Another one about the Pumpkins

Some more on our old next-door neighbors, the Pumpkins.

In hindsight, the Pumpkins aspired to be upper-middle class, but were really just middle class. Their kids went to a private school; they sent their kids to tennis lessons; and they had a beach house. They also went to a “rich person’s church”.

Their older son Brian used to sometimes hit his younger (by about three years) brother, Allen. Given that I liked my brother and sisters, I couldn’t fathom this. In fact, most of the time when we three played outside (I was Brian, the eldest’s, age), it ended up with Brian hitting his Brother and Allen running inside, crying, to tell their mom.

So one day - - again, I was about eight, maybe ten - - I asked Mrs. Pumkin, “Why doesn’t Brian like Allen?” She replied, with flustered indignation, that of course Brian loved Allen, etc. etc. My eight year old self didn’t buy it.

I also remember having the impression that their boys didn’t take very good care of their toys. They had a dog (which I in hindsight recognize as a corgi, owning one ourselves), who tended to poop in their front yard.

One time I stepped in their dog’s poop while playing in the front yard, and when I followed the boys in I tracked it inside. Mrs. Pumpkin asked (I think; it’s been a while) who was tracking that dirt inside. I remember replying, ''Oh, I just have some poopy on my shoe'' – thinking that she wouldn’t really care. Instead, she yelled, ''Out! Out!'' – pointing to the door.

I remember being surprised that she would be that passionate about my tracking poop inside.

No, I don’t know why, specifically, I thought they wouldn’t care about tracking poop inside. But maybe I figured that if they cared, they wouldn’t let their dog poop where their kids played.


--GG