BOO!!!!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Every town has its own "scary" destination and Famerville was no different. It was a right of passage as a teenager to visit "The Bones". You HAD to go at night-how brave would it be to visit a graveyard in the daylight? This was the days of no seat belts, so you would pile a BIG group in your car-the more- the merrier. Out you would go several miles down the Wards Chapel Road. There was a church with a graveyard and oh yeah-no street lights-out in the country. The challenge was to walk behind the church into the cemetery and view "The Bones". "The Bones" were actually a grave that had been covered with a concrete covering-which had cracked with age and weather and fallen in. If you looked just right, you could actually see the bones. You would have your flashlight and back you would troop to the graves. This always ended with one of the girls screaming and the resulting cascade of squeals and screams from the other females. Then the RACE back to the car, the squealing of tires, and hotfooting it back to town-laughing all of the way.

Halloween brings memories of "Trick & Treating" dressed in some lame costume, with a paper bag for treats (no plastic pumpkins in those days), your flashlight, and your good friends. This was during the days when the kids roamed free without adult supervision and you did not worry about the NUTS in the world. After an evening of going to every house your feet could take you to, you went home and poured out the loot. The REAL trick was to hide your candy to keep your brothers out of it and savor it over a long period of time. Candy was a treat and not on hand at home, so I was not interested in sharing, except for the raisin boxes-you could have all of those.

Teenage years also brought memories of times associated with toilet paper and soap. I will spare you the details to protect the guilty. The only time I remember getting into trouble is when the local constable figured out who had rolled Meggie's house. The only punishment was having to clean it up. No one took you to the detention center and your parents were not called-VERY DIFFERENT FROM TODAY! A wonderful time of innocence when everyone knew you and who your parents were. Hillary did not come up with the concept of a village raising a child, it was born a LONG time ago in the south. Read Tom Sawyer-the concept has been around for generations.

Today was Papa James'es birthday, my paternal grandfather. I cannot remember the birthdays of any of my other grandparents, but Halloween was easy to remember. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PAPA!

We ran 8 this morning and then walked 4. Babs is once again going off and leaving me. I thought I was doing great running 10 1/2 minute miles-but she ran 10 minute miles. She did have the advantage of only running 7, since she is training for the half, but she was 1/2 a block ahead of me at her turnoff. I definitely have gotten over any fear of "BONES" I might of ever had since I ran through the middle of the cemetery, alone and in the dark. I'M SUCH A BRAVE GIRL!