It's That Time Again...

   When you grew up in Tennessee, and it was Fall, you turned on the radio on a Saturday afternoon to hear John Ward, the Voice of the Vols, begin his game call with the announcement that "Its Football Time in Tennessee".

   Well it's time for college football in the land; not just in Tennessee, but all over, and it got me to thinking.

   My blank calendar day yesterday led me to look for a box filled with CDs of old 35mm slides, pictures that I had taken over a lot of years. After a long search through the condo, I finally discovered the box hidden on a shelf; a box with no markings to identify it. I guess I assumed that I would always remember what was in that distinctive metal box with the combination lock built into the front clasp.

   I almost didn't. I passed over it quite a few times in my search. Because of a faulty memory, I was sure it was in another container. But I finally decided to test each box I found, and there it was.

   So I opened it, put one CD in the computer slot, looked at the folders on the disk, picked one out and drug it to the desktop. Double clicking on the first image shown, I saw this:

   The perfect introduction to football season.

   And a lot of memories to boot.

   This mild mannered kid was a middle linebacker for his school team. He may have had a great smile, but he was not afraid to stick his nose into the line and make the tackle on a much larger running back. We watched him play his position for 3 years before he graduated to the next level.

   All of a sudden, the boys in his class got bigger and bigger, and his small frame, despite his big heart, did not fit the mold of a defensive stopper.

   He became a special teams player, returning back punts for that season. He was taking hits instead of giving them out.

   In addition to his competitiveness, he was also smart.

   When Fall rolled around the next year, he became a cross country runner and found his real niche in the world of athletics, going on to become All-City and All-State, leading his school team to numerous titles in the city and region.

   I still look forward to Fall and the beginning of football season, but I can't forget one small player, one who gave his dad lots of proud moments and his mom several attacks of anxiety.

   He did good and he grew up fine.