Halloween

On Halloween afternoon, 1996 (perhaps 1997?) in Ann Arbor, we decided--just hours before sunset--to get our Ann Arbor apartment (and ourselves) ready for the neighborhood kids. We quickly carved several pumpkins and threw together costumes. I decided to go with "pirate," and fashioned an oversized black cardboard hat with a skull and crossbones on one side and a big, yellow, 70's-style happy face on the other.

Don came by that evening, once the holiday was in full swing, the kids were out, and we were doing some goofy street theater for them (asking kids to be polite, to walk the plank, etc.) Don watched me for a couple of minutes, approached me very quietly, and asked: "Who are you, Captain Manners?" Yes, I was Captain Manners. It seemed so obvious, now that Don had named the guy.

Thanks to Don, to his gift for recognizing and naming things, the character stuck, and I've been dressing up for Halloween, for 13+ years now, as Captain Manners. I regularly find myself explaining to people how he got his name. I'll continue to tell that story, and to talk about Don, every October.

Peace to his family, and to everyone dealing with the loss.

David