Thursday & Friday Night Lights

"Caught by Isenbarger and he's down at the..." I heard as I hustled into the stadium just as the football game kicked off.

Wait. What?? That was Ian the announcer was talking about! And he'd caught the ball in the very first play of his very first football game?! That sure sounded promising!

I hurried into the stadium and settled onto a bench right behind the team's sidelines. (He is #2.)

I texted Curt and Vanessa that I had arrived

and soon I had company.

Together we watched the game between the Southwestern Wildcats (Ian's team) and the East Tipp Trojans. (East Tipp is the sister middle school to Hershey Elementary where I taught.)

That was not the only time I heard Ian's name announced. 

Curt pointing Ian out to me; he's walking the sideline there on the far right.

He also had a tackle and a sack and something else that I can't remember at the moment.  

Southwestern won 14 - 0!

Ian is a pretty quiet guy, but not after the game! (Aunt Lisa had come out to watch, too.)

He even gave me a big hug and thanked me for coming. 

And thus, Thursday Night Lights begins for us, at least for the next two years while Ian plays middle school football. (Although Lukie is coming up not too far behind Ian.)

And then...

Friday Night Lights began last night with Craig's alma mater, West Side (West Lafayette)

playing my alma mater, Harrison.

But that's okay - we're all family, right? And so I donned a red West Side shirt and sat on the West Side bleachers with Craig and Lisa.

The place was PACKED and yet we were still able to secure seats on the 50 yard line, Craig's preferred spot.

 

The game was a good one

and very much a nail biter.

One team would score, and the other team would respond in kind. Over and over again.

One thing I love about Friday Night Lights is watching evening spread across the sky

and how the field settles into night

during the course of the game.

The score continued to switch back and forth to the very end of the game

where West Side lost in the last minute.

So, my alma mater won (again) this year, but I won't remind Craig of that repeat win. LOL 

Now, to get ready for Mila and Lukie's soccer games that are later this morning. It's really turning into a sports weekend!

Stay 'tooned!

New Ponies!

New ponies! But let's start with one that's not really new. The picture is, though!

That's Leslie and Cee at Fort Ouiatenon circa 1978 or so. Leslie is digitalizing old family photos and sent me this one, one I had never seen before. I think she should print it and frame it.

Next, thanks to those who reminded me that my new "decorator" Jumpy was smoke, not charcoal. I knew that, but why I wrote charcoal is beyond me. (And yes, I did proof read. Just didn't catch the error.)

Now, on to the new ponies. There are two:

The first is Dalarna. I am seriously thinking of giving Emily Dalarna for Christmas and so when Breyer held the second chance sale, I bought another so I could. 

The other piece?

Aquavit!

I was hoping for the bell tail version, and that's what I got.

I'm not much of a mule collector aside from the vintage Balking Mule.

But I do like the Winifred mold and when Breyer announced that there was a bell tail version...

I took my chances and bought one. Luck was with me.

Tonight is the first Friday Night Lights of the year, and Craig, Lisa, and I are looking forward to it.

But this year, we have THURSDAY Night Lights, too.

Stay 'tooned!

Friday Night Lights - Victory!

Second Post of the Day

Friday Night Lights #2 is in the books and it was family clash. My high school played Craig's!

And I didn't go. 

Why? It was played at my school which is a sprawling campus. I knew the walk from the parking lot, into the stadium, and around the track to the bleachers would do me in. (Just as it had last week only at a smaller campus. Harrison's is huge!) 

So, I stayed home and relied on Craig and Lisa to send me score updates and pictures.

I did ask for one favor - that they get photos of one of my former students, now a senior who was just named as one of the best high school football players in the area by local media.

Quinn Clary.

I'm happy for the accolades he is accruing, but I never saw that coming. Quinn was one of the smallest boys in my classroom when he was in 4th grade. But, that was eight years ago and he is eighteen and has grown. A lot. LOL

Quinn was one of those nice, hard working, good kids every teacher hopes walks through her door. 

That's Quinn on the right with two other boys from our class and their reading buddy (who required three buddies instead of just one because he was so sassy. They loved him but they had their hands full!)

I was sad not to be at the game, but it was the right decision. I'd had very weak legs most of the day and couldn't get very far even with my walker. I knew I would not be able to make it to the bleachers.

Craig took photos of the marching band and even filmed the twirlers for me (look on the left.) 

I used to twirl a baton on that field during halftime shows. I no longer have my baton, but give me a straight stick and I can still twirl some of our old routines! Hah! 

The high school dance team also performed.

In the end, the Harrison Raiders beat the West Side Red Devils 28-21. Which means I have braggin' rights until our teams meet again next year.

I won't tease Craig too hard, though. After all, I root for West Side every Friday except when they play my high school. (Kind of like how I root for Purdue until they play my alma mater, the University of Illinois.)

West Side plays McCutcheon, another local school, next week. If the game is played at West Side, I'll be able to get from the parking lot and into the bleachers. But if it's at McCutcheon, which is a big, sprawling campus like Harrison, chances are good I'll be staying home again.

I love Friday Night Lights and hate to miss another game, but sometimes it is what it is. 

Friday Night Lights & The Mayberry Cafe

Our first Friday Night Lights of 2025 is in the books!

We scrimmaged against  Danville Community High School in Danville, Indiana, a small but beautiful town in western Indiana.

But football isn't the only attraction in Danville.

It is MANDATORY for us to eat at The Mayberry Cafe before the game.

I've never watched the TV show, but I enjoy this local cafe that is dedicated to it.

The food is 1950s Hoosier/home cooking and excellent. Everything is homemade, even the tartar and other sauces and gravies!

TVs around the dining room stream the show while you eat

and there is a kindness from the wait staff that goes above and beyond. (Learning that we lived an hour away and only ate there once a year, our waitress surprised us by bringing us the house specialty appetizer. No charge! That's her in the background behind Craig.)

When we arrived at the field, the scrimmage had already begin.

The away team's bleachers faced directly into the sun, and it was still quite hot from the day.

Craig and Lisa began discussing this year's prospects for our team, pointing out players from last year who were making good plays, and so on.

Because I had my walker, we did not sit up high in the bleachers as usual. There were seats for those who had walkers and wheelchairs down low near the accessibility ramp so we had a bird's eye view of the team and scrimmage.

No, I'm not praying that our team does well! The heat, direct sunlight, and long, long hike from the parking lot, around the field, and into the bleachers had exhausted me. I had some water and after closing my eyes for a while, I felt a little better. The sun finally slipped behind the trees and that helped, too.

No score was kept, but Lisa and Craig were very happy with how the team was looking and feel we will be having a good season. "Unless we have injuries!" (Always the caveat, right?)

Usually at football games the high school band is out in full force and playing throughout the game. That doesn't happen for scrimmages. But there was another kind of music. Listen to this!

Such a beautiful summer sound! And so loud, they drowned out the noise on the field and in the stands! (Those are cicadas who are in the trees behind the home team's bleachers.)

Our first Friday Night Lights is in the books and already we are looking forward to next week - when Craig's high school team will play mine.

Stay 'tooned for THAT one! LOL

Stablemates, Arabians, & Friday Night Lights

Mystery solved concerning those 2024/2025 Stablemates that are connected to the Vintage Club!

They are indeed for 2024; Breyer corrected the date and sent another email to Vintage Club members inviting us to purchase this assortment of Stablemates.

But I am puzzled - this is an optional purchase, not the fourth piece for the year. We have always gotten four models before and so far we only have three (Scorpion, Kirk, and Outlaw. The annual Stablemate freebie was tucked in with Outlaw.) Are there only three models this year? Breyer refers to this Stablemate  set as the final purchase of the year. I don't remember seeing that there would only be three models offered when I renewed for the 2024 club. I'm going to have to go check on social media and see if there are any answers there.

Felix, the annual Stablemate freebie that is included with a Vintage Club membership. A very vintage Maureen Love mold in a lovely early Breyer Appaloosa coloring. And, in an old style touchability box! I'm leaving mine in box.

Moving on... 

It's late October and sectional play has begun for Friday Night Lights. From now on, if we lose a game, our season is over.

I'm not passionate about winning, but I do enjoy hanging out with Craig and Lisa on nice Fall evenings so I'd hate to see it come to an end by a loss.

Since it's sectional play, we played a team last night that West Lafayette has never played in its 101 years of football - Frankton. They came from a tiny town in the eastern part of the state and a long drive away. Not many fans came to cheer for them. (Made me sad.)

The sun was already setting when play began

and the Friday night lights were turned on.

Frankton was overmatched and didn't score until the third quarter - their only score of the game.

Many of the folks in the crowd had dressed for Halloween. This "old man" really nailed it - I was fooled until he got close and I could see that his hands were those of a much younger man. (In this case, a teenager.)

A bumblebee was walking around collecting donations for Riley Hospital in Indianapolis.

Not one but two Beetlejuices!

I was watching those in costumes more than the game, but every now and then I checked on my rollator. It was parked in a section for wheelchairs and I didn't think anything would happen, but still, I had a few things stored under its seat.

As I looked at this picture of my walker, I noticed something. Can you see it, too?

Look at that stadium seat! At first I thought it was related somehow to the Indianapolis Colts football team, but as I looked more closely, the seat color was green, not blue. And the Colts' horseshoe emblem is just a bit different from the one on that seat. Googling helped me find the answer.

Pendleton Heights High School and Middle School have an Arabian as a mascot, and this was a stadium seat associated with that high school. I want one of those!! LOL

After we hit 42 points to Frankton's 7, the clock kept ticking and never stopped. (A rule for Indiana high school football when the point spread is 35 points or greater. A kind rule - gets the game over faster for the losing team, less opportunity for frustrations to boil over and players to get hurt, etc.)

Since we won, we will have another game this coming Friday. We don't know who or where yet - it depends on which teams won their games last night. But I am glad to have at least one more Friday Night Lights to look forward to this Fall.