APS Fantasy of Lights

Bob and I tried to attend the Tempe APS Fantasy of Lights two nights in a row. On Friday night, we walked Mill Avenue to view the parade. We asked several Mill Avenue businesses employees but no one could tell us anything. The bartender at Rula Bula's searched the New Times and discovered the parade was Saturday night.

The Arizona Republic's Friday edition had printed that the parade would take place "today". Doesn't anyone proofread papers anymore?

The New Times announced that we could have free parking if parade-goers would donate a can of food for needy families. We took four cans, but no one was at any of the parking lots to collect the food. Doesn't anyone proofread papers anymore?

Both papers reported, "Parade begins at 6:00 p.m. on Mill Avenue, south from 3rd St. to 7th St., west on 7th St. to Maple, north on Maple to 5th St., west on 5th to Ash in Tempe."

But the APS Website said, "6:30 p.m." Doesn't anyone proofread papers anymore?

We missed most of the event except for the parade because of the false reporting. We had fun though. I guess that's all that counts. We waited 1 1/2 hours for the parade to begin, but it only lasted thirty minutes. Santa was on time as he graced Mill Avenue at 7:00 p.m.

The wait made us tired. So we went home to rest and watch TV. A good night for two old retirees.

USC Too Powerful

The Arizona State Sun Devil football team played like they had eaten too much turkey this Thanksgiving day. The tryptophan from the turkey took its toll on the team causing them to play sloppy almost the whole game.

In past games, the Sun Devils were noted for their lackluster play in the first half but outscored their opponents by a huge margin in the second half. Tonight was a different matter. USC was sharp throughout the whole game, but ASU played sloppy the whole game. Final score was 44-24 in favor of USC.

The atmosphere was fun though. Shelly and Craig Foster, Jim and Margie Beaton’s daughter and son-in-law, were seated next to me cheering for their Sun Devils; Little Richard together with backup from the Sun Devil Band provided half-time entertainment, screaming out, “Good Golly Miss Mollie” and a couple of his other hits; and Charles Barkley stood on the sideline in support of what he called, “my Sun Devils.”

Signs in the student section read: “O.J. Stole My Other Sign” and “We Beat Stanford.” O.J. was a star for USC. Stanford beat USC but lost to ASU 41-3.

ASU has a very slim chance of going to the Rose Bowl. For ASU to stand a chance of spending New Year’s Day in Pasadena, USC must lose to UCLA; Oregon must lose to Oregon State; and ASU must beat Arizona. That’s a tall order.

Do you feel a recession coming on?

Yes, I feel a recession coming. I am trying to sell my house. The last time I tried to sell a house started the 1990 recession.

I Like Molasses

Today, I was looking up a no-sugar-recipe for pumpkin pie and ran across one that used Splenda and molasses. Molasses reminded me of a song my Dad sang to Loleen and me that included these words: "'Cause I like molasses, good ol' country sorghum. I eat 'em in the summer and the fall."

I looked the words up on the Internet and sure enough I found words as remembered by Big Jim from Jackson. They go as follows:

Everybody has some food that they like best,
Somethin' that they're fond of, more than all the rest.
Mine is black molasses. They really are the stuff.
I eat 'em morning, noon, and night. I never get enough,
'Cause I like molasses, good ol' country sorghum.
I eat 'em in the summer and the fall.
Get 'em hot and get 'em spread On a big hunk of short'nin' bread,
That's the way I like 'em best of all!

I went to see my sweetie just the other day.
She had supper ready; wanted me to stay.
She didn't have no 'taters; didn't have no meat.
Just a big black jug of molasses was all she had to eat.
'Cause she likes molasses, good ol' country sorghum.
She eats 'em in the summer and the fall.
When they trickle down my chin, I let her lick 'em off again;
That's the way I like 'em best of all!

Grandpa's teeth are missin', ever' single one.
When he eats his molasses, he smacks 'em with his gums.
And Grandpa's eyes are failin'. He can't hardly see
Just what's in his molasses, but never a care gives he.
'Cause he likes molasses, good ol' country sorghum.
He eats 'em in the summer and the fall.
When they get so thick with flies They resemble raisin pies,
That's the way he likes 'em best of all!

What is my fondest memory of Thanksgiving?

It is difficult to think of one Thanksgiving that is my fondest memory since I have lived through 70 of them. Each Thanksgiving has fond memories and the ones remembered the most are those that produced a lot of pictures. The fondest memory I have of each Thanksgiving is gathering together with family and sharing with each other what we are most thankful for. Since we have God in our lives, each of us start with, “I thank God for…” Family, spouses and children receive the most accolades in our moments of sharing Thanksgiving. I thank God for family.

Forgiveness

When I was a small boy in the early 1940s, my father, a church pastor in East Texas, taught my three sisters and me not only when we should apologize, but he also taught us that we should forgive if someone apologized to us. If my sisters and I argued with each other or angered one another during one of our sibling scuffles, my father would make us apologize but he also demanded we forgive each other. The lesson was easy to learn with my sisters, but it was difficult to learn if I was unduly harassed by a bully.

One Sunday after church, two teenage brothers picked on me by chasing me, wrestling me to the ground and grabbing my arms and swinging me around like a runaway flying scooter ride at the state fair. The roughness of the boys brought me to tears. Fortunately, our fathers caught us in the ruckus. The boys said they were just playing, but their father made them apologize, and my dad suggested I forgive them.

Oh boy that was hard. I could understand the boys having to apologize but why should I forgive someone when I didn’t start anything. I was a stubborn little boy but being fearful of a spanking (common in those days), I finally gave in and said, “I forgive you.”

My dad later explains to me that we need to forgive when others apologize. He asked me, “Do you ever ask God to forgive you when you pray?"

I said, “Yes, every time I pray I ask for forgiveness of my sins.”

He gives a little sermon about how God always forgives us when we repent of our sins, and he tells me the story of the Prodigal Son and how the father forgave him for going astray. He says, “Apologizing is asking for forgiveness. We should forgive others when they ask for it. Forgiving one another causes less resentment and hostility, and it makes life easier to live.”

I thank God for my father. He taught me forgiveness, which has brought happiness to my life. Forgiving another person relieves stress and helps me to build on friendships and relationships.

Phoenix Union-North was No. 1 Valley rivalry

Reading today's article entitled, "Phoenix Union-North was No. 1 Valley rivalry," reminds me of my high school days at North High. I attended North High from 1950 to 1954. The school's mascot was a Mustang and Phoenix Union's were coyotes.

Every year, the football game between the two schools was the game of the year. With 20,000 fans cheering at the games, the rivalry was Phoenix's #1 sports event. The Phoenix Union favorite song was, "The Old Gray Mare, She Ain't What She Use To Be." And on the other side of the field, North High would cheer:

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
If the skunks had a school,
They'd name it P.U.

After enlisting in the Air Force and graduating from ASU, I noticed the rivalry begin to fade. But it was still fun to tease my step-sister, Linda, who attended Phoenix Union in the late 50s.

Take a look at the article...