I haven't dressed up for Halloween in six years -- senior year in college -- because I haven't had a reason to. No parties or anything.

That's actually not so bad because I never can think of a costume idea. Those I mentioned yesterday? All from the day before (as was mentioned). One of the best ideas I had as a child in advance of October 31 was to be Mac Tonight from those old McDonald's commercials, but Mom couldn't quite get the head made. I think I was a mummy that year.

As a child I was Superman (what kid wasn't in the 80s?) and I once went to the Halloween dance in grade school (for the 6th, 7th and 8th graders) as a Don Mattingly baseball card (a poster mounted on posterboard; the stats drawn on another piece and I wore the two strapped over my shoulders like those people on the streets handing out flyers. I was also Jack Nicholson's Joker one year, which worked out really well. Mom was good with the face paint.

I was particularly fond of my scarecrow costume, with real hay from back in the day when we had a rabbit.

As I said, the last time I dressed up was in college. Bryan and I had a party because it was, like tonight, a Friday during Parents Weekend, so all our folks were there, as was my sister (a freshman) and Bryan's brother, who came out as well. Bryan and I bought masks and wore capes because we didn't think of anything and found capes while shopping. We like capes. My parents' luggage missed the connection from Detroit to South Bend (a standard occurrence on Northwest flights), meaning dad didn't have his complete costume. He did have his fishing vest and a floppy hat, so he fashioned a picked fence out of paper, stuck it to a ruler, and was Tim Allen's neighbor Wilson from Home Improvement. Mom was Waldo, as in "Where's Waldo?"

Heather didn't come to the party, but she did stop by and I remember we talked out on the landing because it was a crazy night and people were out all over the complex. I think that was the night Bryan and Crazy Colleen had a shouting match and slammed doors.

Ah, good times.

Damn, it's so hard to write extended, cohesive entries when you're trying to watch tapes of last night's Will & Grace and Scrubs.

They didn't already write Debra Messing's pregnancy into the show, did they? Was Grace's illness and then her decision to follow Leo to Cambodia just a coincidence with today's announcement? What would be really amazing is if they managed to keep the news quiet for three weeks, or whatever the lead time is on that show.

OK, no more entries while watching sitcoms.