Halloween – Regular Guy

A Plan Coming Together

brian — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 11:44:49 +0000

As a kid, I loved the show, “The A Team.” The program fell right into my wheelhouse – great action, a token female character to run around, Mr. T and his catch phrases.

But one of the great parts of the show would come when Hannibal, the leader of the group played by George Peppard, would sit back, light a cigar and say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

The phrase had some irony to it because the resolution didn’t always match the plan. If there even was a plan. But I loved his cool confidence when things turned out despite the chaos.

Now I have not been to all the meetings which led up to Thursday’s Halloween parade in Hanover, but I have a funny feeling that if Hannibal had a seat in the Jaycees room along York Street, he’d pull out a stogey in celebration.

I wish I could claim a bunch of credit, but lots of other people did way more work than I did. I actually feel like I did very little, but I felt lucky to sit in the early meetings and see the passion and commitment of the folks who have made sure that a Hanover tradition will continue this week.

Not everyone can sacrifice the time to take part in planning a large-scale event like this, especially with a limited time frame. The people that did step up did so for one simple reason – they care.

They care about something that entertained them as a child. They care about making sure that we maintain some connection to the past. They care that the various segments of the community come together because all of our lives improve when we push past differences and have fun.

I could not think of a better time for the Halloween parade. With so many issues facing our community, the opportunity to throw on a costume and walk down the street could not mean more. Local businesses and organizations can strut their stuff. Kids can collect lots and lots of free candy.

But once all the candy is cleared and the banners folded up, people need to start thinking ahead. Not to next year – I believe the 2014 parade will come together smoothly because of the high from pulling this off – but to the years beyond.

The people who sat around the table at the meetings for the past few months need company to make sure that the fantastic effort which made Thursday’s parade a reality doesn’t happen again. Sure, the Jaycees sponsor the event, but the time has come to not expect them to do everything by themselves.

Whenever people from outside the area – and some who live here – make fun of, or worse yet actually get angry, about the way Hanover handles trick or treat, I try to explain the long game to them.

This isn’t about “ruining” the actual day of Halloween. This is about creating a week full of activities to bring the community together. This is about Miss Hanover Area leading into Trick or Treat so the kids can have that out of the way in order to enjoy the parade, especially if they want to walk in their costume.

So let’s all lend a hand to make sure that collection of activities continues because a Hanover Halloween is about more than just dressing up and getting candy from the neighbors. When all is said and done, you’ll see how great the plan can come together.

Halloween Back on Track

brian — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 11:27:54 +0000

I knew the look in her eye. I have seen it a lot in recent years as I found myself more involved in community events.

The look told me that the brain was saying, “I know I can do this, but I have so many other things to do, but I really know I can handle this, but I also like to relax once in a while, but if I don’t do it, there’s a chance no one else will step up.”

I won’t say who I’m describing because, in reality, I saw the look in a lot of people’s eyes earlier this week when a bunch of people got together to discuss planning for this year’s Hanover Halloween parade. Don’t let the pronoun confuse you – men and women alike got this look in their eyes, including me.

In the end, we managed to divvy up a bunch of tasks and generate a lot of enthusiasm to keep one of the area’s best traditions going and, hopefully, avoid the rush we find ourselves in right now.

I feel bad for the Jaycees, who officially manage the parade. Once you get involved in anything these days, you quickly realize that only a few people end up doing the work. We could get into the cultural reasons why, but that would just soak up valuable time we could use to actually solve problems.

The good news is that I think the parade is in good hands for now. I’ll do my little bit, others will do even larger bits of work and everyone will have a great time on Halloween. Yeah, the parade is on Halloween this year so that will be cool.

I never doubted that help would keep the event alive. Even though I know that groups like the Jaycees and many others in the area suffer from the same shrinking volunteer base, I also know that many from other groups would step up. I also knew some would do it not because they belonged to a group that felt like they needed to help, but just because they cared.

That’s how parades end up running smoothly. And chicken barbecues. And the many other events that so many people consider an important part of living in a small town.

But just because we left the meeting excited and focused does not mean that the work has ended. Keep an eye out (especially if you are on Facebook) for news on future meetings. Consider finding your own way of taking part in the planning or execution of the parade even if you just want to donate money to help support the prizes.

If you can’t, try and find something else where you can pitch in because some of the people around that table are adding this event to other volunteer efforts. Join a service club or see if a big event needs another set of hands. You will be amazed at the things you will learn and the fun you will have.

Costume Regret

brian — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:15:20 +0000

Because of another commitment, I didn’t get a chance to help out at our house during Trick or Treat night last week. This marked the second straight year I couldn’t check out what cool costumes the kids (and their parents) put together.

I realize my daughter will eventually outgrow trick-or-treating, but I feel better knowing I can live vicariously through the costumes of other people’s children.

I find this very important because it serves as a sort of therapy from a disastrous costume experience I had as a child.

The grade escapes me, but this happened sometime around junior high. I have very clear memories of walking across the stage at my parochial school for the judging at a weekend event with one thought running through my head.

“This was a very bad idea.”

Because of my older siblings, I sometimes had different entertainment interests than other kids. Sure, we would all watch the prime time shows of the late 1970s, but I also learned to appreciate more eclectic programs aimed at an older audience.

In short, I loved “The Gong Show.” Looking back on it, I realize Chuck Barris and the rest of the people behind the show didn’t think of 11-year-old kids when they chose their acts. That didn’t matter to me. My brothers and sisters found it funny, so I liked it too.

That’s how I ended up walking across the stage with a bag over my head to try and imitate The Unknown Comic, one of my Gong Show favorites. I honestly don’t think anyone got the joke. I remember having to explain my costume to a lot of people that night.

I probably would have done better by preparing a bunch of bad, off-color jokes like Murray Langston (the man behind the bag) did. I probably had on a pretty garish outfit like the character, but that had more to do with this taking place in the late 1970s than any planned costume.

Some one probably tried to talk me out of this idea, but I ended up going ahead with it anyway. I have no idea if I went out trick-or-treating with a bag on my head. The memory of the school event has prevented me from remembering anything else.

Oh, except that my mother added insult to injury when she wouldn’t let me eat any popcorn that night because I had recently been sick after eating popcorn, and she didn’t want me to get sick that night too. That is burned into my brain for some reason, probably because I have to admit that there was crying involved, other than the people sad that I chose such a horrible costume.

So I really missed standing on my porch this year and thinking, “why didn’t I think of that costume 30 years ago?” Every once in a while, I think, “Oh, no, this kid might regret that in the long run,” but I try not to go down that road. Too hard for me personally.

I just hope the kids with unfortunate costumes get to eat whatever they want at the end of the night. That’s the least their parents can do.

Costume Conundrum

brian — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:49:24 +0000

When I saw the kids in the costumes on Trick or Treat night last week, I felt a little envious. Not of the candy because I knew I would dip into my daughter’s stash when she got home. I envied the costumes.

I don’t get much of a chance to celebrate Halloween anymore. We’re really not the “dress up in a couples costume” kind of folks. We do have a party at work, but I just don’t have the energy to go all out for that.

That hasn’t always been the case. I did have some fun costumes at my old job, but once the person who lived to organize Halloween parties got a new job, the excitement kind of wore off.

The reality is that I don’t remember ever really having an outstanding costume. I probably had some cool ones as a kid, but nothing really stands out in my memory.

I do remember going as “The Unknown Comic” to a school event in sixth or seventh grade, but apparently no one else watched “the Gong Show.” I spent the whole night trying to explain why I had a bag on my head and why people should find it so funny.

Maybe that influences my current attitude on Halloween costumes. I wouldn’t mind dressing up, but don’t know if it’s worth the hassle. My favorite idea would take way too much time to explain.

As a freshman in college, I could not wait for Halloween. We had heard about legendary parties at fraternities across campus. I didn’t care that I didn’t have a good idea that fall. I just wanted to have fun.

A few days before the weekend, everything started to unravel. I don’t know how the rumors started, but they spread like wildfire. For a little while, it looked like no one would get to celebrate Halloween on my western Pennsylvania campus in 1986.

I remember the main details – a man dressed as Little Bo Peep was going to show up on a college campus which shared a name with a mountain range, a county and a river and massacre students at a Halloween party.

People reacted in many different ways. Some went home for the weekend. Some put on a brave face. In the end, the parties went on, the rumor turned out to be one recycled from other colleges in the past and people dressed up like normal.

Of course, that included a few smart alecks who actually dressed up as Little Bo Peep. I don’t remember seeing any at the parties I attended, but I did see one running across campus that weekend yelling something about lost sheep.

I never even thought about wearing that costume, but have wanted to ever since. I don’t think I considered it the rest of my college career and would have been too chicken to do it if the idea did cross my mind.

I have the gumption to do it now, but really don’t feel like explaining the whole story every time someone asks me why I chose Little Bo Beep. I don’t even have one of the “I Survived Bo Peep” t-shirts that cropped up on campus that weekend 25 years ago.

So I’ll just drown my sorrows with a Reese’s Cup I snuck out of my daughter’s stash. She can deal – she had an awesome costume.

Happy Halloween

brian — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:59:27 +0000

For the first time in several years, I won’t have any Halloween costume. No one planned a party at work, and I wasn’t home during trick-or-treat in town last week. I feel a little bad because I like Halloween even though I’m not fanatical about it.

One of the reasons I like Halloween is because it played such a huge role in the social scene in college. My fraternity had the biggest and best Halloween party on campus. We raked leaves for hours to fill the basement. We had pumpkins everywhere. People dressed up and had an amazing time. Other houses had parties for Halloween, but nothing matched ours.

I remember my sophomore year when a bunch of freshman guys I knew came dressed as the Fruit of the Loom guys. They each wore a t-shirt and boxers and had the fruit things on their heads. They also fashioned a huge pair of underwear and walked around the party inside of them until they basically became such a hazard that they had to set off on their own.

Another group of guys I know came to that party as the Crest team (this was 1987, remember). That was an amazing party. And missing nights like that makes me a little nostalgic as Halloween rolls around.