It’s a sad day in South Mississippi and in the world of professional football.
Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre…retired.
I was stoked at the end of last season when he said he’d be back. Now, while I’m sad that I won’t get to see #4 out on the field anymore, I’m glad he got to leave on his own terms.
He’s an icon down here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, as the Kiln native epitomized all the good that’s in professional sports today. For 17 seasons in the NFL, Favre showed everyone what a lot of heart and hard work will get you. He’s got the records, the MVP accolades and a Super Bowl championship ring (a 35-21 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI) to prove it.
It’s still a bit of a shock since us fans have expected it for a while, but actually not this upcoming season. I really thought he would be back. And you know what they say - never say never. But this time, I think it’s the end of an era out in Lambeau Field.
A three-time MVP, a nine-time Pro Bowler and SI’s 2007 Sportsman of the Year, Favre ends his career with a wealth of honors, including these records:
Most touchdown passes
Most yards passing
Most career victories by a starting QB
Most consecutive regular season starts by a QB
The numbers:
5,377 career completions in 8,758 attempts
442 touchdowns
288 interceptions
61,655 total yards
Not too shabby for a good ol’ boy from Mississippi. Thanks for the memories, Brett. You’ve made us all very proud.
The ever-inspirational musician Jeff Healey has passed away at the age of 41, just a few weeks shy of his 42nd birthday, after a lengthy battle with cancer.
A rare form of retinal cancer (retinoblastoma) robbed Healey of his eyesight at just one year of age, but that didn’t stop this talented Canadian from becoming a critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated musician with a penchant for rock, blues and jazz.
Healey is probably best known for his platinum-selling album, 1988’s “See the Light,” which featured the hit single, “Angel Eyes.” His passing comes just before the release of his first album in eight years, “Mess of Blues,” which will be released in North America on April 22.
Healey leaves behind his wife, Cristie, and two children, Rachel and Derek. To send condolences to the family or to share memories, you may do so through his official website by clicking here.
So I can’t believe that it’s been exactly two years since my best friend, SSgt. Donnie Levens, passed away. Sometimes, it still doesn’t seem real. Nor does it seem right that such an absolutely, undeniably wonderful and genuine human being can be stripped from this Earth while murderers and rapists and the like are allowed to do the one thing he can’t - live. There are no words to describe the wrongness in that, but through the many losses I’ve experienced, I’ve learned to accept it.
For those who didn’t know Donnie, here’s the story of his passing. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I remember reading about the crash the day before, but thinking to myself that it surely wasn’t his squadron, right? I remember the email from someone I hadn’t spoken to in a few years after a falling out prior to my wedding. I remember her asking me to call her because she had to tell me something important. I called, left a voice mail and went to bed, fearing the worst and telling Kevin that it must be Donnie. I remember the phone ringing at 11 p.m. It was then, while lying in bed, that I told myself…he’s dead. I remember Tina telling me about a helicopter crash in Africa. I asked if it was Donnie…she told me they recovered his body. Kevin is on the computer and pulled up the article confirming his death. I remember crying hysterically, trying to call friends and family with the grim news. I remember being inconsolable. I remember crying myself to sleep and imagining the crash in my mind as I slept. I remember it all, and it’s something that will be burned in my brain forever. Read the rest of this entry »
I apologize for not maintaining my blog recently. I am a bad person and will now go sit in the corner with my dunce cap.
Actually, I’ve been busy, busy, busy for pretty much the last month. Hopefully, that’ll slow down soon. I recently got back from Washington, DC and had a good trip, which I’ll blog about later. Also attended a fantastic concert by Sister Hazel last night in Mobile - more on that later as well.
The Portfolio page has been updated to include two new reviews I’ve written for Stereo Subversion - Ben Jelen and The Dangerous Summer. More reviews to come on the latest albums from The Mercury Seed, The Spill Canvas, Sons of William, Armor for Sleep and Herbie Hancock.
Not many updates recently, but this was definitely newsworthy, especially for all of us Coastians.
On Sunday, Green Bay Packers QB and Kiln native Brett Favre passed Dan Marino to become the all-time leader in career touchdown passes (as well as pass attempts). He threw his 421st touchdown pass to Greg Jennings in the first quarter and followed with his 422nd to rookie James Jones in the 4th.
And to boot, Green Bay is 4-0 for the first time in almost 10 years. Must be something in the water…or maybe Brett Favre is still just that damn good. Since the Saints can’t seem to put anything together, it’s nice to see the Pack holding strong.
We returned from our trip to South Carolina last night. And although under sad circumstances, we enjoyed the time we spent with family, celebrating the life and resurrection of Kevin’s grandmother. We will be traveling to Washington DC next month for her burial at Arlington National Cemetery. She was a wonderful woman and we look forward to seeing her again one day.
Random Trip Musings:
At the last minute, we were able to switch to a non-stop flight to Charlotte instead of flying through Philadelphia. We also discovered that our pilots must have been gymnasts in a previous life because they STUCK the landing.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car — I have never seen so many people greet us at a rental car place. WELCOME TO CHARLOTTE! A courtesy Enterprise shuttle took us back to the rental office, where we were immediately greeted at the shuttle door by a lady welcoming us to Charlotte. Two gentlemen also welcomed us and held the door open as we entered…hell, they even gave us bottled water and ended up with a free upgrade - a Chrysler 300 instead of a Chevy Cobalt. Sweet.
Cracker Barrel rules. That is all.
Flying home was bumpy, but uneventful. A man sat down in front of us and could have easily been a pro wrestler…a sense of security came over me. Then, he realized he was in the wrong seat and we ended up with a Tom Green look-a-like instead. Sense of security vanishes.
The weather was beautiful in Columbia. Then we returned to New Orleans…and then the Coast. And realized that building a city on the surface of the sun is not a good idea.
We received the sad news Thursday morning that my husband’s grandmother passed away. Although prepared, we are still deeply saddened by this loss. A series of strokes led to her declining health in the last two years. We were very fortunate to have been able to visit her last month in South Carolina and put a smile on her face one more time. She was a beautiful lady with a smile that could light a room. She was 8 days shy of her 83rd birthday when she passed.
We’re flying to South Carolina tomorrow for the services this weekend, so no updates here until the middle of next week.
We love and miss you, Grandma R. We know you’re with Grandpa in a better place now.
My site is finally up and running…somewhat. So I canned the old design with Photoshop and Dreamweaver and decided to go with the closest thing to Internet crack since MySpace — WordPress. Gah! Maybe one day I’ll have the time (or the boredom) to fool around with the CSS, but for now, you get this. It’s far from where it should be, but it’ll do the job. Lots more updates to come, so keep checking back.
On Sunday, Green Bay Packers QB and Kiln native Brett Favre passed Dan Marino to become the all-time leader in career touchdown passes (as well as pass attempts). He threw his 421st touchdown pass to Greg Jennings in the first quarter and followed with his 422nd to rookie James Jones in the 4th.
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