aren’t up to speed on this American tradition of doling out candy at the end of October. Of our six immediate neighbors, only one other house had its front light on. I think the hordes of trick or treaters didn’t bother to surge up the hill for the solitary lights burning.

Frog and Lamb with their Unicorn Guide

I Think the BRS was Ready

You Mean I get Candy Without Having to Sneak It! I'm In!

No such issues in either New Hampshire or New Jersey last night. The ABFA picked up escort duty for the BRS and BR3 on their foraging. The ABFA was costumed as a fetching unicorn while the BRS was very froggy and BR3 was a sometimes lamb. Sometimes, because she had to be bribed to stay in costume. I think the three ladies had a fantastic Halloween pillaging their neighborhood. My Favorite Son, costumed as a project manager, stayed home to dole out the sweet stuff. It was so fun to see their antics through a video call and some of the ABFA’s Facebook postings. Of course, that’s one of the real benefits of grandkids, you get to vicariously experience the neater things about childhood all over again.

BR3 & BRS Looking Autumnal

Ready to Go

Quick! She has the Lamb Hat on - Take the Picture

Meanwhile there was a potential nuclear meltdown in New Jersey. The FBR specifically chose to be Darth Vader (is this a warning sign?) for Halloween. She wore the costume to school for the day and then forgot it there when she returned home. Her school is about a fifteen minute drive from her home. She was thunderstruck when she realized her planned wielding of light sabers in the neighborhood was in jeopardy. Wingman took care of his padawan by making the drive through Halloween laden streets to retrieve the costume and the night was saved.

Darth, Using the Force, Before Boarding Bus to School

Wingman and his Padawan, Darth

FBR/Darth Trick or Treating with her Gang

The FBR obviously paid attention the movies as she was constantly trying to use the force whenever a camera was pointed at her. Wingman dressed up as Obi Wan Kenobi to complete the look. Wingman is a huge Star Wars fan so I don’t think he minded in the least. When we finally caught up with this Tatooine based group the FBR couldn’t talk because she was engaged in a lively light saber duel with some of her neighborhood buds. As I said, while our night was abnormally quiet for a 31 October, the grandkids saved the night by sheer entertainment value for us.   

The Force has been Passed on 

Wingman and FBR in Light Saber Duel

FBR Must have Won, She has his Light Saber for this Round

Three movies fell in my A-Z effort, all keepers, Caddyshack (so many great lines & Lacey Underall), Camelot (kind of silly but those songs stick in your head for days), and Captain Horatio Hornblower (one of top action movies ever made – holds up really well 70 years after it was released)

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course