Hey, there to my score of fans who have been reading my first story Mayhem in a Pill. I wrote an earlier blog entry about getting inspired but I have another short story of inspiration.
When Al Steiner announced he was in fact working on Intemperance 3, I damn near danced a jig. Would have been awe inspiring and would have been terrifying at the same time. (I tend to jiggle in the stomach area while breathing.) Dancing a jig would have looked funnier than the Truffle Shuffle from Goonies fame.
Well anyways. It is no secret that high school football in Texas is a big thing. It is also a big thing in Mayhem. But this week and maybe a few other weeks this season, I'll be sitting in the stands of a high school football game. A young man I've known literally his entire life lives across the street from me and is now a new ninth grader at Roosevelt. He has Down Syndrome but loves football. I took him and a couple of the other kids on the street who I can watch play football with each other on the street pretty much every single day.
I was outside relaxing after helping the kids learn a little bit about football.. Throwing a spiral and keeping their heads up and eyes open when tackling are pretty much the extent of my football coaching prowess. Well I heard this young man who I literally met the day after he was born when his mother and father brought him home from the hospital. He is growing up into a wonderful young man. But I digress as I wipe away a few tears from my eyes.
I heard him say that he could not get his mom to take him to the first varsity game of the season. She is not a fan of football. Understandable but she is still a great mother. Dad works nights at a nearby hospital so he could not take him.
Anywho, I got the crazy idea that I'd like to go and watch a game. Enjoy some nachos and root for the good guys. Hell, it's my alma mater and I haven't seen a live high school game in person since I was on the field playing in the damn game. The three other kiddies who all play street football and are all still a few years too young for high school also heard and wanted to come along. I figured "Why the hell not!"
So me and four youngsters pile into my Dodge Journey and we go to the game. The kids are all looking around at the big stands and the tall lights that probably won't turn on until the second half of the game. The parents all sent their kids with a few bucks for admission and of course something bad to eat for dinner. The Frito Pie and nachos were heavenly by the way.
The kids were well behaved and everyone had a great time watching the game and the only way the night would have been perfect was for a win but it was not to be on that night.
I grabbed a program and looked up the next home game with the idea of bringing them all again since they were very well behaved and all had fun. Only time I had to reign them in a little was when they were running in the stands along the railing when a player for the other team made a nice run along the sideline closest to the stands where we were seating.
I had fun. They had fun. It was fun.
Anyways, it got the juices flowing and the need to write was percolating. So I have sent the next chapter of Mayhem in a Pill at the very least a good three weeks ahead of schedule to the editors and hopefully they can turn my garbled musings into something palatable for the readers.
I did have fun and it looks like I'll take the kids at least three more times this season. But I think I'll put the hex on whenever the South Texas weather decides to take a key from old man winter and blow through the stadium. I would certainly love to thank the designers of the home stadium since yes it was hot, a beautiful breeze every so often dried the sweat from my brow and I didn't realize the heat the entire night. I'll bet when the winds start blowing, they will be seriously felt in those metal stands.
Ooh, note to self... don't forget the foam pad you bought to sit on for the next game. Your tuckus will appreciate it.
Thanks again and good luck Riders!