Thanks for the Memories

There is good reason January is named after the Roman deity Janus, who has two faces--one looking ahead, one looking back. This is the time of year when many, if not most, people look back at the year about to end and forward to the year about to begin, desiring to hold on to the good and let go of the bad while hoping for even better.

I am no different. But instead of looking back only at the year just ending, I tend to revisit different times from the past, usually prompted by something I see or hear. Today's memory is courtesy of the multiple bowl game being played today. About this time in 1983, two friends of mine and I--we were all involved with the Michigan State Radio Network--got press passes to the Cotton State Insurance Classic in Atlanta, and we snagged the radio network's university vehicle to drive to the games, where MSU, lead by some guard named Scott Skiles, would be playing Alabama.

As with all such trips, there are several stories that could be told and a few that cannot, but one of our side-trips was a stopover at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, where Florida State was playing North Carolina in the Peach Bowl (this was well before FSU joined the ACC). All I remember about the game itself was it was about 35 degrees and we froze our asses off. I think FSU won, but we didn't care--it was cool to be at a bowl game (if you had seen MSU's teams in the early 1980s, you would understand). Anyhow, the bowl games on TV got me searching for something in one of my bags--and here it is, a little worse for the wear:

May you have a great new year.