Halloween Recap

Halloween 2022 is now behind us. The day started with me and the kids getting our flu shots. I, of course, waited until the last possible minute to get mine for work.

As we drove home, one of the neighbors had put up a HUGE inflatable pumpkin. Ella saw it from the window, and despite the fact that it was raining, insisted that we go down to look at it. Thankfully, it was only a couple houses away. When she got up close to it, she couldn’t believe how big it was!

Sam took last night off from work and we were all able to walk the neighborhood to trick or treat last night. Trick or Treating in our city started at 5pm. We had napped late in the afternoon and by the time we had dinner, we didn’t get out in the neighborhood until around 5:30.

Despite it being a bit misty, the temperatures weren’t too bad. Last year, it was SO cold I brought Ella home early. This year, she was gung ho to do the whole neighborhood – and she had a BLAST!

This was the busiest Halloween I’ve seen in our neighborhood. There were kids of all ages, too! I loved seeing the families who dressed up together. One of our neighborhood families dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz. It was awesome.

Ella wanted to go to every house! She loved seeing the pumpkins lit up and all of the costumes. What was really sweet was that there were neighbors who recognized us from our daily walks and they would give her extra candy.

We did let Andrew venture out on foot once or twice, but he was running all over the place, so we wound up having to put in back in the stroller. He didn’t seem to mind, however, as that is where much of the candy was …

I was impressed that the kids did the entire neighborhood! When we got home, we took Andrew’s costume off because it had chocolate all over it!! We got in the car and drove to Sam’s mom and dad’s. They had special treats for them when we arrived.

It was almost 8 when we got there and on the drive we talked about how foggy it was! It was truly spooky. It wasn’t that foggy by our house, but it was crazy foggy on the way to her folks. Perfect for Halloween. The fog lasted well into the morning, as a friend posted this picture of downtown Detroit:

When we finally left Sam’s folks to head home, we both decided we were hungry. I veered off the diet as the only thing open was McDonalds. The kids had chicken nuggets, Sam had a Big Mac, and I grabbed a Filet of Fish Sandwich. It was probably not the best thing to eat that late, and probably explains the weird dreams I had, but overall, the day was a great one with the family!

Blogging Milestones

Can you believe that this is my 800th Blog Post?! I know I can’t! I can only hope that the blogs I have written are of interest to you in some way or another. Thank you for following!

800 Blogs. That is one of two milestones that the title eludes to. What is the second? Read on.

Towards the end of September I started to see some of the bloggers I follow mention “Blogtober.” It was a topic that spawned a lot of conversation. It also seemed to bring on a lot of anxiety.

From what I was able to piece together from the various posts, the premise is to write something every day for the entire month of October. Some people were hosting their own versions of Blogtober and had posted a list of what to write about each day. Others had themes. One blogger had a book related topic every day of the month, while another focused on Halloween topics.

The idea intrigued me and I looked at the various lists of topics and debated jumping on the bandwagon. I then noticed how many people mentioned that there was a lot of stress in having to post every day for the entire month. Others stated that they tried to do it last year and dropped out because it was just too much.

It was then that I realized that I had yet to EVER write a blog every day for a month. It’s never happened. I never had that much to write about. So I decided to see if it could be done. Would I truly have something to write about every day? I didn’t want to say anything about this personal challenge, just in case I did not do it. Life certainly provided me plenty to write about last month – both happy and sad.

I can’t promise that I will continue to write something every day, but I was glad to know that I actually did it! It can be done. It took a bit of planning, but I did it. That is good enough for me.

Dressin’ Up For Treats – Halloween Memories With My Kids

This week, as I looked for a few Halloween photos, I stumbled on some that I had totally forgotten about. My oldest son is now 20 and my middle son is 15. That’s a lot of costumes to try to remember.

Sadly, I don’t have many pictures of their past costumes, but the ones that I do have are worth sharing, even if the quality isn’t so great.

One of Dante’s first costumes was Superman! I am almost positive that he is wearing one of my DJ hats here. Of course, he is appropriately eating chocolate!

Dimitri wound up wearing the costume, too. Even when it wasn’t Halloween. Here he is at the mall whooping it up!

Keeping with the Superhero theme – Dante’ loved being Mr. Incredible one year. He never seemed to want to keep the mask on. However ….

When the costume was recycled for Dimitri – he loved the mask!

Dimitri’s first costume was this Lion. I took this picture with my Blackberry in 2007. Boy, did the camera phones suck back then!

That same year, Dante’ chose to be a Pirate. I’m sure there was a hat that went with this costume, but he didn’t want to wear it.

The boys the following year – Dr. Dante’ and golfer Dimitri. Who knew that Dimitri would actually be interested in golf years later?!

I really thought that was such a cute costume.

One of my favorite “team” costumes! Scooby Doo and Shaggy.

Dressed up in 2012 for Boo Bash – Officer Dimitri and Graduate Dante’

From there, most of the pictures are lost until a recent picture of the two of them at a Halloween party.

Pretty nice job as Marty and Doc from Back to the Future. I think this was like 4-5 years ago.

Ella’s first Halloween – 2020. She was our cute little unicorn.

Last year, Dimitri was here and helped our little ladybug around.

Andrew was less than a month old, so he stayed nice and warm inside on Halloween 2021. This year, however, it is a different story!

Sam did a fantastic job picking the “team” costume for them this year! Ella is perfect as Beauty (Princess Belle) and Andrew is awesome as The Beast! This picture was taken a couple days ago before they did a Trunk or Treat down the block from us. That was a dress rehearsal and tonight, they will be collecting candy from the neighbors.

Happy Halloween to you!!

The Power of Radio

84 years ago tonight: On the evening of 30th October 1938, Orson Welles broadcast his famous dramatised production of the H G Wells novel The War of The Worlds on CBS American radio.

The play started conventionally enough with Welles reading the first part of the novel more or less verbatim. The play then reverted to what appeared to be a typical evening of dance band music which was suddenly interrupted by a newsflash of a mysterious object falling to ground in New Jersey.

More newsflashes followed in increasingly dramatic and hysterical fashion and eventually, as legend has it, an entire nation panicked thinking that they were being invaded by Martians. The following morning the newspapers were full of condemnation of Welles for misleading the nation (read that line again, such irony!).

The size of the panic has since been hugely disputed, but the newspapers did their job and Orson Welles became famous overnight.

He Scared My Pants Off!

In a recent blog, I mentioned local horror host Sir Graves Ghastly. While I liked watching his show, there was another host who I connected with on a more “childish” level – Count Scary.

The Count (and his cool twin brother, Val Scary) was portrayed by Tom Ryan. Tom was a radio guy who worked at the Big 8 (CKLW) and at WOMC in Detroit. I listened to Tom on the radio growing up.

Count Scary hosted a few B-movies on WDIV, one of which (maybe the first) was in 3-D. You could pick up 3-D glasses for watching at the local Wendy’s restaurant if I remember correctly.

I remember our family went camping one weekend and the Count was hosting a movie. I made sure that we brought a TV and while my family was out at the bonfire, I was in the tent watching Count Scary.

His specials would feature music from local artists like the Bus Boys, Bob Seger, and Nolan Strong. There were always clips of him doing things locally and mingling with local celebrities. I remember a clip of him with Detroit Tiger manager Sparky Anderson. In the clip, the Count get’s bonked on the head by a baseball.

He always seemed to be fighting with the people producing his special. His “fine boys” he’d call them. The one thing I loved was this little “stinger” sound effect that would play whenever he’d say something. He’d say “This movie will scare your pants off!” followed by the spooky stinger.

The movies he showed were usually far from scary. However, one time he showed Dracula starring Jack Palance. During the showing of this movie, they cut to Count Scary after a scary scene and he has lost his pants. To me, this always makes me laugh. Listen for the stinger in the clip. Man, I wish I had that clip when I was on the radio – I loved that thing!

I want to say I was about 12 when Count Scary first started hosting movies on TV. When he was still at CKLW, he put out a 45 record for Christmas. Naturally, right from the get-go, the “fine boys” louse it up.

The flip side featured Tom Ryan as Val Scary. I don’t have the physical 45 anymore, but it’s good to know I can still listen to this silly thing on YouTube.

It’s been over 20 years since the Count has been on TV. I think his last appearance was in 1996. All these years later, there are still times I will say, “Ooooo, that’s scary!” and hear that stinger in my head!

I’m Just Going to Leaf This Here …

Just a few days ago I posted pictures of the colorful trees in the neighborhood. All it took was a windy rainy day this week and many of those leaves have now fallen. As you walk through the neighborhood now, the ground is covered in yellow, red and orange while the trees are more and more bare.

More leaves on the ground meant more leaves to play in for the kids … and me! We certainly have had our share of fun jumping in the piles in the yard. It’s funny how different the kids are in regards to the leaves. Ella wants to be surrounded or buried in them.

Andrew, on the other hand, really doesn’t like to be in the pile much. I tried to get him to sit in the pile a few times, but once he is in there, he wants out! He’d rather pick them up and throw them.

It was just as fun for me to get down and play in the leaves with them.

Of course, it didn’t take long for the two of them to start throwing leaves on me!

The wonderful thing about these moments – they don’t cost a thing. I hope that when my kids look back at these blogs, they will remember with joy the fun that we had just being silly together.

The simplest things can bring about a smile and happiness – and this picture is proof of that:

Never be so busy that you don’t jump in the leaves!

Friday Photo Flashback

It’s time for another Friday Photo Flashback. While I was looking for Halloween costume pictures, I came across a photo I have never seen before of my brother.

From what I can tell, this was taken at my parents house and has to be fairly soon after we moved in. I am almost positive that it is our house because I recognize the yellow curtains on the basement windows.

I don’t know what event was being hosted in the basement, but it seems to be some sort of gathering. Maybe it was my communion party or something. My brother is holding flowers, so maybe it is a birthday party, I really don’t know.

Most of the paneling is still up in the basement at my folks house, though the basement is quite darker now as people rarely go down there. The man standing on the far left looks like my mom’s dad. He is standing in front of what used to be the “bar.” My dad had bottles of alcohol on there and those white mugs, which can be seen in the pitcure.

On the floor, to the right of my grandpa is a case of Towne Club! You used to go there with the crate and pick the flavors you wanted. It was a staple at all gatherings growing up. It’s awesome to see that in this picture.

I do not recognize the desk next to my brother at all. I don’t know where it came from or even how long we had it. It probably wasn’t long, as I don’t recall it being down there at all!

The craziest thing in this picture (beside the pants my brother is wearing) is the stereo on the desk. WOW! It is obviously a turntable with a tuner and the 8-Track player!! Whether or not this is the 8-Track recorder my dad made tapes on I cannot be sure. It is probably just a player. I wish I could zoom in closer on this picture because I’d love to see it in more detail!

What a find this picture was! The one thing I have to wonder is how much detergent my mom had to use to clean the stains on my brother’s pants!! It looks like he was playing in the dirt somewhere!

Ah, the 70’s!!!!

Throwback Thursday

I promised my buddy Max a “happy” post, since the last few were sad in nature. When I opened up the Blog “Reader,” I saw a prompt from Maggie at From Cave Walls. I thought this would be a good way to feature a “happier” topic.

This week’s prompt is: Costumes

1. Did you celebrate Halloween? If so, what was your most memorable costume?

Yes, as kids we certainly did. As I recently blogged about here (https://nostalgicitalian.com/2022/10/23/ghosts-of-halloween-past/), I found myself having issues remembering many of the costumes I wore. I have a few that I recall from some parties – doctor, Caesar, 80’s rocker, monk, but nothing out of the ordinary.

2. As a child, did you like pretending you were someone else? Did you create costumes with things around the house?

As a child, I remember pretending to be many people: Batman, Random Spy Guy, Rosco P. Coltrane from the Dukes of Hazzard and so many more! Rosco was the only one I had a “costume” for – I had a cowboy hat and a badge.

My brother and I were creative. One time we took these old boxes and made hats out of them. They are insanely stupid.

3. When was the last time you dressed in a costume? What was the reason?

The last time I dressed in a true “costume” was a few years ago. Sam and I went to a Halloween party as Popeye and Olive Oyl!

I love that picture of us. Sam’s mom made her Olive Oyl outfit.

4. Did you ever attend Mardi Gras, Carnival or any other festival with masks or costumes? Did you wear a mask or costume?

No – Maybe someday.

5. Were you ever in a play (school or otherwise) that required a costume? If so, who were you?

I’ve mentioned it in passing before, but yes, I was in a play in Elementary School called The Runaway Snowman. I was the snowman. His name may have been Happy or something, I can’t recall. There was a costume that I pulled over my head and stuffed with pillows. They painted my face and gave me a hat. The photos still make me laugh because I look so ridiculous.

6. Do you participate in cosplay or go to Comic Conventions?

I have a few friends who do cosplay stuff, but I never have. I have never been to a Comic Convention either, but it seems like they always seem to have cool celebrities there that you can meet and take pictures with. I might go if there was a chance to see someone like that.

7. What character from movies, comics, or plays has the best costume?

I always thought Zorro had a cool costume.

8. Think of scary or horror movies. Which character’s costume and/or make up was the most frightening? Was it the costume alone, or the movie itself which made it frightening?

I don’t watch a lot of scary movies, at least modern ones. It’s really hard for me to say. I remember Darth Vader freaking me out as a kid. I couldn’t sleep for a few days because he was so scary to me.

9. Have you ever visited historic places where the staff wears period costumes? If so, where was it?

Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI has many people dressed in period costumes, as does the fort at Mackinac Island. I’m hoping to visit Philadelphia, Gettysburg, or some of the towns connected with the country’s independence and perhaps see some reenactments.

10. Have you ever attended a Broadway or Off Broadway or Community Theatre production with great costumes? Leave a clip or photo here of your favorite.

Yes. One time I saw a Chorus Line (which I hated). My dad took my wife and I to see the Phantom of the Opera, which was fantastic. The one I was most impressed with, though was Wicked. I took my wife to see it in Detroit. It was really a good story with good music. It is one of my favorite date nights.

Scars in Heaven

This afternoon our family said our final goodbyes to Grace. If you aren’t up to speed, Grace was my ten year old sister-in-law, who passed away.

Funerals, in general, are sad. Funerals for children are very sad. A parent should never have to bury their child, but the fact is that many have to. Life can be so unfair.

Prior to the service starting, my father-in-law pulled me aside and asked if I would be a pall bearer. Without having to think, I said yes. It would be an honor to do that.

As with most funerals, the pastor shared stories of things that he had learned by talking with the family. One particular story involved Ella:

After Grace had passed away her mom and dad had her bedroom door closed. Ella had gone over there with her and when she saw the door closed, she insisted that she go see Grace.

Now, Ella was aware that Grace was sick. She knew that she couldn’t eat cookies, because she had a feeding tube. Prior to her passing we told Ella that Aunt Grace was going to live with Jesus soon.

So that day she pulled the door open, only to see that Grace was not there. She asked where she was and Sam said she wasn’t here. “Well, tell her to come back,” she said. Sam reminded her that she had gone to live with Jesus. Ella asked “And now she can eat cookies?”

Yes, baby, now she can eat cookies.

At one point in the service a woman sang a song I was unfamiliar with. It was called Scars In Heaven. It was the perfect song. Grace had numerous health problems and more surgeries than I can count. Her scars were many.

I found out the song is by Casting Crowns. Here is a link to the music video:

Here are the lyrics:

Scars in Heaven

If I had only known the last time would be the last time
I would’ve put off all the things I had to do
I would’ve stayed a little longer, held on a little tighter
Now what I’d give for one more day with you

‘Cause there’s a wound here in my heart where something’s missing
And they tell me that it’s gonna heal with time
But I know you’re in a place where all your wounds have been erased
And knowing yours are healed is healing mine

The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you
There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in Heaven are on the hands that hold you now

I know the road you walked was anything but easy
You picked up your share of scars along the way
Oh, but now you’re standing in the sun, you’ve fought your fight and your race is run
The pain is all a million miles away

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, for the hands that hold you now

There’s not a day goes by that I don’t see you
You live on in all the better parts of me
Until I’m standing with you in the sun, I’ll fight this fight and this race I’ll run
Until I finally see what you can see, oh-oh

———-

At the end of the service, those in attendance walked up and passed Grace in her casket. Once it was all family, we all walked up together. Watching Sam’s mom and Dad say their goodbyes was hard enough, but they then positioned the stuffed animals around her in the casket and closed it.

Even with close family members, every funeral I have attended I have never seen them close the casket. It was more powerful and more emotional than I can say. I understand that some feel like it helps with closure, but it was just a bit more than I could handle.

As pallbearer, I stood at my position and helped walk her to the door. We lifted her into the back of the hearse. As it drove off the, we stood watching out the door. Once the hearse was out of site, dad called us all together and shared words through tears.

The family had a luncheon immediately afterwards. Ella and Andrew were with their cousins in the playroom at the church for the service. So many people were happy to see them when they came out. It was close to Naptime, however, so they were a bit tired.

The show of love and support from family and friends was so nice. There were lots of great conversations over lunch and in hallways, and such. I am glad that there were so many people there to offer support. I pray that it will continue in the time ahead.

My grandma once observed that “we only see family at weddings and funerals.”. Sadly, this tends to be true. Time is so short and I hope that there are other family get togethers planned so that truth isn’t so … True.

Until we meet again, Grace…. Save a few cookies for us.

Free From Earthly Burdens

The above picture is of a grave marker designed by a grieving father in Utah. This photo has made the rounds on the internet for many years. Captions vary, but they all seem to include that the father created it to represent his paralyzed son reaching up to the sky from the wheelchair he spent his life in. It is said to represent that his son is finally “free from his earthly burdens.”

This image popped into my mind this afternoon as I walked into the church where my 10 year old sister-in-law’s viewing took place. My wife and her family were there before I arrived. I took Ella and Andrew to the baby sitter and joined them afterwards.

When I walked in, a video played with photos from Grace’s life. Her smile ever present. Instrumental Disney songs played along with the video. Grace loved Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

There was a beautiful blanket with her picture on it and “Always in Our Hearts” written in a Disney font off to the side. Surrounding her was a stuffed Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy.

I once again remembered the image above. Grace is free from her earthly burdens. No more wheelchair, no more feeding tube, no more pain, and no more suffering. I personally believe, based on my knowledge of Scripture, that she is feeling a joy that none of us has ever experienced. She is walking, talking, and singing. What a wonderful thing to know.

As with any death, it is hardest on those who are left behind. There is a void. There is the adjustment that has to be made to their being absent from our lives. There is the grieving process that has to happen for each one of us (and every one will grieve differently). It will not be easy.

My heart sank as I read a Facebook post from my father-in-law the other day: “This morning was so different. Normally Pam starts Grace’s breathing treatments while I make my coffee, then Pam gets Grace’s meds made up while I finish her treatments. Drinking coffee with no Grace brought tears to my eyes then I remembered her body has been restored and she doesn’t need treatments anymore that made me smile. Pam and I are trying to adjust to our new normal. Thanks for all the phone calls texts visits and prayers.”

The “new normal” isn’t normal at all. There will be many adjustments and life goes on for the rest of us and there will be many emotional hurdles to get over in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

Grace’s memorial service will take place at noon Wednesday. I would appreciate your prayers and positive thoughts for my wife, her parents, and our family. It is going to be a very hard day.