Greetings from Charlotte!

Greetings from the new worldwide, international headquarters of "It's All Straw," beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina!

You may remember from my last post, gentle reader (if I have any readers left), that I was just days away from moving to the Queen City. The great day did indeed arrive, and the move went off largely without a hitch. With the help of brothers, a sister, a sister-in-law, and a horse trailer, I moved into my new new abode, which is positively palatial compared to my old digs. I sat in the living room in astonishment, just watching everyone else bustle in and out with boxes, bags, furniture, and whatnot, and murmuring, "Oh. My. God." every few minutes. It seemed too wonderful to be real. The condominium complex where I live is beautifully maintained, and my new neighbors have been kind and welcoming. There are still days I find myself thinking, "Wow! I get to live here!"

 The rooms are open and airy with large windows to let in plenty of sunlight, which is a real mood booster. I have a sun room, and my sister says she has a case of sun room envy. For the first time in my life, I have a garage! (I don't have a car, but I have a garage). There is some discussion among my brothers as to the possibility of turning this space into some sort of man cave. Stay tuned for further developments.

Navigating the health care and social service bureaucracy took longer than I would have liked, but I now have an attendant/aide to help me for a few hours every weekday with what I call the three H's: Health, Hygiene, and Housekeeping. I don't need as much help as some other people with disabilities I know, but having a helping hand with certain tasks just makes life a whole lot easier. I have a city bus pass and a transit ID, and I'm learning how to use the city's public transit system to get where I want and need to go. Now it's time to develop a daily routine. Little by little I'm beginning to feel at home.

I've visited a couple of different parishes in the greater Charlotte area, looking for a spiritual home. For the first time in my life I have a real choice of parishes to attend. When I made contact with one parish to ask about transportation to Mass, I got a call back from the president of the parish's praesidium of the Legion of Mary. I was very active in the Legion in my old parish in South Carolina, so a chance to chat with a fellow Legionary was a little taste of home. Next week, I think I'd like to visit the local parish that celebrates Mass in the Extraordinary Form (aka the Tridentine Rite or the Traditional Latin Mass). Although I've come to love sacred polyphony and appreciate Gregorian Chant, I've never actually attended a Traditional Latin Mass and would really like to have the experience. The older I get, the friendlier I am becoming to tradition.

Even as I'm sitting here thinking about exploring and recovering the Catholic Church's past, I'm excited about the future. Every day feels like a bit of an adventure with new possibilities. As I told a friend recently, I feel a bit like the country mouse from Aesop's fables, suddenly whisked away from a pokey, pedestrian small town to the big, bustling city with all its delights (and frustrations). Unlike the mouse in the fable, however, I don't think I'll be headed back to the country any time soon. The city is beginning to feel like just the right place for me.

Another Year, Another National Championship

Ho hum. Didn't we do this last year?

From Gamecocks Online, the official website of University of South Carolina athletics:

Gamecocks Capture Back-to-Back National Titles With 5-2 Win Over Florida:
Carolina Sets NCAA Division I Record with 16 Straight Postseason Wins

June 28, 2011

The South Carolina Gamecocks rode the stellar pitching of Michael Roth to defeat the Florida Gators, 5-2, and sweep the best-of-three College World Series Championship Series Tuesday night at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha in front of an announced crowd of 26,721. The win gave the Gamecocks back-to-back National Championships in Division I College Baseball.

The Gamecocks (55-14) broke out in front in the bottom of the third inning when they sent eight men to the plate, scoring three times off Florida starter Karsten Whitson (8-1). Peter Mooney led off the frame with a double down the left field line and advanced to third on Robert Beary's sacrifice bunt. After Evan Marzilli walked, Scott Wingo lofted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Mooney with the game's first run. After Jackie Bradley Jr. walked, Christian Walker's bouncer to short eluded Nolan Fontana and rolled into centerfield for an error, allowing Marzilli to score and sending Bradley to third. Brady Thomas chopped an infield single over the pitcher's mound, scoring Bradley Jr. and putting Carolina on top 3-0.

Florida (53-19) answered with a single run in the top of the fourth. Mike Zunino led off the inning with a home run over the left field wall. The solo blast was his team-leading 19th round tripper and just the third home run allowed by Roth all season. Zunino had three of the Gators' six hits on the night.

The Gators had chances to get closer when they put their first two batters on base in both the fifth and sixth innings, but Roth was able to work his way out the jams unscathed.

South Carolina got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Mooney crushed a 3-1 offering from reliever Tommy Toledo into the Gator bullpen beyond the right field wall for his fourth home run of the season, giving the Gamecocks a 4-1 advantage. Mooney's round tripper was the only home run hit by the Gamecocks in their five-game stay in Omaha.

Florida cut the deficit to 4-2 with a run in the top of the eighth. Zunino doubled to center off Roth and scored on John Adams' two-out single off reliever John Taylor, but Matt Price caught pinch-hitter Tyler Thompson looking to end the uprising.

Carolina came right back with one of its own in the bottom of the frame. Beary singled to center, moved to second on Marzilli's sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Wingo's bouncer to right over the pulled-in infield.

Roth (14-3) was lifted after 7.2 innings of work. The junior southpaw allowed just five hits and two runs with two walks and six strikeouts. He threw 127 pitches, 77 for strikes. In 38.1 innings of work over the past two years at the College World Series, Roth has posted a 1.17 ERA, second-best all-time. Price worked the final 1.1 innings for his 20th save of the season.

The Gamecocks, who entered the tournament as the number four national seed, have now established NCAA records with 16 consecutive postseason wins and 11 consecutive wins in the College World Series. While in Omaha, South Carolina defeated Texas A&M, number one seed Virginia twice, and number two seed Florida twice without a loss.

# # #

All kidding aside, I never thought I'd live to see the day Carolina was national champions of anything, let alone BACK TO BACK national champions in a major sport.

Well done, fellas! Congratulations to the 2011 NCAA baseball CHAMPIONS! Go 'Cocks!

How 'bout Them Gamecocks . . . AGAIN!!!!

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)--Steve Spurrier finally delivered South Carolina's biggest win ever.

Stephen Garcia threw three touchdown passes, two to Alshon Jeffrey, and Marcus Lattimore scored three times as the 19th-ranked Gamecocks stunned No. 1 Alabama 35-21 on Saturday.

The defending national champion Crimson Tide had won 19 straight game, including last week's 31-6 rout against Florida, since losing the Sugar Bowl after the 2008 season to Utah. The Gamecocks (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had never beaten a No. 1 team in four previous tries.

But the Head Ball Coach, in his sixth season at South Carolina, had the players to beat Alabama using the Tide's own formula.

Garcia and Gamecocks cashed in chances when they got close to the goal line and shut down the best tailback duo in the country, making themselves a factor in the SEC title chase.

South Carolina shredded the country's top-rated scoring defense, putting up the most points on Alabama (5-1, 2-1) since a 41-34 loss to LSU in 2007. The Gamecocks scored four touchdowns when they got inside the `Bama 20--double what the Crimson Tide had allowed coming in.

Alabama's Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson were held to 64 yards on the ground as the Crimson Tide tried to rally back, as it had in beating Arkansas 24-20 two games ago, through the air.

The Crimson Tide made a charge, getting an odd safety by Garcia, a field goal and a 51-yard touchdown catch by Darius Hanks that turned a South Carolina's 21-9 lead into a 28-21 ballgame.

Alabama's last chance to tighten things came at the start of the fourth quarter when Jeffery, the SEC's leading receiver, bobbled a catch into the hands of defensive back Will Lowery for an interception.

But Greg McElroy was sacked for a 7-yard loss by Stephon Gilmore and Alabama coach Nick Saban called a fake field goal that didn't come close to working as offensive lineman Ed Stinson dropped the throw from holder A.J. McCarron.

South Carolina answered back with a 75-yard drive, ended by Lattimore's 2-yard score with 7:01 left that put the game away.

Alabama could not respond and South Carolina fans, as they had after the basketball team beat Kentucky in January and the baseball team beat Arizona State at the College World Series in June, celebrated beating the country's No. 1 team.

Lattimore finished with 93 yards. He also caught Garcia's first scoring pass, a 9-yard touchdown in the opening quarter to take the lead for good.

Garcia was a tidy 17 of 20 for 201 yards and the one interception. He also picked up a critical fourth-and-1 on the Gamecocks final scoring drive. Jeffery had seven receptions for 127 yards, including TD catches of 26 and 15 yards.

McElroy threw for a career-high 315 yards, but was sacked seven times.

How 'bout Them Gamecocks!

From the Gamecocks Online website:

June 29, 2010

Omaha, Neb. - Whit Merrifield singled home Scott Wingo in the bottom of the 11th inning, lifting South Carolina to a 2-1 win over UCLA, clinching the National Championship for the Gamecocks.

Wingo led off the final frame with a walk, moved to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a bunt by Evan Marzilli and scored on Merrifield single to right.

The two starting pitchers, South Carolina's Michael Roth and UCLA's Rob Rasmussen locked up in a tight duel, but neither was around to figure in the decision. Roth allowed one run on six hits over 5.0 innings, while Rasmussen scattered six hits and four walks over 6.0 scoreless frames.

UCLA broke the scoreless tie with a run in the top of the fifth. Trevor Brown led off with an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Niko Gallego's RBI single to left.

The Gamecocks finally tied the score in the bottom of eighth. Pinch-hitter Brady Thomas led off the frame with a solid single to center. Pinch-runner Robert Beary went to second on a ground out and scored when Bobby Haney's grounder ended up in right field after being misplayed by UCLA first baseman Dean Espy and eluding second baseman Cody Regis.

Matt Price (5-1) worked three scoreless innings of relief for the win.

Jackie Bradley Jr. was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by Christian Walker, Evan Marzilli and Brady Thomas.

The Gamecocks finish the season with a 54-16 record, while UCLA ends its campaign with a 51-17 mark.





Congratulations to the 2010 NCAA Baseball CHAMPIONS!

Caps

It's funny how the physical objects around us can get us to thinking.

Now that another college football season is upon us, I splurged on a University of South Carolina baseball cap to show my team loyalty. This is the one I chose:



I've cheered for Carolina teams since I was a boy, long before I did my graduate work there (and far too often been poorly rewarded for my loyalty, but that's another story). Hope springs eternal in the Gamecock fan's breast however. This might just be the year the football team or the basketball team or the baseball team or the women's track and field team or somebody does great things.

When the cap arrived yesterday I wore it with great pride, but it reminded me that I had a similar one for Auburn University, my Dad's alma mater, a cap very much like this one:



Towards the end of his life, I noticed that Dad had taken to wearing a baseball cap whenever he drove to keep the sun out of his eyes. He was wearing a generic baseball cap he'd gotten from somewhere (the USC bookstore if I remember correctly). Two Christmases before he died of cancer, I gave him an Auburn cap. He smiled and thanked me. Later I learned that he wore it whenever he drove until he was no longer able to drive. After Dad's funeral, my brother Allen asked me if I would like to have the cap and I have kept it ever since.

Dad was never a big sports fan. Normally he paid very little attention to Auburn athletics—until perhaps the annual weekend that Auburn played Alabama. When I rediscovered the cap, however, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I found Auburn's fight song on the internet and have been listening to it almost compulsively. I'll keep an eye on how the Auburn Tigers (Clemson Tigers = BAD! Auburn Tigers = GOOD!) do this year, even as I'm cheering on my Gamecocks. And should Auburn triumph over Alabama, you will hear a rousing cry of WAAAAAAR EAGLE!" from this direction.

Miss you, Dad.

Too Large To Be An Insane Asylum

On hearing that his native state had seceded from the Union in December 1860, James L. Petigru, a unionist and opponent of secession quipped, "South Carolina is to small to be a republic and too large to be an insane asylum."

I thought of that remark a couple of days ago as I got up early to take some medicine and switched on one of the morning news shows. The show gleefully led off with the latest on l'affaire Sanford, the fallout from Gov. Mark Sanford's tearful public admission that he went AWOL from the state capital for a week in order to fly to Argentina for a tryst with his as yet unidentified paramour. The same show included a report on a South Carolina mother who has been charged with abuse and neglect for allowing her teenage son to grow to a gargantuan weight of 550 lbs.

The hosts of this program, who seemed more like gossip columnists than news reporters, interviewed the mother, and I must say, she didn't exactly sound like the brightest bulb on the sign, so it's easy to imagine how that unfortunate situation might have occurred. The Sanford episode, however, boggles the mind. I have to say this in my best Dr. Phil voice: What was he thinking? Did he honestly believe that it would somehow be OK if he sneaked off for a week of extracurricular extramarital activity without telling anyone his true whereabouts? Did he force his staff to put out the cover story that he was stressed out and had gone hiking along the Appalachian Trail, or did they concoct that one themselves?

So far, Gov. Sanford has indicated that he will not resign as governor, but the more I think about it, the more I believe he should. He says he wants to devote his remaining months in office to rebuilding the trust of the people of the state. I think, however the best way he can do that is to voluntarily surrender his office. It would demonstrate that he understands that actions have consequences. It would also remove him from many situations in which he might be tempted to make a similar monumental error in judgment that would have damaging consequences not only for him, but for the whole state. Finally, I think it would allow him to focus his time and energy on rebuilding his relationship with his wife and children, which, if I were in his shoes, would be my first priority.

I love the state of South Carolina. I was born in Georgia, but I've lived here since I was an infant. It's my home. When stuff like this happens, however, I just have to shake my head and wish I were from somewhere else. South Carolina may be too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum, but I'm afraid it's just the right size for a national embarrassment.

From the IAS Sports Department . . .

This just in from the Sports Department here at It's All Straw:

University of South Carolina 44

University of Houston 36

Get details here!

Meanwhile . . .

University of Kentucky 28

Clemson University 20

Get details here!

Tough break, Creegs!

GAME! . . . COCKS! . . . GAME! . . . COCKS!

It occurs to me that I have been remiss in my blogging duties. I reported on Auburn's fifth consecutive triumph over their perennial foes Alabama, but I failed to announce the victory of my own beloved South Carolina Gamecocks over their detested arch rivals, the Clemson Tigers, by a score of 31-28. Better late than never. The title of this post is an effort to reproduce in print a neat little auditory effect you'll hear at home games. One side of the stadium yells "GAME!" The other yells "COCKS!" The stereophonic effect has been known to discombobulate opposing teams.

It wasn't just a game, it was a cardiovascular workout, with highs and lows and plenty of heart-stopping moments for fans. Too often, the Gamecocks come out looking like college football's equivalent of the Chicago Cubs, a bunch of lovable losers that you just can't help cheering for no matter how often they break your heart. Carolina fans celebrate every victory they can get, especially over Clemson. If there's one thing I've learned in nearly 40 years of pulling for South Carolina, it's to keep your expectations low. For example, right before half time, Carolina, down 14-7, was driving on the Clemson goal. USC quarterback Blake Mitchell dropped back to pass, but a Clemson defender got in his face, deflected the ball, and ran the other way for a Clemson touchdown. I thought we were doomed.

At one point in the third quarter Carolina trailed 28-14. Again, I thought we were doomed, but miracle of miracles, the Gamecocks rallied, using stiff defense and taking advantage of Clemson turnovers to actually go ahead 31-28 late in the game. Clemson, of course, promptly got the ball and drove down the field, lining up for a field goal that would have tied the game and sent it into overtime, where in all likelihood Clemson would win. Would Carolina's miracle slip away? I'd seen it happen before.

On the last play of the game, Clemson lined up for a field goal . . . and missed! Carolina beat Clemson! Could life get any sweeter? As a result of this titanic victory, the Gamecocks will now have the opportunity to play in the Totally Meaningless Media Event & Marketing Opportunity Bowl, or some such. Not so many years ago, there were only a few major college bowl games--Rose, Cotton, Sugar, Orange--and each one had a share in determining college football's national championship. In short, they meant something. Now, however, there are so many of these postseason extravaganzas that just about any team that wins more than half its games can go to one of these artificial hoopty-dos. Oh, well. We'll take it.

As an interesting side note, Auburn, whom I love for Dad's sake, and Clemson, whom I detest . . . well, just because they're Clemson :)--have many similarities. Both are the land grant colleges and agricultural and mechanical schools for their respective states. Both claim the Tigers as their mascots (I think Auburn's battle cry of "War Eagle!" originated during World War II when the school was used as a training facility for combat pilots

[UPDATE, 2009: Since this was originally posted, I have learned that there are many possible explanations for the origin of the phrase "War Eagle!" none of which can be verified].

Both schools use orange as one of their team colors. (Auburn uses orange and blue, Clemson, orange and white). But you see, because my Dad went to Auburn, Auburn Tigers are fine, hardworking, upstanding, God-fearing sons and daughters of the soil who labor diligently by the sweat of their brows to make the world a better place. Because nearly everybody else in my family went to Carolina (one of my sisters pulls for Clemson just to be contrary, but we love her anyway), Clemson Tigers are backward, ignorant, uncouth, unlettered rednecks and the source of all evil in the world :-). (JUST KIDDING!) :-)

In conclusion, I'd like to recall the words of our late beloved Pope John Paul II when he visited the USC campus several years ago. The Holy Father was addressing a group of students on the Horseshoe, the historic heart of the campus, when he departed from his prepared text and said:

"It is wonderful to be young."

(This was greeted with a scattering of applause).

"It is wonderful to be young and a student at a university."

(More applause)

"It is wonderful to be young and a student at the University of South Carolina."

(THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE).

I've always figured this was a dignified way for the Servant of the Servants of God, the Vicar of Christ, the Successor of Peter, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church to say:

GO COCKS!