The Boogey Man Lives

He didn't die...!

If you grew up in the 70's, you probably at some point watched "Halloween" - the epic horror classic with Jamie Lee Curtis and the infamous Michael Myers...the evil incarnate who had the gall to NOT die at the end of the movie....

Unheard of.

I was 16 when that movie came out. That was in the fall of 1978. The summer of '79, I spent in the Virgin Islands, staying with my grandpa, "Opa", and my 15-year old cousin, Laura Beth.

One night, Opa had a meeting he had to attend - and so LB & I headed to the local movieplex, where "Halloween" was showing. In June. Hey - movies came late to St. Thomas, if they came at all.

LB and I shrieked and freaked during that movie - and when it was over, we sat there - stunned. Michael Myers didn't die.

That didn't happen. Back then, movies didn't lend themselves to sequels - unless it was Star Wars, which was in a galaxy far, far away - or Rocky, and the only thing scary about Rocky was perhaps his red, white & blue-spangled boxing shorts.

Bad guys died at the end of movies. That was the RULE.

LB and I went home that night, to a dark and empty house...Opa wasn't home yet. Strange house. Strange island. Strange noises. And Michael Myers was still out there...somewhere.

I grabbed a butcher knife from the drawer, and LB and I did a systematic search, room by room, throwing open closet doors, peeking behind curtains - to insure that we were safe from the boogey man.

We were scared. to. death. Seriously.

We didn't find Michael Myers lurking in our house that night, thank goodness. But that movie still resonates with me - all it takes is for the infamous opening piano chords of "Halloween" to start up, and my blood pressure rises off the charts and my heart pumps out of my chest.

He didn't die!!!

So - however you choose to spend tomorrow - whether you're passing out sweets, or trick-or-treating, or haunting haunted houses - just remember....

The boogey man is still out there. He lives.

Peace.