Happy Halloween!

It was on Halloween day exactly 10 years ago when I went with my family on a visit to Cumberland Falls. Something very exciting happened to me that inspired me to write a poem about it later. Read on to see what happened.

The Rescue at Cumberland Falls

My family went down to Cumberland Falls,
As it was such a pretty day.
We hurried out there after church,
Not knowing what fate would fall our way.

We hurried out there after church.
It was as pretty as a postcard.
We watched the falls from several vantage points.
It wasn't easy to get bored.

It was at the point right next to the falls
When the excitement really began.
For I was leaning against the railing,
When my crutch fell out of my hand.

I watched it fall to the rocks below.
This accident halted the fun.
I wondered if I had to spend the rest of my life
With only one crutch on.

My daddy decided to save the day
By leaping over the railing.
But he jumped at a place where the rocks were pretty close,
So through the air he didn't go sailing.

He climbed down the rocks 'til he picked up my crutch,
And then he climbed back up again.
I'm glad my crutch didn't fall into the water,
Or Daddy might have had to take a swim.

After Daddy jumped back over the railing,
The rescue was finally done.
I could now laugh about my crutch falling over,
And get back to having more fun.

I was more careful to hold onto my crutches after that,
And never let them fall with a whack.
Or they might fall over some far higher point,
And I'll never get them back.

Daddy put music to my Cumberland Falls ballad, and he and Mommy sang it to everybody at Christmas Country Dance School that year. I was delighted as everybody laughed throughout my ballad. At the end, everybody turned to where I was sitting amongst them and gave me a standing ovation! Losing my crutch at Cumberland Falls had resulted in one of my happiest moments of my life, thanks to my ballad. I had written it because I got an English assignment that fall to write a true ballad, and that recent experience came to my mind. I had not written much poetry beforehand, but the success of that ballad has encouraged me to write more poetry and become a real poet.

Just a couple years ago on Halloween, I was washing my hair in my family's upstairs bathroom sink, when the pipes below sprouted a leak that sent water rushing out onto the bathroom floor. I immediately yelled out to Daddy, who had just come home. He had to come rushing up to try to fix that leak, which was rather out of control. Mommy reported that the water was soaking through the floor and creating a waterfall onto the piles of clean clothes in the laundry room. I don't remember exactly how the leak got resolved, but it was a crazy thing to happen right on the anniversary of me losing my crutch at Cumberland Falls. We had our own waterfall! Daddy had once again come to my rescue.

Unlike both of those Halloweens, I've been without Daddy this Halloween because he's away this weekend playing music. Nothing really dramatic has happened this time, though I've been missing him as I went out trick-or-treating with Mommy, Emma, and Emma's best friend. Having a little sister has allowed me to go trick-or-treating again, though I don't ask for candy myself. I've been enjoying wearing my Beary Potter shirt. It has a teddy bear on the front with a flower in a pot in front of him and more flowers nearby. The words "Beary Potter" are written in the same font as Harry Potter's name. I was basically being Beary Potter for Halloween. I liked seeing other children in costumes. I was able to meet up with one of my neighbors afterwards, who was having a hard time keeping a fire going at a pit in her front yard. I was spent several minutes with her by myself, and she enjoyed my company. That was a good way to conclude an evening of trick-or-treating.