Interesting Characters From My Childhood

I suppose every community has their share of interesting characters; mine surely did. Some of my most enjoyable recollections of childhood are folks like Esme Stewart. Esme was a nice fellow, and kind to all the neighborhood kids, but had a bad drinking problem. When he was drunk, his wife, Rosie, didn't want him around. Esme would hang around outside the house and beg "Rosie, please let me come home, please Rosie, please!" When Rosie would finally tire of the noise, she would come flying out of the house with her broom and chase him down the street, whacking away at him with the broom. This was great fun for all the kids, and a fairly frequent occasion. Good cheap entertainment!



An interesting sign of the times: Our neighborhood was comprised of homes quite similar in design and appearance. We also rarely, if ever, locked our doors at night. We awoke one morning to find Esme asleep in our living room. He had wandered into our house by mistake while drunk one night--or came to our house after Rosie evicted him. We never knew which. No one was alarmed by this event. It couldn't happen now, as almost all homes are well-secured at night, and if it did, we would be quite alarmed.



Another character for sure was Teddy Ragsdale. Teddy was about a hundred years old, but was the town Constable (no one was quite sure of his duties, but he got elected over and over). As Constable, he actually was armed and drove around often in an old model car--and drove very badly! He was forever running into something or someone. He hit the train at least twice. When people would see him coming down the street they would start hollering "look out, here comes Teddy!" and everyone would scatter and hope for the best. Of course, when any real trouble arose, people would call the police, but once when a problem arose where Teddy was present, he pulled his gun out and scared everyone half to death. Lank Snider took the gun away from him before he hurt someone. Talk about Mayberry and Barney! Teddy topped Barney any day!



A third unforgettable character was "Stocklaw" Johnson. Stocklaw and his wife were always around in public like some homeless people of today, but they were not homeless, just different--very different! They looked ragged and unkempt, and usually had a goat-drawn cart on which they collected junk, scrap, and throw-away stuff for resale. (Long before Sanford and Son!) I don't know Stocklaw's real first name, but everyone called him Stocklaw, and the story of how he got that name is fun to recall. Stocklaw had a herd of goats that free-ranged and he lived near the railroad tracks. The railroad company decided to spray weedkiller along the tracks, and posted a sign stating that the weeds would be poisoned. Well, some of Stocklaw's goats ate the weeds and died. Stocklaw took them to court for damages from the loss of his goats. The railroad argued that they had posted a sign, but Stocklaw protested "but Judge, my goats can't read!" Stocklaw won the case, and also earned the nickname.

One more character--and there were many more! Love Holder was a tough old man. I grew up with his younger children. He had a large and wonderful family. They farmed for years and one son said "when the dinner bell rang, you dropped your plow and broke for the house in a dead run. If you stumbled and fell down, you might as well go back to the plow. All the food was gone!" Well, maybe not quite like that, but it was fun to visit on a Sunday for dinner. The table would be overflowing with great country food, and a house full of people talking, laughing, and eating. One oddity to me: coffee was made by putting a lot of ground coffee in an open pot of boiling water which everyone simply dipped their cup in--no fancy percolation and pouring there--and some strong coffee!

The Holders were some really good-hearted, but also very tough folks, and it started with their dad. Love was one of the toughest men I ever knew. A couple of examples: Once Love was umpiring a baseball game behind home plate; no facemask, of course. A foul tip smashed into his nose and blood went everywhere. He was initially stunned and dazed and dropped to his knees, but then shook his head, recovered his senses, and kept right on calling the game! As his health degenerated with age, it became necessary to remove one leg. His son told me he sat outside the operating room at the clinic as they worked on his dad's leg and almost fainted just hearing the sounds going on inside as they worked to cut the leg off. He peeked in at one point, however, and his dad was propped up watching the proceedings! As they say, "they don't make 'em like that anymore."

Confessions of a college football fan!




I truly enjoy Auburn football! So shoot me! Some of us watch soap operas, some play the stock market, some go fishing or hunting, some garden, some play bridge, some build model cars, planes, or trains, and the list goes on and on. Everyone has a pastime they enjoy, and many are not very productive; just fun. I enjoy Auburn sports--and especially Auburn football. Granted, it has been easier in the past few years as Auburn has enjoyed great success: Their record of 33-5 over the past three years is the third best in the nation! Only USC and Texas were better. Their won-loss record in SEC games is also the best in the conference over the past six years. (Few people seem to know that.) But even when we have struggled, it has been fun and engaging.



I am not sure exactly why watching college football is so engaging. Some who played the game seem to not enjoy watching others play. I played high school football and loved it. The pure competition and the freedom to unleash some pent-up aggression was great! I went to the University of Georgia on a football scholarship, with expectations of more success, only to find they were loaded with great athletes and I was average at best. I left before my freshman year was completed. That would probably have soured some folks on college football, but not me. I know several guys who played with some success in college, but who are not really fans of college football.

Playing or not playing does not seem to be a factor in whether one is a fan or not. It certainly is a factor, however, in whether one is a tolerant fan or not. Those who have played are usually far more tolerant of players and coaches because they realize how very difficult it is to perform at the high level required to be successful in this sport. Those most prone to criticize often appear unathletic and unlikely to have ever played the game.

For me, there is an exhilaration that comes from watching guys compete fiercely in a game of pure competition. No favoritism rules here. Coaches tempted to show favoritism do not last long. The best player has to play, or you don't usually win. I suppose I also am in awe of those who can be both good athletes and good students in college. I found that very difficult. I remember coming in from practice so tired I fell on my bed and lay there until the next morning. The thought of studying was farthest from my mind! Fortunately, most schools have a good support system in place with study times mandatory, tutors when needed, and close monitoring, so that most guys are successful.

I love the pageantry and traditions of college football. Auburn has its "Tiger Walk" which grew from a simple walk by the players and coaches from the athletic dorm to the stadium on game day. However, when Alabama finally came to play Auburn at Auburn for the first time in 1989, after many decades of playing in "neutral" Birmingham, that walk was lined with many thousands of cheering Auburn fans, and it has been a huge tradition ever since. Sitting in the stadium and feeling the electricity in the air, tailgating before the game, swapping tales and giving big "War Eagles", or just watching it all in air conditioned comfort on my TV justs gets the old motor running big-time!

There is simply nothing like college football for bringing a large group of people together with a common purpose--to beat the other team! Fortunately, that fever is usually kept in some perspective and most people realize it is just a game. Enjoy the moment, but then let it go. When the rivalry gets too intense, it is a real turnoff for me. The Auburn-Bama rivalry is in that category. Too much real hatred for me. I truly enjoy the Auburn-Georgia rivalry. Intense, but not really mean. It is fun every year and a true "back-yard brawl". The teams are so familiar that the visiting team has the winning margin in the series at both schools!

I should close by saying I do try to not get too carried away as a fan. I know one can obsess over football and spend too much time with it to the detriment of other more important things. I am closing this blog and going down for my daily Bible reading right now. I also spend quality time being with or thinking about my granddaughter Leah--and even her parents and my other children--old "what's their names". See, I am a fan--but not a fanatic!