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Oct. 27, 2004 Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year, and it had been years since I’ve gone to a costume party. Last weekend my husband and I went to one hosted by one his oldest friends. Thinking up costumes was easy. As fans of Quentin Tarantino’s movie “Kill Bill,” I dressed as Go-Go Yubari, the psychopathic teenage bodyguard of Tokyo’s underworld queen, O-Ren Ishi-I, and my husband dressed as a member of O-Ren’s personal army, The Crazy 88’s. The costumes were simple enough. I wore my daughter’s catholic school uniform with white sneakers and knee socks. I only had to buy a long, black wig. My husband wore a black suit and tie, and Kato mask. He also carried a real Samurai sword that he bought off E-Bay for $7. The idea of taking a real sword had bad written all over it, but I figured he’d get sick of carrying it after the first hour and put it in the car. The first four hours were fun. The hosts hired a D.J. that played nostalgic 80’s music, and there was plenty of drinks and dancing by their indoor swimming pool. After midnight, the hubby and his friends decided to throw the host into the pool. As the scamps made last-minute preparations, the hubby unsheathed his sword and handed it to me for a good reason. He didn’t want to risk injury to his friend during their scuffle. I yelled for him to give me the sheath as well, but he was out of earshot by then. It was attached to his belt, and things were happening so quickly, he didn’t take the few extra seconds to pull it off. I considered placing the sword in the corner, but images of an accidental beheading flashed in my mind, as many of the guests were drunk and could have mistaken the sword for being a fake. My husband also had the keys, so putting it in the car was going to have to wait. I held on to it and continued my conversation with a female vampire, who was explaining how she had fangs bonded to her teeth. The host was successfully thrown into his pool, and I laughed when I realized he had a good hold of my husband and pulled him in as well. The other scamps then threw in the hostess, and I stepped back against the wall when I started seeing their wives go in one by one. The next thing I knew, I was in the pool. Being tipsy in an eight-foot pool, I didn’t resurface as quickly as if I was completely sober and not weighed down by clothes. Once I did and collected myself, I lifted my left arm to swim towards the edge-and felt a sharp jab deep into my thigh. I still had the sword! I looked down and saw the attached string on the handle was intertwined in my fingers! I yelled, picturing my leg floating behind me. My husband swam over and his eyes grew in horror when I told him I stabbed myself. He propelled me to the edge and I pulled myself up. I knew my leg was still attached at this point, but I wasn’t sure by how much. After hearing everyone gasp, I was afraid to look. A sequined devil turned out to be a nurse, and she and my husband helped me over to a bench. She ordered ice and towels, and gave me good news. My leg was in one piece, and I didn’t hit a pumper vein. But I needed stitches. I had a long, deep, profusely bleeding gash on my thigh that was showing some serious meat. Holy schnieckies! That’s gonna leave a mark! I tried diffusing my concerned onlookers by saying if anyone had to get stabbed, Go-Go was perfect. Seriously, folks, I’m fine! Go drink! No one in the E.R. was fazed when my husband and I arrived, dripping, wet, and recounted our party mishap. I’m sure they’ve seen people with knives in every orifice. As I received ten stitches, it hit me that if I lifted my arm a little higher, I’d have probably lost a kidney. Ironically, my costume tied with the vampire as most original in an earlier contest. I even won a bottle of wine. You’re never too old to learn: real swords don’t belong at parties, if you have enough fat on your thigh, you won’t cut into muscle, you should get a tetanus shot every ten years, and bottles of wine do not float in pools! Have a safe and happy Halloween! ------------ About the author: Karyn Hughes has a fiction book published by Authorhouse entitled, Scattered Dreams, which is about a newly single mother who battles ADHD. Hughes is also looking for an agent since she has six other finished novels and one more in the works. All Hughes’ novels are related and could be part of a series. Email: Karynlilly1@comcast.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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