Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Still Allergic

As a kid growing up my family didn’t eat much fish. When I was at Tech eating lunch at the BSU we often had fried fish on Fridays (perhaps in an effort to attract Catholic students). Once after eating fish I got sick and threw up. After that I didn’t eat much fish. Years later I’d go out to seafood buffets at the beach with Ceil’s family. I’d eat fish (and hushpuppies fried in the same oil) and I could feel my throat closing up. It wouldn’t close completely, but I felt bad. Caffeinated soft drinks made me feel better. I never had to resort to Benadryl, or the emergency room. 
 
So I’ve gone over twenty years without eating fish, and most everyone knows that I’m allergic. It’s been so long that I had about convinced myself that I wasn’t allergic - I was just using it as an excuse to get out of eating a dish I didn’t like. I starting to think that at some point I would announce to everyone that I really wasn’t allergic – it had all been a ruse.

Saturday night my friend Lee was grilling. I thought great: hamburgers. Nope. He had nice salmon filets. With three other couples there I didn’t want to create a stir, so I ate the salmon without complaint. Tasted good for fish, but it still ranked below my favorite meals. By the end of the meal I could feel my throat swelling slightly. I could’ve switched to Coke but didn’t think about it. I lived. Later Ceil asked if I had attended the dinner and she exclaimed “You ate the salmon! And you didn’t die?”

Do you remember a GT basketball player from the 50’s or early 60’s named Jim Nolan? In the game above against Kentucky, Nolan scored 32 points. Crew cut. After graduation he moved to Macon, started a family, and joined our church: Northminster Presbyterian. As a little kid he was an imposing figure.
 
Who would be the top ten Atlanta Hawks? Georgia Tech?
 
1. Dominique Wilkins
2. Lou Hudson
3. Pete Maravich
4. Kevin Willis
5. Dikembe Motumbo
6. Doc Rivers
7. ?
 
Surely not Joe Johnson or Mookie Blaylock.

Georgia Tech’s Top Basketball Players
 
1. Mark Price
2. Roger Kaiser
3. Matt Harpring
4. Kenny Anderson
5. John Salley
6. Dennis Scott
7. Tom Hammonds
8. Brian Oliver
9. Jim Nolan
 
HM: James Forrest, Duane Ferrell, Yvon Joseph, Brook Steppe, Bruce Dalrymple

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