It's that time of year again! I also love the Fall. I love the chill in the air, the color of the leaves, and that smell in the air. New England winters may suck, but I'd sure miss the Fall if I ever left.
Know what the best part is? That's right, Halloween is just around the corner. If you know me at all, this is no shock to you, but I LOVE Halloween. I guess it started with my mom because she loved Halloween too. It was always a big deal in our house. All ways a party. And my mom was a little messed up, I guess. She loved to watch horror movies. But not just the good ones. She liked all sorts of crappy ones as well. Gholies and The Leprechaun movies come to mind. We used to watch those on Saturday afternoons. So I love Halloween because I was breed to. Also, it's the only time of the year when the rest of you think like me. Most people wouldn't dream of putting out mock-ups of zombies rising from their graves in their yards in June, but all of a sudden, in October, it's perfectly acceptable. Hell, if I could, I would live in a haunted house year round! Also, you can see a horror movie on multiple channels for the whole month. Halloween rocks!

To celebrate Halloween, I've posted some old photos here from Halloweens past. Let's start with some costumes from my childhood:

Here I am as a clown. Not a cool killer clown like Captain Spaulding, just a regular lame clown. Even with a smile PAINTED on my face, you can tell I'm not lovin' it. Obviously, I was too young to pick out my own costume. This was probably 1985 or so.

1988ish As The Grim Reaper. Now we're getting some where. I remember wanting to be a Reaper because I saw an older boy as one the year before and he scared the crap out of me. See, even as a kid I believed in facing your fears. Being a Reaper is definitely way cooler than being a clown, but there are many obvious flaws with this costume. First off, what the hell is going on with my eyes? Am I a racoon? A bandit of some sort? Second, the Reaper should be a skelliton...NO HAIR! Third, a black and grey hooded sweat shirt is a poor substitute for a hooded cloak. Fourth, I don't care if they may save your life, glow sticks are lame and have no place on a Halloween costume. I remember being a zombie one year. It was raining and rather cold. My mom told me to war a coat. A COAT! I spent long hours tearing up my cloths just right (so it would look like I'd been to hell and back) and my mom wanted to ruin all my hard work!?!?! Nuts to that! I'll take the flu thanks!

That's all the childhood years photos I could find, so let's move on to more recent times.

As an adult, many people (too many) will tell youth that Halloween is only for gays and kids, but that's just not true. Dressing up for halloween is still fun as an adult. Of coarse, you shouldn't just do. I mean, you have to have a reason (like a costume party or if other get dressed up at work). Don't be the only person to dress up at work. You will look stupid. But, if you work in a place where they do dress up, DO IT! And don't half ass it either! Don't put on a head band with ears attached and say your a cat or the devil. Your just lazy.

Luckily, people do dress up where I work and my lady and I throw Halloween parties. So, I'm all set. It wasn't always that way, though. When I first started at my current job (full time that is), people didn't really dress up. They may wear a shirt that said "Halloween" on it, but that was about it. Only one person really dressed up my first year there. By the second year, I was more comfortable and established. I decided that I would dress up. But, since I hadn't had a reason to dress up for a long time, I only kind dressed up. Here's the proof:

2002

It's hard to see my face, but it doesn't matter. I wasn't wearing a mask or make-up. For my first year, didn't go all out. Most people figured it out. I was supposed to be Freddy (or his better looking brother, Eddy). Not my best effort, but better than my Reaper attempt and way cooler than a non-killer clown. Plus, the fact that I'm holding a new born baby in my gloved hand makes this picture bad ass!

2003

By 2003, I was feeling even more confident. I started spreading the word to my co-workers that they should dress up. Most of them did and have every year since. Anyway, hear we have me as Michael Myers. This is an easy costume, and I was a lot thinner then (I was fat, then just slightly chubby for about 10 months, and now I'm back to fat) so I didn't look too fat to be the real deal. I tend to shy away from store-bought costumes because they are usually lame, but I didn't buy the mask and jump suit together, so that counts for something. Plus, that's a special order mask not sold in stores.

2004

Now we are talking! Here's what is probably my greatest costume from a technical standpoint (I made the whole thing!). It's also the photo that has been giving people nightmares. This is Captain Spaulding from the movie House of 1,000 Corpses. The over all movie only rates about a 6, but Spaulding makes it worth seeing. Also, if you're a fan of The Office, you might enjoy seeing Dwight meet a nasty death. Most people didn't know who I was supposed to be, but they got the idea that I wasn't there to pass out balloon animals and that's good enough for me. Some people thought I was supposed to be real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacy, but give me a little credit! I'm not that big a creep!

2005

Last year was pretty good. True, it's not a scary costume, but I thought the comedic factor made up for it. And besides, it takes balls to really shave your head like Mr. T! I love this picture, too. Would it be too wired to use as a head shot?

So, the big question is what to be this year? I usually know by mid July, but this year...I'm really stuck! Any suggestions? What are you going to be?