John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Favorite Halloween Story

Favorite family Halloween story ever.

When my son Johnny was 3 he dressed up like Batman. He was dressed in full character and kept the mask on at all times–and although only 3 he was a very friendly and talkative child already.

We stopped by Blockbuster before Trick-or-Treating and there were two teenagers, too cool for Halloween (or life), who glanced at us and gave us a scoffing, dismissive look—as if to say “A father and son on Halloween. How lame.”

They had piercings all over, tattoos and Goth attire. Even though I was in my mid 30s, rebellious teens intimidated me so I nudged Johnny away from them.

When I wasn’t looking, Johnny slipped away from me and when I heard him he was making conversation with the two uber-cool teens.

“Hey you guys!” He said cheerfully. “I’m Batman.” No response…just a look of disgust from the teens.

Then Johnny added, “So who are you guys dressed up as?”

It was a total smack down by a 3 year old to two teens. They were speechless and humiliated with how silly they looked. They tucked tail and slinked out of the door.

I’ve always felt safe when I was with Johnny since then.