24 Pumpkins by Allison E. '27
a journey through the streets of Boston
As a person who hails from a land devoid of seasons, I consider it my utmost duty to take advantage of any fall-related activities that come my way. Amongst other things, I’ve been taking pictures of the changing leaves (for some reason, the trees on campus are sad and brown, while the trees along Charles River are gloriously red), jumping into random piles of leaves (shoutout to the folks who are making these), and trying a variety of fall-themed Trader Joe’s snacks (the maple syrup fudge is absolutely horrendous).
But those are all the small, trifling acts of an amateur fall enthusiast. The true spirit of college fall can only be captured in something far sillier. Today, I present to you: Operation Pumpkin.
Objective: Transport 24 large, carving-size pumpkins 1.5 miles across the Harvard Bridge
Client: The International Student Association, for its Inter-College Halloween Board Game Party
Target: Star Market – 53 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02199
Operatives: Miranda Z. ‘27, Evelyn L. ‘27, Csilla F. ‘27, Allison E. ‘27
Equipment: 2 carts borrowed from dorms and an indominable spirit
Timeline: Complete by 2000
The mission was scheduled to begin at 1800, with a tight turnaround to meet the timeline. We quickly encountered delays, however, and by the time that two dorm carts were acquired, it was 1830. The clock was ticking. We sped across the bridge with our carts, moving carefully so as to avoid assaulting nearby pedestrians.
the journey begins :O
We encountered our first obstacle upon reaching Boston. Notably, it was a Friday night, which meant that the streets were filled with people for whom we immediately became a public nuisance (sincere apologies, y’all 😔). Luckily, we made it through the crowded sections without doing bodily harm to any bystanders (or ourselves), and soon arrived at Star Market.
Our late start meant that we only had 45 minutes left, but fortuitously, it also allowed us to rendezvous with an additional operative. Now armed with 33% more labor, we descended upon Star Market. We had called ahead to ensure that there were enough pumpkins to satisfy our objective, and we were not disappointed by their stock. It took a surprisingly long time to actually pick out and load 24 pumpkins into the carts, and an additional grocery-shopping side quest waylaid us further. Nevertheless, we persevered.
feat. our miscellaneous grocery shopping
And then began the true challenge–transporting more than 300 lbs of pumpkin 1.5 miles back across the bridge to our dorm. With two people to each cart, weaving in and out of people and construction zones, we began our journey back. We pushed through the weird stares, took heart from the confused smiles, and “sorry”’d our way through the streets of Boston. On several occasions, our carts almost rolled straight into the street–for some reason, the sidewalks are all slanted into the road, so we had to have one person pushing from behind, and one person standing on the side to keep it from sliding into oncoming traffic.
these carts were HEAVY man :(
Fortunately, we reached the Harvard Bridge with our pumpkins (and nearby pedestrians) unscathed, and from there it was a straight shot back. We were running behind schedule, but nonetheless–24 pumpkins were successfully transported home. Mission accomplished!
(I love stupid college shenaniganery)