What Kind of Pumpkin Are You?

     My granddaughter Maggie’s jack-o’-lantern reminds me of a song about pumpkins in a field that feared to be carved and illuminated. They claimed it was safer to stay put and simply die on the vine. But a lone voice among them responded that here was their opportunity to light up the darkness.     
     So what kind of pumpkin am I going to be during this time of national unrest? One that gives in to the gloom, or a jack-o-lantern spreading light? No matter who wins in the elections, am I willing to shine in the shadows of dissent around me? Will I be a peacemaker, glowing in the dimness of discord that spreads through vicious speech and writing? Dare I to be a flare of hope?      
     Peter Mayer sings about this struggle of pumpkins in “John’s Garden” here.