Football!

I don't love college football like some I know. And maybe I'll watch an NFL game occasionally. But I grew up on high school football.

Not to get sidetracked, but my absolute favorite TV show was Friday Night Lights.



So I can't wait to hear about the team's victories in my sister's hometown of Batesville, Mississippi. This year, the SOUTH PANOLA HIGH SCHOOL TIGERS took their division. Again.
State Champs!

Here's the link to the Jackson Clarion Ledger article with a ton of pictures. I plan to hang on to this for future reference. You never know when you'll need a good football story.






My brother-in-law, George Carlson, loves the Tigers so much he returns to each game as one of the radio announcers.
Judge by day! Color Commentator by Friday nights!

So a big shout-out to soon-to-be-retired George as the Tigers end another winning season.
Here he is doing what he loves next-to-the-best. Grilling. He and his brother Chris are highlights of my culinary tour when I return to Mississippi.
(If you care, you can read a little more about the FOOD here.)



And just in case you read this blog to learn more about BOOKS and WRITING? Here's my writing advice for you. Everybody needs an expert. George was just that when it came to my character, Robbie, in Glory Be.
No, George was probably not anybody's Bad Boy Boyfriend. (Though I can't promise that's true.)
But he was always at the other end of my emails when I needed to know the technicalities of football practice in the heat of the summer in 1964 Mississippi. Talk about color commentating. George provided details. Thanks, Judge!

If you're still reading--and yes, this is a longer than average blogpost-- here's your reward for sticking with this entire Football treatise.
In case you ever doubted my authenticity about the high school football scenes in GLORY BE?
Besides George? I also had a college roommate was a majorette who twirled a Fire Baton.
More proof? Here's my Cleveland (MS) high school Pep Squad. We marched in every single Friday afternoon parade before our home games and on the field under the lights at each game.
Promise not to laugh.
And feel free to share your high school football stories. I'm keeping a file.

Friday Night Lights

I've spent a lot of time at Friday night high school football teams. My first love played in high school and college, and all my friends and I were in our school's Pep Squad. No naturally, the first book I dreamed up for kids features a pain-in-the-neck big sister who's in the Pep Squad and a hunky football player, all backstory of course. Write what you know, as long as it doesn't embarrass the family, right? OK, maybe those stupid Pep Squad uniforms were a little embarrassing. For those of you who have no clue, the Pep Squad marches around cheering and decorating players' lockers and front yards.

What, you never watched Friday Night Lights? Or, even better, read the book it was based on?


So guess what our family and friends did last Friday night? We gathered in front of ESPN-U's Game of the Week to watch the South Panola Tigers beat a Florida team with a long winning streak. And to listen to my gifted brother-in-law AKA The Voice of the Tigers call the game. To do that we had to tune the computer to http://www.panola.com/ and the TV to ESPN, but it worked. We got to hear George, whose day job is a Mississippi State Supreme Court Justice, explain the game with great enthusiasm. Just doesn't get much better. Go Tigers!


Here's the picture my niece Meredith shared with the family. Thanks, Mere.