Childhood Memories – Elvis Presley

30 Nov

When I was six years old, my dad came home with an announcement. Elvis Presley was performing in a nearby town, and, through a friend of my dad’s, we had gotten front row seats. I remember only bits and pieces of the night, but this is my version of the events.

As we walked into the concert venue, a basketball arena on a college campus, I noticed bright lights and a haze in the air. I assume this was the clouds of smoke from cigarettes burning throughout the arena, but it could also be the effects of my imagination. There was a bustle of excitement as we got to our seats. I remember thinking how high the stage was and wondered what would happen if Elvis fell off. My parents, my 16-year-old brother and I sat and waited for the show to start. However, it wasn’t long before a woman offered my brother $100 to trade seats. $100? In the mid-1970s? That was a fortune. She explained that she had been kissed by Elvis numerous times and wanted to be in position to get kissed that night. My brother got the money, and my dad moved to her seat.

Soon, the lights went down and screams could be heard throughout the arena. I don’t know who the screamers were, but they must have been disappointed when a comedian came on stage. He told jokes that I don’t remember. However, I got the sense that no one was really listening to him. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. In fact, I remember him more than I do Elvis. The comedian finished his show, and the energy of anticipation returned to the building.

Then, I remember the room being dark as this cool music began to play. As it got louder, Elvis walked onto the stage. I was totally disappointed. I thought he would come out in a white suit like he was famous for. Instead, it was blue.

The suit must have thrown off my interest because I can’t remember much of what happened after that. I waited until he sang “Hound Dog”, my favorite song, and sang along with him. My lack of memories about his performance could be attributed to several things I reckon. Maybe it was my age. Maybe I was sleepy. But, it was probably the women that were around. Instead of watching Elvis up on that high stage, I watched women hide behind our seats and try to jump onto the stage when the guards weren’t looking. There was a bunch of them, but they all got tackled in midair and sent back to their seats. However, that is nothing compared to what happened later.

Toward the end of the concert, Elvis was handed a bunch of scarves to pass out. Suddenly, my mom, who is very reserved, walked up to the stage to get a scarf. She arrived before anyone else, and Elvis handed her a green scarf to match her outfit. As she turned, other women were rushing the stage. One woman stopped; grabbed my mom’s scarf; and tried to steal it. In front of her sons, aged 6 and 16, my mom got into a fight at an Elvis concert. She struggled and clawed with the woman until two college coed’s helped wrestle the woman away. In return, my mom gave them the scarf. She reasoned that she got to talk to him anyway, but she has regretted that decision ever since. After the fight, Elvis left the stage, and we headed out with my mom yelling at my brother for not helping. He was yelling back that he was too embarrassed to help and couldn’t believe that she abandoned me. We looked back to see a mob of women knock over someone in a wheelchair in the hopes that Elvis would come back. All I remember next is the continuous announcement, “Ladies and Gentlemen! Elvis has left the building!”

My next memory is waiting at the car for my dad to arrive and watching a helicopter take off. I have always wondered if Elvis was on that flight. Then, I threw up.

Because of that experience, I have always had a fascination with Elvis and his life. I have visited Graceland several times and went to a concert during Elvis week. Elvis sang on the screens as his original band played. For the first time, I got a sense of what the people at my first Elvis concert felt. I have been to many shows, and a dead Elvis gave a more riveting performance than 90% of the alive acts I have seen.

I recently read “Last Train to Memphis” and “Careless Love”, a two-volume biography of Elvis, and found the time when I saw him very interesting. The comedian had gotten booed off of several stages for making racist jokes and not being funny. But, Elvis loved him and refused to let him go. This was also a time when Elvis was in terrible health. Most people thought he was fat, but that is not the case. Drug abuse had caused massive constipation and inflammation of his intestines. At the same time, his abdomen muscles were weakening. Elvis’ “fat” was actually his intestines bulging out through weak muscles. In this kind of condition, Elvis refused to record any usable material. The only way he could make a living was by touring. He would go on short tours to smaller venues, an assurance that he would sell out. Then, he would rest for a couple of weeks and go on another short tour.

Elvis died a couple of years after I saw him perform, and I realize that I saw a shadow of the man. That’s what fascinates me. He hypnotized a crowd with a sickly, poor performance. Women, including my mom, were going nuts over an unhealthy, bloated drug addict who couldn’t remember the words to his own songs. If he had that kind of charisma at the end, then what must he have been like at the height of his powers. I wish I could have seen him then because he was truly the “King”.

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This Day in Academics

29 Nov

This is the last week before final exams, and the end-of-semester pressures are causing weird things to happen. The morning began normally. I read over lecture notes in my office as my work-study texted her boyfriend. I also snacked on the peanut butter balls that she cooked over Thanksgiving break. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the teacher in the neighboring office limp by with a walking cane. It turns out that he went to a Wynonna Judd concert the night before and slipped on the wet pavement as he was walking out. He assured me that the libations of the evening had nothing to do with his lack of balance. I considered it an honor that he told me half of the truth because I heard him tell another teacher that he broke his foot saving his neighbor’s dog from a fire.

My first class went off without a hitch, but the second class went total “Twilight Zone”. I expected Rod Serling to show up at any point and start a monotone monologue. I announced the exam time to the class when I noticed one of the students roll his shoulders; roll his head; and roll his eyes. Apparently, the exam schedule that has been online all semester did not suit him. (Sidenote: This kid drives all of the teachers crazy. He never shows up on time and is always looking for an easy way out. It’s like he is searching for someone to mistreat him. Everyone wants to fail him, but the fucker makes good grades.) So, I continue with the announcements when this guy suddenly yells, “What did you say?” The kid he was yelling at looked stunned, and, like anyone would do, incredulously asked, “What?” It continued:

“You were making fun of me.”

“No, I wasn’t” (Although, he probably was.)

“Tell me what you said.”

“I didn’t say anything, but if you want to step outside we can take care of this.”

At this point, my shock subsided, and I explained that is was a good time to be quiet. I couldn’t believe that two students were about to come to blows over an exam time.

After this stupidity, things around campus returned to normal. A student who scheduled a registration session never showed up. As punishment, I signed him up with all of the hard teachers.

The moral of the story is don’t fuck with teachers. We can stop fights with just a few words. We can ruin your life by placing you in the worst classes. But most importantly, we can save dogs from fires instead of breaking our ankles while leaving concerts drunk. Of course, we can’t sit through a Wynonna Judd concert sober.

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A Requiem for Josey Wales

28 Nov

In 1976, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, which could be considered the last great film of the Western heyday. Obviously, “Dances With Wolves” and “Unforgiven” won Academy Awards in later years, but they came after the popularity of the genre had passed. “The Outlaw Josey Wales” marks the end of an era when Hollywood saw the Western as a major aspect of its production. The next year saw the release of “Star Wars” and the advent of modern Science Fiction. There would be new heroes to fill the minds of kids, and the quick draw cowboy would become a thing of the past. Few of the Science Fiction lovers realized that space and post-apocalyptic earth were mere replacements for the plains and deserts of the American West, and they were watching Western stories with special effects. But, that is another story for another day.

“The Outlaw Josey Wales” is a favorite of many Western lovers for its hero/outlaw who operates in solitude and kills anyone who gets in his way. As Lone Watie, who rides with Josey, says, “I notice when you get to dislikin’ somebody they ain’t around for long neither.” However, this is a misconception of the movie and the meaning behind it. Westerns have been the perfect genre to portray the issues of our world. “High Noon” was about the Red Scare and actions of Joseph McCarthy. “The Searchers” is an exploration into racism. “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” is about the destruction of the West by American society. “The Outlaw Josey Wales” is about the evils of war.

In the beginning, Josey Wales is a simple farmer who witnesses his family being killed in an attack on his land. The Civil War is raging, and gangs under the guise of military action are terrorizing the border of Missouri and Kansas. Josey joins marauders from Missouri to gain revenge on his attackers, Redlegs of Kansas. When the war ends, Josey finds himself an outlaw simply because he was on the losing side. The rest of the movie is an epic chase as Josey is chased by his enemies through Indian Territory and Texas.

This is where the misconception of the movie begins. First, Josey does not kill for the sale of killing. He fights to protect himself and to protect others. He shoots men who are attempting to rape a Native American woman and kills Comancheros who have attacked pioneers from Kansas. Josey also finds himself face-to-face with Ten Bears, a Comanche chief. Instead of fighting, Josey states that “men can live together without butchering one another.” Second, Josey Wales is not the lonely rider of the plains. He rides with marauders during the war, and, as the movie continues, he finds allies along the way:

Jamie – the young man who fought with Josey during the war and died along the trail.

Lone Watie – the Cherokee elder who saw his way of life destroyed just as Josey had.

Little Moonlight – the Native American woman whose life was filled with abuse.

Grandma Sarah and Laura Lee- the pioneers from Kansas attacked by Comancheros.

Rose, Travis, Ten Spot, Kelly and Chato – the only residents of a dead mining town who help rebuild the ranch of Grandma Sarah’s son, who was probably one of the men who attacked Josey’s farm.

“The Outlaw Josey Wales” is not about a lone gunslinger. It is about a man whose life was destroyed by war. His family was taken away, but he found a new family whose lives had also been affected negatively. People who faced tragedy created a new community of happiness and hope on a ranch far away from the pain that drove them there. Unfortunately, Josey’s peace did not last long as his trackers finally arrived. But, the man who thought he was alone learned that he never really was. Captain Terrill, Josey’s archenemy states, “You’re all alone now. Wales.” Lone Watie sticks his rifle out of a window and declares, “Well, he’s not exactly alone.”

At the end of the movie, Josey has killed his enemy but been shot in the process. After lamenting the destruction of war, he rides away bleeding and slightly slumped in the saddle. Did Josey return to the ranch and the love of his new family? Did he ride off into the sunset never to be seen again? Did he die from his wounds? That is left to the imagination, but it really doesn’t matter. In the end, Josey realized that he wasn’t the only victim of war and that he was never really alone.

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Events of November 25 (My Birthday)

25 Nov

November 25 is my birthday, and, as a good historian, I like to know what happened on this very important date in history. Therefore, today’s post is a list of a few events.

1. 1783: The last British troops left New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. (To get this straight, the American Revolution was over, and the British were still sticking around. The United States must have learned something from them. We tend to hang around after the occupied areas want us gone.)

2. 1876: In retaliation for the American defeat at the Battle of Little Big Horn, United States Army troops sack Chief Dull Knife’s sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River. (If anyone has a right to protest in the United States, then it is the Native Americans.)

3. 1947: The “Hollywood Ten” are blacklisted by Hollywood movie studios. (I am a staunch capitalist, but the Red Scare was a sad time in American history.)

4. 1963: President John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (People often ask me about Kennedy’s presidency. Their opinions vary from his sainthood to his evilness. Honestly, I don’t think he was in office long enough for anyone to know how good he would have been. However, I think he, like most, was somewhere between the two extremes.)

Other people born today:

1835: Andrew Carnegie (He was slightly successful in the business world.)

1844: Karl Benz (He was slightly successful in the automotive world.)

1846: Carrie Nation (She wanted prohibition of alcohol in the United States. Can you imagine?)

1914: Joe DiMaggio (He owns baseball’s most unbreakable record and married Marilyn Monroe. What else can you say?)

1920: Ricardo Montalban (As Mr Roarke, he offered people the chance to live their deepest fantasies. The show would have been a lot better on Cinemax.)

1926: Jeffrey Hunter (He played Captain Pike in the pilot episode of “Star Trek”, but I like him better in the greatest western of all time, “The Searchers”.)

1941: Percy Sledge (He sang “When a Man Loves a Woman”.)

1960: John F. Kennedy, Jr. (That famous photograph of him saluting his father’s casket was made on his third birthday.)

1983: Joey Chestnut (He is the current world champion in various eating contests, including hot dogs.)

As Walter Cronkite used to say, “That’s the way it is – November 25, 2011.”

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The Andy Griffith Show

23 Nov

When I was a kid, my after school activities involved eating a snack; doing homework; and watching reruns of old television shows. The choices were plentiful as Gilligan messed things up on the island; Uncle Joe kept an eye on the Shady Rest as the girls skinny dipped in the water tank; Will and the Robot explored strange planets; and Herman and Grandpa got into trouble on Mockingbird Lane. However, those shows and characters paled in comparison to the exploits of the police force in Mayberry.

I became entranced by “The Andy Griffith Show” and watched in every time it came on the air (which was a lot). At one point, it was estimated that the show was ALWAYS on somewhere in the world. I watched it so much that I had the shows memorized and knew what the story would be within the first few frames. Eventually, I recorded the episodes on VHS tapes and cataloged them by episode number and title. By this point, you are thinking about how big of a dork I am. But wait, it gets worse.

I learned that Jim Clark and Ken Beck (who is from my hometown) started The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club, and it eventually grew to have chapters all over the world. I joined the club and attended the cast reunions that it hosted. I met (using character names) Barney Fife, Thelma Lou, Otis Campbell, Charlene Darlin and the Darlin Boys, Malcolm Meriwether and Ernest T. Bass. The reunions became a cottage industry as hundreds of people would attend. Memorabilia was sold, and I, like others, began collecting everything about the show. The actors found second lives in their careers as the phenomenon grew. There was only one catch. Andy Griffith would not take part. He spent a great deal of his post-TAGS career bitter about being typecast as the small town sheriff. This kept him from facing the fact that the role made him who he was. It was only after finding success as Ben Matlock (which is Andy Taylor as an older lawyer) that he gave in and agreed to do a reunion movie. It sucked, but that isn’t the point. The movement of fans made the show popular again and put Mayberry back on the map.

Somewhere along the way, Ken Beck, who wrote for a Nashville newspaper, published a story about an art teacher in Maryland who built a model of Mayberry. My mom contacted Ken and eventually got in touch with the teacher. She asked if he could build another one for my birthday. He replied that we could have the original one. That is how I became the owner of the only replica of Mayberry, for which I was featured on the old Nashville Network. I was like ZZ Top. I was nationwide. At the next cast reunion, I introduced myself to Jim Clark. He said, “You’re the one with the town.” Apparently, I had made my mark in the Mayberry universe.

The reunion phase faded away in the late 1990s for a couple of reasons. One, everything runs its course. Second, the actors were getting older and not able to appear. When Don Knotts passed away the spark was gone. He was the star attraction just like he was the star of the show. Many people say the show was never the same when it went to color. Coincidentally, that coincided with his departure. However, the show did not reach Number 1 in the ratings until he left. Something to ponder for those haters of the post-Barney years (which I am).

The reunions don’t happen much anymore, and I rarely watch the show. However, I still have the town and all of the memorabilia. Also, the show finally came out on DVD with uncut episodes, and I have all of those. I can go back to Mayberry at any time.

As I think back on the days of reunions and collecting, I wonder what attracted so many people to a 1960s show and its stars. Everyone I knew thought of it as more than just another sitcom. Maybe it was a utopia that they wanted to live in but knew they never could. No matter the reason, “The Andy Griffith Show” has many adoring fans.

There will come a time when it is not remembered as much as it has been. In fact, I feel it is happening now. It will fade from memory like other shows of the 1950s and 1060s. But for those of us who attempted to enter the fictional town for just a bit, it will always be a place that we can go to in our imaginations.

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Tennessee Beats Vanderbilt – No, Really They Did

21 Nov

My favorite t-shirt has “12.21.2012” written across the front. For many, that date represents an important day in Mayan prophecy and the end of times as we know them. Many people in my part of the world felt that the true end of the world had come on 11.19.2011, the date that Vanderbilt was favored over Tennessee in a game played in Knoxville. In case you didn’t realize, that had never happened before. For those of us who see the world through orange-tinted glasses, this was true Armageddon.

Fortunately for us, the earth balanced correctly on its axis and there was not an instantaneous ice age (as in that stupid Dennis Quaid movie). Tennessee prevailed in a classic SEC battle of heavyweights. Vanderbilt displayed finesse with four turnovers and two missed field goals. Their two touchdown drives covered a total of 41 yards. Tennessee came through with some nifty plays of its own. Tyler Bray threw a 99-yard touchdown to the wrong team, and the kicker missed a field goal when he hit the long snapper in the ass.

I have sat through a lot of games, and these had to be the two worst teams I have ever seen go against each other. Bad playing. Bad coaching. Stupid penalties. As icing on the cake, there was bad officiating. It’s good for the conference that no one outside of Tennessee cared about this game. If the world was watching, then the pundits would be up in arms about the whistle-no whistle-fumble recovery-interception-nonreviewable review at the end of the game.

Sadly, Tennessee fans were cheering wildly at the end as the team stormed the field. This was a win against VANDERBILT, and people acted like it was the national championship. How far has the program fallen? Vanderbilt had four turnovers and two missed field goals, and Tennessee was still lucky to win. And, people were thrilled. It’s funny what we will get used to. The program is truly wallowing in mediocrity…scratch that – Hell.

Derek Dooley is not the man to turn it around. I can only hope that AD Dave Hart looked around at the empty seats and the empty orange pants on the sidelines and came to the conclusion that this needs to be over sooner rather than later.

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One of Those Days

18 Nov

Ever have one of those days that just passed by? One of those days where you get caught up in the humdrum aspects of life, and inspiration does not place itself into your path. That’s what today is, and, honestly, I never thought about these days when I started to blog. I promised myself that I would post as often as possible, and I anticipated posts that would be witty and interesting. I probably haven’t accomplished that with any of my posts, but I am certain that it will not happen today.

So, what do you guys do when you have nothing to write about? Silence…Crickets chirping…

I will tell you about my day.

I woke up this morning to find my girlfriend is a blah mood. She is majorly stressed out at work and has several other issues going on. I knew something was wrong while we were getting ready for the day. She wasn’t her usual chipper self. There was no I love you. Her eyes looked like there was no spirit behind them. She left before I got out of the shower, so I called to find out what was wrong. She gave the standard answers, but I believe there is something in there that she wants to keep to herself.

I got to work and prepared for my first class, the first half of American history for freshmen. They had to turn in an assignment, and, like always, most of the papers were not stapled. I am pretty sure that my stapler is not the only one in existence. However, they all want to use mine. I took those up and began my lecture on the administration of James Buchanan. People don’t know too much about Buchanan, but he held power during an important period of our history, 1856-1861. These were the years leading to the Civil War. He thought that the situation could be controlled. Obviously, James was wrong. I have run into an interesting phenomenon this semester. Since I have been discussing the issue of slavery, the black students seem to be phasing out. It’s as if they don’t want to hear this part. I can’t blame them, but the story has to be told. We don’t want people to forget about the tragedies of the past.

After class, I wandered around the building for a while. Got some chocolate milk at the coffee shop. Bothered Dave in his office. Talked to Fred for a while. Then, it was time for my second class, the first half of world civilization for freshmen. I hate this class. Not the students…not all of the students. I hate the subject. Everyone here is an American historian, but someone has to teach the world stuff. Several years ago I got stuck with it because I had least seniority. Now, I have the most seniority and am still doing it. They watched a film about medieval art that I thought was boring. I am not sure how they sat through it. At least I didn’t have to talk though.

After class, I went to my usual Friday lunch with the “Mafia.” My brother and I have been eating lunch of Friday with my dad and his friends for two decades. It started when my dad suffered a stroke and had to retire. He was getting bored, so we started the tradition to break up his day. We eat at the same table in the same restaurant every week and have gained a reputation as an important group. We have had mayors, congressmen and other politicians come by at times. Apparently, they don’t realize that we are just a bunch of guys that eat, gossip and talk about any mundane subject that comes up. It’s a good group of people even if I don’t see eye to eye with them at times.

Now, I am back in my office and blogging away. The afternoons get quiet on campus. Most classes have already been taught, and students make themselves scarce around this time. I don’t blame them. I may head out soon myself.

My girlfriend is taking her daughter to see “Twilight” tonight. Luckily, I got out of that. She is coming by my house after, and I hope that she is in a better mood. It’s one of those times where I know what I do or say is going to be wrong. That’s the plight of being a man I reckon.

So, that’s a day in the life.

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The Problem With Sonic

17 Nov

I love Sonic. It is, by far, my favorite fast food joint because it caters to my taste buds. Corn dogs. Chili pies. Milkshakes. Jalapeno cheeseburgers. Now that I think about it, I like just about everything on their menu. It’s big yellow sign is a beacon that draws me to the breading, to the grease, and, most of all, to the convenience. No matter how much I like the food, it is really the convenience that attracts me. I can pull up, sit in my car and not have to deal with anyone else. This system works well for an introvert because I can’t, for the life of me, make myself walk into a restaurant and eat by myself. I feel like a loser and imagine myself eating alone until I am 80 years old. For me, Sonic is perfect. Wait, it used to be perfect because there is something currently about Sonic that I don’t understand.

Why does Sonic have a drive-thru window?

It makes not sense whatsoever. The entire Sonic concept is designed around the convenience of customers not getting out of their cars. The nostalgia of years past comes to life as smiling waitresses, sometimes on roller skates, bring your food to you. This is after you push a button and order food from your own personal glowing menu. So, what gives? Why does a drive-in restaurant need a drive-thru window? My initial conclusions are:

1. People are too lazy to put their vehicle in reverse. As far as I can tell, that is the only difference between pulling into a parking spot to order and ordering in a car line. It is the same menu. It is the same person on the intercom. It is the same waiting time. Actually, I think the car line waiting time is longer. I have seen Sonic’s with people waiting in a huge line while parking spaces sat empty.

2. People do not want someone bringing food to them. This is not an original idea because a man I work with brought it to my attention. While contemplating the mystery of the Sonic drive-thru, I mentioned my confusion to him. He said that he always uses the drive-thru because he didn’t want anyone hovering around his car. It invaded his comfort bubble or some nonsense. Is this really the mindset? People don’t want a cute girl on roller skates to bring food because it’s uncomfortable? The person in the drive-thru window has to reach toward your car. And, what about waiters in restaurants? They are hanging around the table all of the time.

3. People are too cheap to tip. I always tip the girl who brings my food. In fact, one of my former students who worked at Sonic said that they made better tips than any restaurant in town. Maybe people use the drive-thru because it is against their religion to tip a fast food worker, and this is their way out of an uncomfortable situation.

I have to admit that this mystery is totally beyond me. I can’t figure out why Sonic’s have drive-thru windows. Apparently, there is a reason because Sonic is spending money putting them in. Obviously, customers have asked for them. If you have any ideas about why this is, then please let me know.

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John Wayne and Edgar Allan Poe

16 Nov

A lot of blog subjects passed through my mind today. I contemplated sharing my classroom experiences and even the lunch I had with my friend Dave. However, I am not in the right frame of mind to write about Latin America, World War II or the experience of eating at the Colonel’s Buffet.

I have been thinking quite a bit about the Natalie Merchant concert. I attend many concerts, but it is the rare occasion when I continue to think about them a few days later. However, this one reached me to the core. I found her poetry songs interesting and have perused iTunes (there goes my iAddiction again) while contemplating purchasing a few. While listening, I began to think about my favorite poems. I am not a big poetry fan, but, as with everyone, some catch my fancy.

“Eldorado”, by Edgar Allan Poe, is my all-time favorite. The weird part is that I didn’t learn it from an English class or from discussing poetry in a coffeehouse. I learned it by watching a John Wayne movie.El Dorado

While I was growing up, my dad and older brother watched John Wayne movies all of the time. Wanting to be involved, I watched them too and began to memorize some of them. I especially latched on to “El Dorado”, which starred Wayne, Robert Mitchum and James Caan. Wayne played Cole Thornton, a gunfighter who owed a local ranching family for a tragic accident. Mitchum was J.P. Harrah, friend of Thornton who became a drunken sheriff. Caan played Mississippi, a young gambler that Thornton befriends. As the movie unfolds, the three of them, along with the comedic sidekick, fight against and defeat the rich, bad guy rancher.

Throughout the film, Mississippi recited lines from a poem about a gallant knight that I thought the writers of the movie came up with. As I researched the movie, I learned that it was the poem by Poe. Goes to show you that anything can be learned from any source. John Wayne taught me poetry and led me to become a historian who researches the history of the American West.

So, today’s mindset led me to poetry, and, for those who have never read it, here is “Eldorado”.

Gaily bedight,

A gallant knight,

In sunshine and in shadow,

Had journeyed long,

Singing a song,

In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old-

This knight so bold-

And o’er his heart a shadow

Fell as he found

No spot of ground

That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength

Failed him at length,

He met a pilgrim shadow-

“Shadow,” said he,

“Where can it be-

This land of Eldorado?”

“Over the Mountains

Of the Moon,

Down the Valley of the Shadow,

Ride, boldly ride,”

The shade replied-

“If you seek for Eldorado!”

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Arkansas 49 Tennessee 7

13 Nov

The University of Tennessee football team hit another low tonight in their loss to Arkansas. The squad now stands at 4 wins and 6 losses and needs to win the next two games to become bowl eligible. In the past, the final two games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky have been sure victories, but this year is different. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vandy is favored this week. Actually, they should be because they are the better team. That’s how bad things have gotten. Vanderbilt is better at football than Tennessee. Sad.

There was one positive about the game tonight. I watched it with my dad. He took me to my first game when I was six years old, and from then on I went to every game that he did. I imagine that a lot of adults would rather go without kids, but he always included me. I can remember riding in the back seat as he and my grandfather talked in the front. Our season tickets never changed, so the people around us watched me grow up. I still sit in the same seats. However, he doesn’t go much anymore.

In July of 1991, my dad suffered a massive stroke that affected his speech and paralyzed his right side. He spent years learning how to walk again and write with his left hand. He has worked hard and bounced back from an attack that most doctors expected would kill him. However, as he gets older the effects weigh him down more and more. For years, I took him to a few games that he felt comfortable going to. He took me, so I was going to take him. But, his one game this year was very hard. I doubt that he ever goes again.

I can sense my dad getting more feeble and realize that at some point he will no longer be here. That’s why watching games with him is so special. It is something we have done together as long as I can remember. A lot of sons remember playing catch with their dads. I remember going to football games with him. As I watched the game tonight, I realized that it didn’t matter who won or by how much. What matters is that we got to watch it together.

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