Saturday, August 30, 2008

Ahhhhh...Fall

Today (well, really Thursday) is when fall begins. SEC Football cranks up with my beloved Bulldogs, complete with a brand new UGA (VII) on the field.

I've loved the 'Dogs since I was a child and one of my best friends was a Tech fan. I could never figure that one out, since no one in his family went to GT. But there he was, my best bud, a contrast to the glorious red, white, and black of Georgia with that pitiful Jacket yellow.

So today we play Georgia Southern. Teams like this always scare me, not because they're so good, but because we tend to let our guard down when we think we have the game won before it starts.

Life's that way too. We look out for the obvious boulders and miss the small stumbling blocks. Somebody once said it's not enough to look up all the time...you better look down, too.

Many a small stone has taken down a big man. Think about Goliath.

I hope we don't have a David coming to Athens today.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Why I'll Be Voting Democrat

It's almost time to vote in the national election. Well, not quite, but you'd think so with all the news coverage, ads, internet blogs, etc.

So, in the interest of fair play, equal time, and since the Democrat National Convention is being held this week in Denver, the Mile High City where the air is thin and so, apparently, is integrity, here is why I'll be voting Democrat in this election.

Why I Am Voting Democrat

I'm voting Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

I'm voting Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

I'm voting Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq I trust that the bad guys will stop what they're doing because they now think we're good people.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday CAN tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

I'm voting Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as THEY see fit.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe three or four pointy headed elitist liberals need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would NEVER get their agendas past the voters.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that when the terrorists don't have to hide from us over there, when they come over here I don't want to have any guns in the house to fight them off with.

I'm voting Democrat because I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want. I've decided to marry my horse.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

Makes you wonder why anyone would EVER vote Republican, now doesn't it?

Not to worry...next week I'll tell you why I'm voting Republican.


Saturday, August 16, 2008

Elvis Has Left The Building

A friend of mine was asking a co-worker the other day if he knew what Saturday (today) was. The guy thought a minute and said "the 16th". He got another hint when my friend said, "August 16th, 1977". The guy looked puzzled and I said, "Memphis". Finally I said, "How many hints do you need?" He said, "Oh yeah, the day Elvis died."

Nope. The day he went home.

I saw the King in concert about two months before he died, wearing the suit he would eventually be buried in. I told my date, "He won't live a year." He didn't.

Several years later I had the opportunity to go to Memphis with a friend. When we landed at the airport and got our rental car he asked, "Are we going to the hotel?"

Nope. Straight to Graceland.

When we entered the house, I instinctively knew where everything was, including the infamous bathroom (believe it or not, located directly above the front door). I felt right at home.

I've been an Elvis fan all my life, and unashamed of it, even when it wasn't popular to be one. The earliest movie I recall watching was "Love Me Tender" on TV. I pretended a tennis racket was a guitar and I'd swivel my hips and twitch my leg just like him. My family all knows my affection for Elvis and I think I've won most of them over to my side.

So today we celebrate the King with my list of favorites:

Favorite Elvis Movie: "King Creole". My favorite song in this movie was "Trouble". I'm singing it in my mind as I write. Of course I also liked the line in "Loving You" when Elvis was at the home of some dignified music critics who asked him about his singing methodology using terms only intellectuals would know (in an effort to embarrass him), to which he replied "Lady, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Favorite Elvis Move: The leg twitch. Whether he really got it from Forrest Gump or not, it sure worked for him.

Favorite Elvis Song: "Suspicious Minds". He was at the height of his career and you can feel everything he was ever about in this song. Or any of the ballads. I really liked the "sleeper" songs that weren't the most popular, like "Love Letters" and "Are You Sincere?".

Favorite Elvis Concert: The early 1970s show from the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis. Nothing like a hometown crowd to bring out the best in you.

Favorite Elvis Album: The "white album", "From Elvis In Memphis". Not a bad song in the bunch. "Long Black Limousine" was ominous, wasn't it?

Favorite Elvis Moment: With Nixon in the White House. Only one of them really meant business that day. The one with the gun in his boot.

Folks talk about early Elvis, 70s Elvis, thin Elvis, fat Elvis, blah blah blah. They call him self-indulgent and childish. They speculate about his drug use. But you don't hear this from anyone very often:

Favorite Elvis Saying: One time someone in the audience yelled out "You're the King!" to which Elvis replied, "There's only one King, and that's Jesus Christ."

Thank you...thank you very much.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

She's Gone

Today is my first effort at "blogging" (which wasn't even a word when I was young...when I was young...that'll make a good post another day).

Today is significant for a couple of reasons. My daughter and my sweetheart (who is also my wife) are traveling to Florida for Emily to return to school for her senior year. Emily (my daughter) is the one who set this blog up because she thought I could write, and Jennie (sweetheart/wife) has thought for a while that I/we should write because we have such a story to tell.

That's reason number one.

Reason number two is a little more bittersweet.

Em is returning for her senior year. As we finished praying and they prepared to leave around 6am MHT (Mountain Heaven Time) tears welled up in Emily's eyes. I knew they were there before this morning but I, the strong one, wouldn't allow myself the luxury of crying or we'd all still be there standing and snotting.

What I felt this morning was a continuation of the past several days, as I thought about her senior year, the classes, her at the beach with her friends, her on-campus job which she loves, and all the things that mean so much when you are so young.

But mostly I just thought about her leaving me.

For what in the scheme of things will probably be the last time.

Oh, I know she'll come back "home" periodically, but I don't think she'll ever be back to stay again. Not because she wouldn't want to...but because I think--I know--I hear her future calling.

I'm sure it involves a destiny that was decided for her long before I first laid eyes on her.

I'm certain it includes friends and a career that she'll really enjoy.

And I'm afraid that there's some sweet-talking, good-looking undeserving boy that I already can't tolerate because she's way too good for him.

All those things are waiting to take her away from me.

But for right now, all I can think is...

She's gone.