Saturday was the day we carved our pumpkin. After dinner, I covered the dining table with junk mail flyers, as we do not subscribe to a newspaper. This being Halloween and all, I shall embellish this story appropriately. Please read with the voice of either Vincent Price or Alfred Hitchcock I drew out a bunch of shapes on a piece of paper, and asked Julie and Isabelle which shapes to use as eyes, nose, and mouth. Brought out the Sharpie, and made a stencil of the face we have created, then sunk the 6 inch paring knife into the soon to be forehead of the pumpkin. I encircled the pumpkin skull until the knife met the point of insertion. With the mouths of the girls open, I lifted the freed cap, revealing the tendrils inside. A brief tug created a few quiet, low pops from within the globe, and the cap was free. The knife quickly cleaned the top from any hangers on, and I set it aside.

I then grabbed a large but rather dull spoon, and went at clearing all the internals of our friend on the table, now named jack. The echo of the blunt instrument raking across the cavity wall was not a sound sweet Isabelle had heard before, and she took a step back. She knew to give me room to complete this evisceration. She then bean to chant in her own little way, "Eewe, eewe, eewe..."

The ceremony was well under way now. I turned to the face. Where to start? The eyes, of course. Again, the half foot of steel in my hand plunged into the face. These angles required a bit more finesse and skill, but presented no great challenge as I have done this before. A piece of the removed flesh fell to the kitchen floor, but even the cats left this alone. They knew this was no mere dinner scrap. Soon, I had two empty eyes looking up at me, and the nose began to take shape. The mouth, without a tongue, could say no words, but without any breath, the lack of a tongue was inconsequential. All that remained was a small notch in the skull, to allow for ventilation.

Like any proper ceremony, this one needed fire. A purple candle was placed in the head and brought Jack to life. On an opposite wall, the lighted figure of a face became visible, and we knew we had completed the creation our Jack O'Lantern.

Happy Halloween everyone!