a lazy, but clever, halloween costume

I am creative about a lot of things, but costuming isn't one of them. My mother is the same way.

Growing up, my sisters and I wore the same costume every year — some variation of what was then called a hobo. In today's world, that would be a homeless person, and no one wants to be that.

When Alexander was young, I tried. Among my favorites, was my son as a fire doggie when he was almost three. He was very into the fire scene at that age.

October 1995

I also loved the year my son became a cow. His dad's last name means cow in Italian so the costume had some significance.

October 1997

But Alexander was never that into Halloween, although he did like dressing up. He loved to play act in costume, as a police officer,  firefighter, or  doctor. Even getting all the candy wasn't a big lure, and at a young age, Alexander stopped wanting to go trick-or-treating.

Last night he decides to go to a party.

"What are you going to be?" I ask.  Clearly he has spent zero time thinking about a costume.

He tells me he did some internet research and he has some ideas.

It's already after 8, and he's meeting his friends in a half hour.  I wonder what kind of idea could he have that requires no prep.

He grabs an old white t-shirt from his drawer, and takes out a red sharpie. In five minutes he's constructed his costume.  "What do you think?" he asks.

I have no idea what he is.

"Im a ceiling fan!"

Okay, maybe it's not obvious, but it is clever.  And it'll be a great conversation starter.

And maybe the idea wasn't his own, but it was certainly better than any I've ever come up with.