I got a little carried away and dressed up like an old man tea wizard, and along with a witch (Ally) and a lady bug (Amanda), we set up the tea bus in a neighborhood I used to Trick or Treat in when I was a kid. This neighborhood is so busy on Halloween that they block it off from car traffic for several hours.
I was sure a concerned neighbor was going to come and question us, or perhaps call the cops (Think, “Yes, ummm, there’s a van with a old man trying to give away free tea to kids…”). And boy, was I wrong…
The opposite happened. First, a woman drove up with her kids and asked if we were “the free tea people.” Evidently word has spread fast around the island about the tea bus. “Yes, that would be us,” we responded. “Well, I just found out I can’t drink tea. Would you guys like this bag of tea?” She had seen us, gone home, grabbed what she couldn’t drink, and brought it down for us to share with people.
A neighbor from across the street loved the tea bus so much that she kept coming back to sip tea, and even poured me a cup of her own home-brew lemon tea. Another fellow brought us a ton of candy to hand out to kids. We had realized that 99 out of 98 kids want candy more than tea, especially on Halloween…
I stayed in character for hours and hours. I had a big beard made from wool batting and a staff with a crystal tea cup on the end. With a funny old man/Indian chai walla voice, I joked and laughed with many kids and parents. Ah yes, hello, how are you? Good? Yes, good is better than bad, and bad is better than worse, but good isn’t as good as great. Yes, good is good. Most of the kids thought I was weird, and I guess most of the adults did too. Halloween? Oh, is that what day it is? I thought everyone looked a little strange today… I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in 87 years.
I give many thanks to Ally and Amanda for helping out. Their participation made it possible for me to play around and not worry about making tea. If I had been making tea, everyone’s tea would have had bits of my beard in it.
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