Some folks only get out once a year and really dress up for this event. This being southern Alabama, nearly 80% of the booths sold a variety of religious objects or University of Alabama shirts, shorts, hats and elephants…

As you walked through the crowd there were countless high fives between folks wearing the colors and chants of “Roll Tide” erupted every few minutes for absolutely no reason whatsoever! This being Halloween weekend, the Crimson Tide theme was also quite visible among the various displays erected for the day…

 Mindless Ramblings                                                  November 3, 2011

I have never quite understood how a football team from Alabama has an elephant as a mascot but here is what Wikipedia has to say about it: “There are two stories, perhaps both true, about how Alabama's football squad became associated with the elephant, both dating to the coaching tenure of Wallace Wade (1923–1930). The earliest account attributes the Rosenberger's Birmingham Trunk Company for the elephant association.  Owner J. D. Rosenberger, whose son was a student at the University, outfitted the undefeated 1926 team with "good luck" luggage tags for the trip to the 1927 Rose Bowl.  The company's trademark, displayed on the tags, was a red elephant standing on a trunk.  When the football team arrived in Pasadena, the reporters greeting them, including syndicated columnist Grantland Rice, associated their large size with the elephants on their luggage.  When the 1930 team returned to the Rose Bowl the company furnished leather suitcases, paid for by the Alumni Association, to each team member.

Another story dates to 1930.  Following the October 4 game against Ole Miss, Atlanta Journal Sportswriter Everett Strupper wrote: "At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow.  Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stomped this Alabama varsity."

Despite these early associations of the elephant to the University of Alabama the university did not officially accept the elephant as university mascot until 1979.  Alabama's elephant mascot is known as "Big Al." 

Of course some folks still erected Halloween displays using a more traditional theme…

I don’t know how well the Alabama clothing booths fared that day as most of us were already wearing Alabama hats and shirts in support of our team playing the “Big Game” against LSU this weekend…

There oughta be a law!!

About two years ago I went in to see our family Doc for an annual checkup.  After leafing through the several pages that comprised my blood work, she looked at me and said, “Chucky B, your cholesterol is high, your blood pressure is high and you’re beginning to look like 5 pounds of sausage stuffed into a 3 pound casing in those shorts.  Whatcha drinkin’ ?”

“Beer” sez I.

“How much?” sez she.

“Oh” sez I, “maybe 5 or 6 on a normal day and a bit more during football and hockey games”.

“Well,” sez she, “you’re gonna have to quit drinkin’ beer.”

So, home I went, depressed as all hell, collected about a case of various flavors of Sam Adams beer and hauled them over to my neighbor.  About 6 months went by and I went in to see the Doc again.

“Well, Chucky B” sez she, “your cholesterol is down a bit, your blood pressure is okay and you don’t look quite as horrible in those shorts as you did on your last visit.  However, your A1c is near the top of the Normal Range and you’re close to becoming diabetic.  Whatcha drinkin’?”

“Rum” sez I.

“How much?” sez she.

“Oh” sez I, “maybe 5 or 6 rum and Cokes on a normal day and a bit more during football and hockey games.”

“Well” sez she, “you’re gonna have to quit drinkin’ rum.”

So, home I went, depressed as all hell, collected about a dozen bottles of Captain Morgan that I bought on sale at Costco and hauled them over to my neighbor.  About 6 months went by and I went in to see the Doc again.

“Well, Chucky B,” sez she, “Your cholesterol is down, your blood pressure is okay, your A1c is just fine and you’re looking almost desirable in those shorts.  However, your liver enzymes are near the top of the Normal Range and you’re close to developing liver disease.  Whatcha drinkin?”

“Tequila,” sez I.

“How much?” sez she.

“Oh” sez I, “maybe 5 or 6 shots on a normal day and a bit more during football and hockey games”.

“Well” sez she, "you're gonna have to quit drinkin’ tequila.”

So, home I went, depressed as all hell, collected about a dozen bottles of Patron Silver tequila that I bought during a sale at Sam’s Club and hauled them over to my neighbor.  About 6 months went by and I went in to see the Doc yet again.

“Well, Chucky B,” sez she, “your cholesterol is down, your blood pressure is okay, your A1c is within the Normal Range, your liver looks like that of a Baptist preacher and you’re just cute as a button in those shorts.  Whatcha drinkin’ nowadays?”

“Unsweetened iced tea with lemon juice!”  sez I.

“Keep up the good work” sez she and sent me on my way. 

As it happened, my next appointment that afternoon was with my dentist for a routine cleaning. After a bit of poking, prodding and scraping he looked at me and said, “Chucky B, you have no new cavities, your crowns and fillings are in great shape and your gums are as pink as a baby’s bottom. However, your teeth are badly discolored and you have some kind of acid eating away at the enamel. “Whatcha drinkin’?”

And so, here I am two years later.  Football and hockey depress the hell out of me, I drink only bottled spring water and my next door neighbor is a raging alcoholic.  But, I do have my health.

There is an element of truth to the above story.  Both my Bride and I decided to abandon “Demon Rum” about three months back in an attempt to live a healthier, albeit less interesting, lifestyle.  We truly are on the unsweetened tea and water bandwagon and faithfully exercise for an hour EVERY morning.  Thus far the results have been quite remarkable.  Each of our cholesterol levels have dropped over 70 points, our A1c levels have dropped .5 point, our liver enzymes are well within the normal range and our blood pressures are both great.  And although we are no longer enjoying our favorite imbibanations, we now eat whatever the hell we want to without any guilt whatsoever!

Speaking of which, we spent a few hours this past weekend at the Elberta Sausage Festival.  This event has been taking place for about 70 years and features specially made German sausage sandwiches with the proceeds going to the Elberta Fire Department.  In addition to food there were also some 250 arts and crafts booths which drew my artsy fartsy travelling companion like a bee to honey…

Having rambled far beyond what anyone could possibly find of interest, I’ll deliver a merciful end to this diatribe and remind everyone to set your clocks back next Saturday.  Man, I have really gotten pathetic…delivering public service announcements for God sakes!  See y’all next time.  Hugs!  C&K