Red Room Where the Writers Are

At the end of the day, the red clay of Georgia hung heavy on Geri Ann’s white softball uniform Saturday.  After four games that day, every player in the tournament should have been hot, dirty, and exhausted.  Even those of us who just watched in the blazing sun were eager to get home for a shower and were too tired to go out to eat.  Vickie solved our problem by ordering the first home-delivered pizzas they’d had since their move to their new town. The white uniform had to be soaked all night.

We left Woodsong at 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon; and with the help of GPS arrived at granddaughter Leslie’s dorm at Belmont University at 5:05 just as she was through her classes and work schedule.  We got to see her dorm room, meet her friends, and she walked us around the campus...  It was fun seeing the huge signboard announcing the Presidential town hall debate coming up on September 7.  We saw the new media center constructed for the event.  Security will be so tight that the students will be required to stay in their dorms or off campus all that day.  Next we took her off campus for dinner and celebrated her cousin Erin’s 22^nd birthday by proxy.  Someone must have overheard us talking about Erin’s birthday and thought it was Leslie’s, so she was sung to by the waiters.  We had a good laugh and, of course, she had to text Erin in Texas.  We said goodbye after a wonderful three-hour visit and headed on down the road to be out of Nashville before the morning traffic.

After a good night’s sleep and breakfast at our motel, we were on our way to Gerry and Vickie’s in Watkinsville, their smaller town adjoining Athens, the home of the University of Georgia...  We went straight to the softball stadium complex where Gerry and head coach Lu Harris-Champer were inside rotating team members as they worked on various skills.  Just as we had been impressed with Leslie’s work ethic the night before, we had to respect the concentration and hard work these young athletes were engaged in.  Then we headed on  to unload our luggage at the house before Vickie had to drive across town to pick up Geri Ann for a quick supper before our first tournament game began..

Geri Ann’s high school, Oconee County, was hosting the tournament in the new Veterans Memorial Park, a beautiful complex with a senior citizens building, a civic center, and several well equipped ball fields.  The extra curricular activities in Oconee are not supported by taxes, so participants have fees to pay and lots of fund raisers.  Vickie and other parents as well as the players were taking turns at the concession stand throughout the two-day event. 

After pitching a no-hitter Friday night, Geri Ann joined her teammates helping with the tournament, so it was late when we got home and midnight before we unwound.  She had to be back at the park the next morning at 8 to take a turn in the concession stand. We didn’t show up until l0 and started the day in a light mist, which made the morning muggy until the sun came out and beat down unmercifully. 

Oconee County’s six softball seniors, including the pitcher, had graduated last spring, so Geri Ann and Courtney, both freshmen, are alternating pitching and playing first base. .  On Saturday, one game was tied when the time limit was reached, but we won the other three games, so we ended the day not only tired and dirty but also happy.  We experienced true southern hospitality as other grandparents made us welcome and told us how glad they were to have Geri Ann join their team. 

The next day after church, Vickie drove us to Athens to see the campus of this institution of higher learning that was begun in 1785.   They showed us the motel where they stayed until their rental house was available, and Geri Ann pointed out the storied arch that freshmen were not to walk under back in hazing days.  Many still abide by the tradition since legend says a freshman who walks through the arch won’t finish college there. 

 After lunch at a local restaurant, we went back to Geri Ann’s high school ball field, which the university softball team was borrowing this weekend while their field was having some work done. There we got to see these Georgia Dogs playing against each other as if a championship depended on it.  Once more,  we put on sun screen and straw hats and baked in the sun for the final lap of our Georgia weekend.  We had learned about Chicken Express, boiled peanuts, and how hard young athletes are willing to work to achieve excellence.  With hugs and some sadness, we climbed in our car while the young women were still practicing strong..  We headed north towards Tennessee, which we must cross to enter Kentucky.