10-31-25

Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - October 31, 2025

Grandmama, out-n-about

Last Saturday was one of those fall days when most people would choose to stay inside. The temperature hovered in the 50s and it rained off and on throughout the day.

I had gone to a baby shower at a local coffee shop - my first outing since my surgery for breast cancer a week and a half before. I wasn't sure I would feel like going, but I'm glad I did. The group was a combination of friends I've had for 35-plus years and other women I had never met. The love and happiness for the mother-to-be was palpable, and the good-natured banter between her and her mother-in-law- my good friend Jackie - was fun to see.

But that was just the start of my day. Daughter Mariya, her wife Miriam, and granddaughter Diana planned to go to the annual "Boo at the Zoo." They were going to dress up as Gomez, Morticia, and Pubert of the Addams Family. I thought I would make a pretty good Grandmama, so I asked if I could tag along.

As Gomez, Mariya sported black pants, white shirt, burgundy jacket, and painted-on mustache. Miriam's Morticia was dressed in black pants and a lacy top. The girls had parted Diana’s hair down the middle and given her a painted mustache, making her a perfect Pubert. They bought me a long gray wig and a tattered-looking black-and-gray shawl. It went well with my black pants and black top underneath, together with black shoes and socks.

Still, I wasn't so sure a visit to the zoo on a cold and rainy day was a great decision on my part since I was trying not to over-do. But there aren't that many opportunities to dress up with family members!

We arrived at about 4 p.m. The light, steady rain continued. While the two gals were getting Diana into her stroller, I put the shawl over my head and turned it until it was even all around. Then, I donned the long gray wig, being careful to position the widow's peak in the center of my forehead.

Just as we were getting ready to enter, Miriam's cousin Anabell appeared as Wednesday, Gomez' and Morticia's teenage daughter. She had braided her long black hair and was wearing a black school-girl outfit.

"Oh, my gosh! That's perfect!" I said.

Another nice touch was "Thing" - the severed, but living hand that was part of the family. Mariya had made it on her 3-D printer.

The stroller's cover kept Diana from getting wet, and each of the girls carried an umbrella. They offered one to me, but the wig largely protected me from the rain and I carried a purple plastic poncho in my rear pocket just in case.

The Addams Family has been around for decades. Created by American cartoonist Charles Addams, its members are an eccentric bunch who delight in the grotesque, and are unconcerned that other people find them bizarre or frightening. They originally appeared as a single-panel newspaper comic, many of which were published in The New Yorker between 1938 and Addams’ death in 1988. Their popularity opened the door to other media, such as television, film, video games, comic books, a musical, and, of course, related merchandise.

As a youngster, I watched the 1964-1966 TV series. Almost 30 years later, "Addams Family Values" - starring Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia - hit theaters. Another 30 years brings us to the present, where the Addams family daughter Wednesday is featured in the Netflix series of the same name.

At the zoo entrance, workers from the local IHOP, dressed in clear plastic ponchos, offered us hot chocolate. Then, as Miriam showed our tickets, quite coincidentaly, the theme song from The Addams Family TV show began.

"Well, that's a perfect welcome to the zoo," one of the workers remarked.

"Quite true," I said, laughing and sashaying to the music.

Many of the zoo paths had puddles and muddy patches, but we sloshed along anyway, stopping at various vendor tents for candy and other treats. Diana very carefully put the treats into her jack-o-lantern bucket - another item Mariya had made on her 3-D printer. Then, every so often, she tossed them over the side of the stroller, making a game of having her Addams family relatives retrieve them.

We lingered at one of the pavilions because it had a roof and some sort of heating system that allowed us to banish the chill a bit. Visitors were scarce, but Buzz Lightyear and Woody from "Toy Story," Spiderman, a few princesses, and other characters appeared.

Fall decorations throughout the zoo made good spots for photo opportunities. There was an inflatable shark-shaped obstacle course, although I didn’t see anyone inside during the time we were there.

The event was billed as a great opportunity to see the animals, but most of them were inside their shelters. They must be more sensible than we humans who were there to see them. But the pink flamingos and a couple of tigers were on display. Diana seemed impressed, pointing at them and issuing her characteristic "ooh" - an expression she uses when seeing something that excites her. We could hear peacocks in the distance, but never saw them.

After about 45 minutes, we decided we'd had enough. We went to Mariya and Miriam’s place, where we took off our wet costumes, socks, and shoes and settled in to enjoyed some of Miriam's warm chicken-rice soup.

I'm not sure what the other Addams family members thought about the day, but you know how when you are getting over an illness, simple things seem especially nice? Maybe that was all it was, but for this Grandmama, the day seemed perfect.