Hallow's End

The Search:

Wednesday was planned for finishing up the last of our halloween shopping. Well Jennifer's anyways. I had nothing for my costume. I was planned to go a Captain Mal Reynolds from Firefly(AKA Captain Tight Pants, as I told everyone), If not that I was sure I could find a star trek uniform of some sort. Call me a geek, but I've been zombies and ninjas and the like, I wanted something different. Renea had been sick since my birthday, some days better than others. This seemed like a better day, so she decided to go with us. So we depart from the ranch and head in to san antonio.

We stop before hand at the whataburger me and Jen always stop at on the way back from shows and get some fries. I get two large fries. They apparently jumbo-sized the large since the last time as there were enough fries to feed 4 or 5 people and I wasn't particularly hungry at the time. I wanted to stop after but it had been decided while I was getting ready that we'd get dinner. After finding this out I agreed to stop. I'm freaking out from driving around the hellish city full of fucked up roads and traffic, so I'm mildly annoyed with the city. We get our fries, renea is trying to tell me how to get to the halloween store and I spot some healthcare place, I stated "Well that sign is fucking stupid." Jen exclaims "Geeze Jonathon, You're so pissed at this place you're taking it out on small business signs?!" Renea agrees and they give me shit while I'm trying to point out the stupid logo, but they aren't paying attention. We get close to the halloween store, Jen and Renea near at the same time shout "LOOK IT'S SUPERMAN!" I glance and realize I shouldn't so I glance back to find I'm about 5 feet from rear-ending some poor shmuck. I tell them not to tell me to look at anything while driving in SA and add that all I saw was a homeless man in blue holding a sign. Laughter ensues followed with "that was superman, not a homeless man. the sign was for the halloween store". We pull up, see the pier 1, halloween store, ross, old navy and a few other stores. I park and we get out. We head in to the halloween store, I had been here when I was like 15 but not since. A wave of nostalgia over takes me and I set out to find stuff.

I search the store, look at all the masks to see if I want to change my mind on my originally intended costume. I see a bunch of good masks but nothing that grabs me. I find a spock costume, so I know I have a back-up plan. I then commence to look for a gun and holster, I needed something for my captain outfit. I find a bunch of bullshit for small kids, some have a place for a belt, others don't. I round up Jen and renea, Jen couldn't find the glasses she wanted so we decide to split. On the way out I found a Pirates of the carribean gun that looks damn near perfect. The guns on Firefly look like the old guns from the pirate times, only they shoot high powered lazer bullets.

We head to old navy where I decide to look for a coat such. I cant find a single damn long coat. They're all regular coats. Renea shows me to the discount spot, I find some socks for like 50 cents, so I get a few pairs of socks. Spot some shirts and none will work. after awhile we split and then head on down to ross(I believe it was). We head in to there I finally find a good coat selection, but I still cannot find a single god damn long coat. Renea starts feeling bad and goes to wait in the truck. I spend 20 minutes in there with Jen looking for 50's looking dresses. They have to have polka-dots at that. Jen spots a purple one that is perfect but in a size 11 or 12 or something. What size she needed I don't remember but I spot one. She grabs it and a few others, tries them on and comes back, asks me about another size, which I also find and she tries it on. It works perfectly. I had found a nice pinstrip long-sleeve for work on sale for $9. So I grab that and we check out.

The coat factory:

I walk back up to the halloween store to see when they close. 10pm. Good. We go and get renea, I ask her if she wouldn't mind driving me to burlington coat factory. She agrees. We arrive in a mall parking lot and renea doesn't know whats going on, so we drive to the roof which apparently is ground level with the rest of the parking lot for target and shit. We drive around, I activate my newly aquired debit card in target, which works wonderfully. Finally get to burlington and after finishing my hand rolled cig(which people gave me side-ways looks for) I put it out in the little cigarette gravle they have in front of stores and I purposely leave as much of it sticking out as possible, hoping some stoner would walk by and get excited and happy seeing a "Joint" in the ash tray. we walk in this weird as tiny hispanic guy is telling us where to go, which was dissapointing to me as I wanted to take the elevator instead of the escalator. we hit the first floor which is full of girls designer clothes, bed linens and shoes. I'm jokingly bitching and moaning at renea "I thought this was a god damn coat factory, whats with all these clothes and shoes and christmas crap?! BED LINENS?! where the hell did you take me renea, this is no coat factory."

We get up to the top floor and finally I see them. Just what I'd been waiting for. there were probably 300 coats there, unfortunately brown isn't in this season or some shit and all I need is a brown coat. I stumble acrossed one slightly too big and it looks like a coat my grandfather would wear. Also it's $100. So I walk over to the trench coats(always wanted a trench coat), but alas, no brown ones. Several hues of grey and black. Renea finds a beat up leather jacket that looks like it was for a kid but she has me try it on, doesn't fit and I need a long one. I go back to the original coat, find one like it in my size, which I discovered is a 36-short. Still can't decide though. Would I ever wear it again? For $100 I better wear it more than once. Jen and Renea said I probably would. I take a pic and txt it to mom to ask her, but she doesn't respond. We go to look at boots so I can get some, but they are all $50 and up. I said fuck that and said I could probably find some at the thrift store. Renea says the one back home has a good selection of boots. So I walk back up to the top floor to think it over one more time. Renea is feeling bad again and sits on a pile of luggage. I walk over and joke about how halloween won't even be cold and the whole winter will be warm, but they assure me I'd wear it again. I go back to the mirror and tuck in my shirt so I don't look so sloppy in it. I decide it's worth it after seeing on the tag that it was originally $250 and then higher at other stores. I drop the money and we take off back to the halloween store and old navy.

Me and Jen run in to old navy to get the Khaki Pants I had spotted that were near perfect. I grab them and search for a shirt. I finally find a nice white shirt, I wanted long sleeve but short works too. I go to check out. Me and Jen are standing there and we have this nice male cashier who's asking us various things and then comments on my shirt. I was wearing my Pillsbury shirt, it has the dough boy on it and says something like "Pinch me squeeze me take me home". He reads aloud what's on my shirt, looks at me and states "That sounds like a drunk person more than the pilssbury dough boy." I laugh and agree and we leave. We get the gun from the halloween store and walk back to what we thought was our truck. We went through 3 red trucks before finding ours. I ask renea if she wants to get food, she doesn't because I can't eat till we get home but I convince her. So we stop at panda express. It says you get two entrees, rice and eggroll all together but they were all fucked up. I wound up getting 1 entree rice and an eggroll, Jen and renea confused each other I don't even know what Jen wound up with. We were displeased and apparently the womens bathroom was so putrid Nea almost hurled in there. We stop at Barnes & Noble real quick to see if there's a movie. New movies, not even fucking special edition were $29.99. We say fuck that but I did get the Tokyo Police Club album I wanted. So we check out and head home.


Halloween:

I awake on Halloween excited and ready. It's a saturday so it's usually pretty slow. Which is good. I get all dressed up and take off. Renea had invited a girl she met friday named Alyssa, so we knew she'd probably show if no one else. James and Laura were going to drop by aswell. I arrive at the wine bar to find Ken, Kirsten and walking John there already. So I walk in and they're all hollering at me that I won't get off that easy and I have to show them, I was merely going to set down my drink and such. So I come out and show them, first thing said is kirsten telling me how my pants aren't tight, they are actually rather baggy. I can't stand tight pants, this is the tightest pair of pants I've had since I was a kid, and while the legs were a bit baggy it held my ass snuggly and I didn't need a belt to hold them up. Even so I had suspenders to help if they got worn in and slippy. They all loved it, walking John said I should dress like this every day. I didn't realize till after I bought everything that I'm in the cowboy capital, I just look like people usually look here in town. So for those I didn't want to explain to I just said I was a space cowboy. The night was good, bit slow but fairly steady at times.

Renea and Jen get there all dolled up, Renea was a gyspy and Jen was a 50s pin up model. Renea was sitting there and people were asking if they would get their fortune told, so they go over to the dollar store to look for a crystal ball. She found a bouncy ball but it was huge and clear with flakes of purple glitter, so it worked perfectly. She told my bosses mom's fortune, which was rather comical. "I see you driving in a red convertable with a scarf blowing through the wind and I also see a suitcase next to you full of money, but you better invest wisely, because I see dark clouds on the horizon that makes me think if you spend it or invest it poorly dark times will come" Galinda responds with "So I should invest it and save it for my kids?" Renea says that sounds like a good way to invest. Galinda states "But I want to spend it!" So Renea says something like "It's your money you can do what you want with it, I'm just saying I saw in the orb that you should probably invest" they both chuckle and the night presses on.

Finally I'm closing down the kitchen when Alyssa arrives, shortly after James and Laura show up, so we all sit at high top 2. I get my after work Dunkl and we all start chatting. James is telling me how he listened to part of the mix disc I made him and how he liked it. We talk movies and shows and music. Laura gets a call from her dad that he's at a halloween party if we want to come. We agree and start to finish our drinks, he calls again and tells laura there's someone dressed just like her there. We drink up and head out. We wind up there, at Gail Stone's party. I've never met gail stone but I've seen her in my bar. It was all strange and odd but enjoyable none-the-less. I run in to clay.

Clay is this crazy guy, he's probably slightly older than my dad, but the first time I met him was at the Salloon. He had been in my bar that night and I had been drinking with dad and renea and spotted him, he has a pretty good vibe to him so I walk up drunkingly and introduce myself, telling him how I work at the bar and saw him in tonight and how I liked meeting our patrons and everything. He winds up coming over and talking to us, asking me about my dreads and what kind of message I was sending and the like. He mildly freaks dad out and dad's like "Watch out for him".

The Party:

So yeah, I run in to clay at Gail Stones. We start talking, he's giving me shit as always and asks me again about my dreads. I had run in to him a week before and he asked about my dreads and I told him again, well he leans in and tells me "Next time make up a god damn good story, that's not interesting at all!" So at gail stones he's trying to help me come up with a better story. I told him I had one but as soon as the words left my mouth I realized I had totally forgotten it. I start telling him how I was an ex anarchist and after getting rid of my mohawk I was living on the streets for awhile and thats how-- "NO NO, that is not a good story Jon. Let me see have you ever been to Jamaica?" I respond with no, because I know where this would go and at a party full of people I don't know, I don't want to be rolling cigarettes and have people joke with me about joints or get mad because of it. We try to come up with another story but can't. He introduces me to another guy, slighly older than clay. "He's an old hippy. He's growing cactus on his place right now!" Great, I think to myself, Here comes the peyote. Clay starts telling a story about a sweat lodge and how he went on a vision quest with indians. I half believe it because he's just nuts but I also half think this man is full of shit. Though it wouldn't suprise me if he was telling the truth. The other guy says he never eats enough of the cactus to have a vision quest so it's more recreational. I'm nervously laughing and looking for the people I know. Jen, renea, Laura, Alyssa and James had all gone inside. Luckily they came out shortly after, they had gone to make Jack and cokes. I lose my Negra Classico or whatever it was and roll a cig. I start chatting with clay again because everyone else is involved in conversation. We start talking tequila and gail stone walks up. I mention Patrone and how I learned my lesson and she says "Oh than you probably don't want some, huh?" I tell her I would gladly take a shot of Patrone if she was. So we go take a shot, I ask if I may barrow the bathroom and she points me to it. I walk back outside, ask renea if the car's unlocked, she says no, so I say "Great!" and commence to walking. Well I realized it was locked. So I walk back and the whole crowed is laughing at me. So I get the keys and walk off. I grab the cigar Santa Dan had given me and roll a cig. I walk back smoking the cig, which probably looked bad but you can smell my smoke, it's not weed for fucks sake. I finish it light the cigar, people are leaving things are winding down. So I start talking to Jen, Alyssa and renea. Alyssa and Jen share the cigar with me and renea. We left in perfect time as the cigar was about out. We take off to drop alyssa off and I throw in some bandits. We sing a bit and drop her off. and head home.

I get home and start telling mom and dad how crazy it was and how I wound up at Gail Stone's halloween party and they die laughing. I tell them how gail stone asked my last name and I told her and she said she remembers when we moved to town. They laugh and say that they think pretty much all the old school people around town remember it, even if they didn't meet them.

Best halloween since my uncle Danny took me, Jen and my cousin alexa trick or treating ALL OVER the city when we were like 12 or 13. Kicked the hell out of the time me and Jen drug the bed in to the living room and wound up watching chocolat. Not even a horror movie, chocolat.