Has it really beenThat Long? - Looking Back before Moving On

       
              Gene Bartow called me. OK, he called the Memphis State University English Department. Graduate Assistants take many side assignments.
Coach wanted me to tutor a few of his scholars.
The year was 1972.
              John "Tree" Washington from a school in Alabama. Ed Wilson from Manasas HS. Bill Cook from White Station. John Tunstall. They were Freshmen. Bill Cook played significant minutes.
          It would be years before academics caught up with basketball skills and decades before school personnel recognized their obligation to these young men.
          I did my best to get these guys through Freshman Comp, but a sentence will always be a sentence and my efforts did not result in great accomplishment. Bill Cook was the star student.
It was the year of the Final Four and the finals against UCLA.
You know the rest.

Fast Forward to 1984-85. A friend had a doll named Andresina.
Female teachers in the Upstairs Den of Iniquity (smoking lounge) completed NCAA Brackets based on uniform colors and mascot ferocity.  And won the pool.
Road trips were measured in inches...on the map. "It's only a few more inches...go for it!"

Small black and white portable televisions with antennae were smuggled into classrooms along with portable radios. That way, at the 10AM tip-off, we could listen to Jack Eaton scream "Great Caesar's Ghost!" and forget to call the play-by-play.  But, we'd take his commentary over those Yankees who never pulled for Memphis State.

Turner: "I think more than anything people will look back at it as a family event. Guys from pretty much one hometown went to the Final Four. When we played, people would stop working; in the barbershops, they'd stop cutting. It was all about us."

We rarely worried about the outcome of a Tiger game if Andre Turner had the last shot or if Keith Lee hung around the basket. The Tigers could win if  only 1 second remained in the game. Ask John Wilfong, the Peach Guy, as David called him. Tigers overcame a considerable deficit with 16 seconds on the clock, stealing inbound passes, and shooting lights-out.
               It was an incredible time in the Memphis Tigers story.
And in our story. We shared experiences and made plenty of fabulous memories following the Memphis (State) Tigers. We knew it was a time to be remembered.
               We overlooked much. It was a golden time, for a short time. Some players could not get beyond their past glory and tragedy came in buckets.
The problem Dana Kirk had was ignored.  Shoeboxes of money were never discussed in polite society. How gouache.
The gods and the saints of old were on our side at that time. All of Memphis was pulling in one direction...toward victory.

One afternoon after the final bell, a group of us beat the buses out of the parking lot.
We sped to the Student Center on the Memphis State campus. Got in line. We snaked through shelves of textbooks and talked Tigers with all who were also forming that incredible line. The T-Shirt stack was looking smaller and smaller. The stack...running out.
I made it to the counter and paid (Whew!).  The only sizes for Final Four T-Shirts (1985) were size small.  Even then, that was too small. I got one anyway. Maybe I could just pin it on, like a bib or a cape.
Dana chewed on his ring. Larry did his best to coach the boys. Villanova.  Are you kidding me?

               "I was two games away from shaking hands with President Reagan," said reserve guard John Wilfong, now a senior vice president for a Memphis investment firm. "I got to shake hands with the ball boy and the manager."

I still have the important part of the t-shirt David slept in, saved as an essential element in his memorabilia heirloom - a T-Shirt Quilt.

Define COLD

Define COLD.  Colder than a well-diggers behind in Montana. Cold as kraut.

When a floor furnace and wall heaters kept the house tolerable during the daylight hours, night brought cold. No sane person would leave a furnace or a wall heater turned ON while the family slept.

Thus, in the morning, Mother would shake the frost from the quilts and blankets on my bed, and I'd countdown "3-2-1-GO!" and sprint to the bathroom after waiting as long as she would allow. There, Mother had lit the stove and closed the door. She did not know that I hung my socks over the wall unit!

 They were toasty when it was time to finish getting dressed.

When days were spent camped (oh, what fun!  whee!) in front of a wood-burning fireplace as Memphis struggled to cope with the 1994 Ice Storm,

 Instant coffee made with water boiled on the gas grill tasted... yummy. Sleeping bags, quilts, blankets, and a soft, furry dog kept the cold at bay. Jackets, caps, gloves served their purpose well. The experience was anything but delightful. Just glad we had a fireplace...and some logs.

Predictions of flurries turned to an all-out snow and ice event while Mother and I watched a movie somewhere in East Memphis during 1978-ish.  The car's door lock was frozen. A kind attendant helped people get into their cars and pull away, creeping toward home and warmth.

Dilemma: take the back roads or the 4-lane highway?  I chose Sam Cooper, thinking it would be safer. I did a 180 in front of a cop.  He allowed me to pull on around and then gave me some driving advice.  "Don't stop..."

Sledding down the embankments around Quince and 1-240, down the open areas at Shelby Farms, and down a huge hill west of Raleigh (Scenic Hills).

Temps that winter of 1984 were below zero; I do recall the U of M Tigers played basketball in the Tomb of Doom. Some had feared cancellation due to cold. That would be a Cold Day in 7734.

Tonight:  1 degree.  That is Cold!

Happy Valentine's Day to YOU

My friend HATES winter so much she installed a "grow light" in her office, and put her feet into a tray of sand beneath her desk.  Even that did not do the trick to brighten the gloom, so we orchestrated "girl trips" in February to counteract the bleakness of mid-winter.  Add the trauma of birthday and we pulled out all the stops to keep the mood elevated.

Not so for me. I love winter. With a January birthday, I celebrate all month!
I love watching weather forecasters predict snow.  Highs and Lows combining over just the right spot, temps just right for snow, not ice.
It's fun, though disappointing sometimes, to wear snow earrings and plan to watch movies and eat popcorn on a "snow day."

I love February because of Valentine's Day.
It's totally cool to have a boyfriend when in the 5th or 6th grade, but even without that treat, it's so very much fun to celebrate during school.
The highlight of the week was bringing in the Valentine's Day Decorated Shoe Box on Monday so that everyone could give everyone a Valentine's card.
I adored the party thrown by the room mothers with Red everywhere! The sparkles all over the floor and the icing from the cupcakes in our hair just added to the excitement.

Remember the packs of cards decorated with cartoon characters, even Popeye and Olive Oyl?  And Nancy and Sluggo?
I sorted mine, of course.  Miss Organization and Planning here.
The ones that said "lovey-dovey stuff," the ones for anyone, the ones for girlfriends, and the ones for boys, and the one that was just for the Teacher.  Then, I signed each one and put the name of the classmate on the outside after careful deliberation about who would like what card best. Ready for delivery during Valentine Week, the box of cards was opened on the day of the party.

Betty Dale, Margaret Jane, Paul, Suz, Sandy, CR, Bernie, Mike, Rhine

As the years progressed, and classroom parties stopped, I still loved the hoopla, the hearts, and the festival associated with LOVE and SURPRISES.
Our neighborhood parents went crazy one Valentine's and threw a big shin-dig complete with dancing and entertainment. It was hosted by us kids at the Supervisor's Club. Our whole class was invited and everybody dressed up and had a super time.

Now, it's Valentine's  time again.  The big day is Saturday.
I have the special card all picked out and ready for Lover Boy-have had it for weeks. Getting just the right one calls for reading quite a few cards before they get picked over.

Sent cards to the kids and to the grandkids.
Wonder what Valentine's Day will bring?
Always a treat!

Hope you find a special way to enjoy your day.
Make it a fun one, regardless of your LOVE status.
Buy something RED and share it with a friend, just like Coca~Cola has been advertising for years.
It's Fun, its' Festive, and it's February!
                   HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!