The Blog

It’s about time I talk about my Halloween experience. This is my first year where I dressed up for Halloween and so I went whole hog. I embraced my childhood ideal superheroes and became part of the Mario Brothers for one evening. I went as Luigi, because frankly, this only makes sense: I am tall and skinny. The evening was a blast, even though I was sick and high on DayQuil/Coffee/Soda, I still had an incredible night of unabashed dress up time and yelling, “Itzaa meee, Luieegi!” It certainly isn’t as fun as being Mario, but I can’t complain because it was great times (not just good times).

I’ll elaborate in images:

The Beginning

Here we are right before leaving. From left to right: Brad (“Gambit”), Me/Greg (“Luigi”), Shannon (“Princess Toadstool”), Steve (“Incredible Hulk”), Nick (“Mario”, no that isn’t an inappropriate gesture), and TJ (“Crow”). While Steve, TJ, and Brad were originally supposed to go as Nintendo characters, they ended up being difficult for some people (probably drunk people) to identify and many people even made up superhero names for them.

On Mill Ave: Keep it together Steve

I really have no interpretation of this picture. If you can tell me what is going on, feel free to comment. Most likely, those two cards in Brad’s hands ended up jacking Steve’s cold chest. Brad enjoyed an evening of tormenting Steve’s nipples with playing cards. That sounds dirty, but I’m sure it was innocent fun.

A few fun and sometimes clever interpretations people gave Brad and Steve on of their costumes:

Brad (Gambit): “Blind Guy with Pole”, “Sprinkler Pipe Man”
Steve (Hulk): “Green Giant”, “Incredible Bulk”

The Crow Likes Children

TJ gets the award for having the freakiest makeup/costume out of our group. I think he scared a lot of people (as he mentioned, people often moved out of his way). It bothers me that he didn’t smile in this picture.

Nintendo Crew

I’d say that out of all of us, we were the most appreciated by “The People.” Obviously, we have the appeal that spans generations, and anyone from the children (that insisted on shaking Nick’s big dumb cartoon hands) to the drunken adults appreciated the “Super (expletive) Mario Brothers”. Unfortunately, Shannon and I had to play second fiddle to Nick the whole evening, because frankly, Mario is liked the most of the crew. While I was more recognizable than Shannon as a Nintendo character, I was also asked “Where’s Mario?” if Mario wasn’t standing directly next to or in front of me. I was also called “Super Mario” a few times, which certainly says a lot about a generation of colorblind and illiterate people who can’t tell that an “L” combined with green generally means “Luigi.” Shannon and I bonded as we both felt the rejection of a nation that just likes Mario more than us. Halfway through the night we killed Mario and felt a lot better. It should be noted that the clever hobos asked for coins and the potheads mushrooms. Please people, the Mario Brothers is a family-oriented game based around sexist dogma and racial stereotypes.

Nick is Sober, I Swear

Nick shares a moment with a guy nobody knows. It’s interesting the bonds of thousands of people. People feel like they know you because you dress up as one of their favorite characters. Take Brad (Gambit) who was nearly molested by a guy who just likes Gambit. He even talked to him as if he was Gambit. The only love I received on Mill was an unwanted pass from a man in shorty short shorts.

Posers

Wouldn’t you know it that we ran into two other pairs of Mario/Luigi/Princess as well as a stray Luigi (seriously, who goes as Luigi by themselves). I feared a showdown but luckily, they were friendly and they posed for this picture. I think we did a better job on our hats, but they had mini-plungers. However, our Princess was about ten times better, so overall, I think we were cooler. Regardless, we split up and decided it best that we avoid eye contact if we saw each other again that evening.

I hope I got everything, and I may post some more images later.