Now on a lighter note….. Saturday night, I had more fun than a squirrel in an oak tree, loaded with a new crop of acorns! If anyone had asked me a year ago, if I would attend a wrestling match, I would have said, “Heck No!” However when Ken Tate and his crew were coming to Vicksburg to help him retire, we didn’t hesitate. All my recollections of Ken were of a toddler nature…..a little tyke toddling around in the shadow of his Daddy. Seeing him in the role of a wrestling promoter/entertainer was foreign, until I saw him in action Saturday night. I’ve been to wrestling events as a child with my Daddy. God rest his soul, he dearly loved wrestling. And every Saturday, he watched it faithfully on TV. I was every bit as much entertained watching my Daddy as any television program that I ever watched. He really believed it was the real thing, or at least I thought he did! I found myself mentally scanning thru years of memories of him in front of our TV, during that entire event at the City Auditorium. It took me back to a very long time ago, and the days of George Culkin and Jack Curtis, two names that I grew up hearing. Saturday night was an experience that I’m glad I didn’t miss, for many reasons. I delighted in watching our Coach Tate enjoying himself so! He is extremely proud of Ken and it was so obvious in his beaming face. I loved watching his expressions and actions change from a personality of total sophistication to one of “ringside participant in every way”. I have many good memories of Coach Tate as a Teacher and Coach, AND NOW I’ll have this added memory of him as a “Ringside Crazy”! I might as well just go ahead and ‘fess up. There were times that I found myself sounding just like my Daddy. It made me feel like he was sitting there right bedside me and I loved it! Shucks, I even caught a tee shirt when they were throwing them out during intermission. Since it was a small, I obviously would have needed “another to cover”, so I passed it on to young Parker, the Sheffield’s grandson. He was enjoying it at least as much as I was. I did observe something that I’d never really given a thought. As much as the element of pretence weighs heavily in wrestling, it is obviously a sport that requires much skill, as much for the managers and referees, as for the wrestlers themselves. There is a great amount of athleticism in what they do. Make no mistake about it! I loved watching the spectators, and believe me, you see a lot more than you care to see sometimes. I still think that if we’d worn doo-rags, we’d have fit into the crowd better and blacking out a couple of front teeth would have completed the full package. But all in all, I let my mouth click into gear, and that helped me blend into the crowd just a bit better, I think! It was a fun night….I enjoyed every minute and I think I made my Daddy proud! I do love making new memories, especially when they’re a bit out of the norm. I guess my hinges are slightly loose, but not to worry…..I tighten the screws from time to time!
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 19:58:44 +0000
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