A day of mixed emotions.........

[Ignatiusdawg]

·       Weird day for our family
·       Dad was born in Texas, but raised in Oklahoma……..
·       Early on in Texas, the family was very successful………but……….
·       The family lost everything in the “cotton bust” in Texas during the depression……
·       His (my grandfather) father ended up a tenant farmer…….
·       My father was the 14th of 15 and poor does not even begin to describe things…….
·       There was no money for dad to go to college…..but then World War Two happened
·       After five years in the military, dad got out and he also had the G. I. Bill
·       So, he got to live his dream.  He enrolled at OU in Norman…..
·       Not only that, but he was able to become a “RUF/NEK”  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RUF/NEKS
·       (Among other things, these are the guys who drive the “Sooner Schooner”  - The oldest male cheer squad)
·       He ended up going back in the service during the Korean War (I was born on Barksdale AFB)
·       He had enough G. I. Bill at this point to finish his Master’s at OU….
·       He then went to the University of Iowa for a Ph.D. – Again, on the G. I. Bill
·       He ended up a long-time Professor at the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism at UGA
·       Dad was a huge Dawg fan and sat in the faculty section at Sanford for many years……..
·       (Later on he would watch the games on T.V. with a big radio on top.  He would turn down the T.V. sound, turn on the radio and listen to Munson)
·       Both his sons are “Double Dawgs”
·       However…..we all grew up being Sooner fans as well…….
·       We lost Dad decades ago, so I know he is in heaven getting ready for the game………
·       This is a day of mixed emotions for us all……..
·       I went to UGA and UGA will always be “my team”
·       Finally, almost all his brothers and sisters eventually were buried at the same cemetery in Oklahoma…
·       Most moved off…..but they “came home” in the end……
·       Dad achieved his dreams in Athens and he is the one brother who broke tradition……
·       He was quite vehement about being buried in Athens, and he is…..
·       I should add….some of my earliest memories in life were attending OU football games (Owen Field – The “Palace on the Prairie”)
·       This was during the Bud Wilkinson years when OU was on top of the world……..

[JamanDawg]

Very nice reflections !!

[JC-DAWG83]

Pull for Georgia but don't hate OU. Georgia is your team and your dad's team. I'm pretty sure your dad would be pulling for Georgia today.

[Jawjan]

Thanks for the memories, Ignatius, it's understandable that this day brings a clash of allegiances. Our generation's experience makes it difficult to imagine the grinding poverty of the 1930's ; I knew well two men who were children of those hard times who were sent to be raised by relatives because their parents couldn't feed them. We can't bring to relate to that; and that upbringing toughened that generation and made us look like crybaby whiners to them, no doubt. Overcoming all that hardship and the loyalty your Dad felt to the institution and town that gave him his place to live his dream explains why he wanted to be buried in Athens instead of Oklahoma . He must have grown deep roots in the community that embraced him to want to stay after life. I only knew Coach Wilkinson as a TV commentator and I thought he set the standard with his concise , measured cadence. He was the best. Bud W must have been awesome as a coach ; wish I had seen his teams as you did.

[McDonoughDawg]

Family is what it’s about…good stories there..