I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

Category: sports

  • WONDROUS WOMAN!


    Pretty and I went to the movies last night with our Yankee Quartet friends (2 from New York and 2 from Boston) to see Wonder Woman. Pretty was exhausted from her ongoing hard work clearing out Casa de Canterbury where she labors daily with her own personal Energizer Bunny Shelley. I tore myself away from the French Open coverage on the Tennis Channel which was not easy for me, but a date night with Pretty is always worth any sacrifice.

    Hello, my name is Sheila, and I’m a tennis television addict.

    I know, I know. Why are you watching tennis on TV while Pretty labors away at Casa de Canterbury? Simply put, I am a liability for that endeavor, but I excel in dog-sitting Spike and Charly who also prefer tennis to toil. Go figure.

    Thank goodness Pretty and I both wanted to see Wonder Woman. We really had such a fun time from start to finish. First of all, we saw several friends we rarely see while we were standing in line waiting to buy popcorn. The line was the length of a freight train on the railroad tracks as the signal clangs and the red lights blink during the interminable wait behind the wooden barriers that guard the railroad crossing. We had so much time waiting for popcorn we were able to catch up on the life of a seventeen-year-old friend’s daughter who was just graduating from high school and about to go to college. The last time we had heard anything about her she was eleven.

    Seriously, movie theater management people, you really need more than one person selling popcorn when Wonder Woman is one of your featured films – even on a Tuesday night. Pretty gave up when we were soooooo close to the concession counter and joined our friends for the previews. Luckily, one of our Boston buddies stayed with me for the duration and we spent an outrageous amount of money together for popcorn and sodas. Don’t even get me started on concession stand prices at the movies. Like I could truly say I remember when popcorn was 25 cents and cokes were a dime…but nobody cares or even wants to be reminded of the economic issues surrounding inflation on an innocent night of fun and frivolity.

    Turns out the expensive popcorn was delicious, and the movie itself was more than entertaining. Gal Gadot embodied the female super-hero Wonder Woman I remembered from my comic book days of secretive reading at Mr. McAfee’s drug store in my home town of Richards, Texas in the 1950s as well as the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman on TV I was in love with  in the 1970s. As the story came to life for me again on the big screen last night, I totally enjoyed the action packed images of this famous female super-hero directed by another woman, Patty Jenkins. If I were a movie reviewer, I would give this one 5 stars.

    Pretty and our other friends also enjoyed the heroics, but I did notice Pretty yawning several times and poked her to let her know she was being watched. I knew she was tired, tired, tired, though; and WW was a long film. Not as long as the popcorn line, of course.

    As the last credits scrolled down the screen after the final dramatic conclusion of the movie, we waited to see the names of the various actresses we recognized from other shows. Pretty never leaves a theater until the final credits are shown, even when she’s exhausted. That’s how she rolls in movies.

    We said our goodbyes to the Yankee Quartet in the parking lot with promises to get together again soon.

    On the way home, we talked about the movie, the popcorn line, the friends we hadn’t seen in forever. I asked Pretty what the father of the seventeen-year-old girl taught at the University of South Carolina. She replied, He’s a history professor who is an LBJ specialist.

    I was incredulous at the idea of someone making a living teaching about Lyndon Baines Johnson. That sounded so appealing to me for some reason.

    Gosh, I said, this is another example of choices I never knew I had for a career when I became an accountant fifty years ago. What would you like to have been, Pretty?

    Wonder Woman, Pretty said. And I laughed.

    That’s one of the things I love about Pretty. She dreams big.

    P.S. June is traditionally Pride Month, although it isn’t officially recognized by the current administration in Washington, D.C. this year. Hug an lgbtq person this month with the love Wonder Woman believed in for everyone. Happy Pride!

  • …and this is my wife Pretty…


    Today is April 24th., and it is the 1st. year anniversary of our legal marriage. This anniversary seems like a Michael Reames icing on a cake or a Dick Hubbard pineapple fried pie which he has now managed to make exactly like my memories of the ones my grandmother made when I was a child being rewarded for what she believed to be good behavior.

    Somewhere in that youthful childhood I must have done something good because Pretty has been the main course for me for the past sixteen years  – a main course that’s been full of fun, love and extra spice. Laughter has been the secret ingredient that’s sprinkled liberally over every dish we serve in our home, and it’s my personal recipe for whatever ails all of us.

    True confessions are good for the soul, though, so I have to admit that once in a rare while I have to remind Pretty I was just trying to be funny to which she has occasionally said during the past sixteen years, “there’s no demand for being funny.” I’m sure she’s just kidding.

    The past year of legal married life has been almost indistinguishable to me from the first fifteen years with a couple of exceptions. “Married – filing jointly” for our 2016 income tax returns, for example, was a noticeable difference that was relatively easy and uneventful for us but produced additional work for our tax preparer. I had several emotions going on during the preparation process, but I know for sure pride was one of them. We were no longer “single” taxpayers filing two separate returns. Our family was legal, legit; and we had the tax returns to prove it.

    There is a word that Pretty and I have struggled with during the past year, however. Both of us struggle, and we know it because we’ve talked about it. The word is “wife.”

    For some reason that word does not roll easily off my tongue, and I don’t know for sure what the problem is. This is my wife Pretty. How hard can that be? This is my wife Slo. Again, not easy. We’ve said this is my “partner” for so long that it’s become a habitual word for us. “Wife” is not our norm.

    But this past week Pretty and I were at our new house reviewing the situation when we discovered two pieces of mail in our mailbox that belonged to our neighbor who happened to be outside in his back yard. Like a good neighbor, Pretty walked over to give him the mail.

    “I’m Bob,” he said when she handed the mail to him. “And that’s my wife Cynthia inside the house.”

    “I’m Teresa,” Pretty said. “And that’s my wife Sheila over there in the car.”

    Score one for Pretty, and welcome to the neighborhood. The legally married lesbians are moving in – which isn’t nearly as good for property values as having the gays move in – but it’ll have to do for now.

    Happy Anniversary, Pretty. You’re simply the best.

     

     

     

     

  • Experience the Power of a G.I.R.L.!


    Sunday afternoon, the 9th. of April, 2017 was an absolutely gorgeous spring day in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. The weather was perfect with temperatures in the mid 70s and cloudless blue skies. It was a great day to be outdoors which is where thousands of people gathered on Main Street to celebrate the good times of bringing the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship trophy home to the University of South Carolina with a ticker-tape parade minus the ticker-tape.

    Yahoo – we party!! Pretty and I were there as were our Gay Boys Basketball Buddies and #1 Fan Gamecock Matt. Without realizing where we were sitting, Pretty plopped our small folding chairs right next to a local TV news team which was covering the parade so not only did we have great seats, we also were interviewed by a TV newsman and once again made local news. (That interview can be viewed on social media if anyone is curious.)

    We watched every car carrying VIPs,  every motorcycle, a live rooster (Sir Spur, the Gamecock) riding in a small driver-less motorized vehicle, a deputy sheriff on a real big horse, A’ja Wilson’s DJ brother playing festive music, dancing troupes, Cocky the Gamecock mascot and tons of floats – green ones, red ones, silver ones, gold ones – truly any color imaginable in the midst of a caravan of colors as they passed by us on Main Street which was their route to the State Capitol grounds for the closing ceremonies.

    I love a parade – Pretty will vouch for me. I just love a parade. But I particularly love a parade that celebrates women and their achievements. I took 129 pictures at the parade and worked on them last night while Pretty was talking on her cell phone with the Apple Help person for two hours trying to figure out how to make her Mac happy again. Poor Pretty.

    As I cropped and re-cropped the images, I was struck by the power these basketball heroes gave to the little girls, teenage girls, grown-up women and yes, even us eat-up-with-elderly older women as we celebrated their victories in one grand final gesture of appreciation.

    If I could, I would put all of these images in my post today, but alas, I know that’s asking for a lot of attention which won’t happen. So, as a compromise, I’m choosing my favorites.

    The G.I.R.L. Power float

    Bring the babies, too – even when they nod off

    It’s a Family Affair

    (photo courtesy of Pretty)

    Dancing in the streets

    Women on motorcycles – 

    rev ’em up, Sisters!

    I spy Cocky!!

    Gamecock Legend Sheila Foster is jubilant… 

     other basketball alumni enjoy the ride with her

    Our Heroes: The Stars of the Show

    Kaela Davis, A’ja Wilson and Allisha Gray

    These girls and the team made basketball history

    Coach Dawn Staley high above the crowds

    where a true basketball Queen belongs

    along with the Team that made her the Queen

    I’m afraid I was too short to see the action on the Capitol steps as the parade came to an end, but that was okay. I found my sights away from the stage.

    This little girl had a bird’s eye view

    This one did, too

    a Pretty face in the crowd

    taking a break to tie her shoes

    a teenager tweeting her pics

    an older woman rode her bike to celebrate

    Gamecock colors – complete with pom poms

    These girls are champions, too

     Which one of these girls will be our next Congresswoman, Olympic medalist, astronaut, teacher, preacher, policewoman, Forbes 500 CEO, President of the United States? The mind races with the possibilities for their futures…and for ours…because we’ve experienced the magic of G.I.R.L. power today.

    Whew! We are exhausted – time for us to ease on down the road to Casa de Canterbury where we should be p-a-c-k-i-n-g instead of partying. Oh, well. You only go around once.

    Go Gamecocks!!

    Pretty and our parade chairs heading home

    it’s a wrap for this unforgettable season 

     

  • SOUTH CAROLINA: WHERE CHAMPIONS LIVE!


    Sixty-four women’s basketball teams were invited to the NCAA Division I post-season tournament in 2017 in the annual ritual that is known as March Madness in the USA. But after two thrilling games in 16 different host cities around the country the Sweet Sixteen winners of those first two games were scattered to the winds like a bag of M&Ms with peanuts spilled on the floorboard of a moving vehicle into the 4 Regional host cities of Bridgeport, Connecticut; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Stockton, California; and Lexington, Kentucky.

    The hoop dreams of the young women on those Sweet Sixteen teams, their coaches and their fans were riding high as they battled it out in the regionals – but when the dust settled and those two elimination games were finished the Final Four teams were decided. The University of Connecticut a/k/a UConn, Stanford University, Mississippi State University and the University of South Carolina were the regional winners that would emerge from the Elite 8 to move on to Dallas, Texas for the Final Four. The race was on as fans began to scramble for tickets to the semi-finals and finals in Dallas.

    Pretty and I were in New Orleans at a literary conference when South Carolina’s women played their regional games in Stockton, California so we were confined to watching the Quinnipiac and Florida State victories on TVs in sports bars in between the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival events and the Chris Rock concert. As soon as the Florida State game was over, though, Pretty joined the scramble for the Dallas tickets through the Gamecock Club…and the rest, as they say, is history.

    The National Anthem view

    from the Gamecock section on Sunday night

    (we were there when the doors opened at 3:30 Dallas time)

    The Beginning

    The End!!

    The hysterically happy fans!

    The hysterically happy team!

    All-Tournament Team Member Allisha Gray

    Gray, Gray, Gray – you are Pretty’s favorite

    (and have been her favorite since the season began)

    All-Tournament Team Member A’ja Wilson

    Tournament MVP, All-American in 2017

    All That to the Gamecock team and their fans since she rolled out as a freshman three years ago and helped us get to the Final Four in Tampa her first year. This girl lays it all on the line every game every season and is, in my humble opinion, Number One. She ignites and inspires her teammates to play their very best by her example, and that, my friends, is the mark of a true champion.

    Champions beget champions, and no one is more responsible for the victories in Dallas than Head Coach Dawn Staley.

    Cut ’em down, Coach

    and may it be your first of many

    Alas, the team and most of the fans had left the building, but Pretty and I found one solitary remaining security man to take a final picture in the American Airlines Arena.

    And then we were done.

    Yep – the last car standing

    By the end of the game and festivities, I was worn out and ready to retire to the La Quinta king-sized bed to reflect on the events of not just the day but the past two weeks of our ride from Columbia to New Orleans and on into Texas. What a country…what an experience…what a way to end my 70th. year.

    But Pretty was having none of it. So off we went to our old stomping grounds the Nodding Donkey where we met Super Gamecock Fan Matt Tischler who we’d seen Friday night at the Stanford game. He flew to Phoenix for the men’s Final Four game on Saturday and then flew back to Dallas Sunday for the women’s game. Whew! I was exhausted just thinking about how tired he must be, but he wasn’t too tired to meet us for a beer to celebrate. The Nodding Donkey patrons cheered us when we walked in.

    I wondered how I knew all these people – and then realized it was the Gamecock gear they were cheering. Fabulous.

     Matt was holding me up by the end of the night

    When Pretty drove me back to the motel, we saw the Dallas skyline one more time, and this is what we saw…

    Thanks, Dallas!

    And thanks to Pretty for taking most of the pictures in the blog today, driving us all over the country for the past two weeks, lugging the suitcases in and out of motels, walking two very bad dogs who loved to annoy her by getting out of their leashes in the most dangerous locations – and still having the energy to sing country music songs with me when we were lucky enough to find the classics on the radio in the car. Pretty is Number One in my book.

    We’ll be back in Columbia today. Stay tuned as we are no longer able to procrastinate packing.

  • Nodding Donkey Blues


    Cocky was in the house today

    at the Nodding Donkey sports bar 

    Gamecock fans who are in Dallas for the women’s Final Four gathered late this afternoon at a local tavern called the Nodding Donkey to watch their men play in the semi-finals of the Final Four against Gonzaga University in Phoenix. It was quite the boisterous atmosphere and the Gamecocks kept it very close in the second half but alas, no cigar.

    Gamecock cheerleaders were at the table next to us 

    and the nodding donkey kept watch over us all

    another nodding donkey watched over 

    the Gamecock fans from above

    The Gamecock Club was responsible for the party at the ND, and it had its moments of fun and frivolity, but in the end the Gonzaga bull dogs were more powerful than the donkey’s good wishes and delivered our guys’ exodus from the 2017 NCAA tournament with the score 77 – 73.

    Congratulations to Gonzaga for a great game, and thanks again to the Gamecocks and Coach Frank Martin for a fantastic year! If you Google the definition for tenacity with heart, you will see a picture of Coach Martin and the men’s team in 2017. You gotta love those guys.

    And now on we go to the Final game of the Final Four for the women tomorrow afternoon at 5 o’clock Dallas time (thanks to all of you who are trying to make sure we’re there for the start) – I am frantically searching for my xanax tonight. Honestly, how is it possible I packed every pill in my medicine chest except that? I blame Pretty.

    Go Gamecocks!!