CHAPTER FIVE - BRIGHT SUN SHINY DAYS
Debbie went to the doctor for a routine medical check up in 1999 and Dr. Bishop, our family doctor at the time, casually asked her when she had her last mammogram. She told him that she hadn't had one in several years. Doctor Bishop scheduled a mammogram for Debbie. The technician that read the mammogram spotted a suspicious area in her right breast. Debbie had a history of cysts forming in her breasts over the years and they usually all turned out to be benign. We weren't all that concerned at the time. She was scheduled to see a surgeon that had a reputation for being one of the best in the country. On the day of the surgery I felt as though someone kicked me in the gut when he told me that Debbie had cancer. He said that he had removed a tumor the size of a pea but he thought he had caught it in time. The surgeon said that he wouldn't know for sure until he checked the lymph nodes. It was a very aggressive form of cancer.
She had a big decision to make. He gave her a couple of options. She could have a double mastectomy, or she could have the lymph nodes removed on her right side. After much prayer and contemplation, she decided on the latter option which turned out to be the right one. It was discovered that the cancer had not spread to the lymph nodes but Debbie would have to go through months of grueling chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She lost all of her hair in the process. The doctor told her that she owed her life to the mammogram, and the sharp technician who accurately read it. I would also commend Dr. Bishop for suggesting a mammogram. At the time of this writing Debbie has been cancer free for 18 years.
Besides having medical issues in our lives the year 1999 important for other reasons. In 1997 Nashville acquired a pro football team. Bud Adams, the owner of the Houston Oilers, decided to move his team to Nashville because he could not get the city of Houston to help build a new stadium for his team. After negotiations with the mayor of Nashville, and the governor, he decided to move the Oilers to Nashville. A referendum on whether or not to move the team here was passed by the voters of Nashville. It was controversial because in order to get the team, the taxpayers of Nashville, and Tennessee would have to fund the move. Even though I could not vote on the proposition, since I lived in Rutherford County, I was in favor of moving the team here.
Besides having medical issues in our lives the year 1999 important for other reasons. In 1997 Nashville acquired a pro football team. Bud Adams, the owner of the Houston Oilers, decided to move his team to Nashville because he could not get the city of Houston to help build a new stadium for his team. After negotiations with the mayor of Nashville, and the governor, he decided to move the Oilers to Nashville. A referendum on whether or not to move the team here was passed by the voters of Nashville. It was controversial because in order to get the team, the taxpayers of Nashville, and Tennessee would have to fund the move. Even though I could not vote on the proposition, since I lived in Rutherford County, I was in favor of moving the team here.
In retrospect I would not be for it today. A sports team is a private business and should be funded privately. Cities, however; are so eager to get a sports franchise that they will sell their souls to get one and Nashville was no exception. Construction on the new Oilers stadium in Nashville had begun but it would take a couple of years to complete. Adams came up with the idea to play the 1997 season at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. This was a bad mistake because Memphis had been lobbying for a team of it's own for years and had consistently failed to get one. The Oilers landed in Nashville's lap, almost by chance, and Memphian's were very resentful of us. Before the season was through, Adam's realized that he had made a mistake. Attendance was dismal.
Originally he had refused to play at Vanderbilt University because he did not believe the stadium was big enough. Now he gladly worked out a deal to move the team there. I attended several games with my son Jon. Tickets were easy to come by then. Another decision that Adams made was to name the team the Tennessee Oilers, rather than the Nashville Oilers. I have never agreed with this decision but Adams wanted the team to have a state wide appeal. People were clamoring for Adams to rename the team. Personally I had always hated the Oilers logo, which was an oil derrick. We needed a name and logo specific to our city and region.
Originally he had refused to play at Vanderbilt University because he did not believe the stadium was big enough. Now he gladly worked out a deal to move the team there. I attended several games with my son Jon. Tickets were easy to come by then. Another decision that Adams made was to name the team the Tennessee Oilers, rather than the Nashville Oilers. I have never agreed with this decision but Adams wanted the team to have a state wide appeal. People were clamoring for Adams to rename the team. Personally I had always hated the Oilers logo, which was an oil derrick. We needed a name and logo specific to our city and region.
Adams changed the name to the Tennessee Titans before the 1999 season and designed a new logo and uniform. At first I was disappointed in the name but I loved the new uniforms. I think that they were some of the best looking uniforms in the NFL. Adams borrowed the name Titans from the old New York Titans team that eventually evolved into the New York Jets in the early days of the old AFL. The year 1999, was also the year when the Titans moved to their new stadium in Nashville. The Oilers had ended with an 8 and 8 season in both 1997 and 1998. In 1999, however; they caught fire. With a new name and uniform the team went 13 & 3 that season. It was an exciting time for Nashville and Middle Tennessee. The Titans made the playoffs and ended up in the Super Bowl. We managed to go to several games that year.
The first game of the playoffs was played in Nashville against the Buffalo Bills. It was a tough fought game. The Titans were leading late in the game but the Buffalo Bills scored with 16 seconds on the scoreboard in the 4th quarter. My heart sank, and it looked like the Titan's Cinderella season was over. I was watching the game with my son Jon at his house in Smyrna. Jon said something like " Well the games over". I tried to cheer him up when I said that they still had 16 seconds to win the game. I really thought that the Titans were beaten, however.
The first game of the playoffs was played in Nashville against the Buffalo Bills. It was a tough fought game. The Titans were leading late in the game but the Buffalo Bills scored with 16 seconds on the scoreboard in the 4th quarter. My heart sank, and it looked like the Titan's Cinderella season was over. I was watching the game with my son Jon at his house in Smyrna. Jon said something like " Well the games over". I tried to cheer him up when I said that they still had 16 seconds to win the game. I really thought that the Titans were beaten, however.
With the kickoff fullback Lorenzo Neal received the ball and ran to the right, handing the ball off to tight end Frank Wycheck. Wycheck continued running to the right and then suddenly whipping around threw a lateral to wide receiver Kevin Dyson, who sprinted down the sidelines with a phalanx of Titans guarding him all the way into the end zone. There were no flags on the field. Jon was so excited that he jumped in my lap like a little kid yelling, we won over and over again, giving me a big bear hug. The call was challenged, but the decision was in our favor. After much analysis there was no doubt that the pass was a lateral and not a forward pass.
The Titans would go on to beat the Indianapolis Colts in the 2nd playoff game for the division title and slaughter the Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC championship. Even though the Titans went 13 and 3 they were a Wild Card play-off team. When the Titans won the AFC championship in Jacksonville, Tennesseans were very excited about the win here at home and my son Jon, my cousin Steve Travis, and myself, rode to the stadium together for a victory celebration. The night was freezing cold but we were all so happy that we didn't care. We passed convoys of happy fans on the way to the stadium.
The Titans would go on to beat the Indianapolis Colts in the 2nd playoff game for the division title and slaughter the Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC championship. Even though the Titans went 13 and 3 they were a Wild Card play-off team. When the Titans won the AFC championship in Jacksonville, Tennesseans were very excited about the win here at home and my son Jon, my cousin Steve Travis, and myself, rode to the stadium together for a victory celebration. The night was freezing cold but we were all so happy that we didn't care. We passed convoys of happy fans on the way to the stadium.
Everyone was so happy that we were talking to complete strangers as if we had known them for years. It seemed incredible that in just one year the Titans had gone from an 8 and 8 season to the Super Bowl. Sadly we came within one yard of possibly tying the ball game in the final seconds of one of the most exciting Super Bowl games in history. The Titans had several opportunities to win the Super Bowl in the years since but they always seemed to self destruct at critical moments in the playoffs. I loved the Titans but I have turned my back on them and the NFL over players kneeling during the National Anthem. To me this unforgivable and I can't forgive the NFL management for allowing it to happen. Sports events, and entertainment venues, should be an escape for all American's from everyday life. Yet our sporting events and entertainment industry has been virtually taken over by the cultural Marxists. As we approached the year 2000 there was a hysteria over what was called Y2k. I can't explain the technicalities of it but basically it was believed that all of our computers would crash when we entered the 21st century causing mass chaos and death. Long story short, as I expected, nothing happened.
Tuesday September 11th 2001 was a warm beautiful Fall day in middle Tennessee. It was pretty much that way everywhere in the eastern half of the United States. This was my short week at Bridgestone and I was only scheduled to work two days. I got up about 7:00 A.M. that morning because a friend from work, and I, planned to walk the Greenway in Murfreesboro. Otherwise I would have slept in until 9:00 A.M. as I usually do on my days off. I dressed that morning and jumped into my Ford Ranger pick up truck. As I drove up to the stop sign at Clearview and Old Nashville Highway an announcer broke in on 1510 A.M. radio. She said that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. Witnesses said that it was a plane the size of a DC-3. I was very familiar with the DC-3. In the Air Force they were called C-47 Goony Birds and we had one at Kingsley Field.
I turned around and drove back to the house. Debbie was in the bathroom and I turned a show she was watching over to a news channel. The North tower of the World Trade Center was on fire and it was obvious that something larger than a C-47 had crashed into it. At this point I am thinking that something big was going on but nothing big enough to deter me from meeting my friend at the Greenway. I walked over to the bathroom door and told Debbie what was happening so she could fill me in when I returned from the Greenway. As I was walking toward the back door I saw United 175 fly straight into the south tower and explode into a huge fireball. I decided right then and there that I wasn't going to the Greenway or anywhere else for that matter. Our country was under attack.
From that point on our phone rang off the hook with friends and relatives calling about the events that were unfolding before our eyes. Rumors were flying and at one point it was believed that the Sears building in Chicago was under attack. My friend, who I was supposed to meet at the Greenway, called a couple of hours later. This was before most people owned a cell phone. He had not heard the news and was wanting to know why I was a no show. It took a moment for what I was telling him to sink in. That America was under attack. We were glued to the TV when late that afternoon there was a knock at the door. The electric company was getting ready to cut off my electricity if I didn't pay the bill right then and there. I was two months behind. How could that be, I asked him? I was convinced that I was ahead instead of being behind. After checking our check book we realized that a mistake had been made and we actually did owe the money. Luckily, we barely had enough money to pay it and we were wiped out until pay day. What a crazy day it was. The country was under attack and we were in danger of having our electricity turned off. The Kennedy assassination had a huge impact on me but nothing affected me like September 11th did. The thought of all of those terrified people jumping out of a 105 story skyscraper and the possibility of massive casualties was horrifying, especially because I am terrified of heights and I couldn't imagine having to make a decision whether or not to jump out of a building or burn to death. Neither choice was a good one.
At first it was believed that as many as thirty to fifty thousand people could be casualties since upwards of that many worked in the World Trade Center at any given time. Who could have believed that the twin towers would ever come crashing down the way they did? After the Pentagon was attacked we were all waiting for the White House or Capital to be attacked but fortunately it never happened. When I heard about the crash of United 93, I just knew that our pilots had been forced to shoot it down. The passengers and crew, however; fought back and became heroes that day. I had never been fond of New York city but watching those brave firemen and policeman bravely climbing those stairs and many ultimately giving their lives, made me proud of New York. I was also proud to be an American.
From that point on our phone rang off the hook with friends and relatives calling about the events that were unfolding before our eyes. Rumors were flying and at one point it was believed that the Sears building in Chicago was under attack. My friend, who I was supposed to meet at the Greenway, called a couple of hours later. This was before most people owned a cell phone. He had not heard the news and was wanting to know why I was a no show. It took a moment for what I was telling him to sink in. That America was under attack. We were glued to the TV when late that afternoon there was a knock at the door. The electric company was getting ready to cut off my electricity if I didn't pay the bill right then and there. I was two months behind. How could that be, I asked him? I was convinced that I was ahead instead of being behind. After checking our check book we realized that a mistake had been made and we actually did owe the money. Luckily, we barely had enough money to pay it and we were wiped out until pay day. What a crazy day it was. The country was under attack and we were in danger of having our electricity turned off. The Kennedy assassination had a huge impact on me but nothing affected me like September 11th did. The thought of all of those terrified people jumping out of a 105 story skyscraper and the possibility of massive casualties was horrifying, especially because I am terrified of heights and I couldn't imagine having to make a decision whether or not to jump out of a building or burn to death. Neither choice was a good one.
At first it was believed that as many as thirty to fifty thousand people could be casualties since upwards of that many worked in the World Trade Center at any given time. Who could have believed that the twin towers would ever come crashing down the way they did? After the Pentagon was attacked we were all waiting for the White House or Capital to be attacked but fortunately it never happened. When I heard about the crash of United 93, I just knew that our pilots had been forced to shoot it down. The passengers and crew, however; fought back and became heroes that day. I had never been fond of New York city but watching those brave firemen and policeman bravely climbing those stairs and many ultimately giving their lives, made me proud of New York. I was also proud to be an American.
For days and weeks afterward every time I saw a flag, patriotic display, or heard a patriotic song I fought back tears. I imagined that maybe this is how my parents felt after hearing the news about Pearl Harbor. Maybe, just maybe, the nation would unite to fight a common enemy like we had in WW2. It was not to be. A unifying spirit was displayed by both parties for a few days but soon the Democrats were back to their old tricks of trying to undermine the Bush administration and the country. Pearl Harbor changed and shaped our foreign policy for years afterward. As I write this now, almost 2 decades after the attack America is still asleep. The threat of Islam in America is greater than at any time in American history and the communists are closer than ever to destroying America from within. September 11th was tragic but America is in far greater danger today than it was 20 years ago. We stand at the edge of communist abyss.
Comments
Post a Comment