This week's Blog: The Costume Manifest
My costume suitcase (doesn’t everyone have one?) is overflowing with delights. I opened it up yesterday to search for last year’s snake skin leggings from our WWE costumes and out tumbled some “jorts” (I just learned that word) and jean jacket from several year’s ago 80s costume. My mind skittered back to that rather epic Halloween party and my cheeks began their daily delight work out. I’m not going to go as far as to say that costume gatherings are going to save the world or bring about world peace, but I do assert that costumes can up the joy ante just about anywhere. And this is why: Costumes embrace our inner child, our inner silly (which we all have somewhere in there, believe it or not). Costumes free our spirits, and let down our inhibitions. It’s as if in wearing a costume, we become something other than ourselves and thus, free ourselves from self-consciousness. It’s intoxicating without the chemical intoxicant. It is through this that costumes increase the fun factor and deliver laughter in larger doses, both in the costume wearer and those around them. Yes, while the more costumers the merrier, the effect spreads to those around just one intrepid costume-wearer. Several years ago, my friend and I were attending an event filled with awkward self-consciousness and nervousness. Just one man showed up in a batman costume and we were all suddenly free. The whole room lightened a bit and nervous laughter morphed into joyous laughter. Batman eventually dismissed himself but I’ve never forgotten the effect. And so, yesterday my team showed up in full embrace of the silly to the (5th? 6th?) annual Farm Olympics. And I will yet again avow that the fun factor was increased 10-fold because of the “Tumbling Shoals Toots” Farm Olympic team. And now, to begin work on my Halloween costume.
