The annual Halloween Party

Saturday was my most favorite Fall event hosted annually by a wacky neighbor down the block. She's single, middle aged, and just "different". But, man, her Halloween bash for our block is just the most anticipated event every year. She has this cool Gypsy wagon that she has delivered to her driveway that you can actually climb up inside, and every year, she hires a magician or buttonholes a neighbor, to do magic tricks. The wagon is all painted--inside and out--with "gypsy colors", is all lit up with those hanging pots that look like fire, lights inside, and a wooden step so the kids can go in and get up close and personal with the magician.

Then there are the tables in her front yard, decorated with pumpkins, candy,& votive lights so you can sit down with your plate, after the buffet. Did I mention food? One year she went Thai with all kinds of satay and stuff on skewers. Another year it was Wild About Harry's Chili dogs and then cinnamon ice cream. And for the last few years, it's been Mexican food--flautas, tamales, salsas, guacamole, rice, beans & chips, bunuelos or soft serve ice cream. Yeah, baby. There's beer, a frozen margarita machine, Cokes, waters, etc. in the coolers. She must have a generator stashed somewhere to power all that stuff. And thank heaven for the outside lights so that you can actually see neighbors, as you visit. Sometimes this is about the only time I see the "end of the block" bunch--especially the old ones.

But this year, someone was missing. Her giant dog, Teddy. He had been declining in past years so earlier this year, he caught the train. Yeah....that one. You know the one I'm talking about.

She used to have birthday parties for Teddy and invite all the dogs on the block. She'd drop invitations in your mailbox and there were goodies for pets and their owners, paper hats, cake, and she held it outside on the yard at the church down the block, so all the dogs could run around. But Teddy's Halloween costumes were the best. One year he was a pirate, and wore the whole costume, cape, and hat. And for a couple of years, he was a ballerina, in a pink net tutu, clearly miserable but always a great sport. One year he was a pink "something", and wore large pink wings on his back. When he'd sit down, which was often because he was old, his wings would flop over in the grass. Other dogs would have chewed those babies off. Not Teddy. He had the best disposition of any dog I know--especially a cross dressing one.