My Take on Johnny Football
(Take It or Leave It...)

I personally loved Johnny Football last year.  He was a tad bit "bad boy," an image that TAMU desperately needed.  I would have loved to party with him when I was a nineteen-year-old.  I would have laughed at his fake i.d.  He would have definitely been someone who I would have hung out with when I was a student there umpteen million years ago. I personally like "bad boys," and he fit the bill!


Then, he showed up at the Rice game.  I understand that he is twenty years old.  I totally get the fact that he is being pursued by so many people who wish to make money off of his name.  I understand that he was being taunted by players and fans....BUT when I saw him take a shoulder to his coach, that is when my opinion of Johnny Football turned from admiration for a "bad boy" at TAMU to "Who the hell is your daddy?"  I have a twenty year old son.  He is not a Johnny Football. He is an Average Joe who attends college at Oklahoma State University.  He makes his grades; he treats adults with respect; he is a gentleman when it comes to girls; he respects authority.  If I, or his daddy, ever saw him shoulder-butt an adult, we would take him off that field in force.  I personally could take him out with a shoe, and I have done it on one occasion.  DO NOT TELL ME THAT THIS BOY HAS NEVER DONE THIS TYPE OF THING BEFORE.  You do not get to be twenty-years-old and suddenly develop lack of respect for authority.  If you are a proud Texas Aggie who defends this type of behavior...well, I have to question your integrity.  Don't get me wrong.  I am a two-percenter from long ago.  I graduated for Texas A&M, and I am very proud of the level of academics that I received, but I can never claim to be an Aggie.   I wish I could say that it was something like this that changed my perspective, but I would be lying  I never played into the Aggie mantra.  It simply wasn't who I was.  I should have graduated from Ole Miss or Alabama.  I am a true, old-school SEC girl.


Now...as for Johnny's next move.  Let's hope that Johnny Football cleans it up for the Bama game.  I witnessed Johnny's force last year when I was in Tuscaloosa.  I hope that he doesn't bring his A game next week....But, if he does...I hope that he brings his class with him...Southern class. When you join the SEC, you take on the TRUE South. Johnny has the chance to pull off a monumental win next week...But without some Southern class, it is for naught!

My Truths

As  I reach this mid-point in my life, I have come to embrace certain truths.  My truths may not be your truths, and I love the fact that we all must find our own way in life.  

1.  Money spent on education is never, ever wasted.

2.  Travel makes you a better person; traveling abroad changes who you are as a person.

3.  Friendships will change, and this is okay.  You will have different friends at different stages of your life, and some will stick around forever.

4.  Marriage is all about making a decision to stay married, even when it is hard.

5.  Rearing good, moral, and productive children is the hardest job you will ever do. It takes sacrifice, and it is not a job for weak people.  

6.   You should always make your bed in the morning.  It will make you feel so much better when you arrive home after a long day at work.

7.   Spend money on good wine, reliable cars, quality summer camps for your children, education, good haircuts (and color), travel, and the best health care available.  

8.  Never be afraid to question anything.  What you were taught to believe as a child does not have to be your truth later in life.
9.  As far as nature vs. nurture goes, I am a strong believer in nature!!! Two donkeys will never produce a thoroughbred.

10.  Some of the kindest, giving, forgiving people I have met in my life were not people who called themselves religious.
11.  It is possible for a person to redeem himself.
12. A lady should never wear white shoes.  These are for nurses and toddlers.
13.  Reading to your children when they are young will not necessarily produce adults who read.
14.  There are times when the only appropriate word is an expletive.
15.  Looks do matter.  Looks will get you in the door, but after you get in the door, you must have substance.
16.  Class has nothing to do with money.  
17.  Government should never be about social, moral, or religious issues.
18.  Being witty will take you places in life.
19.  A nap is never a bad idea.
20.  It is improbable that you will be the same weight at fifty as you were at thirty.