An emcee at a Halloween party for seniors

My life has come down to becoming an emcee at a Halloween party for senior citizens.

My parents were invited to a couple's house for a Halloween party. Dad asked me to come along because this couple (who are in their 80s) are known for playing 42, and my mom doesn't play.

There was an interesting combination of people there. I, of course, was the youngest, my mom was the next youngest and it steadily increased from there.

The hostess then recruited me to help lead the games for the evening. First, it was a trivia game on 50's and 60's pop culture where everyone had to fill in the blanks. After that, we played the gossip game, AKA Telephone. I had to pick the two sentences that were whispered around the room. One in each direction. Let's just say when playing this game with a bunch of people that have hearing aids, or need hearing aids because they cannot hear out of one or the other ear, what gets around to the end is majorly skewed. More so than usual. At one point, I thought my mom was going to have a bladder control incident from laughing so hard at what my dad whispered in her ear. It was said that the moral of the story was that this is how gossip gets spread and how it is so wrong as it goes from one person to the other. The irony of this moment is that some of the people in the room are among the biggest gossips ever.

That was followed by handing out poems about old age.This is when the night felt like a nightmare and reminiscent of something that would happen at my Grandmother's house at Christmas. The part we have all now protested.

Then, four couples took part in the Newlywed Game. Complete with questions to couples in their 80s about what size pants the men wore and what they liked to wear to bed. I skipped having them answer the latter question out loud because I simply could not handle the truth.

It was a bizarre experience. Very bizarre.

About 9:00 we were allowed to have desserts. At 10:00 most everyone left, but my parents and I stayed to play a game of 42 because we could.

I really, really, really need to find my own social life. Really. Seriously.

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