Halloween 1971

            To understand the depth of my embarrassment, you would have to know Geraldine.

            In 1971, I was four years old, my two brothers, my two sisters, my parents and I spent many a weekend evening gathered in the living room transfixed to the television, laughing full-heartedly to The Flip Wilson Show. Flip Wilson was a hugely successful African American comedian and the first with his own television variety show. If you have watched re-runs of The Carol Burnett Show or Saturday Night Live, you know what a variety show is--- a series of skits, special guest stars, and recurring characters in familiar skits. Flip Wilson became famous for his recurring character on the show: Geraldine, a sassy red-haired nurse who always tried to weasel out of her bad behavior with her catch phrase: “The Devil made me do it!”

            Remember when I said it was 1971? Back then, nurses wore uniforms: white shoes, white stockings, a military-looking cap, a white skirt and a short sleeved white blouse. So every weekend we watched this grown man transform himself into a mouthy, hair flipping, neck rolling nurse-with-attitude complete with white stockings and a raspy alto-toned big mouth. This was the year my sisters and my parents had a horrible Halloween idea with me as their victim.

            In 1971, they made me Geraldine.

            Halloween preparation did not consist of frantic trips to the store to buy the latest Teen Aged Mutant Ninja Turtle, or Power Rangers or Spiderman costumes. My mom would not buy those cheap plastic costumes with the hazardous masks you couldn’t really breathe in or see out of. Our costume preparation was a frenetic push through medicine cabinets, and each other's wardrobes to create something out of what we already had.

            From what I could tell, the 60’s were the decade of the wig. Mom had white Styrofoam faceless heads with hair in the top of her closet. Unluckily for me, there was a red one, just the right length to give it the “That Girl” flip. For some reason, there were white stockings still laying around from when my sisters were my age, and someone must have been a nurse for Halloween at some point because they found a uniform that fit for me too.

            To this day, I still wonder “Where were my brothers and my father?” When the Logan women were done, the third son and been transformed into the icon of family weekend laughter: Geraldine, in all his/her scratchy red wig, leg-strangled, greasy, make-up wearing glory.

            The worse part was there were pictures! Someone actually saved the visual for future laughs--- at my expense. I remember Halloween, Geraldine, Flip Wilson and the attack of the Logan women.