Thursday, December 20, 2007

Second chance


This is one of my favorite pictures from my senior year. I’m decked out in my senior boots and my Air Force sunglasses ready to go to a football game and Bryan Todd, also a senior, is wearing a fish uniform.
It seems that Bryan really, really wanted to chase a yell leader. At Texas A&M, it is a tradition that freshmen in the Corps get to chase and tackle the yell leaders at the end of every victorious home game. They then carry them over to a fountain in the center of campus known as the “fish pond” and throw them in. The soggy yell leaders then lead a post-game yell practice at the fountain.
Well, unfortunately for the Class of ‘87, the Aggies pretty much sucked during our freshmen year and we were outscored at every home game. So we never got to chase the yell leaders. But by our senior year, things had turned around and the Aggies were kicking ass. So Bryan decided to make up for his lost opportunity and borrowed a freshman uniform to wear to one of our home games. Outstanding!
And yes, as I understand it, he actually did tackle a yell leader at the end of the game.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

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Cyber Send Off for Bush Sparks Hope for Movement for Democratic Voice in USA

When I entered the http://www.goodbyegeorgew.com website I was struck by the comic depiction of George W. assumedly on his way back to Texas, “gettin’ outta Dodge.” I read the sample letters to Bush, which I heartily agreed with, sticking it to him but good and then I clicked over to the virtual store. While politically collectible and good for holiday gifting, there were only a few things, and reasonably priced. Nobody was out to make a killing here.

“What is it that motivated this website?” - I wondered out loud to my two kittens rolled up beside me as I sat propped against the bed board with my laptop in front of me.

I suppose I’ve become the product of the same system I have worked against for so many years as an activist and avowed socialist at that, expecting everything to be based in the profit motive.

And why shouldn’t I expect that? After all we just had eight years of a White House run almost exclusively for profit. And I don’t mean only for the profit of the big banks that run the economy. Bush and Cheney went over the top, enriching the very companies in which the cabal of cronies running the government had major shares and no one has cared enough to stop them. They did it in Iraq. They did it through sewing fear at home with the notion of the homeland security state. They even did it with Hurricane Katrina. Government has been downsized, even the Pentagon. The role of governing has been privatized with no-bid sub-contractors profiting the same guys running the country! Once again, so much for the oath to uphold the Constitution and safeguard the public trust.

So then, in today’s world, as perverse as it has become, why should http://www.goodbyegeorgew.com not be selling me something? I made contact with the people running the site and found the unexpected.

The Georgia-native, Kate Wheeler and her daughter Ashley had had enough of being walked on by politicians and they figured that a lot of other people felt the same. Lifted by the recent rout of Republicans from the White House and Capitol Hill they were motivated to act.

“People need the chance to say what’s on their minds after putting up with what we have all gone through in this country. Bush stole the first election and the Democrats and the mainstream media let him. Things only went downhill from there,” Wheeler asserted.

“With our website we are letting people tell George W. what they really think about him and it’s about time. So far the response has been terrific but we want the message to be really loud, not just so that Bush hears it. We want all of Washington, Republicans and Democrats alike to know that the American People are expecting real change in this country. The George W. Goodbye Movement is going to grow into a movement making sure that that change takes place,” Wheeler said.

It was a nice surprise from the creator of http://www.goodbyegeorgew.com. Wheeler encourages everyone, even Bush supporters, to click on and write their fond farewells. Later the letters will be immortalized in a book, documenting public opinion of the George W. Bush presidency. More than anything this website looks to move people to act and participate in holding those that govern accountable for what they do. I know I’ll be clicking in and writing my letter over the weekend.