By Nebraska Buckeye on 14:12:49 09/19/02
I was born the same year Babe Ruth died. During my years on this planet (minus a few rough nights on High Street), I have seen everything from men walking on the Moon to a very nice garden area planted on the former site of Walt's Bar & Grill in my hometown of Clayton, Ohio. I have seen the creation of a vaccine that would have allowed my father to have lived his life without the aid of crutches and leg braces.
I have lived through 11/22/63 and 9/11/01. I have seen six day wars and wars that never seem to end.
Guess by now I can say that I have lived long enough to have seen some of the best that the human race has to offer and some of the worst.
Seems like life has a way of subtracting more than it has a way of adding. Parents pass on. I raised my 2 boys to take their place in this world and they did. And I miss them. So those things that still remain a part of my life take on even more importance as I get older.
And so it is with The Ohio State Buckeyes and me. From Woody and his short sleeve white shirt to Jim Tressel and his short sleeve white shirt (and natty sweater); from Jack Tatum to Michael Doss; from Archie to Eddie to Maurice; from cst to Mike Stafford; from Buckeye Leaves to helmets that look like a cow pissed on a flat blue rock. From the "I" to all of you. From 7-5 to 'next year.'
It's like an old photograph that you carry in your wallet. The people in the picture never change; never grow older; never leave. This is why I appreciate how Jim Tressel and Andy Geiger have taken great pains to acknowledge the history and traditions of Ohio State Football. It may be more interesting than important for the younger pups like most of you out there, but it is extremely important to geezers like me. It keeps me connected - thank you very much.
When that damn bell finally tolls for me (or if I live long enough that my number 1 favorite pastime is a distant memory (my wife is not to be contacted for her input on this statement), I want to be watching Ohio State beating the hell out of Michigan on TV with mass quantities of unhealthy snacks on one side of me and a Jack & 7 on the other side. Not too much to ask for I'd say.