Hmmm.....Halloween and drinking. I have one of those stories that starts out with "The last time I drank tequila....."

5 or 6 years ago, my wife and I went to a costume party. My folks came over to babysit the kids and we went to the party. I was a hippie (tie dyed shirt, long wig, peace sign around my neck, dark John Lennon glasses) and my wife was in a French maid outfit (short black skirt, white blouse, etc).

The place we went to was out in the sticks in Woodinville -- no nearby outside lights at all. To enter the house you needed to wind your way through a maze he had set up in the three car garage. Black backdrops, coffins, all great stuff, but no lights.

OK. I lined up in the kitchen and got involved in a tequila shoot-out. Several in a VERY short time frame. I staggered around a bit and decided that I needed some air. I headed back out through the maze in the garage and tried to find the outside. As soon as I came out of the garage door, motion sensors light off several flood lights and I am blinded. Staggering and blinded (Hey, blinded by the light, that sounds like a great song title. But I digress.)

Next thing I know my head impacts something immovable. Now I'm really staggering. Stunned would be the word. I am bleeding profusely from just above my left eye. I can only stand there trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Much time and bloodshed passes.

Finally, I find the front door. My wife had been looking for me (about an hour has passed) and now she sees me with blood all down my face and pants. We make a quick departure and head for Evergreen emergency.

No anaesthetic needed, I got a dozen stitches above my left eye. The emergency room attendant asked my wife if she really was my wife (the French maid outfit, remember). As we left the emergency room, there sat Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy waiting to go in. A classic.

Apparently, the homeowner had a pickup camper on blocks. He had mounted a rearview mirror on the cabover part of the camper. I ran into the rusty bolt protruding out of the rearview mirror that mounted it to the camper.

The worst part was having to get up the next morning and face my parents. Here I am, mid 40s and "responsible" and having to admit that I drank too much and smacked my head. Very sobering experience. But a fun story to tell.