Wilson Post Blogs

Whether they win a game or not, the Stony Brook Seawolves are the story of this year’s College World Series.

I am sure I have heard of Stony Brook somewhere in my past of writing and talking about sports. For the life of me, I could not tell you anything about it without going to my research assistant, Mr. Google.

For all I knew, its most famous graduate was Rebecca of Stony Brook Farm fame.

It is cold and the jack pine fire in the small stove is finally heating the tent/cabin. The structure is composed of a tent top on a plywood frame.

Six of us sleep here. Some of them snore. However, it is almost dawn and cold or not, I have to get up. I heard the generator start 30-minutes ago so I know there is hot water for a shower. Shivering in the dawn, I half-run the 30-feet to the hot shower. It is late August and I am back on the Taiga.

Anthony Gray called me the other night just to chew the fat about some of our old adventures. Later, I received a message from him on Facebook telling me some things that he had forgotton to mention when we were on the phone.

One of his home birds, a Robin caught a hugh grasshopper and the hopper decided that he was not going to lay down and give up. He struggled and fought back several minutes then Anthony said that the Robin got fed up and flew  to the birdbath where he kept dunking the grasshopper in the water untill it ceased to struggle. That was one smart bird.

Anthony also told me that he had never paid any attention to the way birds drink. They get water in their beak and hold their head back so the water will run down into their stomach. He said that it looked like the birds are giving thanks to God for the cool drink of water.

By Angel Kane
Wilson Living Magazine

I have a theory...

Mean little girls grow up to be mean Mamas that spawn more little mean girls.

In the case of mean girls – nature supersedes nurture most every time.

In fact, I truly believe when scientists crack the  gene code they will find a mean girl supergene and when they peer closely into their microscopes, the markings of this gene will be the overly made up face of a 5^th grade mean girl.  She will be smiling back at them with that mean girl smile – sans braces, of course, because her mean girl Mama made sure her braces went on in 2nd grade to insure she would be prime boyfriend material by 4th grade.

If my description makes you cringe a little on the inside – then you know of what I speak - for one reason …or maybe another.

I have another theory...

The fog lays close on the water. You can barely see the far bank. The temperature is at the edge between cool and cold…55-degrees. To fill time while I wait for Mark Campbell to park the truck, I make a cast.

Two turns of the reel handle and the lure is smashed. I put five on the bank before Big Bird gets back. They are all stocker browns about 10-inches long. What happened to the rainbows? The Caney Fork changes.

Is Tiger Woods for real this time?

Or was Tiger teasing us? Again.

The magic was back when it had to be Sunday at the House That Jack Built, i.e. The Memorial Tournament.

Tiger won for the fifth time at Muirfield, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus’ creation.

He had to do it under pressure. He did it by making three birdies on the final four holes. His flop shot birdie on No. 16 was one for the ages.

The Golden Bear himself said so. He called it the best shot he had ever seen at his tournament and considering the circumstances, the finest shot he has ever seen.

There was no margin for error on Tiger’s shot from the rough. It came out high, and landed soft as a butterfly. It found the crest of the green and began slowly rolling down the slope.

Thursday night just happened to be one of those special times that makes sitting outside worth while. There were no mosquitoes to interrupt my train of thought. With all the lightning bugs coming up out of the grass, it took me back a few years ago to one of my Owl Prowls at the Cedars of Lebanon State Park.

It was a little before dark and my crowd of campers were already chomping at the bit to have a little nocturnal fun. We took the road up to the Group Lodge, took a right turn over to the edge of the woods where I was preparing to work some emotional magic to pull a Screech Owl out of the woods and hope that everyone could catch a look at it. Most of our birds live in territories where the sound of an interloper will justify a response. We saw about three or four Owls before returning back to the camp store.

On the road back to civilization, there were probably over a million lightning bugs all over the place. It was so bright that we all turned off our flashlights and walked back just using the light from their tails. I have only seen that one time, and it was way cool.

With a 7-15 record, eight games below .500, Vanderbilt’s baseball team was in danger of not making the NCAA Tournament field for the first time in seven years.

What happened after that makes this the best coaching job Commodores Coach Tim Corbin has done on West End.

Corbin overcame losing key players from the first Vanderbilt team to make the College World Series.

The pitching staff was young and inexperienced. Corbin could not have turned the season around if not for the job turned in by veteran pitching coach Derek Johnson.

They closed the regular season with a 10-2 record and carried over the momentum by winning their first four games in the SEC Tournament, placing them in Sunday’s championship game against Mississippi State.

By BECKY ANDREWS
Wilson Living Magazine 

It’s the end of another school year and that means my children (and probably yours) will repeat the same 4 phrases throughout the summer.

1. I’m bored.
2. Can we have a sleepover?
3. I didn’t do it.
4. There’s nothing to do around here!

And we parents will find ourselves also repeating the same chain of responses to our brood.

1. Clean your room or mow the lawn.
2. Someday when you get older and have children of your own, you’ll realize sleepovers are stupid. This usually occurs to you when your oldest child is 9 or 10.
3. Give me your phone, iPod, DS etc. Maybe you’ll think before you talk back next time.
4. I can’t wait for school to start.

Of course by preparing myself for the summer with the kids I often forget to relish these days. Eventually school will start and they will grow another year and we’ll be lost in the day to day of academia and fall sports. It won’t be long before we’ll all be thinking, ‘I can’t wait until fall break, Christmas break, spring break’.

It winds down the draws and hollers and through the fields for 99 miles. One more mile and it would be a river, so they tell me. I have no idea if that is true. I do know it is full of fish and some big smallmouth. It is floated, camped on, waded and at one time, so they tell me, it was famous for spearing suckers. Before that, the Indians used it as a highway. I have no idea if that is true.

The Smith Fork.

By ANGEL KANE
Wilson Living Magazine 

So for the last few weeks I’ve been in a funk, thanks to a new addition to our menagerie.

It started about a month ago when I woke to constant banging. For days I could not find the source until I happened upon the dining room window. There, outside, was a beautiful, red cardinal perched on the windowsill looking in.

The cardinal immediately reminded me of an article I had read. In this article, the writer had felt that the red cardinal, which had recently appeared at her window, was her guardian angel during some trying times.

How neat, I thought, I have my own guardian angel, too. So as I turned around to leave, I was horrified when I heard BANG, BANG, BANG!!!

I quickly turned back to watch my guardian angel flying as fast as he could into the window, over and over and …over again.

Figures…my guardian angel would be completely deranged!!

While doing my Owl Prowl at Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Buddy Ingram asked me if I could come back the following Wednesday morning and take a group of kids from Trousdale County out to see some birds. Of course, I answered. Not everyone has an interest in just one subject. That’s why “Our Feathered Friends” has certain readers, as well as “Telling Tales” and our resident fisherman and hunter, John Sloan.

Bright and fairly early, I made my way to Cedars, looking forward to hiking up the concrete walkway past Hermit Cave in hopes of locating a few birds. The school buses had taken a wrong turn and were waiting up by the swimming pool when we discovered that they would be late. Buddy had planned on breaking the school bunch into groups of 17 which made four groups. The best time to find birds, especially during migration is first light in the early morning. It was almost 10:15 a.m. before we could get started, and the first thing they wanted to do was drink from the hose pipe down on the corner by the Nature Center. The birds were too quiet and there was nothing stirring except a Red-bellied Woodpecker. We looked all over the Jackson Cave area and then went out toward the Dixon Merritt ½-mile trail. Everything there was also muted till we took a short cut off the trail into the field next to where the Ranger's horses are stabled.

It was coming.

Smothering, roasting, oppressive heat and humidity. But not just yet.

Rose streaks just beginning to show in the east. It is cool now, less than 90 but not much. Birds are starting to lift off the rookery. I have no idea where they are going. The fish are probably sweating. I know I am and I am sure Alan Clemmons is, too. Alan use to do something with some major bass tournaments. Now he is an editor for a big, deer-hunting magazine. He knows how to fish, too. He takes it too seriously but that is his business. He fishes a lot with heavy jigs and crankbaits. That too, is his business. I’m just here to fish.

Titans Coach Mike Munchak has his work cut out for him.

If he pays any attention to what Cantor Gaming in Las Vegas (Where else?) has to say about the Titans, Munchak might as well get ready for a long, disappointing season.

They could scrap Organized Team Activities. Do away with training camp. Go through the motions during preseason games.

Why?

While most Titans fans are optimistic about the team being able to put in a full off-season of work, the folks at Cantor say the numbers don’t lie.

So, before the Titans break the first sweat as a team, Cantor has offered its predictions for the coming season.

Where did it go, the sun?

All week it has been sunny and beautiful, perfect for bear hunting and running baits and hanging stands. When we took the boat into Bear Lake fishing, it was sunny and 70. When we chopped the ATV trail through the brush, it was Sunny and 65. When we set the barrel and spread the grease, it was hot and the bears hit immediately and ravaged the bait site. I have never seen a bait site hit that hard, that quickly. When we hung the camera stand, it was fantastic and when Gary climbed into the stand it, it was perfect.

One of my favorite work friends, that I worked with at Hartmann Luggage, has been at the well known super store on South Cumberland Street for several years. Gloria Denney always gives me a hug, no matter how busy she is. Gloria works with Sandra Palfreeman, whose husband Bob sent me a great photo of a Red-bellied Woodpecker that really shows the red on the belly. I hope this will print good in the Wilson Post.

After some delicious turkey burgers cooked by our friend Angie Zurawski, Maggie Whiteaker and myself took off to the meeting spot for my Owl Prowl over by theDixon Merritt Nature Center. The hay ride minus the hay, gives me an unpleasant feeling everytime we load up on the wagon. I am not afraid of too many things, but the thought of getting a splinter stuck in my backside drives me wild. It happened to me once many years ago at one of the Wrestling Matches at the Nashville Fairgrounds where some lady asked me to scoot over so she could sit down. That was the last time for scooting for me. In about two hours, and sitting side saddle in the back of a pickup truck, I had to wake my mother and get her assistance to remove what seemed to be a 2X4 plank. Come on Buddy, I'm sure the park can afford some hay bales.

While my favorite places to shop are thrift stores, vintage clothing stores and goodwill, I love browsing the designer section of department stores. No, I’m not in the market for a $700 blouse. Not long ago I was in designer apparel when a new sales girl approached. The reason I know she was new is because most of the folks who work at this particular store know it’s a complete waste of time to try and sell me anything. Before I could say, “No. Not looking for anything specific. Just browsing” She started the pitch.

“Isn’t this classic? The lines are amazing. I could totally see you in this. Everyone needs to have 2 C’s in their closet.”

“It is beautiful. I keep my college transcripts in my closet so I have WAY more than 2 C’s.”

She looked at me like I was an idiot. I started to believe she was right. Sure there is no way I could afford this frock but she didn’t know that for a fact. I could be the big sale she’d been hoping for all week. Who’s to say I couldn’t buy it to prove a point then return it the next day… pending she’s off work. 

“I’m kidding. What were you saying about the dress? I do love it but not sure where I could wear it.”

“Are you kidding? You could wear this anywhere; a date with your husband, girl’s night out, wedding, work, church. The possibilities are endless.”

The Predators are dead in the frozen water. The Memphis Grizzlies joined the Preds Sunday by losing Game 7 to the Los Angeles Clippes in their first-round NBA playoff series.

The NFL draft has come and gone. Spring practices have concluded for college football programs. Future college basketball players have decided on which school they will grace with their talent.

In other words, it is a slow time of the season if you are a sports fan.

That often prompts a flurry of various lists compiled by sportswriters around the country.

The Sporting News has released its annual list that ranks all Division I college football coaches. It is highly subjective and one of two TSN writers who compile this list is Matt Hayes. I have known Matty for years. He delights in taking jabs at fan bases known for their thin skins.

For starters, Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley is considered the worst coach in the SEC, including the coaches from Missouri and Texas A&M, who have yet to stick their toes in the SEC pool.

I love shopping for bathing suits. I love it like a cat loves a bath, like a 2 year old loves naptime or like my husband loves complete strangers giving him hugs. The very process of finding that perfect suit is poetic. There are many things to consider before purchasing a piece of material so small even the larger ones would be considered indecent in some countries. There’s the print, the color, the amount of medication you will need to feel comfortable wearing that thing in public.

Not only does it cling, it’s tiny too. I’m not talking about just the bikini. Those became a thing of the past after having my first child. Since then my tummy has more closely resembled a deflated balloon with a sad face for a belly button. And this is why I opt for a one piece, but even those don’t hide the parts I think they should.

By RAY POPE

I made another run out in the country to my friend Haskell Evans for some more feathers, or Swallow enticements. These were more of the downy type feathers, which will make a good lining for their nest. Now I know who rules the roost. The male sat on the top of a second nesting box while the female was sticking half way out of the main box. I took a small feather and held it aloft then let it catch a breeze right in front of the birds. The male sat and watched as the female took off and caught the feather in just a second. She returned to the hole, but the feather kept her from getting a grip. She then circled and flew straight to the hole and this time she went into the hole to place the feather in just the right place. I did this several times and she would always catch it. The male never gave chase, and sat there as if to say, yes dear, wherever you place it will work for me. You da' boss!