I had to think about this for a while. My favorite Halloween costume growing up? I can't say that I have one. I also could only remember three. When I was a kid, I don't remember people making elaborate or clever costumes. Pretty much all I remember were those Ben Cooper costumes you could buy at the drug, toy or department store. You know the ones that came in a box with a window in it that showed the plastic mask and the body of the costume was some sort of synthetic material with the costume printed on it.
Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers all wore those. All I could remember was being Secret Squirrel in First Grade one year and Superman in Second Grade. And then in Fifth Grade, my parents decided to make us original costumes. I was a hippie and my sister Debbie was a Hula dance. My youngest sister, Wendy, was a princess of some sort. She was still in a Ben Cooper. I guess she was too young to have a homemade costume!
Oh my God! Those Ben Cooper costumes! The plastic mask with the holes for eyes and the slit for a mouth. Remember trying to breathe in those things? I can remember how you were basically breather on yourself. The hot breath sometimes causing a fog, especially if it was cold outside, (which it usually was in late October after dark in Albany, NY).
Look at that handiwork! That's me on the right...the tall one. I'm wearing a cowboy hat and my mother's fall (the 1960s version of extensions for women with short hair), a white t-shirt over a darker long sleeve t-shirt, a white vest made of vinyl with brown contact paper made to look like a cow hide, and a medallion. And then one of my teeth is blacked out and I've got stubble make up on my face. Excellent!
As for my Dad's costumes, this was just the beginning. They got more elaborate. The following year for my sister Debbie, he made a Smiley Face costume. Two pieces of plywood, cut in a bug circle and fitted together with a couple of 2x4s(?) and then it slid over her heard and she held on to the 2x4s I think. Big and clunky. But clever and different.
The year after that, he re-purposed it. He cut into a wedge and repainted it, added cotton to the edges and it was a slice of pizza. Less bulky. Still awkward. Better her than me!
I don't ever remember having another home made costume after that one. I believe from that point on, I was a hobo. When I was growing up, once you hit pre-adolescence, you were too cool for a costume but you still wanted candy, so everyone from age 12 - 14 went out as a hobo. All that meant was you went out in a t-shirt or flannel shirt an jeans and carried a pillow case for candy. Boom! instant hobo!
Getting back to the meeting. I was thinking, "What do I answer when it gets to me?" I was towards the end of the table so I knew I'd be one of the last to go. So I'm thinking I'll mention Secret Squirrel. I knew I would probably have to explain that one to most in the room. One of my managers says hobo. Yes! Me too! Then my supervisor says....Secret Squirrel. I couldn't believe it! How crazy is that? Random. But then she and I are the same age so not so much. I was practically epileptic! I was the next in the room, so I pretty much just piggy backed her. That was my answer too!
For those of you who don't know, Secret Squirrel was a Saturday morning Hanna-Barbera cartoon in the late 1960s. He was part of the Atom Ant Show. And he was basically a squirrel that was a spy and he looked like this...
But I have to wonder, why can't I remember any of my other Halloween costumes? Were those my favorites? Did I block the others out because I didn't like them? If so, what does that say about me? Superman, Secret Squirrel and a Hippie. Well, the hippie obviously because it was so elaborate..well for the time...well for us. And it could be that I actually have a picture of that one and none of the others.
Superman and Secret Squirrel were both superheroes in a way and both had secret identities. Was I hiding something too? Did I have a secret identity. Or was it merely wish fulfillment? I need to hide behind a mask or secret identity not wanting to deal with my true identity? Hmmm...alright! Don't read anything into it. They were just costumes.
Happy Halloween!
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