Beware the HotDog Guy

As Halloween gets nearer, lots of stores, including my local grocery store is beginning to roll out their Halloween decorations and schwag. My kid is all about Halloween and loves to go to the store so he can push the buttons on the lightup tombstones, blinky-eyed skulls, and especially to push the button of the “hotdog guy.”

The “Hotdog guy” is a severed devil’s head, and when you push the button his eyes light up and lips move and he says things like “Hey! I’m watching you!”

For a while my three year old was terrified until I kissed it square on the mouth and made him laugh. Now he likes to sneak up on the “Hotdog guy” and push his button the moment we walk into the store and again before we leave.

I think Cartney named him Hotdog Guy because his skin is red like a hotdog. And now his favorite Tom and Jerry cartoon is “Heavenly Puss” where Tom gets flattened by a piano, goes to heaven and has to come back to get Jerry to sign a document saying he forgives Tom for all his persecution. It features a devilish bulldog in hell that laughs as he tries to possess Tom’s soul. Cartney requests the cartoon by asking for “Cat and the Hotdog Guy.”

Hotdog guy is certainly more fun to discuss than the Devil and I think I’m going to stick with that from now on.