October 4 - I just walked on down the alley

So today I’m offering a Halloween story entry from my third grade journal. My guess is that we were encouraged to write a spooky story (or something like that). This was one of my favorite things to do during these formative years, so obviously I leapt at the opportunity (evidenced by the fact that this entry is over three times longer than any other). I had completely forgotten about this little story, so I hope you can enjoy it as much as I did.

Third Grade Journal – October 4, 1991
Oct. 4 1991 It was a dark and stormy night¹ I was walking Home from a casino² I won lot’s of money³ I know what Dracula and all of the other monsters will I was still walking down the alley⁴ when I saw a man bitting a women on the neck I asked him if he had seen a man named Dracula. He said “Oh that’s me” I just walked down the street⁵ when I came to another man with hair all over his body I asked “Did you just exape from hostpital” “Oh yes” He said but I just walked on down the alley when I met a man with a rectagle head⁶ I asked “Do you know the Wolfman” “Oh yes” He said. But I just walked on down the alley when I met a man with gills. I asked “Do you live In the water” “Yes” He said. I just walked on down the alley when I met a man with bandades all over his body⁷. I asked Does your name begin with a M. “yes” he said but I just walked on down the alley⁸.

¹ – I know that I wrote this in 1991, but I’m still pretty sure that I coined this phrase instead of ripping it from A Wrinkle in Time. I never read that book, by the way. Just thought you’d like to know.
² – Nice! But walking home? I mean who would want to live that close to a casino? And what kind of casino lets in an eight-year-old?
³ – Running good, I like it. I don’t like playing against the house, so odds are good that I was playing poker. But that’s now. In those days? It could have been anything.
⁴ – I think that what I was trying to say is that I knew that monsters would be around but I walked through the alley anyways. Clearly my boldness and bravery witnessed in Annoyance has deep, deep roots.
⁵ – Dracula was already “bitting” that other woman, so maybe he was just full or whatever. Even so, I’m clearly not as courageous as I once was.
⁶ – The list of monsters here is not random. These monsters are the five that feature prominently in The Monster Squad, a film that was a major factor in my childhood. If you haven’t seen it, your life is incomplete. How else would you learn that Wolfman’s got nards?
⁷ – This is my way of describing a mummy, just so you know.
⁸ – Suspense, bravery, and determination. That’s what makes a great Halloween tale. Regarding the photos: I'm not sure why I made multiple gravestones for myself or why I only made gravestones with my name. A little morbid, to be sure.

BONUS ENTRY: Fifth Grade ALP Journal – September 21, 1993
Today was fun, I got grades and learned alot of stuff⁹. We are going to play a stock market game¹⁰.

⁹ – But nothing important enough to record in my journal. That’s good to know.
¹⁰ – The stock market game is a critical element to the ALP journal during fifth and sixth grade. The class was divided into teams and given a lump of starting “fantasy” money, which we invested in various companies to see who could make the most profit. Needless to say, the result for my time was sheer domination.

Happy Sunday, everyone. See you again tomorrow.