Rewriting History

Last night Todd had put on a “Family Fun Night” for work at the Roger Williams Zoo. The event included dinner and a visit to the Jack-O-Lantern exhibit that the Zoo puts on every Halloween.

The exhibit is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It includes thousands of intricately carved pumpkins done by students at the Rhode Island School of Design. First the exhibit started out with ghoulish depictions carved onto pumpkins, and then it evolved into the theme “A Walk Through Time.” The pumpkins were carved with scenes of historical significance and pop culture significance. We saw Ben Franklin carved on one, and then further down the path “Alf” and ‘The A Team’ were carved on others.  The pumpkins lined the path through the zoo, and were floated on rafts in the pond.  Smaller ones were lit and strung from the trees, at the end a gigantic one belched smoke. 

At the beginning of the segment on American history themed pumpkins, the first pumpkin had “1620, A New World” carved into the face.

“Look,” a nearby woman I didn’t know pointed to the pumpkin, “that one says ‘1620, a new world’ on it. What does that mean?”

Her date replied, in a thick Rhode Island accent, “That’s from the battle of 1620.”