Hallow-Dee-n, 2023

When I was a young lass, I was always envious of my school classmates who came to school on Halloween dressed as girls.

Truth be told, I’m still envious of the boys who get to dress up on Halloween these days. 

Nowadays, I’m trying to make up for lost time. Since 2016, when I started going out dressed regularly, I’ve only had limited chances to go out on Halloween; last year we were in Hawaii, another year in Paris (I know, play the sad trombone for me).

We were home this year, my GG friend Michelle and her boyfriend Mike were going to a St. Louis bar with music, and they I wanted to know if I wanted to join them? I think you know my answer…and they were happy to have a designated driver.

I packed my clothes and two dress choices–the two sequin dresses I wore in Vegas–and headed to Michelle’s house to get dressed. I let Michelle chose which dress to wear, and she chose the multi-color Akira dress. As the Akira dress has a very low back (meaning no bra, strapless or otherwise), my first task was to tape on my breast forms, to Michelle’s amusement and amazement (“they have nipples!”). I dressed and did my make-up, and after Mike arrived, we headed out.

It was a chilly night and the bar–a covered patio adjacent to the bar–was crowded, with ample portable heaters. We bought some drinks and searched for a table, but all were occupied. Fortunately, my heels were pretty comfortable, so I decided I could stand for a while (my 10K training runs coming in handy for another purpose).

Mike is pretty knowledgeable about local St. Louis bands and he said the band was pretty good, and he was right–thus the crowded bar. Tonight was Prince night for the band (apparently they rotate which bands they cover), so they played mostly Prince covers. I am not the biggest Prince fan, but have heard a number of his songs over the years, and like many others, enjoy his more popular songs like “Little Red Corvette” and “When Doves Cry”.

Most of the patrons were in costumes. I scanned the crowd for other “sisters,” but the only one I spotted resembled the drag queen Conchita Wurst, beard and all. I was most amused by several dressed as knights from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” I think they won the costume contest, although it was somewhat hard to hear.

As there wasn’t a lot of room to stand, Michelle, Mike, and I were positioned in the middle of the room between the band and the bar, meaning I was somewhat on display. One middle-aged woman looked me up and down, which I interpreted as a positive, and then she yelled in my ear, “You’re going to get goosed,” so I twisted my tush towards her, but she refused the invitation. 

Later, a young woman named Justine, there with her boyfriend John and her mom Kathy (a/k/a, “Crash”) caught my attention and we talked for a bit (or as much as you can communicate with loud music in the background). Justine complimented me on my dress and my ability to stand in heels. She confessed to owning exactly zero pairs of heels; kids these days! Justine was fun and got bonus points from me for hanging out with her mom (the “Crash” nickname dates back to Kathy’s prior years working as a bartender, and some unfortunate occasional drops of glassware). Obviously, NOT Kathy’s first time in a bar. Justine and I swapped phone numbers and texts, and I promised to send Justine the link when this finally gets published. I certainly hope our paths cross again.

Around 11:30, after about two-plus hours of merriment, we decided to head back out into the cold and head home (Michelle and Mike had work the next day; me, not so much). Another Hallow-Dee-n in the books, and already looking forward to the next one, so I can again party like it’s “1999.”