I Advance Masked

My son is anxious to for us to purchase an Optimus Prime Voice Changer helmet before Halloween. I very much respect the fact that he is more than willing to create, from scraps of cardboard, the rest of the exo-skeleton that will help him transform into the leader of the Autobots. He worked the same angle last year when he decided, much in advance of October to trick or treat as the galactic bounty hunter, Jango Fett. Even though he was weighed down by his blaster rifle and (ironically enough) his jet pack, he managed to keep up with his pals for most of the night.
I have a soft spot for the whole mask-makes-the-costume idea. When I was in fourth grade, my family took a trip to Disneyland. For my souvenir I eschewed the traditional mouse ears, or any of the outwardly Disney branded items. Instead, I found myself staring with my jaw agape at a heavy latex mask of Frankenstein's monster in Merlin's Magic Shoppe. There was some mild negotiation with my parents, who already understood my fixation on all things monster-related, and so the purchase was made. I remember carrying my bag out to a bench on Main Street, sitting down, and pulling the mask over my head. I sat there for several minutes before a very small child, probably no more than three or four, pulled on her mother's arm to get her attention then pointed right at me. "Look mama," she cried, "Mickey Mouse!"
From that ignominious beginning, I began a collection, of sorts, of rubber masks. Some were more realistic or grotesque, but they all filled my momentary urge to change my identity: Uncle Ooze, C-3PO, Gorilla, Darth Vader, Werewolf, Chewbacca, Hooded Ghoul, Batman. If two heads were better than one, I was in pretty good shape. Amazing disguises, and even better cures for claustrophobia. My son, who has never been a fan of costumes, is thrilled by the idea of engineering a new appearance. When he was in preschool, it was his idea to show up for Halloween not as a truck driver, but as a truck. The only surprise is that it has taken him another six years to transform into a robot that used to be a truck. Complete with voice changing technology.