Omens....

When we play a close one I always look for "omens" throughout the week to bolster spirits. Friends aware of this will often call with their own. Early today, Spurny called from his car on the way through n. Arkansas to pick up the belongings of his father who passed last week. Ol John had spotted a truck on some remote Ozark hiway sporting a gold "LSU" flag. Pretty good..but as with "omens" it can go down too.

This afternoon a friend in need of some Bayfest tix called me. I dd have a couple I'd tried to give away so glad yhey'd found a home. He was at ...Hooters. a spot I don't frequent as I have my own entertainment at home. But since it was on the way, throat dry, etc..I said I'd drop 'em off. Half way through my first one and a related story on stumbling on to tix for the '70 LSU-ND game, I spied the stainless grill hood behind the bar. It was adorned with a lot of college and necky bumper stickers. First a "UK"..then a "horn broke, watch for finger" sticker caught my eye. I passed towards the middle when a large , orange "T" hit me. It seemed to pulsate and glow. In mid sip I looked up/down/side/to side...no purple, no gold. I asked the nymphet serving us, "Ya'll ain't got no LSU sticker" ( I've become fluent in the native LA tongue). 'Nope, but we'd put one up".. As a younger man I often carried a spare in my wallet, but that was a while back. I excused myself and went to the car. Now a worse sign, the front sticker was brittle, and peeled off in strips. Fortunately, the block sticker on the back bumper came off. I put it on the knee of my Levi's to keep it straight.. short story...it's now squarely over the $#%@ "T" on the grill hood. I feel better now.....

But wait... I had to let Spurny know. John's dad had been "hi-jacked" late in life by some Arky types. Relying on the fine old gentlemen's state of mind they often dressed him in red to suit their tastes despite his loong connection with the Tigers. John had picked up his dad's belongings by now in upper Arkansas and had stopped by the nursing home where his dad had spent his last days. A young nurse introduced herself as having cared for Mr. Spurny in his final days. She remarked to John about the "family" who'd been around. She said,"I'm not a sports fan, but they'd put him in red...but when they left, he had an old purple shirt with a Tiger on it it he wore all the time". It looks like the Tigs are a shoo-in over the Vols...RIP Mr. Spurny