I was about, oh, five or six, when my dad decided he was going to make me a costume that year. I asked him what it was going to be, and all he would say was that it was a surprise. I had no idea where he was going with this when he appeared in my grandma's yard with a box of stuff I didn't recognize (although now that I work at The Job Which Supports My Writing Habit, a lot of the stuff looks strangely familiar now, ha ha). But he emptied out the box and started attaching the parts to it. He cut armholes and eyeholes in the box, and attached rubber tubes to it. A pair of black work gloves went at the ends of the tubes to make the hands. A 6 volt battery went inside the box with all sorts of wires running all over the inside of the box to lights and tiny speakers, and even a push-button to run the thing. Then, he covered the entire box with tin foil. When he was done, there in all its glory stood the coolest robot costume that little boy had ever seen! It blinked. It beeped. And it got used for a hell of a lot longer than just halloween, let me tell you.
He knew that I loved science fiction, even then, and decided that this was what he'd make me to wear for Halloween. And I remember it to this very day. Another good ol' day from the good ol' days. Thank you, Dad. I love you too.
Happy Halloween, everybody...
