Halloween Handyman

My brother John and I were born in the ‘60s--a relatively dad-free zone when it came to the daily tasks of childcare. I know there were men who got their hands, ahem, dirty back then, but they were (and still are all these years later) a brave few. It just didn’t happen, for a lot of reasons--social norms, masculinity paradigms, a workplace all askew--and our dad was no exception. My dad didn’t cook, clean or do bath duty, but he was what dads were supposed to be then: a playmate. Which means that many of my memories of my dad revolve around fun stuff. And no fun stuff is more connected to my dad as I reminisce than Halloween. You see, John was born on Halloween and something about the idea that his birthday would always be overshadowed by the frenzy of costumes and trick-or-treat struck my dad as fundamentally unfair. So, my dad made a big deal out of Halloween for my brother. He always had the most elaborate costume of any kid in the neighborhood (A Jawa with glowing eyes? A working robot suit? Come on!) and it was always because of my dad. He would cut and paste, brainstorm, and even sew if he had to for my brother to feel he was the center of attention. And it seemed to work. In Robert Kraus’ Daddy Long Ears’ Halloween, a bunny daddy who loves Halloween sacrifices his night for his bunny boy. Some dads are like that.

http://catalog.orion.lib.mi.us:81/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1252D1953E7R3.81985&profile=ori&uri=search=TL~!Daddy%20Long%20Ears%27%20Halloween%20/&term=Daddy%20Long%20Ears%27%20Halloween%20/%20Robert%20Kraus.&aspect=basic_search&menu=search&source=~!horizon

http://openlibrary.org/authors/OL18073A/Kraus_Robert