Mascot Madness

With all of the kids running around in ghoul, ghost and goblin costumes on Halloween night, the last thing you would suspect your child to be afraid of is a friendly-looking dog mascot at a church trick-or-treat outreach!

Calvary Christian Center in Hammond, only a short 10 minute drive, held a trick-or-treat outreach where we took our kids Halloween night. Playing games, eating hot dogs, getting candy, jumping on the inflatable "rides," and getting to ride on a fire truck thrilled the kids. Travis and I also had a great time just enjoying the kids and sharing in the fun with them.

Bravery has not always been an easy thing for Justis, especially on Halloween. Last year in Hugoton he stayed in the van with me where he felt secure, while Travis took Rylee (my cousin's daughter), Madalynn and Dawson door-to-door. He wouldn't even come out of his room to see the costumes of children he knew that came to our home while I was passing out candy.

I studied Justis closely upon arriving at Calvary Christian Center this year to see how he was feeling about the children in disguise. Friendly costumes were requested at the church we went to, but a few people still came dressed in scary masks. Justis wasn't phased by the spooky things, until he saw it.

We were standing in line for a fire truck ride when Justis spotted it. A happy-faced dog mascot was making rounds at the party hugging, high-fiving, and getting pictures taken with kids. I was watching the mascot interact with some other kids when Justis caught my eye. He spotted the dog.

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A quick history on Justis and mascots is in order here.

"Darrel the Barrel," the mascot from our "Construction Zone" vacation Bible school at our church in Hutchinson when he was just three, was terrifying to Justis. He was so scared that Travis, his teachers and I would all peek into the hallway before moving Justis out to his next station. The reason we did this is the first night he laid eyes on Darrel, Justis made a break for it and was out the door in the busy parking lot and running toward a nearby field before we even had time to realize why he had fled! Darrel even made a point NOT to visit the auditorium when Justis was there.

Then there's the friendly Ulysses Tiger mascot in my hometown of Ulysses, KS. We've had several run-ins with Tiger and Justis, and none of them have been pretty. Justis, in his first run-in with Tiger, was leisurely walking with my dad around the corner of the bleachers at the football game to find a seat. Justis met Tiger at the corner and Tiger bent down to get a hand-shake. Justis, again, fled. He turned and high-tailed it toward the concession stand, where I was standing and talking to a friend, while my dad watched in surprise and Justis's reaction. He didn't watch any football that night, only Tiger. We sat at the end of the stands where Tiger didn't venture often so Justis wouldn't escape while WE were watching the game!

Now back to the story of this Halloween's mascot madness....

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His face told the story.

"I have to do something a big boy would do, after all I AM five years old, and I can't let on that I'm scared," he said to himself as wiped off his initial face of panic and put on a stoic, "I don't care" kind of look.

He then looked for Daddy. "There's Daddy," his eyes seemed to say, "so I at least have enough time to make a plan." He stood still, but reached out and grabbed the inside of Travis's leg for safety.

Travis looked at him, and then looked at me. We both gave each other knowing looks. Justis didn't want an embarrassing fuss made, so we would pretend like we saw nothing. He was so concerned about a mascot attack that he didn't even notice me watching him.

Time was running out for Justis because the mascot was coming closer. His eyes were panicking and his mind racing while he tried to keep a straight face. Then he realized. A manly and brave answer to his problem was right on top of his head!

He looked around and SLOWLY pulled Travis's ADM camouflage hat, part of his costume, over his eyes and pressed his face against Travis's leg.

The dog, as far as Justis was concerned, was gone as long as the cap was covering his eyes and he pretended to just be "resting." He was just "resting," too, as long as we were concerned, because his fragile pride was on the line!

Justis deserves credit for his bravery. He kept it together the second time the dog came around. He, of course, was prepared with his "out," but he almost decided to flee when a 3-year-old screamed at the mascot in horror. Apparently Justis isn't the only child more afraid of mascots than monsters!