THOUGHTS OF PAST HALLOWEENS RESIDE WITHIN.

Halloween has a special place in my heart.  

Last Sunday as I was driving through my old neighborhood, I passed the building that was once a little mom and pop market that had the best candy counter.  It was at that counter where I first discovered Lemon Heads, Apple Sticks, Hot Cinnamon Sticks, Sweet Tarts and during the Halloween season, Wax Lips and Wax Harmonicas.

Isn't it funny how some things are almost forgotten and not thought about until years, even decades later?  That is exactly what happened to me today when I asked myself what was my favorite Halloween costume.  I thought about all the hobo outfits I put together at the last minute, sometimes adding a patch or two onto an old pair of jeans.  I thought about the time I was a Gypsy, a very happy Gypsy because I got to wear make-up.  And then I remembered "The Dress" and what it turned me into one Halloween back in 1968.
On my 12th birthday I received a wrapped package with a tag that read "Para Linda."  Strange how that one little detail just entered my mind.  I can't remember what kind of wrapping paper it was, but I remember the tag with those words.  It was a gift from my grandfather.  When I unwrapped the package my 12-year-old eyes fell upon the most beautiful piece of fabric they'd ever seen.  It was soft and shiny like satin and the colors were amazingly beautiful in various shades of blue.  My grandfather told me to make something out of it and so a year later, I did.  A year later.  HA!  Some things never change.  To this day it takes me a while to get going on a project.  Anyway, a year later I decided to make a dress.  It was the summer of 1968.  My sewing skills were zero but I had an idea and based on that, "The Dress" was born.  It was literally handmade.  All the stitching was done by hand and when I did the top stitch (I didn't know that's what it was called) on the neckline,  I made sure to keep all the stitches tiny and evenly spaced.  It looked good and I wore it several times before I decided to make it my Halloween costume.
I was going to be a Hippie and I was going to wear "The Dress."  With a couple strands of beads, sandals and my hair down, I had transformed into my costume.
As my brother, sister and I went trick-or-treating from door to door we came upon an elderly couple.  It was rare to see Mexicans in our neighborhood back then and so when my siblings and I shouted out "Trick-or-Treat!"  the elderly woman who answered the door and who laid eyes on me first, exclaimed "Hey, you're a Mexican!"  To which I replied, "No, I'm a Hippie!"  Cause really, that's what I was.  LOL!
So what will you be this Halloween?