2003

★ EDITH PRICKLEY of SCTV ★

Waverly’s Costume Rank: ★★★

Dad’s Costume Rank: ★★★★★

For 2003 we continued our theme of strong female role models for Waverly’s costumes and decided on Edith Prickley of SCTV fame. Ms. Prickley was a recurring character played by comedienne Andrea Martin on the television show of the late ’70s and early ’80s and a favorite of mine. According to the Second City website, “Ms. Prickley had all the style of Jackie O. and all the charm of Jackie Mason.” Now that I reflect on Waverly’s costumes, I am pleased her first two were based on comediennes. Of course, it is good to get these ideas out of the way while Waverly is more compliant with our wishes.

fabrication

The costume was straightforward and seamstress duties were again enthusiastically handled by Waverly’s grandmother.

Our one incidental addition to this year’s Halloween trek was made out of necessity. I brought out our two-wheeled hand truck and taught Waverly how to hop on, lean back for take-off and then hop off when we stopped at a house. I anticipated that Waverly’s two-year-old legs would not make a full circuit in the neighborhood so this would be our conveyance. The hand truck with Waverly on it proved to be almost more popular than Waverly’s costume. The only trouble we had was with pea gravel driveways—worse than quicksand!

the big night

This was the first time Waverly began to understand the purpose of Halloween—candy! At our second stop, a very formal looking woman greeted Waverly and after dispensing a few pieces of candy, Waverly motioned for the lady to come down to her level with a crooked index finger. When the lady kneeled down, Waverly kissed her on the cheek and hugged her neck. You should have seen the look on the lady’s face. She immediately dumped her whole bowl of candy into Waverly’s bag. And to think we never practiced this before! The rest of the night Waverly was planting kisses, melting hearts and filling her bags.

This Halloween year provided me with an enduring mental image. We stopped at one final house before heading home and this particular house had a driveway that slopped down from the road. I wheeled Waverly halfway down the drive and she hopped off the two-wheeler and up a small set of steps to a walk-way leading to the front door. The house had a bright outdoor corner light that silhouetted Waverly perfectly as she marched off, not pausing and leaving me in the well of the steps looking up at her. All I could do was stand there and think, “there goes my little two-year-old girl, all dressed up in adult garb, carrying a formal purse with her tiny patent leather Mary Janes click-clicking on the brick walkway. A vision of the future.” My retelling of this event made my wife sob. It makes me cry now.

miscellany

My biggest regret of the evening was that only one person on our trick-or-treat route knew who Edith Prickley was. We seem to play to a very select audience.