Nikki Cunningham (nikecunn@utm.edu) from 10.100.6.10 at 10/24/01 11:09PM
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    Southern families are full of extraordinary traditions. Most of these traditions usually take place around the holidays and I would like to share one of my family’s traditions with everyone. It all began about this time a couple of years ago. I had heard from the town gossip that on Halloween, our house was going to get trashed. From toilet paper to eggs, our house was going to get it. I told my mom and she went crazy because we had just finished building our house and had lived there only a week. She was afraid that our house would be destroyed. I figured that I had to do something to protect our home so I talked to my dad and my brother and we came up with a plan. When Halloween rolled around, we got ready. My dad put on some Liberty overalls, a Tennessee Vols cap, some gloves and some sunglasses. I stretched the water hose all the way down the hill to the oak tree where he was propped up. He looked exactly like a scarecrow after I found some straw and placed it in his sleeves. He was the perfect Halloween decoration. He held the water hose low to the ground and my brother stood at the faucet patiently waiting for the signal. I stood at the door in my Indian costume and passed out candy and then I saw it; a whole truck full of sixth graders coming slowly down the street with toilet paper, biscuit dough, and rotten eggs getting ready to destroy our house. They hopped out and I yelled, “Now!”. My brother turned on the water and my dad drenched those kids. Word got out and ever since then, not very many people have attempted to “roll” our yard. We had so much fun that night and every Halloween since then. Fun times and great memories. That’s what makes a family special to me.