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Oct. 17, 2009
Tombstone
Blues
In my earliest Halloween
memory, I’m wearing a homemade clown outfit that my mom made. I
must have been in 3rd or 4th grade. I
remember waving to her at the end of our driveway, as the school
bus stopped in front of our house. I must have looked kind of like
that kid in “A Christmas Story,” you know, who got the pink bunny
suit as a gift from his Aunt? Only, for the record, I’m wearing a
clown suit, not a bunny suit.
I’m thinking that the reason
this memory is so clear is because part of me insists that I’ve
seen old home movies of this incident occurring. But even seeing
this film is such a long-time-ago memory, I can’t be sure.
But part of me insists it’s
true.
Most of the other trick or
treating years were spent dressing up as a hobo. I guess I liked
this set-up because a) it was all I had b) I never actually
planned on what “I wanted to be” and c) I just didn’t have the
inclination to spend hours creating a costume.
So most of my costumes
consisted of a Flannel shirt, old pants and a cruddy t-shirt.
Hmm, this kind of sounds like
my current wardrobe today.
Anyway, one year I think I was
Sherlock Holmes, and I’m sure I cut eye holes in a sheet once or
twice. I’m sure my mom remembers more than I do.
One memory that stuck with me
was the fact that we used a pillowcase as a candy bag. Don’t ask
me why. Does anyone do that anymore?
Oh, now that I think about it,
there were the orange UNICEF boxes, and the tradition of carving a
jack-o-lantern for the front porch. Our pumpkin faces were really
the basic style. Two triangle eyes. Triangle Nose. Grinning mouth
with a few teeth. A pure work of art. We didn’t have the fancy
pumpkin-cutting tools and laser-etched patterns available today.
I remember the very last time
I went trick or treating. I went with my friend, Ron, and we
walked around his neighborhood. I seem to remember that we were
the only ones walking around. Where was everybody? After going to
about 3 houses, we kind of looked at each other, and realized that
we were getting too old for this.
A defining moment in Halloween
History, for sure.
Today, there seems to be a lot
more trick or treating options. Out here, it’s definitely more
focused on getting businesses to stay open and have the kids come
downtown and have fun.
And the costumes? They’ve come
a long way from the dime-store stuff and plastic superhero fads
that we were used to. Last year, I saw everything from Whoopie
Cushions to a complete family of very cute skunks.
Oh, if they would only just
stay that cute in real life.
So lets talk about Halloween
today. Specifically, this coming Halloween, for 2009. For those of
you beyond your trick or treating years, there’s a doozy of a
blues show coming up. Blues guitarist Jimmy Thackery and his band
The Drivers are going to be at The Pines. This guy’s been on the
blues scene for a long time, so come on out, and yes, it’s a
costume party.
Oh, as an added treat,
Thackery will be giving a guitar workshop before the show. So if
you’d like to learn a few new tricks, sign up early – seating is
limited.
And, by the way, I forgot to
ask Jimmy what he was going to be for Halloween.
But I think I know what the
answer is.
“In Tune.”
Jimmy Thackery and the
Drivers will be at The Pines Tasting Room on Saturday, Oct. 31, at
8 p.m. Thackery will be giving a
guitar workshop on Oct. 31, at The Pines Tasting Room from
4:30-6 p.m. The workshop is limited to eight
people and admission is $50. To sign up, call Steve Curley at 541-399-6920.
Read Jim’s Interview with Jimmy
Thackery here:
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