I love watching Grey’s Anatomy. I never get sick of calling out “I live there!” whenever there’s a fly-over shot of Seattle. So after witnessing the injuries from the annual Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving Contest on the show, I couldn’t wait to see the event in person. However, no one lost so much as a finger throughout the whole event. It started with a young man dressed as Corporate America, who said the pumpkin represented the American economy. By the end, the pumpkin was decimated:

We then had a Farmer Joe, Doctor Fly, Super Pumpkin Man, Elvis, and the Pumpkin Fairy. The Pumpkin Fairy took a lot of work carving her pumpkin, spraying me with pumpkin goo as I was sitting in the front row. My hair was covered in seeds, and for the rest of the afternoon I had people asking me if I knew I had something in my hair. 

The winner, judged by the applausometer , was the Pumpkin Fairy, who carved a face inspired by the book Where The Wild Things Are. It was a very enjoyable experience, and is yet another unique Seattle memory.

What I would like most from our new home is a sense of community – a feeling of togetherness and joint celebration. Although I have only lived in Fremont for just over a year, it is a neighbourhood of great joy and quirkiness.

Today we gathered at Solstice Square (near the Adobe headquarters) celebrated a new sculpture – titled “Late for the Interurban”, to complement the existing sculpture “Waiting for the Interurban”. Even the governor of Washington attended the unveiling, however that was not for whom the crowd had gathered. Look very closely at this photo for a clue:

They were waiting for Julius Pierpont Patches and Gertrude, who is to Seattlites what Mr Squiggle is to Australians. The Emmy award winning show entertained both children and adults on Seattle television for thirteen years, from 1958 to 1981. After the show finished, the actors Chris Wedes and Bob Newman dedicated their time to visiting hospitals and raising funds for medical research. And, now both in their eighties, they donned their costumes one last time to witness their likenesses forever commemorated in bronze by sculptor Kevin Pettelle.

Chris Wedes’s sixteen year old grand-daughter spoke at the unveiling, and talked about how she has met hundreds of Patches Pals over the years, who told her how JP Patches was a bright spot in their lives, even when their lives as children were perhaps filled with abuse, ostracisim, or depression. A representative from Seattle Children’s Hospital thanked them for entertaining her children, and giving her a few extra much needed hours every afternoon. There will be a donation box at the base of the statue to raise further funds for the Seattle Children’s Hospital, so the legacy of JP Patches will forever continue.

The crowd was full of tears, smiles, and cheers. I love living in a neighbourhood where people come together to celebrate the power of a smile.