YES, I AM STILL HERE peeking out my window on Main Street, and I am not quite ready to get on the Razorback Football Bandwagon yet, no matter how lovely the Hog Wild Hog Band twirlers are.
That upset win over Tennennessessessee was really nice, but I’ve gotten excited about the Razorbacks before only to have my heart broken by their performance in the next week’s game with the likes of the Southern Illinois Salukis (that’s a kind of dog that is their mascot) or the Southeastern West Virginia Crackers (that’s an imaginary mascot).
I don’t have many fine possessions, but #1 Fair Weather Razorback Football Fan title is one of the dearest.
After the game I drove up and down Main Street honking my horn for about a half hour.
Finally some kid in an orange t-shirt with a white T on his chest ran out in front of my truck at the Post Office stoplight.
“Hey, old man, what is that ugly red animal sticker on your back window? I seen you go up and down Main six times already!”
It was a charming kid and he was just excited about his own (formerly unbeaten) team.
I wished him the best. “Hey, kid, stand in front of my truck and I promise I won’t run over you.”
I caution all you Razorback fans not to get too excited until we see how we fare against the likes of LSU and Ole Miss and Missouri.
As usual I will expect the worst.
And as usual I did not hang around to witness the great upset. When Tennessee ran the score up to 14-3 I figgered it was time to retire for the night. “I’ll just check the final score of this debacle in the morning,” I told myself, expecting something like a final of 44-3.
I confess that I am proud that I was able to help the Hogs get this win and help save Coach Sam Pittman’s job at the same time just by turning the game off and going to bed early.
In case there’s another surprise later in the season I’ve begun looking for my Hog yard flag and for that faded banner I once hung over my front doorway back when I had Razorback pride. Couldn’t find either but I won’t stop looking.
Just in case we beat LSU two weeks away.
When the tv camera pans the LSU bench during a game I always remark that NONE of them look like college boys.
Instead, the LSU players look like they were released from solitary confinement at Angola Prison to suit up for the game.
As you know, the jobs of Governor, Head Football Coach and Prison Warden in Louisiana are combined into one.
And he says, “Beat Arkie and you’ll get a parole no strings attached; lose to Arkie and we’ll throw you back in the hole, and it’s nothing but nothing but beignets and water for you until next Mardi Gras.”
I was going to write: “Nothing but bread and water” but the mere mention of beignets has made me renounce my latest diet.
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A MEMORIAL SERVICE. Johnny Harding was remembered by friends and family at a memorial service in Center Point, Saturday afternoon.
It was my great pleasure and honor to be in the Nashville Jaycees with Johnny and his wife, Mellie Webb Harding, back in the 1970s.
We thought young men and women could change the world, and we put our hearts into community service.
Nashville could use something like Jaycees again.
I especially remember working with Johnny at those great Southwest Arkansas Poultry Festivals. We grilled tons of chicken and served thousands of people, and even had some star entertainers.
Peace to his friends and family and thanks to the Almighty for putting such people among us.
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THERE ARE SOME things I just don’t understand. Poor Florida got ripped by one hurricane and is bracing for another. The Vice-President of the United States tried to call the Governor of Florida to offer her help and sympathies.
He refused her call. When did we get this way?
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THE GOOD EARTH. Because of a back injury I have not watered my flowers for a week.
They are dying, maybe even beyond salvation, but I just cannot lug the water pitcher around. The plants have been so colorful and enjoyable this year, what with the heat and the sun and my visits with that water pitcher. Now I’m watching them shrivel and die. Maybe Mother Nature will forgive and forget, and I promise to do better next year.
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THINGS I LEARNED from opening e-mail: “There’s a fine line between a numerator and a denominator. Only a fraction of people will find this funny.”
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WORD GAMES. The twins: Fine and Dandy. Aren’t they special!
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HE SAID: “You never know what’s going to happen. My mother was an English teacher. If someone had told her that I was going to write a book, she would never have believed that. So you can never say never.” Tony Dungy, NFL coach
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SHE SAID: “Nature’s music is never over; her silences are pauses, not conclusions.” Mary Webb, novelist and poet
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SWEET DREAMS, Baby
