Friday, October 31, 2008

The Difference

This past May was a very exciting time for my wife and me as parents. For the second year in a row, we had the high privilege and honor (along with both sets of grandparents) to see one of our daughters go through a college graduation. In May, 2007 we saw our elder daughter graduate from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and this past May, we saw our second daughter graduate from Spartanburg Methodist College with her Associate of Arts degree.

Needless to say, pictures were taken, hugs were given and memories were shared at both ceremonies. Our elder daughter has moved on to the Medical University of South Carolina where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in Pharmacology, and our second daughter has moved on to the College of Charleston where she is pursuing a Bachelors degree in Education. (And so our other two children don't feel left out, our third daughter received a letter of admission with a scholorship to Young Harris College this past week, and our son made all A's).

Back to the story.

One of the things that made this past May very interesting and unusual was the processional and recessional. Actually, it was the difference that was glaringly apparent during the processional and recessional.

(By the way, my father-in-law lost his monopod for his camera during the ceremony, so if anyone knows where it is, please let me know and I will pass it on).

What was glaringly apparent was the difference. 20 inches of difference.

Our daughter, you see, is approximately 5’2” in height. And of course, her last name is Lane.

They had everyone lined up in alphabetical order, and the name “Knox” came just before “Lane”. Brendon Knox was seated next to my daughter. He is 6’10” tall. 20 inches taller than her. It was so strange to see them standing beside each other, because he simply towered over her.

Needless to say, Brendon played basketball for Spartanburg Methodist. A very good basketball player, in fact. So good, in fact, that he signed a scholarship with Auburn University right out of Spartanburg Methodist College. He has begun pre-season practice and workouts getting ready for the 2008-09 season at Auburn.

In an interview with Auburn Coach Jeff Lebo earlier today, Lebo told AuburnSports.com that Knox has the potential to be very good, and "does some stuff that makes your eyes pop out every once in a while”. I can understand that. He certainly made mine pop out when I saw him standing next to my daughter at graduation this past May.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Festum Omnium Sanctorum

Saturday is Festum Omnium Sanctorum….All Saints Day. In fact, every November 1st is. Most churches celebrate this day on the first Sunday of November.

The origin of All Saints Day goes back to 609 A.D. when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the memory of the Virgin Mary and to all people who had been martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.

In medieval times, the translation from the Latin “Festum Omnium Sanctorum” into old English became “All Hallowmas”. Hallow means sanctify or consecrate, which is why when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we prayer “Hallowed be Thy Name.” Mas means mass, which is a holy service of remembrance where the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. So “All Hallowmas” was a day when all the saints were remembered, and the celebration of memory to “do this in remembrance of me” took place. All Saints Day.

Of course, you can now understand where the term “All Hallows Eve”, the day before “All Hallowmas” comes from. All Hallows Eve became shortened to “Halloween”, which is October 31. And Friday evening I expect my front yard to be enundated with little ghosts and goblins and spidermen and Harry Potters and Miley Cyrus's.

This year on All Saints Day, the Auburn Tigers and the Ole Miss Rebels square off in Oxford, Mississippi. And being a faithful fan I will be watching and cheering my Auburn Tigers. I hope, and fully expect, to see them play for 4 full quarters. I want to see an effort in the second half I haven't yet seen.

Others of you may be watching and cheering the Bulldogs or Gators as they square off….or the Volunteers or Gamecocks….or Cornhuskers or Sooners, or whoever your favorite team may be.

But we all need to remember that these games are not the most important thing taking place on Saturday, November 1. The most important thing taking place is a day the church, for almost 1400 years, has set aside to remember those who have gone on to their heavenly reward because of their faith.

Each of you reading this knows someone. Maybe a friend. Maybe parents. Grandparents. Relatives. Ministers. Neighbors. Maybe even children. People you know and love who are no longer with us on this earth, but who now call "heaven" home. Take a moment on Saturday to remember them. And thank God for them. For what they meant and continue to mean to you.

On Sunday, the church I attend will be celebrating communion. If the Lord is willing, I will be there…..taking the bread and wine….in remembrance. All Saints Sunday.

WJLaneSR.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A Day to Remember Number 38

Nineteen years ago today, the reality of what can happen to a person who plays football at a high level was realized. Fullback Brad Gaines of Vanderbilt had just received a short pass, turning upfield to gain additional precious yardage. The collision that ensued was bone crushing….literally.

Number 38 plunged head-first to tackle Gaines, and those around them said you could hear the crash and crunch. Roy Lee didn’t move. He couldn’t. He was paralyzed.

Roy Lee Mullins….his friends called him “Chucky”, lay on the field in Oxford, Mississippi with four shattered vertebrae in his cervical spine. The Ole Miss defensive player was paralyzed instantly and would never walk again. The date was October 28, 1989.

Chucky Mullins was airlifted to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he underwent a bone graft to fuse his vertebrae, and tracheotomy so a ventilator could breathe for him.

Mullins became the recipient of a huge outpouring of community support from fans all over the United States. He was visited by President George H.W. Bush, the city of Oxford, Mississippi donated land for a special house to be built for him, and a trust fund that exceeded $1 million was set up for him.

Mullins and Gaines, who didn’t know each other before their collision, became good friends. Gaines talked with him often.

Chucky Mullins died of a pulmonary embolism on May 6, 1991 from complications due to his paralysis. He was buried outside Russellville, Alabama, his home town.

Quietly and with no one else around, Brad Gaines visits and maintains Chucky Mullins’ gravesite three times a year…May 6, the anniversary of his death, October 28, the anniversary of the injury, and December 25, Christmas Day. It is his intimate and personal tribute to Chucky Mullins.

Ole Miss retired Mullins number 38. The only other number to be retired at Ole Miss is Archie Manning’s number 18. Zach Gilbert of Auburn University wears number 38 in memory of his cousin, Lee Roy “Chucky” Mullins.

Today, Brad Gaines will visit and tend to Chucky Mullins’ grave. With all the excitement of game week between Auburn and Ole Miss, let’s take a few moments today to remember Chucky Mullins….a young man who not only gave his all on the football field, but who left an indelible mark on those around him after his injury.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSR

Monday, October 27, 2008

Vegetable Soup

First of all, I must apologize to each and every one of my faithful readers who sit on the edge of their seat waiting for that weekly dose of intellectually stimulating creativity called my blog. To both of you, I apologize for not getting this done sooner.

As for the rest of you, well, let’s just say I have been a little busy, (Here’s where I enumerate on the last few days activities) like the fact I had a delayed flight on Friday evening and didn’t get home until after midnight, had to drive four hours on Saturday which was also “Apple Annie Day” at our church, taught a Sunday School class and helped with “Trunk ‘R Treat” at the church last night, and flew to New York this morning. Now it’s lunchtime, and finally I get to write.

I’ve read just about everything written over the last few days regarding the demise of the Auburn football team. Add to that watching how Georgia dismantled the LSU secondary, and Alabama kept Tennessee from being able to move the ball at all, and knowing that they comprise 50% of what is left on Auburn’s schedule, and I’ve had to take a dose of pepto-bismol and scratch my head to come up with something positive to write.

The week that was drew my memory back to 1971. That was the year when John Denver had a breakout album entitled “Poems, Prayers and Promises.” In that album, a song that he wrote with Bill Danoff and Taffey Navert bolted up the charts to #2. The song was entitled “Take Me Home Country Roads.”

As opposed to the words “Almost Heaven, West Virginia”, seeing firsthand how the Mountaineers Gold Rushed their way over and through the Auburn Tigers during the second half of Thursday night’s ballgame, was anything but heaven. I do recall, however, crying “take me home country roads”, because we just wanted to get the hillbilly out of there.

But rather than regurgitate what most of you saw on television, I want to share with you some vegetable soup….a hodge podge of tidbits from the week that was, to the week that will be.

My dad, my son and I flew to Pittsburg and drove to Morgantown on Wednesday afternoon. Thinking we probably ought to ride over to the stadium to check out the parking, roads, etc., we checked into our hotel and headed to town.

Now Morgantown is no metropolis. It's a stretch to call it a small town. So one would think that it would be easy to find the football stadium. Noooooo. Finding the football stadium was anything but easy, and more like confusing. It is not really on campus, you can’t see it from two blocks away, there is no parking, a major hospital sits just beyond one endzone, and the hospital shares parking with the stadium. It is built in a valley between two little hills, and that is why you can’t see it. All of the surrounding parking is by permit only, so for us visitors, finding a place to park was almost impossible. We found a guy who was selling parking places for $20 behind his store, and we took it.

There is one other thing there is none of….places to eat. At least not in walking distance of the stadium. Or at least as far as we could see. We happened on a small pizza parlor hidden in the corner of the building where we parked, and ate pizza, which as some of you know, is my least favorite food. Maybe in my much younger days I chased too much beer with pizza (as opposed to vice versa). Today, all I have to do is smell it and I start getting heartburn. Anyway, they didn’t sell beer at this pizza parlor, and you couldn’t get a refill on your coke. They did have a bathroom, though.

We went to Tiger Walk, which the security for WVU had never seen anything like. Their Robo-Cop and a few pimple faced kids in yellow jackets tried to control the crowd, but it was of little use. Tiger walk was close and loud and old men jumped in front of my son to get close to Aubie, blocking my son's view, which he had staked out 2 hours earlier. I should have known then that we weren’t all on the same team-page that night.

Our tickets were in section 97, and Auburn had a large following. The space between seats is larger than at Auburn, there is more knee room, and most of the Mountaineer fans around us were very cordial, but there was one quite drunk young hillbilly who was totally belligerent and kept cussing in a very foul way. Even the WVU fans around him told him to shut up and sit down, which he didn't do.

As for the game, well, I don’t need to go into that.

As I said earlier, our flight home was delayed for three hours, which was a fitting end to our road trip.

I also mentioned earlier that I have read an awful lot of stuff, or maybe a lot of awful stuff….since I got home. I was talking to a gentleman last night at Trunk R Treat who used to coach football, and in fact coached in college for a while, who said, “it’s kind of weird that your future as a coach is all wrapped up in what some 18, 19 and 20 year old kids do.” I guess it is.

One thing I read that was quite interesting came from The Auburner. It showed games won since 2000. Auburn is the third most successful team in the SEC, just behind LSU and Georgia. And if nothing else, that is something to celebrate.

A few other comments…there is nothing better than taking a road trip with your dad and son, regardless of the outcome of the game. I don’t think I ever want to go back to Morgantown. This is a new week, and the Reverend Houston Nutt sits on the horizon. To which I say, Just Beat Ole Mrs.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Gold Rush

They were called 49ers. Not because they played football in San Francisco, but because the year was 1849, and a fever was crossing America called the “Gold Rush of ‘49”. Covered wagons and ships descended upon California in search of easy gold.

But the easy gold was nowhere to be found. Oh, there was a little gold in the riverbeds, but the amount most found was barely enough to buy supplies and food to keep on looking. A typical miner spent 10 hours a day knee-deep in ice cold water, digging, sifting, and washing. It was backbreaking labor which yielded less and less.

But this was the gold rush.

Camaraderie was all but gone by 1850, as 49ers who expected to find their fortune in a few days found themselves digging and digging for month after month, year after year, with nothing to show for it.

But this was the gold rush.

Out of despair, many 49ers turned to poker and other forms of gambling in hopes of snagging a quick fortune that had evaded them during the gold rush. When this didn’t work, many turned to crime. Many just gave up their dream and went home back east.

For most everyone, the gold rush was nothing but despair, dejection and disappointment. And so the gold rush came to an end.

Thursday is supposed to be a gold rush. That is what the West Virginia Mountaineers are calling for. They want the game with Auburn to be a “gold rush” game…with all their faithful wearing yellow. They have a fevered pitch about them. Kind of like the mining 49ers.

If Auburn plays defense as they are capable….if they run the ball with conviction….if they don’t make mistakes….history might just repeat itself. Their gold rush might just end in despair, dejection and disappointment for the home mountaineers.

Let’s send them “back east” where they belong.

War Eagle!!

WJLaneSR

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Best of Times, Worst of Times

Charles Dickens wrote a book entitled "A Tale of Two Cities". He opens the book with what has become a classic quote: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…”

History calls it “Black Monday”, and these past two weeks we have been reminded of it. You might remember, and maybe were affected, by Monday, October 19, 1987. Black Monday. 21 years ago this week.

It all began in Hong Kong, where the market crashed and sent a Market Tsunami west through the international time zone, through all of Europe, and finally hitting the shores of Manhattan’s Wall Street so that no continent was left untouched. It was the largest one day stock market decline in history.

What you may not remember about Black Monday are these events taking place the weekend before.

On the evening of October 18, two United States warships shelled an Iranian oil platform in the Persian Gulf in response to Iran’s Silkworm missile attack on the U.S. flagged ship MV Sea Isle City, an oil tanker leaving Kuwait. Interesting how oil seemed to be at the center of the issue 21 years ago.

Two days before Black Monday, Jim Fyffe, who was the sportscaster and radio talk-show host for the Auburn Tigers, had perhaps his most famous on-air call. In fact, he wrote in his autobiography that it was the call he was most known for. This call is on every collection of memorable radio calls released by the Auburn Network.

On the day of Jim Fyffe’s death, it is the call that Paul Finebaum played to open his show. It was his memorial to Jim Fyffe.

Auburn was a heavy favorite that day. It was to be the last yearly meeting between two very old rivals. But with 4:01 left in the game, Auburn trailed Georgia Tech at legendary Grant Field by a score of 10-7. Auburn needed to move the ball 91 yards to score. Behind the passing of quarterback Jeff Burger, and 16 plays later, Auburn was at the Yellow Jackets’ 4 yard line. Only 29 seconds were left on the game clock. Here is a quote of the call:

“...they have two tight ends in the game, one setback is Harris, here is motion by Donaldson back to the near side and now reverses his field, goes to the wide side of the field. Burger sets up to throw...OH MY! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! TILLMAN, TILLMAN, TILLMAN...TILLMAN...AT THE BASELINE OF THE END ZONE! A BULLET BY BURGER! AUBURN GOES AHEAD! UNBELIEVABLE! UNBELIEVABLE! TILLMAN FROM BURGER! TOUCHDOWN AUBURN! 13-10 TIGERS LEAD!”

Of the call, Fyffe said, "Frankly, in listening to the replay of the call through the years, I've never thought it was my best. I probably did go too crazy, but I think the listener could tell what was going on without any problem. No matter what I think about it, Auburn fans still come up to me and tell me it was the best call they've ever heard. And that's what matters." A call he made 21 years ago this week.

Isn’t it strange to remember that this famous call by Jim Fyffe was two days before Black Monday in October 1987? It was indeed the best of times, and it was the worst of times.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

Monday, October 13, 2008

A world upside down

My wife celebrated a birthday on Sunday. It wouldn’t be polite for me to mention she was now a half-century old, so I won’t. But I will share with you her (and my) birthday adventure. You see, we spent all last week on a cruise ship sailing along the New England coastline. We ventured into the ports of Halifax Nova Scotia, Bar Harbor Maine, St. Johns Newfoundland, Boston Massachusetts, and Philadelphia Pa. To say we had a great time would be an understatement.

But while we were gone, the world turned upside down. The global market dropped like boulder falling off a cliff, Auburn lost two football games, and Tommy Tuberville fired Tony Franklin. All of this taking place while I was eating midnight buffets, singing Karaoke, going to shows, and generally being oblivious to the world around me.

To be frank (not to be confused with “frank-LIN”, lest someone fire me!), I am kind of glad I wasn’t around last week. I didn’t have to put up with hearing how Vanderbilt beat us in front of the ESPN Game Day Crew, or how “something” happened on Tuesday that caused a meltdown which caused Franklin’s firing on Wednesday. I am certainly happy I didn’t travel to the Plains to see Petrino’s return and suffer through….yet again…an Arkansas team run all over Auburn. And finally, I’m glad I didn’t spend the entire week worrying about my retirement and 401(k) and investments as they vanished like dust. (After all, what’s so great about retirement, anyway???)

And now we come to an off week. A week where the Neil Caudle/Barrett Trotter experiment will take place. And why not? After all, we are now playing for rights to the Shreveport Bowl. Why not begin to see who is man enough to get the 2009 team ready? Why not challenge every player on the team with their manhood?

For a season that began with so much promise, we are now looking a disaster right in the face. And who would have thought, after we beat such a great Clemson team in the Chic-Fil-A Bowl. A team that some prognosticators thought would be the Cinderella National Champs in 2008. A team that fired Tommy Bowdon today.

I guess our world isn’t the only one that is upside down.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR