Walking around last week, I noticed a range of pumpkins still standing sentry by my neighbor's doors. Some were untouched by recent events, others were waterlogged and soggy from the full soaking of stormy weather, some bore the caved-in, toothless look of an aged man without his dentures, others were violently impaled upon the spikes of wrought-iron fences in silent warning to passers by about the temperaments of those who lived beyond the gates, and still others kept patient guard on their stoops against horrors unknown as a parade of passers walk by.
I was touched by these symbols that remained after the wreckage of a holiday we had. Here they were, no longer the harbingers of doom and gloom that typically come with of Hallows Eve, but hopeful reminders of the bounty of an autumn harvest, changed from worn and forlorn to hopeful and peaceful by the simple passage of time and season. It's a reminder about those among us who may not be called to action, but rather have the harder job of waiting and standing guard until needed. Valor comes in many forms. Happy Veteran's Day.
