Tales from the Crypt

Took Mark to his first political rally today. He was most impressed with the free lunch.

Then it was on to the bookstore, which is next to a giant Halloween costume store. I know it's only September, but after last year's Yoda fiasco (we never found a costume), I figured better too early than too late.

Mark wanted a Sponge Bob costume, but the minute he saw it, he backed away, saying, "Uh uh, no way, I am NOT wearing that!" I don't blame him--the kid on the package wore a big yellow foam cutout and white tights. I said, "You can wear pants instead of the tights," but he just ran away.

We browsed the aisles, he picking out the most garish, God-awful costumes he could find, and me simply answering, "No." The accessories--guns, knives, axes and scythes--interested him more than the actual costumes. Finally, he picked an outfit I was okay with, simply because it wasn't oozing fake blood. "Ninjas!" he shouted.

He grabbed the accompanying Ninja sword, more excited about it than the costume. "You only get to carry one accessory when trick or treating," I told him. "You can carry a sword, or you can carry a trick or treat bag." He didn't even think twice--candy triumphs every time!

I helped him into the Ninja costume. He moved stealthily across the store until he found a full-length mirror. "Oh no!" he yelled, when he saw his reflection. "Get it off! It looks dumb!" He couldn't get out of it fast enough.

So strike 2 in the costume store. We resumed our shopping, passing the same aisles two and three times. "How about Batman?" I asked. Mark shook his head. "Incredible Hulk? The Flash? Dash from the Incredibles? A boxer? A pirate? Captain Jack Sparrow?" No, no, no, no, no and no.

"I want to be something SCARY," he said, and that worried me more than a little. He's still my sweet little 8-year-old, but he wasn't settling for a Superman costume this year.

And then, thank God, he found it, right before we headed into the Freddie Kruger and Jason section. The Crypt Keeper. I'd describe it as sort of a black robe with chains, grommets, and a skeleton mask, but really, a picture does more justice:

OK, it kinda looks like he's grinning in this picture, but trust me, its a very scary skeleton mask.

And so it was that we finally purchased a costume. Mark definitely benefited today from being an only child with a not-at-all-crafty mom, because that simple black robe with silver plastic chains cost 35 bucks and I didn't even care. I was just glad there were no severed body parts or dripping blood included.