The Cardinal

 

 

 It was one year ago today, my buddy, Bill Wade, left us after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

"Battle" is a misnomer.  Nobody can really battle pancreatic cancer and win.

Bill learned he had cancer in late June. The doctor gave him three to six months.  Maybe a year, if he did chemotherapy and if the chemotherapy worked.

He did a month's worth of chemotherapy. It didn't work.  He told me it took him to "a dark place" and Bill went into hospice care. 

He died three months after his diagnosis.

My wife and I visited him three weeks before his death.

Of course, he was frail. The man who once rode his bicycle across Missouri couldn't walk across the room without losing his breath.

He was in pain. It was hard for him to stay seated.

But in typical Bill Wade fashion, he took chicken feed and made chicken salad.

He said he had enough time to get affairs in order and to plan his Celebration of Life service. His Celebration of Life service featured five of the ministers he mentored or worked with, the chief of police of Bowling Green, Kentucky (Bill was a Chaplain for the police force), and his goofy little friend from Georgia.

He also said he had time to say goodbye. A lot of people don't get that chance.

He told Lori and I that he loved us. We knew.

There's an old wives tale about cardinals. If you think about a departed loved one, you will soon see a cardinal. 

In something called "Wiki-How", it explains about cardinals

 

"With their brilliant red wings and hopeful song, cardinals are believed to be spiritual messengers between the physical world and the great beyond. They might be a sign from your loved one to remind you that they’re near, they love you, and they will always be by your side.

• A cardinal can also be your loved one’s way of comforting you through your grief and reminding you that you are not alone.
• Your loved one might send you a cardinal to give you hope and encouragement to keep moving forward.
• A cardinal doesn’t have to land on you to deliver its message from your loved ones. Simply seeing one in your yard is a reminder that they’re with you."

I can't tell you how many times I've gone out to get the mail or work in the yard, and I'll think of one of Bill's jokes or his parody songs (I remembered one today: he made up a song to Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again" called "On The Commode Again") and a cardinal will fly by.

But I don't need a cardinal to remind me of Bill.  I think about him when I see a train (he was a train fanatic) or a bag of M&Ms, or hear the Jimmy Buffett song "Life Is Just A Tire Swing". I am thankful he was a big part of my life and, now, a big part of my memory.

 

This Week's Picks Five

 

Jawja vs. The WarTigers.   This game used to be at the end of the SEC schedule, but now, it is in the old Tennessee slot. Auburn is having a better season, so far, than last year. The key words are "so far". They lost to Texas A&M last week. But, hey, they beat UMass. War Dang TigerEagle. UGA wins.

 

Bumbles vs. The Other Falcons: The Bees beat the Baptists last week, and all the world rejoiced! This week brings the Bowling Green school in Ohio (not Kentucky) to the Flats. Looky here: second week in a row Tech wins.

 

 llesyou vs Ole Mess.   The one time I pick Ole Miss to beat Alabama, they lost big time.  No more. LSU is a much better team that Ole Miss. LSU wins.

 

Trojan Men! vs. Not Ready For Prime Time.  Like I said before, I've always respected Deion Sanders's athletic ability because it is four hundred times more than mine. Additionally, his skill for self-promotion is unequaled, particularly among late middle-aged football coaches.  Still, it was kind of nice seeing Coach Sanders humbled by a team called "The Ducks".  Colorado is going to have another rough day. USC wins

 

Beloved Owls vs Charleston Southern.  Another Saturday, another loss for the Owls in the last year in FCS.  This week the Owls take on Charleston Southern which promises students "will learn to think broadly and deeply about ideas." Like the idea of them losing to Western Carolina University 77-21.  For you political junkies, Sen Tim Scott is an alumnus.  Owls win.

 

This Week's Picks-Week Four

 

There's a radio show on "The Georgia Bulldog Network" called "The Bulldog Brunch".   It broadcasts on the Sunday after the game and features  Jeff Dantzler and Kevin Butler. Butler was a kicker for Georgia in the early 80's and played for The Chicago Bears.

Mainly, the show is about the game the day before and what Jeff and Kevin are eating. They take phone calls in which Bulldog fans make statements (or "takes"  as they are called now) and then the Bulldog fans hang up so they can listen to Jeff and Kevin's comments.

Last week, one guy called. He was that guy. He's the Fan above all Fans and he eats, drinks, and sleeps Bulldogs. He's going to give his opinion to you if you want it our not.

I wish I could find a transcript of it because: A) The man never took a breath B) Didn't seem the least bit concerned if Jeff and Kevin was even listening.

I heard something about Coach Dooley, Coach Smart, and three-peat World Champions. Jeff had to tell him, "We gotta go" because the show was up against a hard break.  

The guy finished with a "go Dawgs", which I think is how he finishes his prayers.

 

This Week's Picks!

 

Jawja vs. The Drags:  Georgia started slow, as is their custom this year, before going ahead and beating South Carolina. The Dawgs are playing the University of Alabama at Birmingham (School Motto: "Just say you went to Alabama") Dragons, so yeah, the Dawgs should get another win. They will. Dawgs win.

 

Bumbles vs. Demonic Church Leaders.   The Bees were not that bad against Ole Miss, but they still lost. Wake Forest is 3-0, but they barley beat Old Dominion last week. Fun Fact: It is Family Weekend at Wake Forest ("Hey Mom and Dad-See What $75K Buys You!"). Oh what the heck:  Tech Wins.

 

Prime vs. The Quacks  People really take this Coach Neon Deion Prime Time All I Do Is Shine stuff seriously. I saw another funny college football guy calling the love Sanders is getting as "transactional": meaning they only like Deion because he wins. DUH. I thought it was understood from the get-go with college coaches. Nick Saban doesn't get statues built for him because of his sparkling personality. Anyway, I like what Sanders has done in Boulder, I just want to see him beat a ranked team before I jump on the Deion train.  Ducks win

 

 

The State of Florida vs. The Sons of Clem. FSU in this one. I just think they are better.  FSU wins

 

 

Ahia State vs Our Lady. Ohio State is always one of those teams that are ranked, just like Notre Dame, except Ohio State deserves it most of the time. This is only the third time in history that Ohio State has played Notre Dame under the eyes of Touchdown Jesus. Forgive me father, but I don't buy Notre Dame this year.  Ohio State wins.

 

 

 

 

 

Bamy vs Ole Mess.  The computers say Alabama has a 65 percent chance to win this game even though they can barely block or cover anybody. Generally, over the past 15 or so years I have deferred to Alabama because they have been such monsters. They aren't anymore. I'm not so sure about Ole Miss, either, but if there is one year they should win, this is it.   Ole Miss wins.

 

Beloved Owls vs. Tenn Tech:   Well, Kennesaw State is 1-2, losing a heart breaker to Furman. This week, they play Tennessee Tech. Another fun fact: a famous Tennessee Tech alumnus is Dottie West. Owls wins.

 

This Week's Picks - Week Three

 

It's a truncated This Week's Pick, uh, this week.

We had baby sitting duty and had to write this post without my usual witty prologue. I probably would have mentioned something about Alabama losing to Texas. 

Boo-Hoo.

Alabama has been a monster team for years and this year may not be their year. Or it might be. It was only the second game of the year.

This Week's Picks

Jawja vs. The Illegal Game Birds: Georgia finally plays some big boy teams. South Carolina laid an egg (look, I know they are not female chickens) against North Carolina. I wonder if they can hang with Georgia. They won't.  UGA wins.

 

 

Bumbles vs. Ole Mess.  Tech won one last week. They won't this week. Ole Miss wins

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prime vs Non-Prime.  So far, the most talked about team this year is Colorado because of Neon Deion Coach Prime Sanders. In the first two games, they showed they are for real.   Colorado wins

 

Ellessyou vs Upright Walking Bulldogs Of Stark Vegas. As we all know, LSU looked bad in their first game against FSU. Mississippi State has a pretty good quarterback. I just flipped a coin on this one. LSU wins.

 

 

Rocky Topped vs Reptiles. Back in the last century, the Florida-Tennessee game was a real big deal. So was Bill Clinton. Fast forward twenty some odd years and it looks like Tennessee is rising while nobody can be sure about Florida.   Tennessee wins

Beloved Owls vs. Purple Paladins:  My Beloved Owls lost to UT-Chattanooga last week and thus forfeited their chance to go to Buc-ee's on the way back to Kennesaw. This week, Furman comes to The Stadium Down The Street From Cracker Barrel. Furman is where Amy Grant went to school. (What other College Football post gives that type of information?) Owls win.

A Long Way With The Braves

 

 

Oh-hum. Another combination of Braves wins, Phillie losses, and The Atlanta Braves (and not the New Yerk Mutts) will win their sixth straight National League East title. (At the time of this writing, it is eight, with <checking the schedule> a bunch of games left in the schedule.)

My son took me to a game the other night. The Braves were playing The Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Braves played the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first major league games I went to.   To show you how long ago it was, Pittsburgh's right fielder was Roberto Clemente. The second baseman was Bill Mazeroski. Their shortstop was Maury Wills. Mazeroski is in The Hall of Fame, but Wills is not.

I only remember a little about that game. We sat on the top row of the old Atlanta-Fulton County stadium, which the natives called "Allanuh Stadium."

Allanuh Stadium is a distant memory now. I remember it had a smell. It smelled like beer. It was as if everybody took their beer and poured it on the concrete as soon as soon as they bought it.

The men's bathroom did not have urinals. The bathrooms had a long trough. Yes, it was as gross as it sounds.

The Braves won the Western Division in 1969 and 1982. Back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, baseball and football considered Atlanta a West Coast city. Then, sometime in the 90s, someone found a map and said, "Oh, Atlanta's in the east." Aside from that it was mainly sad, depressing baseball.  Atlanta was considered "Loserville" by Sports Illustrated. 

Ted Turner bought the Braves in 1975 and set out to make the Braves a winning team. However, first, he had to get the fans back into the stands.

He did this with various tricks like wet t-shirt contests, which are not exactly fun for the entire family.  However, he did bring in a mascot-like figure called "The Bleacher Creature."

The Bleacher Creature was this green blob, and you can almost hear Turner say, "It's green! Kids love green blobby monsters."

By the 90s, the Braves were a joke. George Will spoke at a conference in Atlanta in 1990 when a gubernatorial election was going on (Zell Miller versus Johnny Isakson). He said the first thing he would do if elected as governor would be to bring major league baseball to Atlanta.

The following year, the Braves won the Western Division.

That's because Turner brought in John Schuerholz as General Manager, and Schuerholz turned the Braves into a winning franchise.

That was thirty-two years ago.  The Braves have experienced a couple of shaky years, but on the whole, they have been a competitive baseball team. 

They have an outstanding offensive team this year. If you can't vote for Ronald Acuna, Jr. as MVP, how about Matt Olson?  

Defensively, they are solid. I worry about their pitching, but they won the World Series two years ago with much less.

My son had tickets in The Chop House from his company.  The Chop House seats gives you a waitstaff, a place to put your food, a chilled cup holder, and a cell phone battery charger.

The Chop House is also a little place where various sorority sisters can get plastered trying to impress the fraternity bros, who are about three sheets to the wind themselves.

We got a double cheeseburgers and fries meal, which my son paid for.  Our wait person seemed like a nice guy.

The Braves won, by the way. 

This Week's Picks-Week Two

 

 

 Here's what we learned last week.

Clemson is not Clemson. At least at the moment.   I am trying to remember the last time Duke beat Clemson.  I mean Duke. Really?! In football?

Florida looked bad. South Carolina looked bad. LSU looked bad.

But nobody looked as bad as TCU.  

The last time we saw the Frogs, they were stomped by the Dawgs.  Last week, they laid an egg against Colorado.  

It wasn't a little egg. It was an incredible egg against a team that won only one game last year. 

That was before Deion came to town. I'm not sure exactly what he did except run everybody off the team and bring in his own guys, which will probably be the paradigm in the future with the way the transfer portal is.

Being from Atlanta, I'm well acquainted with Deion and his humongous ego.  However, he was an incredible athlete and looks to be on his way to being a remarkable coach.

This Week's Picks.

 Jawja vs. David Letterman University:  According to people who watched the UGA game last week, the Dawgs looked slightly off. Well, as much as off as you can look, winning 48-7. This week finds UGA playing Ball State, David Letterman's alma mater, in case you wondered about my joke name.  UGA wins.

 

 Bumbles vs. Upright Bulldogs of South Carolina. I watched a little of the Tech-Lousiville game. I thought Tech was going to win it. They finally have a quarterback and a tight end who was UGA's fourth-string tight end last year. Anyway, and stop me if you have heard this before: Tech lost. They won't this week.  Tech wins.

 

Texsass vs. Bamy.  Last year, Alabama went to Austin and almost lost. This ain't last year. I don't think Alabama will have any problems. Bama wins.

 

 

 Austin Peay vs. Rocky Topped. Austin Peay has a great cheer. It is: Go Peay (of course, you have to know "Peay" is pronounced "Pee" to get the joke.) Well, they are playing Tennessee and may get the do-do knocked out of them.  Tennessee wins.

 

 

 Our Lady vs. Werewolves of  Raleigh.  The computers give Notre Dame a 78.4 percent chance to defeat North Carolina State. These are the same computers that predicted a President Hillary Clinton. Not really. But could have been.  I hate to do this to the Wolfpack, but The Fighting Irish win.

 

 

 Birmingham vs. Gnatville University  UAB travels to Statesboro to play the Partying Eagles of Georgia Southern.  Georgia Southern University (motto: It's Five O'Clock Somewhere) is still dealing with the death of Jimmy Buffett, but they will somehow defeat the Dragons of UAB.  Eagles win.

Beloved Owls vs. Mocs.  My Beloved Owls travel to Chattanooga to play the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (motto:  "Just tell 'em you went to Tennessee-they won't know the difference".) No word, at press time, if the team bus will stop at Buckee's on the way to Chattanooga.  Owls win.