The day before Halloween, and I still don't have a costume. Not that anything I pick will ever be as cool as my 50's robot costume from the first grade [see above photo].

My brother stood alert as my martian overseer - complete with green paint all over every visible patch of skin. My costume consisted of a cardboard box, dryer ventilation tubes, silver fabric, and a used ice cream bucket (for the head).

That's when I became a Little Lost Robot. If I were a superhero, then I guess this would kinda be like my origin story. Sorta like Iron Man; he's just a normal guy, but he's encased in that kick-ass armor suit. Except that this photo looks all sad, so maybe it would be a better origin story to say that my parents were just gunned down in an alley and I now wear the robot suit to avenge their deaths.

Perfect!

"Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I will see that your killers are brought to justice."