When your birthday is on
Thanksgiving Day, you know plenty about pumpkins. Just ask Samuel Fenn NeSmith,
who is the fifth grandchild in our lineup of eight. For his first Halloween, his mom hollowed out
a big pumpkin and plopped Fenn in it, with his 11-month-old legs poking out of the
holes. His flaming orange locks matched
the color of the pumpkin.
Fenn
doesn’t remember that photo session, but he does recall his first attempt to hollow
out a pumpkin. It was last year. His parents, Alan and Heather, cut off the
top and urged him to reach in and grab a glob of innards. The 6-year-old wasn’t so sure about that, but
he wrinkled his nose and plunged his right hand in.
Yuck!
That
was the end of that.
And
then comes Halloween 2018. That big
round orange thing was sitting on the tailgate of his dad’s truck. Alan sliced a circular hole to expose the
insides. With her iPhone camera aimed, Heather said, “Dig in, Fenn.” What a difference a year makes. The 7-year-old—ever the comic—didn’t
disappoint his audience with facial expressions.
Sunday
night, I called Fenn.
He
wasn’t sure he’d ever like cleaning out pumpkins, but he reminded me that he’d
soon be 8. When I asked him whether he
liked pumpkin pie, he said, “Grandpa, I dunno.
But my brother, William, does.”
Since William and Fenn both have
birthdays—10 and 8—the week of Thanksgiving, I suggested they have pumpkin pies,
with candles, instead of cakes.
He
giggled and said, “Yes, sir.”
And
then he reminded me that their cousin, Henry, would be having a 10th birthday
that week, too. “Great, Fenn,” I
said. “We need to make three pumpkin
pies. I will need some extra hands. Will you help me scoop out the pumpkins?
“I
dunno … uhhhh … yes, sir.”
From
his nasal-tone answer, I could tell Fenn’s freckled nose was wrinkled.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
