Today, my colleague Renee Lorenz was talking about an article that looked at couples costumes for Halloween. Unless the man is gonna be the socket and the woman the plug, these seem sorta cheesy. But, who am I to talk. This year, I'm a bit player in someone else's Halloween.
My oldest child is obsessed with "101 Dalmatians" in all its forms: the live action movies, the cartoon movies (yes, there are more than one), books, etc. So, the costume choice seemed almost like a given: Cruella De Vil.
Bless her heart, my wife has been working like a demon to assemble a credible Cruella costume since there were no good pre-fab ones to be found. Perhaps needless to say, it has been, by far, the most work-intensive and most expensive costume anyone in our household can remember.
You've perhaps already seen the photo of me in my Dalmatian costume. I, along with my wife and youngest child, have a supporting role.
Cruella is the star and we are the bit players (though also the crew in some cases) and I'm OK with that. I loved Halloween as a child but until I had kids I didn't pay much attention to it as an adult.
Even now, I can take it or leave it for myself, but I love watching and participating in the fun they have with it.
So, this year, I thank my wife for her hard work to make us look like Cruella and her potential fur coats. And I'm quite content to be a part of making my kids' Halloween a memorable one.
And, bonus!, the costume also helped prevent me getting fired from my job here at OnMilwaukee.com.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
