No, no one died, but as my friend Jeff, over at thetravelinbum.com put it, October is the death of Summer! While mourning the loss of hot weather, poolside cocktails, and warm summer nights, we are trying not to think about the pending holidays on the horizon.
With the patio furniture put up, it’s now time to break out the creepy Halloween costumes, sticky spiderwebs, and Trick or Treat candy. Let’s not drop that casket down into the ground just yet. I might be able to use it in the cemetery display in the front yard!
I know so many people who say that Halloween is their favorite time of year. They love dressing up and the whole scary aspect of the holiday. Scaring the hell out of people is precisely why this holiday hasn’t worked for me. Ever since I was a kid my mantra has always been “I don’t do scary!” I do not like to be scared.
In a haunted house, I will knock you out if you jump out in front of me, yelling Boo! I once paid fifteen dollars to go into a ‘haunted house’. I ran from the moment I walked into that house, all the way through every room, until I exited out the back door. In less than a minute, from start to finish, I was out and I saw nothing! I do feel a little bad for the people in front of me who got trampled by this six-two, two hundred-pound screaming black man that they never even saw coming!
I guess for me, the part about dressing up, spending time with friends, being silly, and overall just having a good time, is still appealing. I love a good party! Some of the best and most elaborate costumes I’ve ever seen was on a Halloween visit to San Francisco, on Castro Street. If you love to people watch, there is no better show to see.
These days, I also love carving the pumpkins, watching the Charlie Brown special, and handing out candy to the little ones. This is about as much as I can handle. Unlike other holidays, there is no big meal to cook, or presents to buy. I can usually decorate my yard with all the scary and creepy stuff in a matter of a few hours.
As an author of gay romance books, Halloween is the far opposite of what I “carve up” in my books. It’s like Stephen King vs Nora Roberts! When I am reading romance, I get a moment in the day to just decompress, lose myself in the starry-eyed innocence of new love. It’s risk-free and nobody is going to die, for the most part, in most romance books. And of course, like most men, I always appreciate a happy ending….(oops, did I say that out loud?).
Is Halloween a friend or foe to you? Do you claim it as the best holiday of the year, or are you like me and would rather skip it and move straight to the pumpkin pie and turkey?
I suppose that in just a couple of days, I’ll start stocking up on all of my favorite candies to eat… I mean, give away. I imagine a lot of you will be crafting your wicked costumes, and planning out how the heck you’re going to scare the crap out of the rest of us. Whatever it is that you decide works for you, may we all remember Summer in all its glory, and welcome Autumn and the excitement it will surely bring.
