Project Costume

This was the first column I wrote for "That's Another Story" in October 2008. It's an oldie but a goodie.


In the world of Halloween costumes, either you’re in or you’re out.

In this episode of America’s favorite fashioned-themed reality show, three sets of parents are challenged to come up with the best Halloween costume they can for their child. They have just 31 days to do it and a budget of only $30. Let’s meet our contestants.

Allison and Adam’s 7-year-old son Zachary loves superheroes. He’s a fan of Spiderman, Batman, and Captain America, but this year he’s told his parents that he wants to be the man of steel: Superman. With two full-time jobs between them, how will this couple find time to make their son’s Halloween dream come true?

Gina and Tom are not surprised that their 2-year-old son Ryan wants to be a firefighter this year. He has been obsessed with fire trucks for the past six months, and they’ve already got a helmet that Ryan wears for dress up.

Laura and Ben are the parents of an adorable princess-loving 4-year-old named Elizabeth who wants nothing more than to be Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Authenticity is the key when it comes to this costume. The dress must be an exact replica of the one in the movie, right down to the color she describes as “a big dip of ruby.”

Two weeks into the competition, and Allison and Adam are spotted at Target in the costume aisle. Zachary has happily pointed out the Superman costume, which includes a one-piece outfit with enhanced muscles, a cape, a mask, and boots. The price tag says $24.99 so they throw in a plastic pumpkin for collecting treats and head to the check out.

Back at home, Gina and Tom rifle through Ryan’s closet and pull out his yellow raincoat, his dress-up firefighter helmet, and his rain boots. After they try the outfit on him, Ryan decides that he really is a firefighter and proceeds to wear the outfit all day, every day. The $30 still sits in Gina’s wallet. She’s considering rewarding herself with a bag of mini Milky Ways, which she will hide in that corner kitchen cabinet where no one ever looks.

What I Want to be When I Grow Up

When I was a little girl in Clinton, New Jersey, I used to tell everyone that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Through the years, my jobs have always involved writing of some kind. I wrote handbooks, edited newsletters, wrote calendar listings, and even became a reporter for our town newspaper. But when I started writing “That’s Another Story” two years ago, I finally felt that my childhood dream had actually become a reality.

Back in middle school, I used to write my stories out by hand in pink notebooks with purple pens. I mostly wrote dreamy poems about changing the world and peace on earth. As I got older, I began to experiment with more humorous writing, crafting imaginary soap operas about my friends and our teachers. When my parents got a Tandy 1000 computer with a dot matrix printer, I printed out multiple copies of the stories and passed them around at school. The attention I received from my peers was intoxicating. Forget the dreamy poems that no one would ever read; it was then that I realized that having an audience made writing a lot more fun.

And writing “That’s Another Story” is a lot of fun…as soon as I figure out what to write about. Each month, I spend hours and hours trying to decide what to write about and I’ve found many ways to procrastinate. I’ll take my laptop to Panera so I can brainstorm for an hour but I usually just order a chocolate croissant and browse the internet. Last spring, I started writing a story on “The Real Housewives of the Mohawk Valley” but once I discovered that you can watch archived episodes of the “Real Housewives” series on Bravo’s website, I spent hours and hours doing “research” but no actual writing.

A Pretty Good Summer

                You’ve had a pretty good summer so far. You’ve had your share of ups and downs but it’s been nothing you couldn’t handle. You’ve been busy at work but not so busy that you can’t spend most afternoons with the kids at the pool. The weather’s been nothing to complain about and you even took a vacation. You dug into your savings account to take the trip, but it was worth it.

                When you get home, it feels like storm clouds begin to roll over your sunny days. After you’ve unloaded the car, you notice that something is amiss in the backyard. There are shards of wood and bark scattered across the lawn. You visit your neighbor and she tells you your 100-year-old willow tree has been struck by lightning. Your husband puts a call into the tree guys. Your friends tell you it’s going to be expensive but you’ve had a pretty good summer so far. How expensive can it be? These things happen. That’s what the savings account is for.