I love Halloween!  It’s the single event that marks summer’s end and the beginning of fall.  Were it not for Halloween, a kid growing up in Los Angeles wouldn’t notice the changing seasons.  As a young Angelino, my summers really were endless.  Back to school day at Saint Philip was little more than an inconvenience and recess was still sunny and warm.   I barely noticed the creeping darkness that chased me off the playground before dinner or the chilling surf at the beach.

Halloween was a different story.  Free flowing candy and cookies; ghost stories, monster movies, and costumes – the creepier the better – were definite attention getters.  I couldn’t resist weirdly lit porches and neither could a thousand other kids who took to them like actors to a stage on opening night.  With all of us dressed in a barely-checked alter egos, Halloween was impossible to miss.  Even before my first “trick or treat” I knew summer was definitely over.

Making a “Killer” Jack-O-Lantern

Amidst all of this delightful chaos was the ubiquitous Jack O’lantern.  October’s signature piece and beacon.  Whether gourd or plastic, tall or squatty, Jacks were everywhere.  They were in stores, on porches, and in all of the classrooms in my school. And, if they weren’t there in flesh, there were there on magazine covers and cookies.  Brightly colored and intricately carved, you couldn’t miss them. For a couple of hours each October, we put down our plastic planes and brushes just long enough to pick up a knife and try our hand at carving.  We were driven to create the perfect pumpkin – spooky, brightly lit and big as a basketball.

Much more than a mere decoration, I looked to the Jack’s warm and inviting light as a kind of friendly beacon – a personal navigation aid that guided me out of summer and into fall’s many delights.

Last night, we did out part.  Sergei and Lauren carved three Jacks and placed our warmly lit beacons on the front porch.  They wern’t as creepy as I remembered, with the patience and craftsmanship of experienced folk artists, a candle was all that was needed to light our beacon and send the message that fall is here!