Winning for My Daddy

Nostalgia. It's a crazy thing, ya' know? Weirdly, one of my favorite songs isn't really a song but an advice column put to music. Baz Luhrman put the words of an advice column (Dear Abby, I think) to music and shared it for the class of 1997, calling it Wear Suncscreen. One of several favorite parts read like this: 

Be careful whose advice you buy but be patient with those who supply it
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past
From the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts
And recycling it for more than it's worth

I count myself blessed that I grew up appreciating the stories of my elders. Maybe it's they way they told them since we have so many storytellers in our family, but I never tired of hearing them. As a matter of fact, I can recount many of them now. 

My daddy was the best at this, not because he spoke eloquently told because that wasn't a thing. He was never known for his fancy word choices. Instead, I remember how his face would show what kind of story it was going to be. When he told stories of his dad, he had a look of sweet sorry, loving the memory and missing the man. When he told stories about the antics of his brother, Jerry-a.k.a. Cotton, or his sister handling things when she got angry, his eyes laughed before he finished his punchline. When he told stories of his Hueytown boys, it was another thing altogether, full of joy and nostalgia. 

I remember loving to hear his stories but doubting his account was completely accurate because it often had to do with his athletic prowess, his short temper and what he did about it, or something like that. When I got older and began to know some of those friends of his, I quickly learned that his telling lined up with theirs. He really was that good at punting, running, hitting, etc. He LOVED recounting the 1958 Hueytown High School football season, telling how it was the first all-win season in school history and how they won the championship, explaining that the Dental Clinic game was as far as they went in those days. It was later that the state playoffs were instituted. (*See below for the yearbook's description of said game.)

When Jameis Winston and his Hueytown team won regular game in their season (2010 maybe?), the old boys came back and went to cheer on their beloved Golden Gophers. I think there was a mixture of sadness and delight in the possibility of their record being broken. 

For my daddy, there were always 6 great loves: the Lord, my mama, the rest of us in the family, his gophers, Alabama football, and the Braves. When the Braves won the World Series earlier this year, I watched with tears of joy as I visualized Pop and Cotton talking on the phone every time something big happened, and later the phone calls with Uncle Jerry's son, Blake, doing the same. He was fired up about Bryce Young and the possibilities of this year so he would be happy with the winning season so far, although he wouldn't be all compliments because he'd be mad that Bryce keeps staying in the pocket for too long and taking sacks-but that's another story. Now, his Hueytown has made it all the way to the big show. 

I know it may seem silly to some, but this kind of stuff is nostalgic for me. It is time with my daddy all over again, time that I miss but refuse to give up as I bring him with me to every game I watch. I'm going to believe that all this winning is for my daddy. My friend Jennifer touched my heart when she said, "I have no doubt that Alabama and the Braves both winning this year, and now Hueytown headed to state is because of your dad." A friend that remembers those things about your daddy is pretty sweet. We'll see how it all plays out, whether Alabama makes it to the Big Show this time and how they do or whether Hueytown can pull off the upset against Clay-Chalkville. No pressure, guys. Just keep on winning for daddy!

*the run down of the Dental Clinic game, 1958...

Hueytown 7 — Fairfield 0 After the I I th Children's Dental Clinic Game there was no room for doubt in the minds of the people of Jefferson County as to who wos the supreme ruler of high school football. The Hueytown Golden Gophers saw to this os they measured the Fairfield Tigers for the second time this season. It was a rugged defensive battle all the way. but Hueytown's Wilson just would not be stopped without a score. In the second period he took a handoff from Mason and bulled his way 40 yards for the gome's lone score. Wilson received the same fine blocking on this play as he did all year. After Beard passed to Wilson for the PAT. things were handed over to the Gopher defense and could not hove been in better hands. In the line the boys’ hearts were big and their tackling sure. Nabors. Fleming, Wallace. Guin. Justice. Beard, and Leslie teamed mightily with Lee, Mason and Wilson in allowing Fairfield only 73 rushing yards. In the closing minutes of the game Wadsworth halted a Tiger drive with a pass interception and returned it to the 39. The game ended here, giving Hueytown one of its sweetest victories, and also Dental Clinic Championship Trophy pictured at right.