As kids, playing house was a game that seemed to be popular among my generation. We struggled to impersonate adults and exaggerated the idea of children. We would play as we waited for our real parents to come around, so we could go back to being real children. Dragonball Z, Pokemon, Barbies, whatever the preference, allowed us real children to drift back into the world of make-believe as we became our toys and favorite TV show characters.
Halloween is similar to a trip back to that make-believe world, except we get to see what everyone else's make believe world is like too. This past Halloween, I partied with Luigi, a scarecrow, Poseidon, and two Twinkies.
These costumes attract fans of such things. When I saw students dressed up walking around campus for Halloween, I was really excited to see a few who were dressed as my childhood cartoon hero, Goku from Dragonball Z. As I looked at Goku as a person in real life, I thought, "next time I'm bored, I might as well be a real life cartoon for a few hours."
There is a short documentary, that I have recently seen, about a guy who dresses like his hero. Then he walks around town in hopes of spreading joy to those who have the same hero as him. Not just on Halloween either. Adults and kids, alike, would have their day made when they saw him.
Aubie the Tiger is a great example of a hero who can put a smile on the faces of adults and children at any given moment.
I was at the Auburn versus Texas A&M game. Watching the game was very stressful after the first few quarters, as an Auburn fan. Then, all of a sudden, I looked over at a breakdancing Aubie, who was dressed up like a mixture of Gus Malzahn and MC Hammer... My stress was immediately relieved.
Truthfully, I use to write people off who dress up like it's Halloween when it isn't. Upon understanding why they dress up like they do, I have learned that they are just unique individuals who would rather people smile at them as they represent a character that they relate to, even if it is a cartoon.
Kris Sims is the multimedia editor at The Plainsman. He can be reached at online@theplainsman.com
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