Day 189 - Nov. 22
Listening to: Been Around the World (an I, I, I)
Thought for the day: Beware of the zombie pumpkin this pre-Christmas season!

Meet the zombie pumpkins. Their brains have been gutted, their lights extinguished, and their innards are a slimy, sloppy mess. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don't stalk the streets of Old Hickory eating blowup Christmas lawn decorations. Most likely these dying gourds are the result of laziness versus corporate product testing to find a new pumpkin lacquer that will make them last, and last, and last.

Laziness was not the cause of the zombie pumpkin that stalked the streets of Costa Mesa, California back in the 80s. One Halloween, my physicist father decided to conduct a scientific experiment involving our family and the Halloween pumpkin. We carved the pumpkin, we lit it, everyone said trick or treat, dawn broke the next day, and the pumpkin sat on the porch, sat on the porch, and sat on the porch. My dad’s goal was to see how long it would take for someone in the family to take the initiative to throw away the pumpkin. No one ever did. Rumor is that it still roams the streets in search of women who have had too much plastic surgery, or blow up lawn decorations.