Snowsuits

Do children wear snowsuits anymore? I had a difficult time finding illustrations of snowsuits when I searched. Maybe they're just called something else now?

I was reminded of snowsuits while watching "A Christmas Story" this past Christmas evening. I'd never seen the whole thing before -- only the parts my daughter would call me in to watch. Funny movie -- a good one to watch with the family.

When the brother (Randy ??) appears in his snowsuit, unable to lower his arms, I remembered just how it felt. I have pictures of my brother and me in our snowsuits. Most of those pictures are from the house on Avenue Z, and in most of those pictures, we were playing in snow.

Did it snow more back then? I don't remember much snow in B'ham as a teenager. If it threatened to snow, schools would let out early. I don't think it snows much up there even now. Ummmm....maybe those pictures of us playing in the snow were taken because it was unusual. That's probably it.

Anywho....it did get cold -- not for long, but at least you could wear sweaters, gloves, and wool stuff. Not like here, where if the temps get to the fifties there is a mad rush to wear all our winter clothes (even if we have to turn the air up to be comfortable). Wonder why we even bother to buy warm stuff?

The Old Gray Lady

Well! Today was the day Nick Saban made his decision to go to the University of Alabama and become the Crimson Tide’s 27th head football coach. ROLL TIDE!

This news puts me in a bit of a situation since I presently live in Baton Rouge, LA, am a graduate of LSU, and......it was at LSU where Nick Saban last coached on the college level, and......where he won for us a national football championship (ok, so it was a split title with USC, but a national title all the same).

To say the people of Baton Rouge were upset when Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga wooed Saban away one Christmas Eve two years ago, is an understatement.

And......to say the people of Baton Rouge are upset with today's news of Saban's new job, is also an understatement. :)

Therein lies my problem. Many of my fellow Baton Rougians and my fellow LSU alumni feel jilted. Ya know -- winning a national championship while coaching at a school makes for an intimate kind of relationship.

But....since BAMA owns part of my heart, I'm so happy for them!

I almost put on my BAMA t-shirt, but thought better of it. If there'd been a fire at my house or if I'd been involved in an accident, I was a tad fearful that I'd have been left to fend for myself -- if I were found in a BAMA shirt....

So....in a round-about way, that's how I started thinking about Legion Field -- or -- The Old Gray Lady.

Legion Field is where our high school football games were played while I was growing up in B'ham. At the end of the season, on Thanksgiving Day, the high school Dental Clinic football game was played. Even though I had two younger brothers, for years I was the one who went to the Dental Clinic Game with my dad.

Each Thanksgiving Day, all the family would gather at 212 for a dinner that consumed most of the day. And......for years, somewhere in the middle of the day, my dad and I would be allowed to sneak off to Legion Field and the Dental Clinic game -- no matter if my high school (Banks) was playing or not.

Now, even in my day, Legion Field was not an area where you felt completely safe. In fact, the locals made a little extra during football season by offering to watch you car -- for a price. So, my dad and I would drive to Legion Field, where (after paying to park along the curb in front of someone's house, and -- paying to have someone watch our car), we would head into Legion Field.

I have no idea what my dad did next, but I always had made plans to meet up with a group of friends. My friends and I would gorge on peanuts, hotdogs, cokes, and cocoa, while making eyes at the guys.

Afterwards, my dad and I would meet up for the drive back to Pratt City, where we'd have (more) dessert, pick up the rest of the family, and head home.

Remembering back, the Old Gray Lady was a big part of my Thanksgivings while growing up.