The other day, while we were stopped at a stoplight, a friendly-looking lady handed Shelly an orange flyer through the window. Orange means Halloween, so we thought the flyer might be something very important. It said that the local Lutheran church is selling pumpkins this year, and all the proceeds go to support their community meal program. Naturally, I got excited that an essential Halloween tradition could do double-duty as a charitable act. Some other members of my family in the car, who shall remain nameless, were a little less enthused.

Pumpkin carving is a big deal for me. Apparently, my love for it is not universal. I have learned that I shouldn’t call other people un-American when they express their apathy toward pumpkin carving, but I should try to understand them. I think I have figured it out.

I have loved pumpkin carving since I was very little and we grew our own pumpkins. One year, we ended up with an absolutely monstrous pumpkin, about three feet in diameter. Dad carved a pained-looking face into it and named it “Sick Dick.” The next year, we followed up with “Ill Bill.” Dad taught me the technique of skinning the pumpkin, thus allowing two levels of artistic expression (hole-cutting and skinning). You can cut a mouth out and skin out a tongue and/or teeth, or cut out an eyehole and leave a skinned pupil. This single skill has brought great joy to my Halloweens that most people simply will never experience.

More recently, I decided to get serious about pumpkin carving, so I purchased a set of specialized saws at the grocery store for about $2.99. Since that year, everything has changed. I am no longer a dude with a pumpkin and a knife; I am an artiste. The small, maneuverable blades are indispensable for intricate, precise, smooth cuts. I can do almost anything now with a pumpkin as my canvas. No wonder some people don’t like pumpkin carving. Their basic kitchen knives won’t allow them to do anything fancier than the standard triangle eyes and nose—who could get excited about that?

Skills and tools. That’s what makes the difference between someone who loves pumpkin carving, and someone who doesn’t. If you have the capability to create a work of art, of course you’ll be happy about doing it. If your jack-o’-lantern is boring, the process of carving it will be too. This Halloween, I wish for you and yours great skills and precision carving tools.