In 1980 we lived in a large sparsely furnished house in a housing development outside of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. Since we had spent the previous year living in campgrounds, I was very excited when October rolled around to have the opportunity to go trick-or-treating in a real neighborhood. Because my parents were health nuts and generally anti-materialistic, Halloween was a holiday to be eschewed. Papa talked about handing out apples instead of candy, and told stories of kids getting sick from eating too much Halloween candy.
My enthusiasm for costumes and candy could not be contained, however, and my mother and I set about figuring out a Halloween costume. In 1st grade, my mother had made me a papier-mâché alligator costume, for which I won a prize in the school costume contest, even though everyone thought I was a dinosaur. But this year we hadn't done any planning, so getting the costume together was left to afternoon of Halloween.
What to be? A ghost? We could cut holes in a sheet. Boring and uncreative - that was for boys! A witch? We didn't have a black cape or time to make a hat. A ballerina? No costume, and no budget, even though I desperately wanted a tutu. A scarecrow? Put on some overalls or jeans and look dirty - too boyish for me! Finally my mother suggested a gypsy. I had read about gypsies in some books - they traveled around and told fortunes and bought and sold things. I could wear some of my mother's clothes, because gypsy's clothes never fit. Perfect!
Since we had spent the past year essentially being gypsies in our VW bus, the costume was thematically perfect for my life at the time. Gypsies were known to wear lots of jewelry, and Papa sold jewelry, but I wouldn't be allowed to wear real gold or real gems. So we went over to the neighbors' house to ask for help.
Our next door neighbors were a retired couple - since I don't remember their names I'll call them Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. Mrs. Johnson had costume jewelry that I could wear. I wore a dress that was too big for me over a lacy blouse. We made a cape out of some fabric, and put a bandanna on my head. Mrs. Johnson pulled out her makeup and put rouge and lipstick on me. Wearing makeup was a special treat, since my didn't wear it or even have any in the house. It became a fun event, getting dressed up and being the center of attention. I could even twirl around in the dress that was too big for me and it would spin out to the sides! I was ready for trick-or-treating.
I'm sure that whatever candy I got that night I hoarded and ate slowly, feeling guilty for having "junk food" in the house. But I had fun looking like a gypsy for the night, even though it wasn't always fun when I really lived like one.
