Sun, Fun, Food & Football

Wednesday night there wasn't much going on. Ceil and Teresa took the girls shopping at the newest shopping center then dinner at McAllisters Deli. M and I didn't want to wait so we drove thru Bojangles. I had the BBQ sandwich with slaw on top, which was pretty good. Came back to the condo and watched a little too much of the ESPYs.

Another long day out on the beach today. Ceil cooked a tomato pie but I had a chicken sandwich for lunch.

Tonight 14 of us drove the hour up to Holden Beach NC to eat at my sister-in-law's cousin's seafood restaurant, the Provision Company. We've eaten there the last three years and I've learned the burger isn't the greatest. Instead I got a very good grilled chicken sandwich topped with grilled peppers, onions, and cheese. The large onion rings were sweet and not greasy. I was light on the gas pedal and the CRV got 31.7 mpg on the trip.

EARLIER: Friday departure delayed when M won concert tickets, which I was able to sell.

Arrived in SC about 1145 pm. Saturday I snuck in a trip to McDonalds when gassing up. Usual lunch at Wendys on the way and Saturday pm PaPa Johns pizza. Ceil added two long shopping trips to the grocery, WalMart, and Publix.

Sunday the kids woke up early to fix the breakfast their late grandfather had made them all their lives. Phil and I were the first two out on the beach, as usual. Spent most of the day out there with a sandwich and cheesecake lunch break.

In honor of the SEC Media Days this week, here's a football story from Reid:

I was reading in the paper this morning about Kenny Stabler dying of cancer. It made me think of Alabama football. Thinking of Alabama football made me think of a game that Edith and I attended years ago between Alabama and Mississippi. For years I have thought that the Alabama quarterback in the game was Kenny Stabler. Upon further review, I discovered today that the Alabama quarterback was Scott Hunter. But its a good story anyway.

In 1969, Edith and I were at a point in our lives where we would go to most any game, whoever, whenever, and wherever. So, when Edith's dad invited us to go to a football game in Birmingham between Alabama and Mississippi, I thought I was just going to another game. Turned out to be called by many as the greatest game ever in the Southeastern Conference.

The site was Legion Field in Birmingham which I thought at the time was just another stadium. The date was October 4, 1969. The Mississippi quarterback was Archie Manning. Manning has said recently that he knows Legion Field was supposed to only hold about 70 000 fans. However, he is frequently told by at least 150 000 people that they were at that game. Then they ask if Joe Namath was the opposing quarterback.

The three of us were seated in good seats around the 35 yard line. As the game see sawed back and forth, it seemed like every play was a roll out pass. However, stats tell us that Manning completed 33 of 52 passes for 436 yards and 2 TDs. But he also ran 15 times for 104 yards and 3 TD's. Scott Hunter was no slouch. He completed 22 of 29 passes for 300 yards.

As the game came down to the last few seconds, Alabama was behind and needed a TD for the win. On a 4th down call, it was said that Hunter looked to Bear for the play. Bear could not decide, and yelled to the Offensive Coordinator for the play. He couldn't decide either, as he looked to the overhead booth for the play. Finally, Bear yelled to Hunter to just run the best play he could think of. Turned out to be the right play as Alabama scored and went ahead 33 to 32 and held on for the win.

ABC play by play announcer Chris Schenkel called it the most exciting game of his then 20 year broadcasting career. As I walking to our car I didn't know all the stats, but I now know that it was probably the most famous and exciting football game that I ever attended.