Summer of '78 I started volunteering at Smith's Grove Sanitarium, taking the bus 150 miles north every Sunday. I'd been working at The Rabbit in Red Lounge as a cook for a few months and the gossip at the bar always got around to Michael Meyers. Little Mikey who murdered his sister at 6 years old, spending his days drooling and looking at the white walls at Smith's Grove Sanitarium.
When I met Michael he was just sitting there during personal time gawking at that wall just like the regulars said he would be. Giving it the ol' thousand yard stare. Terrence Wynn introduced us, Mikey turned towards me slowly and our eyes met. They sparkled. I remember Terrence being startled. He stepped back and looked at the both of us regarding our first interaction with sharp intelligence. Then he smiled at us, nodded, patted me on the back and said, "I think you two are gonna get along just fine." And by god we did.
Over the next months Wynn would sneak us out back and it was here that I taught Mikey how to drive. He'd been locked in his padded cell since he was 6 years old and I found it down right melancholic that he didn't know how to drive. Every man should learn how to drive it's part of becoming a man. We'd cruise the back roads, maybe find a fishing hole and then we'd sneak on back. No one was the wiser regarding our little trips down the dusty trail.
I'd always had a fondness for Halloween. It was Halloween where I felt I could truly be my best self. But this was summer and Halloween was months away, but let me tell you everyday is Halloween in this ol' cowboy's heart. I thought it would be a fun idea to carve a jack-o-lantern with Mikey during arts and crafts, but in late June pumpkins are nary to be found, pineapples on the other hand are in prime season, sent to the Midwest courtesy of Hawaii.
Here is the scene that inspired the recipe!
So on one of these visits, I brought with me a pineapple, a cutting board, a carving knife, a spoon, a large bowl, a roll of paper towels and a candle. The knife I had to get permission from Terence but he was enthusiastic about a craft project with Mikey.
I laid the knife onto a wooden cutting board as an offering of friendship. It glimmered in the soft glow of the fluorescent lights. Mikey's eyes sparkled just as they had the first time we met.
I instructed him to hack off the top of the top of the pineapple and he did with finesse, a smile forming upon his lips. His head turned to me. He was excited and started to breathe heavy. I soothed him with my voice as if he were a young dogie calf, separated from it's mamma.
"That's great Mikey," I told him, "now make an X in the middle of the pineapple. Make sure its deep but doesn't go all the way through,"
He stabbed the fruit with gusto, and I could see he was enjoying himself. I wondered what he was thinking about as the blade of the knife sunk into the fruit.
"That's good, Mikey, real good. Now go around the X with the knife," I instructed, "but be careful not to poke a hole all the way through the pineapple, okay?"
Michael nodded and completed the task, very focused on the project. He was as skilled with a knife as Wyatt Earp were with his gun.
"Now we need to scoop out the flesh, okay partner?"
The word flesh made Michael's head jerk up, and I knew he was eager for his next step. We scooped out the fruit of the pineapple, cutting the core as we went down, and separating the two.
When we got to the bottom I told Mikey to hack away, making crisscross actions with the knife on the remainder of the core. I told him that was the hardest part, but Mikey did a great job of it, hacking and slashing the little pieces of fiber from out of the bottom of the fruit.
Then it was time to create the face of our Jack-o-Lantern. Mikey carved out a nice ghoulish sneer. I was impressed.
Finally it was time for the candle. We dropped one in and lit the wick and viola! a jack-o-lantern in the middle of summer!
We spent the rest of the day in blissful easy silence, our hands getting sticky from eating the pineapple fruit. It's one of my most memorable days.
I left the knife with Mikey, telling him, when the time was right he would need this. Mikey nodded, hiding the knife in his sock, sticking the handle of it in the base of his shoe as if it were a holster for a revolver, but naw, Mikey didn't need no gun. He preferred the blade. Then he did something unexpected. He hugged me. I never had a brother until now and at my heart swelled with love for my new friend.
I whispered in his ear, "Use it on Halloween eve. Meet me in Haddonfield the next night and we'll get even with them all."
As the weeks passed, I did some research on the residents of Haddonfield, connecting the dots and figuring out that Laurie Strode was his sister. Micheal liked the idea of reliving his first kill with a member of his own kin. I went to work setting things up that night, selecting other victims for us to slay. It was one of my most enjoyable projects and gained me a most special friend.
Below are 4 pics of the pineapple Jack-o-Lantern with different light sources..
I think this is the best presentation. It's also the least safe. This is with a real candle. The top of the pineapple was badly burned but it did not catch fire. I stayed with it until the candle burned out. I'd recommend putting some tinfoil over the cap of the pineapple.
I liked this one but it is not as bright. The real candle is put into a red candle holder. The color is nice but not as bright. I prefer just the regular candle.
This is a very safe way to go but I didn't care for the presentation as much. This is what happens with a fake candle on the inside. Definitely safe but not as bright.
This is the worst. This is the fake candle in the red candle holder. It didn't do anything but make it even more dim. Unsure why the red didn't show up in this presentation. The light maybe isn't bright enough. Don't know.
In short the regular candle is the best presentation, but the fake candle is the safest.
Pineapple Jack-O-Lantern
Yield: 1 jack-o-lantern
Active time: 35 Minutes
1 Pineapple
Directions
1. First cut the top off the pineapple with a long, very sharp carving knife.
2. Next make an X at the top of the pineapple with the knife going most of the way down into the flesh staying ½-1 inch from the base.
3. After that take the knife and carve a deep circle around the X about ¼ inch away from the outer skin of pineapple.
4. Now take a spoon and start digging out the flesh, cutting away at the core with the knife when needed..
5. The core at the end can be fussy. Hack at it in checkered slices and continue to spoon it out until the remainder of the core is gone.
6. Spoon out any left over fruit and core so that the inside is nice and smooth.
7. Carve out a face of your choosing. When you are done you may want to clean up any stringy pieces of pulp that are in the openings of the carved face.
8, Tap the inside of the pineapple dry with either a kitchen towel or some paper towels. Then place the pineapple on another kitchen towel so the left over juice doesn't get everywhere.
9. Let the pineapple dry for about an hour.
10. Place a candle inside the pineapple and light it up.
11. Place the top on.
12. Set in a reasonably safe dark place and show it off.
Additional Information
The pineapple goes bad very quickly don't use it longer than maximum 2 days.
I used a spoon and a carving knife, but if you want to make life easier use a pineapple corer and a melon baller.
If you use a knife make sure it is a long carving knife or a perhaps a long filet knife, and make sure it is very sharp. A dull knife can really cause an accident with this project.
Keep the flesh and the core separated so that you can use the flesh when you are done.
The flesh afterwords can be used as a nice snack as is, or put into the freezer and use later in a refreshing smoothie or slush.
Real candles or fake candles can be used.
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