“Somehow, I think it’s that time of year again…”

A student dresses up as Quail Man for HalloweenWhat time of year might that be? Halloween, of course! Yes, Halloween, the season you really never outgrow, even though your methods of celebrating may evolve over time. For instance, I don’t take too much of a shine to actually dressing up myself – however, I just LOVE taking pictures of everyone else! Halloween is really one of those days to let your hair down more than anything else. Sure, you can have fun on other days – weekends, other holidays, special occasions, or some combination thereof. But nothing beats this particular day. For one night, you can leave your normal life behind, as you assume the identity of a character, like Quail Man (from Nickelodeon’s “Doug” TV show), or perhaps a historical figure, or even something totally original. Whatever you’re doing, for that night you are Quail Man. You are Abraham Lincoln. You are whoever you want to be, and free to enjoy it. And in preparation, we do so much! We shop, we decorate, we sing, we dance, and we carve pumpkins. You can tell a lot about how “into” the whole Halloween thing someone is by looking at the pumpkin on their doorstep (assuming some idiot hasn’t smashed it or something). No pumpkin at all means not into it for the most part, and then it’s on a continuum, going through uncarved pumpkin, all the way through some extravagantly decorated pumpkin, where perhaps the pumpkin is only the HEAD of a much bigger thing. And then of course, there’s going and showing off all that you’ve done for Halloween – for the children, going out and “frighten” the neighbors as you’re dressed up like a Power Ranger or something. Then for those of us bigger folk, certainly someone’s throwing a Halloween party somewhere… it’s just so fun, ain’t it?


Date posted: October 26, 2002