Posted 10:59 pm Sunday, September 02, 2012
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Tyler trifecta: Turkeys roses, Earl Campbell
Lately all it seems we have talked about is food. It should be official sometime today that I did not win the sandwich contest held at FRESH last week but came in second. The finish reminded me of a story from Cold War lore about a yachting race involving Russia and the U.S. They were the only entries and at the end of the contest the outcome was the U.S. finished in first and the Russian team came in second.
The Russian press handled the story by reporting that the Russian team finished in second place and the U.S. finished next-to-last.
One morning last week, Jamie and I were on the way to school and with his mother out of town it was my job to send the boy to school with a hot meal in his stomach.
I suggested a place we had not tried. He immediately declined and suggested an alternative. After a while I suggested the place again to try and get the boy out of his comfort zone to try something new. He replied emphatically “I don't want to go there, the food is not any good.”
“How do you know if you haven't tried it?” I asked.
He said, “Well, a friend of mine who has very low standards when it comes to food said he didn't like it, so I think I can trust his judgment.”
How can you argue with that?
The Russian press handled the story by reporting that the Russian team finished in second place and the U.S. finished next-to-last.
One morning last week, Jamie and I were on the way to school and with his mother out of town it was my job to send the boy to school with a hot meal in his stomach.
I suggested a place we had not tried. He immediately declined and suggested an alternative. After a while I suggested the place again to try and get the boy out of his comfort zone to try something new. He replied emphatically “I don't want to go there, the food is not any good.”
“How do you know if you haven't tried it?” I asked.
He said, “Well, a friend of mine who has very low standards when it comes to food said he didn't like it, so I think I can trust his judgment.”
How can you argue with that?
At the Wednesday luncheon kicking off the football season and announcing the new Earl Campbell Tyler Rose award I had a chance to visit with the great Earl Campbell again. He was as gracious as ever and continues to shine as one of our city's greatest ambassadors. I mentioned that his mother's philosophy of making sure children have a good breakfast before school was being practiced in our house by Elizabeth ,and it put a big smile on his face.
For a guy who made such a public display of his love of his mother, he seems to continue it to this day, talking about her every chance he gets. I suspect when he arrives at the pearly gates Earl will have a free pass to skip by the Honor thy Mother checkpoint and if there are any defenders at any other checkpoints, well, God help them.
Whether you are a University of Texas fan or not, watching Earl plow down a football field like a bulldozer still brings chill bumps to my arms. Is there any other player who so totally threw himself into the task at hand? The only one from another sport who comes close in my memory is the basketball great Hakeem Olajuwon.
Those guys were both gifted with an athleticism few will see, but to combine their talent with such a complete display of effort was a display of something so special it makes you re-live it every time someone rolls a highlight film.
My dad used to say Tyler was known best for roses, Earl Campbell and Greenberg turkeys.
What more could you ask?
For a guy who made such a public display of his love of his mother, he seems to continue it to this day, talking about her every chance he gets. I suspect when he arrives at the pearly gates Earl will have a free pass to skip by the Honor thy Mother checkpoint and if there are any defenders at any other checkpoints, well, God help them.
Whether you are a University of Texas fan or not, watching Earl plow down a football field like a bulldozer still brings chill bumps to my arms. Is there any other player who so totally threw himself into the task at hand? The only one from another sport who comes close in my memory is the basketball great Hakeem Olajuwon.
Those guys were both gifted with an athleticism few will see, but to combine their talent with such a complete display of effort was a display of something so special it makes you re-live it every time someone rolls a highlight film.
My dad used to say Tyler was known best for roses, Earl Campbell and Greenberg turkeys.
What more could you ask?
