Tomorrow is Halloween, and I’ll wager there were more than a few costume
parties going on last Saturday night. I stopped in at the local Landmark Pub to
see my friends The Jukebox Scoundrels play, but I did not realize it was a
Halloween party. Luckily I’d brought along my
dollar store fangs, so I did not stand out TOO much. I felt honor bound to put them
in as soon as I saw all the costumed attendees lining up to get into the bar.
My talented friend Juan Barbosa, now sober a week, was playing the gig, and I
wanted to show him some support, knowing how challenging it can be to spend time
in a bar sober when everyone around you is drinking. There were some great
costumes, and as I watched two guys, one in a full bear costume (a la Ted) and the
other in an 8’ inflatable Tyrannosaurus Rex costume, boogying wildly on the dance
floor, it brought a smile to my face. I was reminded of some of the great Halloween celebrations I had
attended or hosted over the years. You’re never too old for Halloween.
I heard on the radio today that tonight is referred to as “Beggars Night”
in some parts of the U.S., and it’s called “Devil’s Night” in Michigan. In
Buffalo we called it Beggars Night, and we did not give out candy on Beggars
Night. My father had strict rules: no candy on Beggar’s Night, and no costume, no candy on Halloween. We used to get some strange adults coming to our door in Buffalo on Halloween, looking for candy. Regardless, if there was even a feeble attempt at a
costume, we offered treats to one and all. Do you remember the orange UNICEF boxes? I don’t
know if kids still collect for UNICEF when they trick or treat. Mom always
bought too much candy for Halloween, so I usually had a stash for the next
several months. I always groaned when people gave out healthy treats. I noticed
that bible thumper Pat Robertson was on television the other day, decrying
Halloween as a pagan celebration that worships Satan. Really Pat? Wasn’t
Christmas once a pagan celebration as well? Maybe next year I'll dress up like Pat Roberson.
I had fun last Thursday night airing the all requests show for my Hunters Bay Radio Lyrical Workers Halloween Spooktacular. I’d put out a call for unusual Halloween songs, and
received over 60 requests, many of them new to me. Of course, many people
requested Michael Jackson’s Thriller,
which was no surprise. Dinner With Drac
by John Zacherly was a pleasant surprise, as was Marie Lavaux by Bobby Bare and Baxtor Taylor. It’s remarkable how
enthusiastic some people are about their Halloween novelty songs. John Tracey,
my friend who lives in Upstate New York, sent me a number of eclectic Halloween
tunes, and said my request happened to come at a time when he was putting
together a mix tape for his Halloween Party. I now have plenty of new songs for
next year’s show. Of course Dead Babies
by Alice Cooper was in the set list (in my humble the Alice Cooper album “Killer”
is a classic), as well as Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s Monster Mash. I always encourage listeners to send in their song
requests for my show, either by Facebook, email, or by texting the Festing
Toyota Text Line at Hunters Bay Radio (705-224-2527), but every few months
or so, I also post for an all request show. That seems to elicit the most responses,
and it’s always interesting to me as a songwriter to hear what other people
like.
Today, I reluctantly took off all
the dock hardware and gloomily acknowledged that we might be coming to the end
of boating season. I am still reminded of 2015 wherein the lake remained
unfrozen unseasonably late, and I was able to use the dinghy on Christmas day. I’m guessing this
is not going to be one of those years. As the temperature dropped to a chilly
4C, and I reached underneath the dock to unbolt the cleats, I was thinking
perhaps I’m in denial. Yesterday, I putted across the lake to pay our landscaper
his last bill of the season, but today I’m not sure I’d like to be out on the
lake. Nevertheless, now that the hardware is off the dock, and it’s just a
matter of removing the planks and cranking it up (thank goodness for
retractable docks), I’ll leave the dinghy moored at the dock indefinitely. Hopefully, I’ll get in
a few more trips around the lake before the snow flies. While cold weather
boating is not one of my favorite pass times, any boating is good boating. Happy
Halloween everyone!
- Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2017 ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
1 comment:
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