2001-10-29 - 4:58 p.m.

Halloween PA Style: Beer Steins

Yesterday I knocked off three big tasks from my pre-Halloween checklist:

• Finish my Blinky Ghost costume (and yes, I'll put up photos in Nov),
• Polish my boots (I get upset when I see nasty boots),
• Carved 8 jack-o-lanterns (with help from my brother and his girlfriend).

It feels good to have a productive day. But it was even nicer to spend the day with my family. Yes, it is true that many of my friends are there for me when I need them, but I wanted a time-out, and got it.

Crazy Dads

While we were carving those 8 jack-o-lanterns, my parents were buzzing about checking our progress. My folks are those types of people that go crazy with decorations for Christmas, but Halloween has sort of been my holiday. Apparently I've been dressing up since I was born (thankfully with a December birthday, I was able to go out my first year -- too bad I have no memory of those early years).

My neighborhood in Pittsburgh was very friendly, and apparently my dad and the neighbor next door would put on helmets, dress in garbage bags, and then carry beer steins around. They'd knock on the door for me, I'd be show cased (I was too little for candy), and everybody would pour beer in their steins.

They'd drain their beer steins as they carried me on to the next house. Apparently they'd hit most of the street. I have no idea how much beer that would be, but my dad is a US Marine.

OK, this isn't my story ... but it should give some insight to my family, upbringing, etc.

LISTENING TO: Suicide Commando's Love Breeds Suicide EP

-=-

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