where the wild things are

I gambled a bit in going to the Atlanta Botanical Garden today. I wanted to see the "Moore in America" sculpture exhibit and there are only two weekends left. Today the weather was absolutely perfect: mid-60s and sunny, with fall colors at their peak. I didn't want to risk waiting; at the same time, going today meant sharing the garden with a zillion families, notably little tykes dressed up in Halloween finery for "Goblins in the Garden."

You know my motto: Fortune favors the brave. And a special kind of courage is called for when you arrive at the botanical garden and find scores of bees, frogs, alligators, Batmen, Spider-Men, princesses, pumpkins and Maxes* already there before you.

Yes, they were adorable. Each and every one of them was incredibly sweet, as they rode the little train and painted pumpkins and handled earthworms in the "petting zoo." Those Botanical Garden people are marketing geniuses. So many parents, so much purchasing power.

Halloween is reaching near-Christmas proportions in its advent and longevity, but I'm beginning to think that's fueled in part by parents wanting to maximize their investment in the children's costume. The more events that take place around Halloween, the more opportunities to wear the costume, so the better you feel about buying the fancy costume. There were some pretty elaborate ones on display today.

I wanted to take pictures of some of them but that could be frightening from the parents' point of view. I do wish I'd snapped some pics of my all-time favorite little guy, who was dressed as a UPS delivery man, complete with parcel to be delivered. The get-up was absolutely perfect, a UPS-brand badge on the front of his tiny brown shirt. His mom saw my delighted expression and explained, "He loves UPS. He loves our UPS driver, whose name is Mr. Ricky. So when I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, he said, 'Mr. Ricky.' " Oh, it was priceless.

I hope he was featured in the parade at 3:15 p.m. I'll never know, though — by then I was long gone and celebrating the day at a bistro in Decatur. Roll on October!

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* as in Max, the hero of the book/movie "Where the Wild Things Are"