Friday, October 30, 2009

Whereby I Unwittingly Freak Out Some Traumatized Folks


I recently had the privilege of participating in a charity fashion show, acting as as escort for my daughter. I wasn't modeling anything, rather a mere accoutrement. In the spirit of the season however, the organizer asked that I suit up in a Dracula costume. I couldn't say "yes" fast enough - this was going to be cool. Anytime a Dad can embarrass his teen aged kid, he goes for it.

My wife did a bang up job on the makeup, as you can see. The whole thing was over in about 30 seconds, but was fun and worthwhile nonetheless. But that's not where this story ends.

Time constraints were such that we had to go directly from the fashion show to my daughter's ballet class. I had originally expected to have enough time to get out of the costume, remove the makeup, and still get there in time, but....things didn't pan out that way. I got the cape off, but had to leave on the makeup. No big deal, right? I figured I could have some fun with it, maybe growl at another driver, or better yet, another driver's kid in the back seat!

What I didn't expect was the decided lack of reaction I received. Sure, I got a few second glances, likely accompanied by thoughts of "Eh, it's almost Halloween, no big deal", but overall nobody seemed at all fazed by the Goth Dad driving along the highway.

After dropping her off, we headed back to the highway, and upon hitting the on ramp noticed some commotion up ahead. An accident had occurred, and pretty recently since there were no cops or EMT's around. It was quickly obvious that this was only a fender bender and each of the people involved was out of their respective vehicles, and talking on cell phones. After carefully navigating past the debris in the road, thus slowing the car to a crawl, I looked over at the woman comforting one of the other passengers. Again, it should be stressed that nobody was in any danger. It should also be emphasized that by this time I had completely forgotten the fact that I was dressed like the lead singer of The Cure.

I made direct eye contact with the woman, hopefully offering up some sympathy, saying, with my eyes, "It's okay, help is coming and I'm glad to see everyone is okay".

To say the woman didn't fully understand my implied thoughts would be an understatement, to say the least. Her expression was an odd blend of "What the...?", with a dash of "END TIMES ARE UPON US!" thrown in. I can only imagine what she told her significant others once this day had ended. Perhaps she now has a story to tell for Thanksgiving dinners for years to come. No need to thank me, ma'am, it's what I do.

Happy Halloween, everyone.