Isabella

Isabella, the gypsy woman, had a good time this Halloween weekend.

She behaved herself, flirted just a little and fooled quite a few pholks.

Yes, Isabella made a few people smile and opened a few eyes. If she had a better wink she would have had even more fun. That was her goal.

And there is a chance she could re-appear, unannounced, but she isn't dropping any hints as to when that might occur. Gypsy women are like that.

Isabella was my character for Halloween, and thanks to my loving wife Kathy, who did an outstanding job of transferring a short semi-chubby senior citizen into a semi-cute, well-endowed, red-headed bombshell.

Isabella's mustache and beard didn't show, thanks to her veil and scarf which Mrs. Shuper fashioned so expertly.

There was no way I was going to shave my mustache and goatee just for one evening. I've had the mustache for about thirty years and the goatee for a couple years less. We've gone though a lot together and I don't think I could bear to part with them. Wearing a veil and trying to eat of drink at the same time is not easy but is rather amusing. I hate drinking with a straw but Isabella, Bella for short, did okay.

But the most interesting aspects of getting Bella together was shopping for her hair and her bra. I found the hair and my wife found the bra, a 44D thank you very much. You gotta remember pholks, Isabella is not just any ordinary girl. Like I said, Kathy made the decision on just which one to buy. A44d worked just fine. It was not expensive compared to some we saw, but since I seldom wear one of those contraptions I was really not in any position to interfere. In my earlier years I had little trouble getting those things off, even with one hand. But since I have little experience in putting one on I have a greater appreciation for how adjustments can be made.

The eye makeup and other stuff was a challenge for me mainly due to my wife's repeated warnings not to squint, blink, or flinch. Even though I had a few touchy moments I did pretty good. False eyelashes are kinda hard to get used to and not getting your lids stuck together is an accomplishment, to be sure.

I also learned to appreciate just how much goes into getting ersatz finger nails on. Heavy clip-on earrings can get a little trying but they worked. A long skirt solves a lot of problems.

Since Bella was the only "dressed up" person on the Friday before Halloween, some people whose paths she crossed were caught off guard and a few never did figure out who Bella really was. At least two people who were in on the plot didn't immediately catch on when Bella made her entrance. That brought a chuckle or two and added to Bella's newborn legend.

I MUST NOT SKIRT THE ISSUE of falling back one hour, the worst day of my year, as I note annually.

I just will never get used to running out of sunshine around 4 p.m. I'm not afraid of the dark, I just prefer light over darkness.

But there is some good news on the horizon. In case you haven't heard, in 2007 Daylight Savings Time will be observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Than will mean about a month more of DST, giving pholks like me a brighter outlook in the fall just before winter arrives. I know it is two years away but certainly it is something to look forward to.