Of Halloween Past ...

The first Halloween I can remember, I was maybe 3 or 4 years old. My parents tell me that I went trick-or-treating the year before, but other than sparse photographic evidence, I have no knowledge of this at all. Anyhoo, the first costume I remember was pretty sweet. My mom made me a cat costume, complete with a full headpiece with little grey ears. I have reason to believe that the hat is still wandering around somewhere in our house (yeah, nearly two decades later!). Before we went out, I got a liberal quantity of blush applied to the end of my nose, and eyeliner whiskers on my cheeks. Being a little kid rocks.

Share your Halloween memories!

I don't know whether I should be amused or astoundingly frustrated.

Before I begin, snaps to Miki and Chris ... *snap snap snap snap snap*

As part of my public speaking course (aren't graduation requirements fun?), I had to create a short survey to get a feel for people's attitudes toward the subject I was going to address in my persuasive speech. Huzzah for Decriminalizing Prostitution!!

Right, so today was the day the class filled out the surveys. I got some, eh, interesting responses on some of the questions. Let me share:

1. What is your gender? M / F (most people, I suspect, didn't have a problem with this question)

2. Please list 3 words used to label or describe a person who regularly exploits him/herself for material gain. (I had to explain what "material gain" meant to more than one person.)
(Blank)
Kind
Every movie star / Every politician / Most musicians
Clothes
Slut for Money
Conceeded <-- hooray, college!
President?
High standards
$ <-- so help me, God, I got a symbol as a response
Food

3. Please complete the following statement: "I object to the act of prostitution ... "
a. " ... on religious/moral grounds." (7)
b. " ... due to public health concerns." (4)
c. " ... due to economic concerns." (1)
d. "I do not object to the act of prostitution." (2)
Two people circled all of the first three choices, two left it blank.

4. Forced prostitution in the US is a significant problem.
Strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly disagree
1 (2)
2 (2)
3 (5)
4 (6) <-- one crossed out a 2 before circling 4
5 (3)

5. Organized crime and prostitution are strongly linked in the US.
Strongly agree 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly disagree
1 (0)
2 (4)
3 (7)
4 (5)
5 (2)

6. Do you believe the potential consequences of decriminalizing prostitution outweigh the potential benefits? Yes No
How could this question have wonky answers? It's a yes/no question, and still I got one with both answers circled, and one with N/A written to the side.

7. Other than the monetary aspect, do you believe there is a fundamental difference between prostitution and promiscuity? If so, explain:
Hmm. No. Some people enjoy their jobs others do not.
Yes and no because some lead to the same thing.
Yes, a girl can represent herself promisculy* however, they do not neccessarily* have to participate in the act. (*Her words, not mine)
A street corner (Chauvanist)
Yes, it may not be as many many people as a paid prostitute.
No, they both are still bad
I don't know ... sorry! / I have no idea
(This is possibly my favorite) Selling your body is far different than being promiscuis* and to think any different is ignorant. *Again with the spelling ... Oh, and I had to explain what promiscuity is.