Yankee Doodle Dandy
Greetings, Mr. Ghoul and Lady Goblin, and All of the (ghost) Ships at Sea:
Happy Halloween! I hope that you had a "spook-tacular" holiday, full of fun frights and bumps in the night. The nice unseasonable weather that we had been having, continued to hold up on Wednesday, so it was a fine day for tricking these treats and treating those tricks all around. Halloween at our house always starts with candy and presents, and if there's a better way to start the day, I haven't heard of it. Since my original costume idea for this year did not quite make it to the finish line this time around, I was lucky to find a complete Uncle Sam costume, including striped pants, blue cutaway jacket, striped bow-tie and red-white-and-blue felt top hat, which I thought was a steal at under $20 for the whole shebang, and I was off and running. It had the added advantage of being cool and comfortable, and since it was 70 degrees on Halloween, that made a big difference. Personally, I didn't think that dear old Uncle Sam would be much of a costume idea, but I've long since given up on trying to figure out what people will like or not, and I found ol' Sam to be way more popular than I ever would have expected. That surprised me, because when I arrived at work, I walked in through the Clinic amid deafening silence on all sides, which made me feel like being at a round-up of illegal aliens and I was the border patrol. But I was a big hit in the computer department and Payroll, although someone in Finance asked me, "Who are you supposed to be?" It continues to be true that there is no costume so iconic that someone, somewhere will not get it wrong, no matter what.
Our retired co-worker made a special trip in just to see my costume and bring me a bag of goodies, which was nice and thoughtful. A few people came from different floors, and even a different building, to see my costume, rather than chance missing me on my rounds later in the day. One thing I wasn't expecting, although I suppose I should be used to it by now, heaven knows, is that everyone who saw me and loved the costume, they all said the same thing: "That's so cute!" or "You look adorable!" The thing about being short is that you can dress up as a fire-breathing movie monster that tramples whole cities underfoot, and at the end of the day, you've been heaped with so many "cutes" and "adorables" that you just can't stand it. For anyone like myself who never thought of Uncle Sam as a particularly cute character, I'd be happy to send you a picture of my costume and see if you agree with the prevailing consensus or not. Meanwhile, in the computer department, one wag described me as "Aunt Sam" instead, and I said that we were starting that rumor, although truth be told, I've never heard it said that Uncle Sam couldn't be married for all we know. Anyway, you heard it here first, folks.
Of course, everybody knows that when you trick-or-treat at the hospital, you get a lot of exercise, but no candy, right? This is honestly the first time I can remember that was not the case, and I ended up scoring treats everywhere I went. Usually when I go to a department and say "trick or treat," they come over and peek inside my bag and say, "Ooh, what have you got?" I try to explain that going around and giving out candy is actually the opposite of what's supposed to happen, and with the attrition along the way, I usually get back to my office with a net loss of candy from when I started. But not this time, and please don't ask me why, because there's simply no rhyme or reason to these things. I started out in Adult Day Care, where they were having a boisterous and swinging time of it, with music and decorations, costumes and games galore. I usually try to sneak out before they foist things on me like plain graham crackers or stale bread wrapped in plastic, but this year, they gave out great goodie bags full of fun-size candy bars, Kisses and lollipops. They actually called my office to ask me to come to the party in the nursing home at 2:30, so I had to make sure to get over there, and that was another rollicking affair with a DJ, party favors and fun costumes and props for all the residents. After that, I continued my rounds as I usually do, up one floor and down the next, through all the departments in the different buildings, spreading joy and sunshine in my wake. This was not as easy as it sounds, what with being 70 degrees outside and about 100 degrees inside, and climbing up and down stairs and lugging 20 pounds of candy around. I literally got candy in every single department that I went to, from one end of the campus to the other. I got an entire box of cookies in the Pharmacy, and a whole bag of Milky Way miniatures in Surgery. In the Operating Room, I was invited to the retirement luncheon for one of the doctors, that included fried chicken, tacos, salads, nachos, tuna casserole, mini pizzas, plus an entire wall of cakes and pies that looked like a bakery. In the Medical Staff Office, they gave me money, which made me feel like a third-world country getting a delivery from CARE. It all turned out to be an embarrassment of riches, and believe me, I'm not easily embarrassed.
Another change from recent years was that I found more people dressed up in their departments, like the homespun witch in Medical Records in her striped tights, or the poodle-skirted bobby-soxers in Medical Management, while in Occupational Health, they were sporting the most adorable little witch hats with attached pigtails in different colors. I only wish I had thought of taking their pictures along the way, which I certainly could have done, except that I forgot that I was also carrying around my camera with me, besides 20 pounds of candy in my treat bag. In fact, I didn't even remember that I had my camera with me when I got to the 7th floor, and three people at the nurses station all took my picture with their camera phones at the same time. It was a lot of fun, but very hot and tiring, so I was glad to get back to my office at last and sit down. But I wouldn't have missed it for anything, if only for the cashier who couldn't wait to tell me about her grandchildren going to a Halloween party dressed as what she described as "Fred and Erma Flintstone," which I think would certainly send shock waves through the cartoon community. Poor Wilma! So I guess we're starting that rumor also, and please remember that you heard it here first, folks.
Of course, there's no rest for the weary, so I had to hurry home from work and get ready for trick-or-treaters of our own. I quickly swept the stairs and the walk, and moved everything off the porch, and had a quick bite to eat while setting up the decorations, lights and candy by the door. The cats who were underfoot and making pests of themselves the whole time, scattered in all directions and vanished like wisps of ghostly apparitions when our first callers arrived after 6:00, and they never re-surfaced again until the night was long over. When it got to be 7:30 with only about 25 takers so far, I thought I was in for a long and boring night of it. But it picked up after that, and in fact, I still had people coming after 9PM, which usually doesn't happen these days. In the end, there were 94 altogether, and since I had made 100 goodie bags, it was just about perfect. Topping the costume list this year were witches at 8, then 7 Screams, 6 princesses, 6 skeletons, 4 Ninjas, 4 pirates, 4 Spiderman, 3 cats, 3 fairies, 2 chickens, 2 Flash, 2 ghosts and 2 Michael Meyers. The other 41 costumes were all singles, and included Gabriella from High School Musical, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Marilyn Monroe, Minnie Mouse, Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Blade, Little Red Riding Hood, the Grim Reaper, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, a Transformer, Violet from The Incredibles, Batgirl, Robin, the Devil, a vampire, a bunny rabbit, a magician, a clown, a rag doll, a butterfly, a sheriff, a rock star and two boys dressed as girls. My favorite part of the night was when I heard the unmistakable tread of feet on the porch, and jumped up to open the door, only to find the vestibule deserted except for a small and suspicious looking cardboard box, while from down the stairs, came the cry, "UPS!" I called, "Happy Halloween" after the delivery-man, although why they think it's a good idea to be delivering packages in the dark while everyone else is out trick-or-treating, is a continuing mystery to me.
So that was the Halloween report from the home front, not to mention the work front, and I don't have to go to the videotape to know that a fine time was had by all. There's really nothing like junk food and frivolity to make life worth living again, and Halloween gives us both in spades. So thanks to the Druids, or the Celts, or perhaps it was Hallmark that brought us this seasonal fright fest, with its storied traditions and fanciful costumes, to be enjoyed by children of all ages. That goes for all of you youngsters, as well as oldsters, and I ought to know, or my name isn't --
Uncle Sam
Happy Halloween! I hope that you had a "spook-tacular" holiday, full of fun frights and bumps in the night. The nice unseasonable weather that we had been having, continued to hold up on Wednesday, so it was a fine day for tricking these treats and treating those tricks all around. Halloween at our house always starts with candy and presents, and if there's a better way to start the day, I haven't heard of it. Since my original costume idea for this year did not quite make it to the finish line this time around, I was lucky to find a complete Uncle Sam costume, including striped pants, blue cutaway jacket, striped bow-tie and red-white-and-blue felt top hat, which I thought was a steal at under $20 for the whole shebang, and I was off and running. It had the added advantage of being cool and comfortable, and since it was 70 degrees on Halloween, that made a big difference. Personally, I didn't think that dear old Uncle Sam would be much of a costume idea, but I've long since given up on trying to figure out what people will like or not, and I found ol' Sam to be way more popular than I ever would have expected. That surprised me, because when I arrived at work, I walked in through the Clinic amid deafening silence on all sides, which made me feel like being at a round-up of illegal aliens and I was the border patrol. But I was a big hit in the computer department and Payroll, although someone in Finance asked me, "Who are you supposed to be?" It continues to be true that there is no costume so iconic that someone, somewhere will not get it wrong, no matter what.
Our retired co-worker made a special trip in just to see my costume and bring me a bag of goodies, which was nice and thoughtful. A few people came from different floors, and even a different building, to see my costume, rather than chance missing me on my rounds later in the day. One thing I wasn't expecting, although I suppose I should be used to it by now, heaven knows, is that everyone who saw me and loved the costume, they all said the same thing: "That's so cute!" or "You look adorable!" The thing about being short is that you can dress up as a fire-breathing movie monster that tramples whole cities underfoot, and at the end of the day, you've been heaped with so many "cutes" and "adorables" that you just can't stand it. For anyone like myself who never thought of Uncle Sam as a particularly cute character, I'd be happy to send you a picture of my costume and see if you agree with the prevailing consensus or not. Meanwhile, in the computer department, one wag described me as "Aunt Sam" instead, and I said that we were starting that rumor, although truth be told, I've never heard it said that Uncle Sam couldn't be married for all we know. Anyway, you heard it here first, folks.
Of course, everybody knows that when you trick-or-treat at the hospital, you get a lot of exercise, but no candy, right? This is honestly the first time I can remember that was not the case, and I ended up scoring treats everywhere I went. Usually when I go to a department and say "trick or treat," they come over and peek inside my bag and say, "Ooh, what have you got?" I try to explain that going around and giving out candy is actually the opposite of what's supposed to happen, and with the attrition along the way, I usually get back to my office with a net loss of candy from when I started. But not this time, and please don't ask me why, because there's simply no rhyme or reason to these things. I started out in Adult Day Care, where they were having a boisterous and swinging time of it, with music and decorations, costumes and games galore. I usually try to sneak out before they foist things on me like plain graham crackers or stale bread wrapped in plastic, but this year, they gave out great goodie bags full of fun-size candy bars, Kisses and lollipops. They actually called my office to ask me to come to the party in the nursing home at 2:30, so I had to make sure to get over there, and that was another rollicking affair with a DJ, party favors and fun costumes and props for all the residents. After that, I continued my rounds as I usually do, up one floor and down the next, through all the departments in the different buildings, spreading joy and sunshine in my wake. This was not as easy as it sounds, what with being 70 degrees outside and about 100 degrees inside, and climbing up and down stairs and lugging 20 pounds of candy around. I literally got candy in every single department that I went to, from one end of the campus to the other. I got an entire box of cookies in the Pharmacy, and a whole bag of Milky Way miniatures in Surgery. In the Operating Room, I was invited to the retirement luncheon for one of the doctors, that included fried chicken, tacos, salads, nachos, tuna casserole, mini pizzas, plus an entire wall of cakes and pies that looked like a bakery. In the Medical Staff Office, they gave me money, which made me feel like a third-world country getting a delivery from CARE. It all turned out to be an embarrassment of riches, and believe me, I'm not easily embarrassed.
Another change from recent years was that I found more people dressed up in their departments, like the homespun witch in Medical Records in her striped tights, or the poodle-skirted bobby-soxers in Medical Management, while in Occupational Health, they were sporting the most adorable little witch hats with attached pigtails in different colors. I only wish I had thought of taking their pictures along the way, which I certainly could have done, except that I forgot that I was also carrying around my camera with me, besides 20 pounds of candy in my treat bag. In fact, I didn't even remember that I had my camera with me when I got to the 7th floor, and three people at the nurses station all took my picture with their camera phones at the same time. It was a lot of fun, but very hot and tiring, so I was glad to get back to my office at last and sit down. But I wouldn't have missed it for anything, if only for the cashier who couldn't wait to tell me about her grandchildren going to a Halloween party dressed as what she described as "Fred and Erma Flintstone," which I think would certainly send shock waves through the cartoon community. Poor Wilma! So I guess we're starting that rumor also, and please remember that you heard it here first, folks.
Of course, there's no rest for the weary, so I had to hurry home from work and get ready for trick-or-treaters of our own. I quickly swept the stairs and the walk, and moved everything off the porch, and had a quick bite to eat while setting up the decorations, lights and candy by the door. The cats who were underfoot and making pests of themselves the whole time, scattered in all directions and vanished like wisps of ghostly apparitions when our first callers arrived after 6:00, and they never re-surfaced again until the night was long over. When it got to be 7:30 with only about 25 takers so far, I thought I was in for a long and boring night of it. But it picked up after that, and in fact, I still had people coming after 9PM, which usually doesn't happen these days. In the end, there were 94 altogether, and since I had made 100 goodie bags, it was just about perfect. Topping the costume list this year were witches at 8, then 7 Screams, 6 princesses, 6 skeletons, 4 Ninjas, 4 pirates, 4 Spiderman, 3 cats, 3 fairies, 2 chickens, 2 Flash, 2 ghosts and 2 Michael Meyers. The other 41 costumes were all singles, and included Gabriella from High School Musical, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Marilyn Monroe, Minnie Mouse, Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Blade, Little Red Riding Hood, the Grim Reaper, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, a Transformer, Violet from The Incredibles, Batgirl, Robin, the Devil, a vampire, a bunny rabbit, a magician, a clown, a rag doll, a butterfly, a sheriff, a rock star and two boys dressed as girls. My favorite part of the night was when I heard the unmistakable tread of feet on the porch, and jumped up to open the door, only to find the vestibule deserted except for a small and suspicious looking cardboard box, while from down the stairs, came the cry, "UPS!" I called, "Happy Halloween" after the delivery-man, although why they think it's a good idea to be delivering packages in the dark while everyone else is out trick-or-treating, is a continuing mystery to me.
So that was the Halloween report from the home front, not to mention the work front, and I don't have to go to the videotape to know that a fine time was had by all. There's really nothing like junk food and frivolity to make life worth living again, and Halloween gives us both in spades. So thanks to the Druids, or the Celts, or perhaps it was Hallmark that brought us this seasonal fright fest, with its storied traditions and fanciful costumes, to be enjoyed by children of all ages. That goes for all of you youngsters, as well as oldsters, and I ought to know, or my name isn't --
Uncle Sam
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 8:15 PM
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