He's Aliiiiiiive!

Up from the shrouded mists of the pumpkin patch he rises, grinning his near-toothless grin, his beady eyes blazing with fire. Filling all who choose to gaze upon his glowing countenance with... JOY!

That's right, it's Beady Bigmouth, the perky pumpkin who comes to life every Halloween to spread good cheer to children of all ages. Nobody knows exactly when this gleeful gourd first visited us, though it must have been around 15 years ago.

My daughter, Megan, was the first in our family to encounter the spritely squash. She has never related the details of that initial meeting so many Halloweens ago. But she came to me with a sketch. "Can you make a pumpkin like this?"

When I was finished, we smiled at his beady little eyes and cavernous mouth. "What shall we call him?" I asked.

"Beady Bigmouth," she replied. (Megan is a creative nicknamer, but with given names, she tends to focus on the obvious, e.g., her pink teddy bear, "Pinky.")

The response from trick-or-treaters was so overwhelming that we knew we had to bring Beady back to life every year. And we have, each time celebrating his return with the frankensteinian proclamation, "He's aliiiiiiive!"

While his countenance will change slightly each year (just like Micky Mouse has morphed a bit over time) — for example, this year he only has three teeth vs. four in the photo above — his infectious grin is always the same and brings a smile to all who see him.

So from my family to yours: Happy Halloween!