Monday night
was host to the game of a lifetime in the Moran house. The SEC championship between
Clemson and Alabama put Pete and me at opposite goal posts. I was proud of
Clemson for the undefeated season, but Pete was over the moon. He graduated
from Clemson with a bachelor in economics back in 1979. I gathered a master’s
degree at Alabama in 2005.
We sat in
our respective corners as the game began. I drank coke out of my Bama glass and
he sipped his diet drink from a Tiger tumbler. Clemson would score and he would
do a little tiger dance. Bama would score and I would demurely smile. It was
rather a quiet game for the first half.
After the
break, Pete wanted to make a little wager. The man hates Krystal burgers and I
love them. I have a hard time sitting still at Cracker Barrel, but he loves the
joint. If the Crimson Tide rolls over the Tigers, I can have Krystal whenever I
wish for a year, and he the same for the Cracker. Now, we were disagreeing and
throwing imaginary yellow flags at every play.
This bashing
of heads over a football game is rare in our family, but here in Mississippi it
happens all the time. Mississippians are serious about their football and it is
not unusual to have a household with more than one Ole Miss and State fan in
the family.
“A House
Divided” is a new picture book for children that reflects the conflict of
parents who support opposite Mississippi Universities. The book opens, “Long
ago, in Mississippi, a crazy decision was made to create two schools in this
tiny state that still remain today.” Next to the prose is a beautiful
watercolor of the state and the two schools with flags a flying.
By the
second page, the author, Emily Ruff Witcher, is unable to hide her loyalty.
“The first of these was THE University or Ole Miss, as it’s fondly referred.
The mascot is the Rebel and ‘Hotty Toddy’ is the cheer that’s heard.” She
continues, “Thirty years later another was formed State College, it once was
named. And after much decision making, Mississippi State Bulldogs became its
claim to fame.”
The
illustrator, Joanna Keith, graduated from Mississippi State in 2007. Her
watercolors are vibrant and depicts both teams equally. The sister in the story
sports both cheerleading outfits and the little boy holds an Ole Miss football
in one hand and a Mississippi State cowbell in the other.
Emily Ruff
Witcher has written an engaging 38 page book filled with the spirit of fair
play. She is a 2002 graduate of Ole Miss and married a 2004 Bulldog. They
currently live in Madison, Mississippi with their young daughter and son.
Wonder what they wager during games?
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