Football.

We went to get Mom Friday night and all had a great time at the buffet. The generals chicken and shrimp fried rice were in rare form. Do I need to show ya the picture again? Oh hell, why not.

It was a great time. Denise had another Shandy, while Mom and I stuck with the unsweetened tea. Two heaping plates of this stuff and I was good to go. Mom loves it too, but also loves the green beans and broccoli beef that Denise goes for.

After dinner we took Mom back home and then headed down I-35 to Jerrell, and then West across country to Florence. I always enjoy that drive.

With cooler temperatures, like the ones we're enjoying now, and the sun roof open and a nice cigar burnin', it's a fun time. It's a nice country drive, with lots of good twists and turns. Fun in daylight, but even more exciting at night, when deer love to jump out in your way at the last second. And city folk like to think livin' the country is boring. Ha!

We got to Florence about 30 minutes into the game, and my kids had already put 6 points up on the scoreboard. We took an old army poncho liner to sit on and cover up with, and took our seats about half way up on the stands.

The kids were playin' their hearts out, but the task was beyond their skill level. The Jerrell Cougars were just a much better team, with a much better quarterback and receiver and a MUCH better kicker.

Within' a very short space of time the Cougars had put a few scores on the board, and it only got worse from there.

The action on the field was augmented by the action on the sidelines. This buffalo dude was doin' flips and rolls, havin' a hell of a time. It was hilarious to see the cheer leaders hoist him/her onto their thighs and have him/her lead a cheer. I'll have to find out who wears the buffalo outfit. They deserve a hand.

It turned out that the sad performance by Florence came close to setting the stage for the whole weekend. If it weren't for the fact that UT has a winning team this year I'd have to swear off football all together.

There was one high point in the high school game though. This kid, on the left, number 48, who is one of the few on the team who isn't in my class, intercepted a ball way down on the 9 or ten yard line and ran it back all the way for a Florence touchdown. It was spectacular, but it failed to turn the tide of the game and the Buffaloes ended up goin' down to the Cougars, 32 to 12.

After their fate became inevitable, as the stands started to empty, Denise and I headed out. We stopped at Blockbuster to rent a few flicks for the weekend and then headed home.

Saturday was a typical sleep-in. I think we rolled out of the sack by about noon, and then spent a few hours sittin' in front of the TV watchin' movies.

At about 3:30 I headed over to Cove to watch my buddy Dave Waters do his Civil War reenactor thing. My camera was dead by then, from takin' pictures all night at the football game, so I didn't even bother takin' it with me. Wish I had though. Those dudes looked so cool in those outfits.

They had about fifteen or twenty guys on horseback, as ether union or confederate cavalry, meanwhile Dave and his buddies were in the grass and the bushes, blastin' away with their black powder rifles. They even had a few cannon goin' off now and then. Startled the shit out of me once. I guess I was to busy payin' attention to the action to notice that they were about to cut loose.

It was all very cool, and reminded me of the days when I was a kid and we used to form up into opposing armies and spend all day getting killed and then getting up and getting killed again. Some of these old dudes have obviously been doin' this stuff since then. Their deaths are about as dramatic as mine used to be. Kinda makes me want to join up, but it wouldn't be as much fun to play war at 48. Too damn much marchin' and sweatin' in the sun.

Saturday evening Denise and I decided to have another pizza and beer night. We called in the pizza order to the place here in town that arguably sells the best pies, and then I went to pick it up. I have the best beer in town right here in my fridge, so why settle for less?

You can see her "shandy" there on the left, and my Yuengling, and then a heaping fist full of pizza. We ordered a large double decker with pepperoni, ham, sausage and mushrooms. Mmmm, that's good stuff. It's even good cold, for breakfast the next day.

Like I said, thank got UT has a great team this year, or I might be forced to give up watching football for a while. The Cowboys sure as hell didn't make me proud. By the time we rolled out of bed Sunday they were already loosing by about three or four touchdowns. Sad. Pathetic. Reminded me of that cluster fuck I watched in Florence Friday night.

Bein' a Packers fan, Denise gives me endless shit when the 'boys play like this. So, with them playin' the way they've been playin', and given their upcoming schedule, it's probably gonna be a long season. But that's OK. I've been a fan long enough to know that eventually they will get their shit together, and when they do, and their stuffin' the ball down the throats of perennial enemies like the Eagles and Packers, I'll be the one doin' the happy dance and she'll be cussin'.

Anyway, the rest of Sunday is another story. We'll talk about that later. Cheers!