I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

Category: Slice of Life

  • Auburn Breaks Pretty and Slow’s Road Trip Chicken Curse!


    The Lady Gamecocks rolled into Auburn, Alabama with their game faces on and had an amazing first quarter that led to their victory in a gorgeous Auburn Arena which held two bus loads of loyal Gamecock fans and a few of us who made the trip on our own.

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    Next one to miss a free throw…

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    Lord, I can’t watch – makes me too nervous

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    Davis in deep, deep concentration before the game – 

    (she scored a USC record 19 points in first quarter) 

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    Pretty before the game – feeling optimistic

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    Elaina Coates ready to play

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    Captains Confab with refs before game

    (better known as Let’s All Play Nice)

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    Star-Spangled Banner

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    Gamecocks didn’t quite maintain the first quarter intensity and points but played well and managed to score 73 points before all was said and done. Auburn struggled in the first quarter but came back to score 47 points as their defense held our Bigs to the fewest points they’ve had this year so very good effort from the Tigers. Unfortunately, our guards were On Fire and hit 14 of 28 from the three-point line which was another record night.

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    Everybody happy as they left the battlefield

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    Pretty happiest of all – Road Trip Curse broken!!

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    Coach Staley hugs Lady G Road Warriors

    Pretty and I discovered why War Eagle Nan loves her Auburn University – it’s a special place. We even got to see the War Eagles themselves when they posed for celebrity photos prior to the game behind our seats. They look ferocious but were tolerant of the paparazzi.

    All in all, the Auburn experience was a Memory Maker, as Granny Selma used to say when she was in her right mind.

    But…we were all dragging by the time we got back to the motel…Spike and Charly stayed in the car while we went to the game, and Charly destroyed her leash to punish us. Oh, well.

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    Road Trip continues as we make our way to Gainesville for the Florida game Sunday afternoon.

    Stay tuned.

  • Boys, You Better Hide Our Car Keys – Quick!


    Our Lady Gamecocks scored 93 points in their spectacular win over Alabama in the SEC opener this past Sunday, and of course, Pretty and I were there…along with our transplanted New York friends Jenn and Donna who were happy to fill in for our regular Gay Boy Basketball Buddies that were somewhere up in the mountains of North Carolina celebrating New Year’s Day.  Well, I never. Priorities, gentlemen.

    Lunch at the Colonial Life Arena before the 2:00 p.m. tip-off was a toss-up between Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles or The Cake Lady’s chicken salad sandwich on the always over-sized croissant, but Kiki’s won out for three of us. Pretty maintained her level head and did not succumb to the aroma of the best fried chicken in town mixed with the sweet smell of maple syrup for the waffle so she was our designated photographer. Thanks, Pretty. You’re the best.

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    Y-u-m-m-eeeeeeeeeee!

    And so, as we threatened our Gay Boy Basketball Buddies last week at the UCLA game, off we go to the Auburn game at Auburn Thursday night.  (War Eagle Nan, we wish we could talk you into going with us and showing us the sights of your Alma mater?)

    We hope the Lady Gamecocks kick the Slow and Pretty Road Game Chicken Curse we apparently take with us whenever we decide to follow them, but GBBB, just in case, I’d be looking to hide our car keys right away if I were you and cared anything about keeping our Number 5 spot in the polls.

    ROAD TRIP!! Yee Haw! Let the good times roll…and let the Lady Gamecocks roll with them…Coach Staley, we’re counting on you to keep those girls fired up – and ready to go!

    Game on.

     

  • It’s Raining 3’s, Hallelujah!


    The basketball leaves Kaela Davis’s hands as she stands behind the line that separates the mundane from the magical; it seems to be suspended at the top of a long slow arc toward the rafters and then swish! comes down cleanly through the rim with the sweetest sound in basketball, the ball passing through the hoop with nothing but the grace of the shooter surrounding it.

    Wow – Davis was on fire yesterday for Coach Staley’s USC Lady Gamecocks as she was responsible for six 3-pointers to lead the 3-point parade of a Dawn Staley – era record of 16 during the Gamecocks win over Minnesota at home in the Colonial Life Arena. Allisha Gray had four more, and Ty Harris added three to help erase our memory of last week’s performance against Duke at their storied Cameron Indoor Stadium. We were six of twenty-three from the 3-point range in that less-than-stellar loss.

    Ugh. Pretty and I traveled to the Duke game last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on our first visit to Duke University – loved the campus.

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    We Believe in Diversity

    What’s not to like about a school that embraces diversity?

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    Morris Williams Stadium

    Or what’s not to like about a university that names a stadium after me and Pretty? Have mercy – our first stadium namesake.

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    Cameron Indoor Stadium

    Or a major university that refuses to cave to commercialism and leaves its basketball court just like it was when the pilgrims played on it?

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    The smiles of our selfie were before that game when we were still having fun “oohing and aahing” over the bleachers inside Cameron blissfully unaware of the dangers of another “away” game for us. Our record is not good with our favorite Lady G’s when we take to the road with them.

    Our first road trip was to the Final Four in Tampa Bay, Florida in 2015 where we played Notre Dame…and lost.

    Our second road trip was earlier this year to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the Round of 16 game against Syracuse…and lost. That was a LONG ride home.

    Which brings us to last weekend’s shorter trip to Durham, North Carolina for the Duke game that, as I said earlier, we lost.

    Three road trips…three losses…we were talking yesterday about going to Savannah, Georgia next week for the game against Savannah State, and our Basketball Buddy Garner threatened to take away our car keys. Please don’t go, he said. I just can’t take it any more.

    Hm. Something to mull over.

    In the meantime, It’s Raining 3’s, Hallelujah!

     

  • The First Noel? Not Exactly


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    Pretty and me – our first Christmas

    In the wake of the most devastating attack against the United States since Pearl Harbor, Pretty and I shared our first Christmas in the home we’d bought when we moved in together in the summer of 2001. The entire world changed after the 9-11 act of terrorism in New York City and, while Pretty and I were as devastated as the rest of the nation, I have to say that nothing dampened our happiness as we prepared for the holidays.

    Pretty loves Christmas, and she decked the halls and walls and everything else she could find to deck with holiday trimmings – the house was a sea of vibrant red and green and silver and gold  colors, and the packages were carefully wrapped in beautiful papers to match the thoughtfulness of every gift she bought.

    I, on the other hand, lost my love of Christmas somewhere along the way in my life with my “lost saints and childhood faith,” to quote Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but my love of Pretty was fresh and new and as shiny as the ornaments on our tree so the smile on my face in the picture captures my emotions perfectly.

    Our older dogs Annie (Pretty had her from a previous relationship)and Sassy (ditto for me from my ex) and our new “together” puppy Red were having a fun time adjusting to their new home and to each other, but they seemed to sense the additional excitement in the air during the holiday season. They were as busy as little bees buzzing around the tree and presents – sniffing to beat the band.

    My mother Granny Selma flew in from Texas to spend a few days and spent a great deal of her time wandering around the house looking for the stairs and/or worrying about the one king-sized bed in our bedroom. She also was a good one for counting the dogs when we were all in the kitchen sitting on stools at the island in the middle of the room.

    One… two… three dogs, she would count out loud and I’d say that’s right, Mom, three dogs. No more. No less. As I look back, I can see the beginning of her dementia at that Christmas visit, but I chose to ignore those early signs.

    Pretty’s family came on Christmas day to open gifts and eat our mid-afternoon meal which was a sit-down meal in the real dining room we had in our first house. Pretty’s father, sister and son combined with my mother made for a strange mixture at that first family gathering, but they all shared a love for Pretty and me so we blended into a family that is now a part of the American fabric.

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    My Christmas Cactus

    Fifteen Christmases later Pretty still loves the holiday season and everything that goes with it. I’m sure she has spent the week in Florida buying presents that she will need to carefully wrap this weekend while we put up our outside tree for our neighborhood association Lights of Christmas. I will help as much as I can, but I am the first to admit my limitations in decorating.

    I do, however, love my Christmas cactus in my office – it stays on the front porch for most of the year but when the weather turns cold and the blooms burst into colors, I bring it in to enjoy to the max. My dad’s monkey reading the Wall St. Journal is a permanent office fixture. I think he likes the Christmas cactus, too.

    Have a Merry weekend as the year winds down and the traffic revs up.

    Stay tuned.

  • Merry Ho-Hum


    And so this is Christmas at Casa de Canterbury…Pretty had to make an unexpected trip to Florida to drive her father to see his brother this week, and Spike and Charly are left with me during the holiday season.

    As you can see, they are not hopeful for Merry Ho, Ho this week without Pretty.

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    The weather outside is frightful, and my dear, you’re not delightful…whenever did my fun become pain? Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain. Sigh.

    Come home soon, Pretty – we are all struggling without you.