Halloween weekend, part 3 (of 3)

The third part of the weekend was my reunion Sunday afternoon with the Dominants - my high school show choir. About two dozen of us from the 1981-85 era showed up and we had a wonderful time. I can't believe it's been nearly 20 years since I've seen most of these old friends, and it was like no time had elapsed at all. We even looked the same. Amazing what tricks the mind can play....

So I stole my old friend Lisa Offley Novitsky's photo from Facebook (have to give credit to Bill Putnam, who took it with Lisa's nice professional camera) - I was having too much fun visiting and reminiscing to take many photos of my own. But I had to share this one of Jill, Lisa, Sara, and Sara - just like it was 1983. What a great group we had!

Halloween weekend, part 2 (of 3)

I guess this should really be titled "Rally to Restore Sanity" because that was the big event for us Halloween weekend - yes, we really went. It was crazy!! Not the people - everyone was fantastic (we didn't even see anybody smoking until after the rally was over, even though we were outside) - but the sheer size of the rally and what that meant for getting there and being there.

We rode the Metro, which took forever, and got there on the late side. OK, that wasn't all Metro's fault - you know us. We walked up the National Mall as far as we could, and still were so far back we could catch glimpses of the last jumbo screen, but that was it. Katie took photos from her periodic perch on Dave's shoulders:



Katie was really good, too. When she got bored, she read books at our feet. But she did pay attention - catch her dancing to the O-Jays and "Love Train"!



The signs were hilarious (here's a picture of my favorite), the talent on the stage (we could hear almost everything) was phenomenal, and - Fox and MSNBC pundits be darned - the rally really did have a message that was terrific. Not that it made any difference in the election, but maybe someday....

Halloween weekend, part 1 (of 3)

When you have a kid, Halloween is a totally different holiday. It will never be my favorite, but Katie thinks it's great. So we go to every event we can (trying to limit the candy at each, if at all possible). This year she wore a different costume for each of the events. Luckily none of them took much work -- or expense -- on my part.

The Sunday before Halloween is a kid party at Bucknell, put on by student groups. Crafts, haunted houses, games, and lots of candy possibilities. Katie was Belle. She did her own hair.

The Friday before Halloween is the Kinderfolk Halloween party - very cute. It starts with a parade around the block, then the kids play games (and the parents go out for coffee!), then we all come back to watch the kids sing Halloween songs for us. And eat, of course. Katie was a black-and-white cat - she designed her own costume, using a cat tail I made for myself in 1988 (can't believe I still had it).

This year, Halloween being on Sunday was a little tricky, since we were in Virginia in the afternoon (see part 3 of this blog section). We made it back to go trick-or-treating with a horde of neighborhood children. Thanks to Dave's mom for being home so we could both go with her; it was hilarious to watch the kids race from house to house. Katie had planned all weekend to be Cinderella, but ended up as Princess Tiana. No photos, unfortunately, since it was dark by the time we got back.

Katie has already laid out her costume for the next four years. I'll have to write it down somewhere and see if she remembers.