Over here in Malakoff, we have gone scarecrow crazy. We had so much fun with our Christmas in July event, where we all decorated for Christmas in the middle of the summer, we just thought we'd do something different and decorate in the correct season this time. With scarecrows. And not little store-bought scarecrows, either, but handmade, life-size beauties. Well, maybe some of them aren't real beauties, but they are all amazing. The idea for this began to click with a three or four friends over a glass of tea at My Favorite Things. They are part of a fledgling group called Friends of Malakoff that has been having fun with community efforts, some like this, and some including downtown facelifts. The scarecrow craze then just kind of caught fire, and scarecrows popped up in places no one would have suspected. At least thirty-two businesses and institutions, and nobody knows how many private residents have created an amazing array of scarecrows, often in multiples. For example, Malakoff's Quick Lube, which has created what is probably the town's masterpiece, includes three scarecrows in a real T-bird, one at the steering wheel, and two working on it. At Cedar Lake Nursing Home, there are eight--every department created their own, including a maintenance man at sawhorse, complete with goggles, tool belt, and a skill saw. Its sister company, Cedar Lake Home Health and Hospice has an old-fashioned nurse attending a patient in a wheel chair. The Huckabee family has created a whole family of scarecrows between the funeral home and their flower shop. Both Day Cares have very creative children scarecrows. There are at least seven Malakoff student scarecrows, three on Terry Street, and two at the middle school, two at the high school, where they are accompanied by a teacher, and one on Hwy. 31. Faith in Action (a Christian food pantry and clothes closet) has three praying scarecrows. At McDonalds you'll find Ronald McDonald and the Ham Burgler. Sonic has a scarecrow waiter on roller skates. My Favorite Things has three, including an old guy having a cup of coffee, and a pretty little girl, and a baby. The History Museum has at least three sitting on the front steps, and there are three in front of city hall: a policeman, a maintenance man, and a lady, which I guess represents the ladies who work inside, but who are much prettier. First State Bank just has one, but he is a doosy--he is a banker, three piece suit and all, sitting at his desk with his bag of money and a calculator. The scarecrow banker at Citizens National bank is helping a young customer open a savings account, and giving out real candy. Just Hair and Debbie's Hair Shop both have pretty ladies outside their shops. Berry Lumber has a carpenter with a very small head. Dr. Sanner's office has a doctor who apparently is his own patient, as he is receiving a blood transfusion. And these are just a few. Since our scarecrows are for scaring crows, and not primarily Halloween items, they won't be coming down for quite a while. There's plenty time for our neighbors to come over and check them out, as we think they are absolutely worth the drive. Most are on either on Hwy 31, or Terry Street which runs north and south through town, and will be easily seen. The others are easily found, especially if you stop and ask just about anybody you see. One good time to do this would be Friday, November 2, when the Malakoff Rotary Club will be selling barbecue plates provided by Danny's Smokehouse. They will be located right across from Brookshires, from 11:00 to 2:00. There are plenty of other great places to eat and shop in Malakoff as well, so come on down and plan to stay a while. You can see most of the scarecrows at www.facebook.com/malakoffspecialevents but they are much better in person.