Christmas is near; the weather has been that of January cold, not December. Soybeans, cotton and corn have been harvested and thoughts turned toward high school football play offs and the Iron Bowl. Auburn’s game with that other college in west central Alabama was on November 30. It got the name from when it was played in Birmingham. Now that it is a home and home game, it is still called the Iron Bowl. As the game got closer, the ribbing by the Bammer’s got more frequent since they had beaten us the last two years and were confident of a win again this year.
Myself I was so confident of an Auburn win I bought an Auburn blue RAM in the new six cylinder motor a week before the game. I also trimmed up my seedling from the iconic Toomer’s Corner oaks poisoned after Auburn’s last championship getting it ready to roll. I purchased the seedling in 2006 knowing that it wasn’t supposed to grow this far north. It was a scholarship fundraiser by the Forestry Department, and I thought I was throwing money at a good cause. I threw it in a low spot and piled concrete blocks around it and filled in with soil. Well the tree didn’t know it wasn’t supposed to grow in NW Alabama and is now around 20 feet tall. Its parents couldn’t be saved and were cut down this year. After we won the game running back a missed field goal in the last remaining second, I invited some of my Auburn friends by the next day to help me roll my tree. We had a great time going through several rolls of toilet paper. The Hooligans weren’t too happy as it was past feeding time when everyone left. Now Auburn plays in the BSC championship game. If we win, I’ll need a toilet paper launcher as my shoulder is still sore from the last rolling.
Football isn’t the only thing going on in our area, Christmas parades abound in every city in the area. I’ve photograph the Tuscumbia and Cherokee parades. The Belle Mont mansion hosted a rainy Plantation Christmas, and the Lagrange College site had a frozen Christmas in the Country. I was a frequent visitor to the fireplace in the kitchen quarters. The Plantation Christmas is a fundraiser for the restoration of the home thought designed by President Jefferson or one of his associates. The house was decorated in the manner of the 1800’s complete with ball room dancers and several musical groups. Country in the Christmas is also a fundraiser for preserving the college site featured hayrides, arts and crafts and old fashion toys. The Tennessee Valley Art Museum annual Trees of Christmas were fantastic as usual. I’ll have several get-togethers with friends by the time Christmas arrives.
I attempted to make a Christmas card with the Hooligans again this year. I sat up my camera with a remote on a tripod. Dressed them up and tried to get them to sit nicely around me. I’ll give you a sneak peek at what happened and the rest weren’t much better. We’ll unveil our Christmas card closer to the day. But you can get the idea how the photo shoot went.
This weekend Tuscumbia will host the Dickens Feast and Dickens Christmas Ya’ll downtown Saturday. It’s supposed to rain, but we are hoping for scattered showers.
