PANOLA, Miss. -- Have you ever been on your way to a nightfilled with the smell of fresh cut grass and softened leather, theexcitement welling up in your chest? Well, I was there earliertonight. I just wanted to watch a baseball game.
I was on my way to Oxford to watch The University of MemphisTigers baseball team play the Rebels. But on the way, after themile marker that told me I only had 13 miles left to the exit thatwould lead me to Oxford, I heard a noise.
You know that noise. The noise that sounds like a tractorstarting up? That noise that says "This is going to cost you allthe money you were saving for a trip to the coast this summer."
Well, I heard this noise. I felt this jolt that said "youthought you were going to get out of credit card debt this year,didn't you?" with a laughter in the background.
So, Thomas Sellers, my editor, and I stepped out of the car onthe side of Interstate 55 and sighed simultaneously. He knew thenoise too.
We pondered the situation and he said, "Let's try to get to thenext exit."
Well, we tried, and we puttered and jerked along the shoulder ofI-55 to exit 252. I don't think I will ever forget that number.
As we pulled into the parking lot of the Texaco Food Mart, Ibegan to get that feeling. The feeling that tells you everyone isgoing to shake their heads and think 'silly girl.'
So I called my dad, then I called my boyfriend. The whole time Ijust kept thinking, "what could I have possibly done wrong?"
So we talked to the attendant and got the number to a wreckerservice, after having called every tow service in Memphis to hearover and over again, "We don't have anything available to go thatfar."
So they sent over a mechanic that took a look at my engine whileattempted to start it, yet again.
And this is where it gets worse. He gave me that look. The manwith "Jay" sewn across his dingy mechanic's shirt shook his headwhile looking at the engine, and then up at me.
I couldn't have told you what he was saying, I don't understandthe lingo of those who know about car engines.
All I heard was "Money. Money. Money. Cash, money." My heartsank at the thought of letting go of the car I have had for sixyears, a car that was paid off three years ago.
But, in the back of my mind, I though, "Maybe the Tigers willlose and I won't miss anything." A sour thought, I know, but itkept me thinking the night was not a total loss.
So, I stood in the parking lot of the Texaco Food Mart inSardis, Miss., off I-55, and though to myself, "I just wanted towatch a baseball game."
So here I sit, with a computer in front of me instead of a big,juicy hot dog. I smell the smoke and beer of the Happy Days Loungeat The Knights Inn, conveniently located right off I-55, instead ofthe fresh cut grass at Swayze Field in Oxford-University Stadium,conveniently located on the Ole Miss campus.
I am sitting among the late night hotel workers and late nightdrinkers of Sardis, thinking about what tonight could have been. Icould have been sitting in the stands, talking to other collegeaged fans, cheering on my team to a victory.
While I write, I am thinking about the cost of the tow truck andthe cost of replacing the engine in my 12-year-old Toyota Corolla.Just a few miles away from me, the Tigers are playing the game Iwanted to see. You know, I just wanted to watch a damn baseballgame.
And to add to the misery of my night of realizing that I am infact a "silly girl," the Tigers snapped a six game losing streak bybeating their rivals from the SEC, the Rebels, 6-3.
Had I gone to the game, I would have been able to tell youfirsthand that Kevin House went 2 for 5 with an RBI. I would havetold you that I watched the Tigers get 14 hits and have a 4-0 leadin the seventh inning.
I would also have been able to tell you that Ole Miss tried tocome from behind in the bottom of the ninth, but reliever ErikFilsinger held the Rebels back to get his first save of the season.But, because I am in fact a "silly girl," I had to read this myselffrom The University of Memphis Official Athletics Website.
So, in closing, I will say that I have learned a great lesson.Always get your oil changed when the little tag in your windshieldsays to, and never underestimate the Tigers. They will come up witha win when you least expect it.
