|
Debauchery
and Football: A Gator Tradition
The madness had come to town. They started spilling into the community
early on Friday, giving the place a feeling of density and pressure.
Different factions roamed the streets
in groups for safety. There were sneered threats and promises of
revenge. Something serious was about to unfold. So serious that the
police had erected barricades and the news media had warned the public.
The tension was palpable. The universities of Florida and Tennessee were
going to play a ball game.
College football is taken seriously at Florida.
It controls the pulse and the soul of the university. It amuses some,
bewilders to others, and becomes addictive to a frightening few. More
studious types are disgusted at the hold it has over academic life. They
can't believe, for example, that classes would be canceled for
homecoming or that students would be hustled out of their parking spots
early on Friday to make room for rich alumni arriving in RV's
...
Read
this story
City
of Evil
In the early 1800s, a small village called Boggy was settled in the
panhandle of Florida. It was named after the Boggy Bayou, the
sandy-bottomed bay where mullet ...
Read
this story
An
Encounter with Tommy Latino
Approximately 1,140 miles away at a country home in small, sylvan
Rockford, Ill., Tommy Latino paused behind his wooden garage door. He
paused because he didn't know whether leaving for Florida was worth ...
Read
this story
They All Want Charizard
It's just a bookstore not unlike thousands of others across the country.
The bestsellers are stacked high at the front and there is a coffee bar
to the side. You know, where you can buy caffe latte, double mint mocha
...
Read
this story
Hunting the Whipped-Cream Bikini
I went to Calico Jack's Oyster Bar and Seafood House — CJ's to the
initiated — for a Monday Night Football Bikini Contest with no
preconceived expectations — or at least no other expectations than the
night's ...
Read
this story
'Tis The Season To Be Sick
It all began with a little kiss.
How was I to know after a transcontinental
flight and two hour car ride home that my traditional welcome home kiss
and hug would be tainted ...
Read
this story
What Better Character in Life is There Than the Self?
Note: Anyone
can develop a mental illness. You, a family member, a friend — anyone.
Some disorders are mild, while others are long lasting. These conditions
can be helped. One way is with psychotherapeutic ...
Read
this story
Passing the Marriage Test
Born and raised a Baptist in the South, my mother was taught a strong
Protestant ethic that she hoped to instill in her own children some day.
That ethic also made her wary of Catholics and their ...
Read
this story
Shakedown Street
The pungent scent of marijuana and clove cigarettes drifted sweetly
through the lingering smell of gasoline from sputtering Volkswagen
engines and mingled with the red Georgia clay dust to settle on my lungs
...
Read
this story
|
