Halloween at the Naval Academy

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Dr. Robinson, LC Communication Studies Professor

To paraphrase Charles Dickens:  It was one of the best Halloweens, it was one of the worst Halloween costumes.

I can't remember exactly how old I was, some age beyond 12 probably.  The year before I'd arrived at the decision that I was not going to trick-or-treat.  The choice wasn't all that momentous.  I'd pretty much worn out my old Darth Vader costume, playing the dark Jedi for four straight years.  I no longer seemed to be interested in finding a new costume and I genuinely enjoyed handing out candy.  My favorite Halloween companion had also quit.  The holiday night is supposed to be about running around with friends, but for me, the crisp fall evenings just weren't right without my father.  With Dad, trick-or-treating was more like an expedition.  Candy schmandy, the real source of pride for us was seeing how far we could make it out into Cape St. Claire in one night.

For these reasons, when my friend Jeff called to invite me out trick-or-treating, I wasn't all that interested in going.  I hemmed and hawed, until Jeff made me realize something.  This wasn't going to be an ordinary night.  We were going to the Naval Academy (his father worked there and thus we had access).  Beyond that Jeff was quite cryptic, but his enthusiasm was contagious and I agreed to go.

A mad scramble to create a costume followed.  Ask yourself this: "If I had an hour to make a Halloween costume without leaving the house, what would I do?"  The answer is: "Something better than Mike would."  In desperation, I put on my blue track suit, grabbed an old gas mask my father gave me after he retired from the police, and pulled out my trusty lightsaber.  I looked like an ant-alien from the 1970s so passionate about jogging that he was willing to fight about it.

I don't remember what Jeff and his brother Philip wore.  I probably couldn't see them out of the mask.  I'm sure their costumes were better than mine.  How could they not be?

I do remember the night though.  The housing units on base were like apartment buildings.  Since kids really couldn't go up into the narrow halls, the residents got together to create these amazing adventures in the lobbies.  One location was done up in an Indiana Jones theme.  The Ark of the Candy was protected by this lethal fast-lunging plastic cobra that struck as you grabbed for candy.  Another fantasy lobby was done up in black-light paint.  The host warned us about angering the dragon so much, I figured it was a trick.  When the dragon finally did come down the stairs, it was big and fearsome, startling us more than it should have.  The best scare of the evening was a dummy rigged to fall along a wire from a building top.  The memory of the sudden spotlight thrown on it combined with a blood-curdling scream still jangles my nerves.

Lame costume aside, that night was the perfect end to my trick-or-treating career.