Rutherford Strong

Just learned a high school teammate is losing his battle with cancer. Our fullback and middle linebacker Randy Rutherford. When talking with Joe McDaniel, the friend who gave my dad’s eulogy, I mentioned how I’d admired how Joe had written a book about his high school team in Macon. He encouraged me to write a book about my 1975 state championship football team, the most recent in Middle Georgia history. Would be tough without Randy, a colorful, larger than life character. I always remember riding the team bus through the two lane highways of rural Georgia one fall afternoon on the way to a game. The quiet was broken by Randy exclaiming: “Hey! Look at all them PEE-can trees!” I thought to myself, for the first time ever: “It’s pe-CAAN”.

News: I’m tied for third in the office basketball pool. Picked seven of the Sweet 16. Zack picked nine, and a couple of girls picked eight. Shouldn’t have picked Tennessee. They always let me down. I picked 22 of the first 32 games. Still have six of my Elite Eight, and three of my Final Four.

Times I’d like to re-live: with so much going on in my head, it’s gonna be hard for me to think of similar times I’d like to relive. Choir tours. Camp SPdL. BSU conventions at Rock Eagle. Saturday night each school’s BSU would gather in a circle to share. A special time.

Memories: in 7th grade the Girl Scouts had to ask a boy to go to a bowling event with them. A girl in my class asked me. It was our only “date’. When I’m in Macon I usually drive past her house, so I sometimes think about her. We’re not friends on Facebook, but I did look her up one time.

I think it was 9th grade when I had a girlfriend. Not sure what that meant. Sat with her at varsity football games. Then at one football game an older guy made a move on her, and our “relationship” was over.

One year I went to a church camp and met a girl. She was like Peppermint Patty to my Charlie Brown. We wrote letters that next year, but then my parents wouldn’t send me back to camp that next year. We lost touch, and I never was able to track her down on social media.

One time after college when I was working for Mr. Suggs, I would carpool from Virginia Highland to Doraville with a girl from the SPdL singles group. She’d been at Tech when I was there, but we didn’t know each other. She’d gone to high school with Glenn Cowart in Albany. One time GT was playing a tournament game on a Friday night in March. The game was blacked out in Atlanta, so on a whim she rode with me to Macon to watch the game at my parent’s house. I think it was the game that Craig “Noodles” Neal made a late steal, and had an uncontested layup to give the Jackets the lead. Neal went for a dunk – and missed. Tech lost. We spent the night in Macon and drove back the next day. A fun trip. Nowadays her internet footprint is almost non-existent.

For my dad’s obituary I listed the churches in Macon he had attended over the past 60+ years. Tatnall Square Presbyterian Church near downtown, suburban Forest Hills Methodist, early members of the new Northminster Presbyterian Church down our street, smaller Northside Christian Church out where we’d moved, the older Mable White Memorial Baptist Church way down in southwest Macon (where Joe McDaniel served as associate pastor), smaller New Heights Baptist Church (where we had the funeral), and a satellite location of Rock Springs Church.

After Northside Christian Church, I attended Wieuca Road my freshman year at Tech. Great Sunday School teacher, Doug Maag. Then SPdL from 1978-2000. Then North Point Community Church, then Passion City Church, and now Johnson Ferry. We still need to move our membership from SPdL.

Busy Monday. Had to run errands at lunch, so I stopped by to see if the pair of black Hawks warmup pants were still in stock. I’d probably hardly ever wear them, though they’d be fun to have. Yesterday they’d be reduced to half price, but they were gone. Not sure they would’ve fit anyway.

Worked past 6:30. Drove straight home. C and I went for a walk. Supper was black beans and rice, and tossed salad. My stomach sure hasn’t been feeling well lately. In fact I feel run down. Been getting plenty of rest but need more exercise. Been taking my vitamins. Might need more iron.

Went to bed shortly after nine, but had a hard time sleeping.

Dreams: Ceil dreamed she got a new puppy. I dreamed Matthew was listening to John Denver, as he had on our recent trip to Macon. I also dreamed we stopped off to visit with a family we know, though I didn’t know them. Nice folk. Their house was next to a big old red barn, that we often passed on the way to an amusement park. Getting to the park was in itself somewhat of a maze. After passing the barn you went through a parking lot, then a parking garage, then a shopping mall. Not sure we ever made it to the park. Will only had two pairs of shoes, and had to wear a red pair, a color he rarely wears.

Denison: Harry Connick Jr.’s latest album, Alone With My Faith, was his response to “my faith and how it’s helping me get through” the pandemic.