I'll Call It Like I See It (with humorous tendencies)

by sheila morris

For any who want more, complete list of all posts by month since 2011
  • Coach Dawn Staley: the stuff dreams are made of

    Coach Dawn Staley: the stuff dreams are made of


    My cell phone rang which interrupted pre-nap reveries, and I was happy to talk to my friend, Garner, who was one of my best basketball buddies ever. He invited me to go with him to the unveiling of the Dawn Staley Statue here in Columbia at 4 o’clock that afternoon. I couldn’t accept fast enough! The day was an unexpected treat.

    After lunch this past Wednesday, I settled into my large recliner for an afternoon of the Madrid Open tennis tournament, a tournament played on my favorite surface of red clay. I had fed Charly and Carl and looked forward to a helping of tennis mixed with my long afternoon snooze. Not so fast, my friend. The call from Garner changed that.

    the order of the unveiling

    my buddy Garner and me at the statue reveal

    Coach Staley’s words seemed to reveal more than the bronze statue behind her.

    “I agreed to the statue not for me, but for the girl who will walk by one day and wonder who I was,” Staley said. “Maybe she’ll look me up. She’ll see that I did some things in basketball of course, but I hope she sees much more.
    “I hope she sees that I was a champion for equity and equality. That, in my own way, I pushed for change. That I stood proudly in the space God called me to inhabit, not as someone perfect or extraordinary, but as a regular girl who used her gifts to open doors so other girls wouldn’t have to knock as hard.”

    Indeed, her statue stands as a symbol of resistance, resilience, and representation. Only 6 percent of statues in the United States depict women, according to UW-La Crosse art professor Sierra Rooney, and even fewer depict Black women. (Curtis Rowser III, BET News, May 01, 2025)

    Thanks, Coach, for three national championships, seven Final Fours, and nine SEC championships. We have been starved to have a top tier team at the University of South Carolina – you have put us on everyone’s radar now. More than that, thank you for what you give to this community, to your basketball “fams” and followers, to all who support you in your efforts to give a voice to the voiceless in an unwavering commitment to equality for all.

  • the miracle of Dick and Jane

    the miracle of Dick and Jane


    Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ella who was five years old. She lived with her Daddy and Mommy and younger sister Molly and their dog, Sadie, in a city called Columbia which was in a state named South Carolina. Ella and Molly went to school every morning where they and their friends learned something new each day.

    Her grandmothers Nana and Naynay sometimes came to pick up Ella and Molly from their school in the afternoon. Nana and Naynay always asked the little girls about their day at school.

    Each week Ella told Nana and Naynay the letter of the alphabet she was learning until finally she had finished all the letters and could write the whole alphabet. Nana and Naynay were so excited to hear this news! The teacher had also taught Ella how to sound out the letters she was learning to write.

    One of Ella and Molly’s favorite books was the book about Dick and Jane that Naynay read to them in the car on their way home from school.

    Now Ella tried to follow along to understand how the alphabet letters made words. She wanted to read the book by herself when the magic came to her one afternoon last week.

    The kitten’s picture was a hint, but five-year-old Ella wasn’t focused on it. Instead, she looked intently at the bold letters below: P-u-f-f. She said each letter and sounded it out like she had been taught in her class at school. Puh-uh-ff.

    Puff!! she exclaimed with a look on her face that was unforgettable. Wonder. Surprise. Joy. In amazement she looked at her grandmother and asked, Naynay, how did I know that word?

    Nana and Naynay were thrilled and told Ella she had begun to solve the mysteries of the universe because she was learning to read. Since everyone was smiling and happy, Molly was happy, too.

    Ella closed the book, still smiling, not really concerned what mysteries of the universe meant, but asked if anyone brought cookies.

  • please think twice – cause you ain’t right (with apologies to Bob Dylan)

    please think twice – cause you ain’t right (with apologies to Bob Dylan)


    Here’s a Dylan song dedicated to all members of the four branches of American guv’mint: executive, legislative, judicial and muskrat Sam.

    It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, guys
    If’n you don’t know by now
    And it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, guys
    It’ll never do somehow
    When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
    Look out your window and we’ll all be gone
    You’re the reason we’re a-traveling on
    Please think twice – cause you ain’t right.

    And it ain’t no use in turning on your lights, guys
    Those lights we never knowed
    And it ain’t no use in turning on your lights, guys
    We’re on the dark side of the road
    But we wish there was somethin’ you would do or say
    To try and make us change our minds and stay
    But we never did too much talking anyway
    Please think twice – cause you ain’t right.

    So it ain’t no use in calling out our names, guys
    Like you never done before
    And it ain’t no use in calling out our names, guys
    We can’t hear you anymore
    We’re a-thinking and a-wondering’ walking down the road
    We once loved a country, its freedoms untold
    We gave you our hearts but you wanted our souls
    Please think twice – cause you ain’t right.

    ******************

    Slava Ukraini. For the children.

  • I’m thinking of a number

    I’m thinking of a number


    I’m thinking of a number

    Which makes me start to wonder

    What is the magic number

    Written in the sky?

    The number that is time

    Surrendered by the prime

    To centuries of decline

    Marked by colors in the sky.

    We cannot know our number

    Which causes us to ponder

    Where our minds may wander

    While we contemplate the sky.

    my friend Dawne and me at Lake Bowen yesterday –

    were we thinking of a number?

    Carl’s definitely thinking of his number these days

  • lucky to find helpers as we go

    lucky to find helpers as we go


    We are their angels on earth who love them and help them when it’s time to cross the Rainbow Bridge. We are all on our own little trek passing through and lucky to find helpers as we go.

    My cousin Nita in Texas read about Spike’s passing last week and sent me these words of comfort and hope: we are all on our own little trek passing through and lucky to find helpers as we go.

    Pretty and I thank everyone for your love and support of our family in our sorrow. Our wish for you tonight is that you have been lucky enough to find helpers for your journey when sadness, disappointments, unspeakable losses make this little trek seem impossible to endure.

    We’re in this life together; thank you for reaching out to us.