Happy Halloween
John Druding
Long ago, a man called Jack made a habit of tricking the devil. He got the devil to take the shape of a coin, scurry up a tree, who knows what else? — and in each case cocky Jack used the sign of the cross to keep Old Scratch at bay. It’s unknown whether Jack believed in the power of that symbol, but the devil sure did, and so it worked.
Jack was full of tricks, but his deeds got the best of him in the end. When he died, the god above wouldn’t let him pass through into heaven. The devil had had quite enough of his company, and wouldn’t let him through the fiery gate into hell either. All Jack could do was roam miserably in eternal darkness, carrying naught but a burning coal inside a hollowed-out turnip for light.
Or so they say, anyway.
In my own time and place, Jack is joyful. We take delight in carving big, goofy orange squash to look like they’re grinning, with spooky light coming from inside. We crunch our feet in fallen leaves; we run about in disguise, shrieking at the fun of sliding between the worlds. And all is well.
Wherever you wander tonight, whether you’ve got a pumpkin or a turnip (and who could resist a turnip?), may your journey be sweet.
Blog photograph copyrighted to the photographer and used with permission by utata.org. All photographs used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and are obtained via the flickr API. Text is copyrighted to the author, Jenn Wilson and is used with permission by utata.org. Please see Show and Share Your Work
