School is back in full swing! Long gone are the afternoons where you can just go home right after work. It’s time for cheer practice, softball practice, football practice and long hours sweating in the bleachers, counting just how much money the kids are spending at the concession stand and cursing yourself for forgetting your stadium chair yet again! But, for women like me who lack a real social life, sitting in those bleachers is the only time I have to visit old friends and actually catch up. And, boy do I love cheering on our Rebels!
It’s funny how some things never change. The faces may be have aged a little and the last names have changed (once or maybe twice) for some of us, but put us back in those bleachers- and it is almost as if we go back in time. Some of us are still quiet, while others are still obnoxiously arguing with every call the umpire makes. And you can never really take the cheerleader out of a true Lady Rebel. As soon as the first note of the fight song starts, an overwhelming sense of home takes over me.
The other day, a group of us moms was talking about how time flies; and it seems so strange that our own babies are about to graduate. One of the moms made the remark that she wished she could go back in time and do a lot of things differently. I had to speak up, “Not Me!” This may sound strange, but I love who I was as a teenager. And I don’t mean that I was perfect, either. I’ll be the first to admit that I was a hellion. As a matter of fact, I probably almost died a couple times on Woodyard Road from alcohol poisoning. I was a little redneck kid who wouldn’t turn down a dare and would do just about anything to bring some excitement to our Friday nights.
I stole cars (sorry Wes Claburn and Daddy). I stole street signs. I stole every CD that was in my car. I should probably apologize now to every friend of mine who ever had a CD come up missing. I admit now that I use to steal CDs and write my name on them. I was VERY, VERY FAR from perfect! But, boy was I free. We all were. It didn’t matter if we were in a new vehicle or my raggedy blue hatchback, if we were in a car- we felt as if we ruled the world. And we kinda did. We made our own rules and those rules changed almost daily as we made one bad decision after another. Those mistakes and rebellion are what makes growing up so damn beautiful.
Life gets you down. The older we get, the bigger our families grow and the bigger the responsibilities we have to take on. Before we know it, we find ourselves giving up a little bit more of our own dreams and desires to help bring our kids’ dreams to light. That’s okay, though. It’s when you find the beauty in that sacrifice and are fullfilled by watching their success, that you can see your life come in full circle. When you sit in those bleachers and watch your own kids walk up and down the field on a Friday night, planning on where they’re going to go after the game just like you once did, you get a little glimpse back at your old self- your younger and freer self.
Those little flashbacks always bring a smile to my face and maybe just a little tinge of embarrassment. Sure, I may have made out with boys that I wouldn’t even talk to now. But I do not look back in regret. A little kiss never killed anyone. I may have broken a heart or two, and had my own broken; but I think we’ve all fared well in the marriage department now. At this point in my life, there is nothing but love in my heart for the boy who let me ride shot gun in his car.
So my advice to today’s school kids is this- LIVE IT UP- make every moment a memory cause one day that may be all you have. And to the parents of those school kids, I must say- regret nothing; but remember everything- especially the little white lies you told your own parents who thought you were asleep in the bed when you were most likely dying of alcohol poisoning on Woodyard Road. That’s how we stay ahead of the game!
Speaking of games- let’s bring back the days when the streets of Belzoni were empty on Friday nights from 7pm-10pm because everyone was at the County School or The Academy watching the kids play ball. Let’s be those loud parents screaming that can be heard from the school parking lot. And lets relive some of those old school memories every week- even if just for a few hours!
GO REBELS! GO COWBOYS! See ya’ll Friday!
Below is the recipe for the famous HA Rebel Chili found in the Festival Cookbook.
HA’s Original Chili
4-1/2 pounds ground chuck
4-1/2 onion, chopped
4-1/2 cloves garlic, minced
3 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
3(16 oz) cans tomatoes
4-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons pepper
6(16 oz) cans red kidney beans
3 cups water
Brown meat onion and garlic; drain well. Add all other ingredients and mix well, adding beans last. Simmer for 1-1/2 hours.
Lessons Learned From The Rainbow 