Thanks for the Memories

They called it the end of an era and perhaps it was. Texas stadium stood at the intersection of Loop 12, 183 and 114 for 39 years, welcoming players and fans to the Sunday excitement that was a Cowboy’s game.

Some of my friends remember it being built. Not me. My very first recollection of the famous icon was from the opening credits of the hit series Dallas. You see, back in the early days of my marriage and my growing family, football was not a big part of my life, and when I had the time, I was watching the Steelers, the Eagles or the Giants, not the Cowboys. Who would have believed then that someday, going to Texas stadium would become a Sunday ritual?

When we arrived in north Texas in January of 1991, it was hard to absorb the fervent fever that permeated the very air here. I’d lived in Baltimore and in Cleveland, but never remembered the fan base being as loyal as here. Cowboy shirts were everywhere and the people wearing them would not hear a disparaging word about their ‘boys.

My first trip to the stadium came as the preseason of 1991 began. My daughter played in the band at R. L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas. The band boosters made the majority of their fund-raising money by running a concession stand at the stadium. Every Sunday for the next three years, I would spend hours before and after the game preparing and cleaning up the stand. But the hours during the game were the most special, when what seemed like millions of people passed by or stood in line waiting for a hot dog or nachos and a drink. I learned to be quick to provide service and give change—and no—there was no big register that told me how much to give. If you hesitated even a little, some fan might get angry about missing even a minute of action on the field. I loved the hustle bustle, the lines, the crowds, the excitement. The only thing I didn’t miss when my time there ended was the intense August and September heat that often raised the temperature in the stand well above 100 degrees.

When the demand for hot dogs went down at the stand you knew something exciting was happening on the field. One at a time, some of us would sneak away to a gate, to stand and watch a great play and sometimes a touchdown by the Cowboys. In 1993, I jumped at the chance to work all three of the Garth Brooks concerts. Again the stadium was packed to the roof with excited fans. What a stage show, complete with thunder, lightning and rain, courtesy of Garth’s concert tour! I managed to sneak a few moments watching the concert and even though Garth appeared to be not much larger than child’s action figure, it was a great moment.



In the fall of 1993, my former husband and I became owners of season tickets. He and I attended quite a few games and when I let my daughter or son attend instead, you’d find me back in the concession stand, serving up dogs and counting out change at something close to the speed of light. The Thanksgiving Day game on November 25, 1993, was perhaps my most memorable. My husband decided to forgo the game tickets that day, when we awoke to find the weather miserable and predicted to be worse. I would have liked to stay home that day too, but the Band boosters were desperate as so many people bailed that day. So off I went for a 3:30 game start. Of course that meant I had to be in the stadium two hours before they opened the gates to fans, which was 11:30 for a 3:30 game. Things didn’t look bad when I got on the road but oh how that would change during the course of the day. When the fans started exiting the stadium around 6:30 that evening, I still had an hour or more of work to complete before I could leave. I got to my car around 8 PM, and finally got home about 10 PM, even though I only lived about 16 miles away. And what a drive that was! Some of you may also remember that this was the game in which Leon Lett made the blunder of his career. His touching the ball and failure to hold on to it in the icy conditions allowed the Dolphins another chance at their field goal, which they made, beating the Cowboys 16-14.

In January of 1993, the Cowboys ended up in Pasadena for the Superbowl. My husband was lucky enough to get tickets and he and my son, Evan, spent a few memorable days in California, which included watching the Cowboys win and Michael Jackson perform.
Even more memorable for my son was being in the old OTB on Beltline in Addison on January 7, 1994, when Jimmy Johnson, Norv Turner and Dave Wannstedt who were also at the bar, signed autographs for my son and daughter. I like to say that was the day that Jimmy bought me a drink for my birthday—sometimes I leave out the fact that he bought drinks for everyone in the restaurant that night. Of course, it wasn’t long after that night that Jimmy Johnson resigned and Norv and Dave left Dallas for careers with other teams.

For me, that was the end of the era. My husband had no desire to return to the stadium as season ticket holders with Johnson gone. My marriage ended that same year and my daughter graduated from high school and while I worked a few more Cowboys games for the band boosters in 94, it wasn’t the same. The memories were bittersweet, as they were today when I watched Texas Stadium collapse on cue. I wonder what the drive to work will be like on Monday morning as drivers slow to take a last look at the rubble that was once such a famous icon.

For all the Saints...

What a game, what a victory! It was amazing to watch and I am so proud of Jahri Evans and all the Saints. You deserve this win for great play and great coaching! I hate to wish my life away, but I can't wait for football season to begin again!

Super, Super Bowl

I can not say that I've watched every Superbowl since January of 1967, although I certainly could have. Some teams interest me a lot more than others. Who you watch the games with makes all the difference in the world. I am married to a sports fanatic and have been for the last 12.5 years. Football is one of his passions, so its fun to watch with him and discuss the game.

This year's game, XLIV, is particularly exciting for several reasons. First, the New Orleans Saints have been in existence for the same number of years as the Super Bowl itself. This is the first time the Saints have made conference champs and the Super Bowl. One Saints player grabs my attention. He's not the quarterback nor a running back nor a receiver. Jahri Evans is an offensive lineman that came to the NFL by way of a Division II school which just happens to be my alma mater. I've been following Bloomsburg Husky football for a number of years and have been known to drive or fly long distances to attend a game. You see, I live in Texas and my alma mater is in central Pennsylvania. When I can't be at a game, I am sitting in front of my computer listening to the Internet radio broadcast of the game, following players, charting wins and losses and predicting who will make it to Division II playoffs. Bloomsburg, which fields a team with the equivalency of about 11 scholarships, consistently makes the playoffs and in fact has been the team of the decade in terms of wins in the PSAC. That's due in large part to the coach, Danny Hale. In addition to coaching winning football players, he produces young men who are strong students, community volunteers and college graduates. Jahri is just one of those young men, who entered Bloom on an academic scholarship, excelled at football, graduated with a degree in sports medicine/exercise science and now gives back to Bloomsburg with a scholarship program and as a member of the Golden Helmet Alliance.

Most of the prognosticators have been picking the Colts to win this game. Frankly, I can't support the Colts, even with Peyton Manning as quarterback. Unfortunately, as a former Baltimore Colt fan and Maryland resident I have strong memories of the night in 1983, when the Irsay family moved the Colts out of Baltimore in the middle of the night. There was plenty of blame on both sides for that move, but the bottom line is that I don't and won't support the Indianapolis Colts. Perhaps if they had changed the name of the team to something more reflective of Indianapolis--a car name would be more appropriate considering what makes Indianapolis famous. The Colts belonged to Baltimore, home of the Preakness, and to Maryland, where Harford County is known for its thoroughbred horse farms.

That said, I am going with the Saints to win this game. Their unflappable spirit, their fabulous coach, their reborn quarterback, and best lineman in the NFL, Jahri Evans #73, all will be strong forces that lead the Saints to victory.

Pen vs sword, Part II

Today I read an editorial from the January 21, New York times. Seems the writer shares my feelings about this being one of the most damaging rulings ever to the face of American democracy. A small quote from that editorial:
This issue should never have been before the court. The justices overreached and seized on a case involving a narrower, technical question involving the broadcast of a movie that attacked Hillary Rodham Clinton during the 2008 campaign. The court elevated that case to a forum for striking down the entire ban on corporate spending and then rushed the process of hearing the case at breakneck speed. It gave lawyers a month to prepare briefs on an issue of enormous complexity, and it scheduled arguments during its vacation.

If that paragraph doesn't strike fear in your heart, try this one on for size:
The majority also makes the nonsensical claim that, unlike campaign contributions, which are still prohibited, independent expenditures by corporations “do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.” If Wall Street bankers told members of Congress that they would spend millions of dollars to defeat anyone who opposed their bailout, and then did so, it would certainly look corrupt.

Corporate contributions to advertising in the media--in any of it's multitude of forms--will control elections, plain and simple. If pharmaceutical companies want a particular candidate elected--they most certainly have the financial wherewithal to make that happen.

And try this final quote on for size--most particularly if you are a liberal thinker, since as long as this ruling stands there will be very few liberal or even middle of the road thinkers left in office.

In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens warned that the ruling not only threatens democracy but “will, I fear, do damage to this institution.” History is, indeed, likely to look harshly not only on the decision but the court that delivered it. The Citizens United ruling is likely to be viewed as a shameful bookend to Bush v. Gore. With one 5-to-4 decision, the court’s conservative majority stopped valid votes from being counted to ensure the election of a conservative president. Now a similar conservative majority has distorted the political system to ensure that Republican candidates will be at an enormous advantage in future elections.

None of us will benefit from a one party system--which this ruling was designed to create. Oil companies, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies should not be running this country--they should not have Congress in their proverbial pockets--but this ruling promotes that. I agree with the president when he says that these powerful corporations will drown out the voices of ordinary Americans. Every single American who has ever voted in an election should be writing their Congressman to make changes in laws to prevent this. This ruling has nothing to do with free speech and everything to do with politcal corruption.

The Pen: mightier than the sword?

The pen is mightier than the sword. What wisdom in that statement. In a bloodless coup, the US Supreme Court, or should I say the five most conservative justices, all nominated by Republican presidents, have just changed the face of American elections, local and national. Now any corporation with enough money can influence the outcome of an election by dumping an unlimited amount of funds into media blitzes for the candidates of their choice. If you are reading this and have even a modicum of intelligence you know which candidates those will be.

While the contribution limits to federal campaigns remains in tact, any corporation with money can run any type of ad to persuade the general public to vote their way. How many of those ads will be imbued with integrity or veracity? As it is now, local and national news entities hustle to provide fact checks for the unlimited drivel that spews in campaign advertisements.

Where are the likes of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, who in one of his most quoted decisions, restricted free speech when it interfered with the efforts of the US government to recruit soldiers during wartime? How will the content of ads be controlled? Who will do the fact checking? A recent conservative presidential adviser embodied the adage of “tell a lie often enough and people will believe it.” Most people do not check the “facts.” I know this to be true by the excessive number of shady, dishonest and hurtful political forwards I receive. “Pass it on” is the motto of the email forwarder. If it’s on the Internet, it must be true, right? How many conservative, business friendly candidates will be elected before our system is one party only?

I believe this decision by the high court will insure an overrun of Republican candidates who walk into office, propelled by the ever present media blitzes paid for by corporate entities who will directly benefit from their election. Is that freedom of speech or electoral manipulation?

What is a hero?

Recently a teacher lamented the fact that we had no space-age “hero” biographies in our library. Upon searching the shelves I discovered that indeed, she was right. I had no books about astronauts or modern research scientists. It is only our second year in existence and building a solid, balanced collection takes at least five years. Needless to say I went straight to my order list and added a few books to my biography collection.
The whole question made me ponder the idea of a hero. How do we define it? Who qualifies as a hero? I tend to agree with the teacher’s judgment that pop singers and sports figures should not fall into the category of heroes—at least not for what they do on the stage or on the field. Some of them, however, strive to spend the fortunes they acquire through fame to better the lives of others. Does that not make them heroes? It certainly does to the people they help.
Webster online defines a hero as : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; an illustrious warrior; a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities; one that shows great courage. Webster does not seem to apply the word hero to women. Apparently if I want to consider a female for the role, I’ll have to find the definition of heroine. Ah, but I digress. Second meaning is from literature: : the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work. The third definition refers to that rather large sandwich that we can purchase at any number of popular alternative fast food restaurants. The fourth, however, throws a monkey wrench in the lofty classification of hero: an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol. Apparently even Webster is reduced to including any number of pop and sports icons in the category of hero.
No where in any of these definitions did it mention scholarly knowledge, volunteer service, living an admirable, worthwhile life. That’s so sad. Who should today’s hero’s be? Those who can catch a football and run 80 yards down the field to the end zone, behind countless blocks of their teammates. Or perhaps those whose doubtful voice, but awesome good looks, propel them to a lifetime of stage appearances before screaming fans.
At reference.com, I learned that Mikhail Kalashnikov was recently named a Hero of Russia. In case the name is unfamiliar to you, he invented the AK-47 assault rifle, referred to around the globe as “the world’s most lethal weapon.” President Dmitry Medvedev praised him for creating “the brand that every Russian is proud of.” Yikes! I understand guns. We have them in our house. My husband is a member of the NRA. But what purpose does this gun serve except to kill or maim, rapidly and without discretion?
Can we say that your perspective determines who the heroes are, that standards do not apply? In that case, let me tell you about my heroes. Bill and Betty were ordinary people. Nothing in their lives made them famous. Neither had more than a high school education. What elevates them to the lofty status of hero is how they lived their lives. Betty was kind and generous. No one spent a holiday alone if Betty knew them. She gave countless hours to her church, preparing meals, cleaning, serving, singing. She worked full time, but yet kept her house immaculate, enjoyed her family and friends and loved her husband more than anything. In her final months on earth, she thought not of herself but of those she would leave behind and how her passing might affect them. Bill was also a generous man. If you needed help, he was there. He supported his wife and family, did countless jobs around the house and was an interested and attentive parent. He believed in old fashioned work ethic and rarely missed a day of work for all his life. He was a parent who showed up at class performances, and PTA meetings. He served as a church trustee and led committees in planning church events. He did the "behind the scenes work" and let other people take the credit. Bill and Betty were true heroes, whose lives I try to emulate every day. You see, they were my parents and everything I know about life, I learned at their knee. I only hope that every day, I offer the same guidance and commitment to my own children and grandchild. I pray that I remember daily to show the love and patience that was shown to me.
I miss you Mom and Dad. I will always miss you.

Random Rants and Raves

My daughter has suffered some serious health issues lately. We are not talking allergies, colds or a sore throat here. Her symptoms include a rapid heart rate, edema, bruising, serious headaches, neck pain, and a straight line rash that erupts with an itching and burning and lasts about three to five days, painful the whole time. She's been to several doctors, including two gps and a cardiologist, whose idea of handling the situation was to throw pills at her--no attempt to find a diagnosis.
Further complicating the whole mess is the fact that without a diagnosis, her employer is being very uncooperative about her missing work for appointments and procedures. Talk about your vicious circle--you must not really be sick because there is no name for what you have. You can't take anymore time off. I understand you have two medical appointments, one a seriously long procedure, but can't you come to work in between those?
As her mother, I have been very concerned about the lack of diagnosis. Seems to me in our age of technology, that diagnosing my 33 year old daughter can't be that difficult. Really folks, we can put billions of bits of information in a thumb drive--literally no bigger than my thumb.
Being the librarian I am, I conducted some Internet research. I was alarmed at the illnesses in which her symptoms were manifested. Major organ involvement permeated the list and my alarm grew. Thankfully a few months back, Leigh had found a really good, thorough GP. She wasn't using him on a regular basis, because of his office hours--that's a whole other story, the lack of physicians offering office hours that are convenient to people who work 9-5. Instead, she was seeing a doctor who had late afternoon and evening appointments that she could go to after work. She finally broke down and took time from work to go see Dr. X. After running a series of tests, including taking enough blood to feed a vampire family for a week, yesterday she received some good news. She has two viruses, Epstein Barr Virus and cytomegalovirus.
What's that, you ask? Technically, the viruses are related. The latter produces the common cold sore, but sometimes can produce the same or similar sypmtoms as EBV, which is the mononucleosis virus. Yes, it is good news, because now we can at least put a label on how she feels. The list of symptoms is long, but includes every symptom she has, even though the doctor is not yet convinced that other things aren't going on.
She knows what she has now, but my work has just begun. I need to convince her that certain things need to happen if she's going to feel better. That's not an easy job because she is just as stubborn about things as I am.One of the first things I suggested is that she taking short walks in the evening to help her sleep. How could I have predicted that last night, she would take my advice and stroll outside our house between 9:30 and 10 PM? Not far mind you, but she had her cell phone in hand, trying to reach a few friends. She was right across the street from our home with her cell phone to her ear when a car drove up the street, slowed down, at which time someone inside pelted her with a frozen egg. It hit her in the rib cage with the force of a baseball. By the time she reached the front door, she was crying from the pain of being hit. I immediately called 911. After all, this was assault! About 30 minutes later, a police car pulled into our driveway. I was grateful they came although by that time there was probably little hope of them catching the culprits. They did mention they had several calls about the same car pelting eggs all over south Irving. I am appalled that none of these kids came to the realization that these eggs could hurt someone. That was indicated by the laughter as they sped away! Today, my daughter is bruised and extremely sore thanks to a careless prank. Should the police locate these young men, my suggestion would be they suffer the same fate as my daughter. This could work particularly well for her. There will be the therapeutic action of exacting justice, while showing off her wicked throw developed after years of playing softball. Using pin-point accuracy, I am sure she could place a few frozen eggs on well chosen targets!