Halloween always makes me think of my Yale College days and the clever costumes my classmates would devise. My favorite was a couple who dressed as “Paradise Lost.” They each donned a boxy six-sided die and walked around holding a map. Yes, they were a “pair of dice, lost.”
Over the weekend, at one of the workshops I take at Wright, I overheard a conversation between two women in the ladies room about their plans for the evening. One of them mentioned that she was going to a jack-o-lantern making party; the other lamented that she would probably not be able to attend a family event that night because of other commitments, but that she would try to carve out the time to go. “Looks like both of you will be carving something!” I observed.
Wordplay is a big part of my life. I’m often the person to notice puns when they weren’t intended. Halloween is not required. In a conversation with one of my subcontracting resume writers, we were discussing my preference for keeping the word “I” out of resumes. Without realizing what he was saying, he blurted, “I’ll keep an eye out for that!” “No pun intended,” I responded. (Indeed, I was recommending that he keep an “I” out!)
While any time is a great time for a good pun or wordplay in my book, Halloween provides the perfect opportunity to experiment with visual representation. For instance, what costume would you wear if you were dressing as a “Cereal Killer”? How about “Iron Maiden”? A “French Kiss”? A “Black-Eyed P”? “Blessing in Disguise”? Or perhaps you’d like to be a “Dust Bunny” or a “Chocolate Moose”? See the “Deviled Egg” to the right.
The possibilities are endless and although some Halloween parties have already happened, perhaps I’ve given you sufficient lead time to devise a creative costume if you’ve been wanting to break out of the standard witch or ghost costume this year.
I personally am dressing this year as “Facing Your Fears.” I will dress in black and most likely carry around a furry black and orange spider. I will carry a rearview mirror on which anyone willing to participate can write one of their fears in orange lipstick. They will then be able to face their fears in the rearview mirror.
What will your costume be this Halloween? Do you have ideas of ways to dress for any of the suggestions above? What’s your favorite Halloween pun? Please share!
Oh, those brainy top tier college kids. I remember a woman PhD candidate in chemistry at a Halloween party at my ivy league grad school who had a full sized beach ball tucked into the front of her slacks. She let it slip out occasionally to reveal a ball with a big “+” sign on it. She described herself as a parent ion- a large atomic fragment missing an electron that is common to some destructive analysis techniques. As a former chemistry major I more or less “got it”, but anyone else?? Ya really had to be there in her world. 🙁
I suspect the Essay Expert would agree that context is everything.
Love it! Indeed, context is everything. I will be wearing my “facing your fears” costume to a “conceptual costume” Halloween party where it will be appreciated, I hope.
In college, a friend and I carried thin canes, wore sunglasses, sold pencils from a cup, and spoke Italian. We were Venetian Blinds.