Day 19: My Favorite Monster

I am once again sitting out on the back porch, typing with my feet propped up against the fire grate. The flames are orangey-yellow with purple tinges and the full moon is big and bright over me. A little while ago, the neighbor girls started howling at the moon and I didn't want them to feel left out, so I howled back. It soon turned into a contest to see who could howl the longest and loudest. They did quite a good job. I am rather impressed. Now they have been sent in to bed and I am left with a bunch of howling neighborhood dogs who were very bothered by our yowling chorus. In short, it is another perfect October night.

But it gets me to thinking. Here it is, nineteen days into my favorite month and I have barely written about monsters. What better time than tonight! I love October monsters. I love the classics, I love the weird, I love the things that go bump in the night. My favorite monster of all is Frankenstein. I really couldn't say why. I think because he is the most misunderstood. Dr. Jekyll and the Invisible man did it to themselves. The mummy was cursed. I am scared of werewolves so the Wolfman is out and I have an irrational fear of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I have always loved vampires, but that is a hipster post for another day. But Franky, he is a gentle giant. And if you read the original story, he is quite philosophical. Which is probably why I like him so much. And, to set the record straight, his name is NOT Frankenstein, he is called Frankenstein's Monster. He doesn't even merit a name. But I call him Franky anyway. How sad to not even have a name.

I love that his is pieced together and has big clunky shoes. I love his bolts and his greenish tinge. I love that his bride has gravity defying hair with a white streak and I love that he has partied with Abbott and Costello as well as sung Putting on the Ritz. He is a rather versatile monster.

But Franky isn't the only grisly ghoul that I love come October time. If you get into the natural world of October scaring there are black cats and toads, rats, spiders and snakes. But my favorite of the natural monsters is bats. I love that they use sonar. I love their shill squeaks. I love their leathery wings. Bats are just cool. They are right up there with platypuses. Weird and wonderful. I have a whole decoration box full of bats. (not the real kind that would be too creepy even for me) One of my favorite decorations is a fat stuffed bat with a bow tie that I call Batly. I know, not original, but I got him when I was 4 and it was the best I could come up with. At our old house he graced the front entrance hall doorway. He was a very dapper way to great guests. He was later joined by a rather rotund brown bat who lived in my room and a silk bat (also with a bow tie) who hung from our chandelier.

When I was quite small, a cartoon movie came out called The Great Mouse Detective. In it, there were a pair of rodents who were supposed to mimic Sherlock Holmes and Watson. But it was the gangster bat that I loved. He scared the pants off of me. I had nightmares for weeks. He had a cockney cap and a peg leg and a wicked snarl. I still get goose bumps when I watch it even now. But I love that bat.

After him came Bartok from Anastasia. What better character to have in a Christmas film about lost Russian royalty, than a wise cracking bat. He has some great one liners and I was able to procure a stuffed version of him in a McDonald's happy meal. I love him dearly.

Other than the giant vampire bats in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Batman, there have not been any other bats that I love to date. Today however, I ran into a rather fabulous stuffed black bat at the craft store. I didn't have enough pennies today to purchase him, but before the month is over, he will be mine. He will be right at home with my bat cereal, bat shirt and bat socks. As well as his other stuffed friends.

Yup, October monsters are rather wonderful. What is your favorite?

Day 11: The Night

Today was a rather hectic day. It did not at all go how I planned it. Sadly, it was not a super cool surprise kind of day, but we roll with the punches. After everyone was bedded down and tucked in for the night. I grabbed my mattress and drug it out to the back of the pick up truck. I piled it in along with blankets, pillows, a cup of tea, and the puppy. Then I just snuggled down and looked up at the stars.

Star gazing is a great thing to do in October, and I have had a love affair with the velvety blackness since I was a wee sprout. I find that the night sky always has something fantastic going on. Unbeknownst to my mother, I used to sneak out and climb up on the roof to stargaze. It is just so peaceful. One can sit absolutely still and watch the world turn.

Star gazing was especially wonderful tonight. There was a haze over the moon making it all distorted and out of focus. The glowing orb was only at half strength, which made it easy to see the other twinkly bits in the heavens. I saw a few shooting stars and made sure to look for my favorite constellations. But I don't limit myself to them. I make my own star patterns, name them and come up with back stories. October I have found is a fertile ground for imagination and flights of fancy.

Back home, I used to watch the bats fly as I gazed. Now I look for owls. It always gives me a tingle to see some giant winged thing out and about when the rest of the world is sleeping. But isn't that half the fun of October. Letting ones imagination run away with them? I let mine do that all the time. October nights just make it easy. Foggy, dark, cool, black. Things chirping or rustling in tall dry grasses. Ooooh. I just gave myself goose bumps.

So yes, one of these remaining October nights, go out and watch the stars. Go for a midnight stroll with the bats. Play peek a boo with the moon. You won't be sorry you did.