A Bittersweet Weekend
Recently, it seems as though we are constantly being asked the same old dual question: “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” It often involves a family or friend’s health. Or it could even be our own medical report.
We are flying home today from this type of weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. Susan and I were traveling to the Bluegrass state for two reasons. One was to attend the Louisville and Wake Forest football game on Saturday. The other reason was to deliver the eulogy for one of my top recruits, Marty Lowe, who passed away from kidney cancer.
I decided to book our roundtrip flight through (truth here) CheapoAir. That’s not the airline, just the booking company. Even though I have traveled all over the country, I got an education. We were joking about getting all the soft drinks you wanted on the flight, but you had to pay $15 for a cup. It wasn’t quite that bad but IF you wanted a boarding pass, fork over $4.95. If you want to choose a seat, get ready for a $19.95 fee.
I even told Susan that I should get a discount IF I brought my monkeywrench and needle nose pliers in case the engine started slipping a little and spewing oil. I was aware that the baggage fee was $50. That was the good news (in a way.) If you waited to pay at the airport, it was $75/bag. (That Cheapo was turning into BendoverO).
Here was one of the “gotcha” costs. My bag weighed 53 pounds due to my C-Pap, boots, dress jacket and someone else’s shoes. So, Matilda the attendant who had to be getting kickbacks from the airline informed me about my excess weight. She said I would have to take 3 pounds and put it in my laptop bag.
I made the mistake of asking Matilda the reason for the policy. She said “it’s to reduce the weight on the plane because of the cost of fuel.” I laughed and said “But the extra 3 pounds are STILL going on the plane.” I didn’t want to confuse her anymore since she looked at me like an old cow looks at a new gate. I knew she was going to use one of 2 words as an excuse: either “system” or “policy.” Her answer “That’s just company policy.”
The company policy says you can take one carryon on board for free. I saw Susan in a special line, searching for her credit card. Her “rolling” bag didn’t fit their definition of a personal carry on, even though it cost the same as a new KIA. Since it had wheels on it and a hard covering, it was classified as “luggage” which meant another $75. For those of you who struggle with your math and “guzzinto’s,” those 2 bags cost us $150 since that’s company policy. That was 25% more than the flight cost and we still have to go through this dog and pony show again today.
I think they wanted to just stick it to us, so they put us in seats in the very back, next to the flushing toilet that sounded like an F-5 tornado. Naturally, our seats didn’t recline so we sat erect like 10th graders in a driver’s ed car for the first time. They had great deals, however, on chips, cookies, puke bags, toilet paper, popcorn and cardboard tasting cookies. Just not FREE.
As for football, we had a chance to visit with Coach Jeff Brohm and his chief of staff and older brother, Greg on Friday. I am so proud to say that they are running the Cardinal program in a first-class manner. Touring the stadium, locker rooms, weight rooms, meeting and recruiting rooms was bittersweet also. Since Howard Schnellenberger left after the 1994 season, none of us got to enjoy the stadium the “Howard built.”
Even though U of L lost a nailbiter at the end, there is a good chance that they might finish up with only 2 losses for the year. A few undisciplined reactions kept the team behind the sticks through penalties and missing out on the “little things.” Jeff will get it straightened out.
Being able to visit with former players and staff members in the L-club meeting room and on the sideline was also both good and bad. Being able to see some former players and their families was special. Reminiscing about staff and players who left us way too soon caused a few allergies to act up. Especially when a former player hugged and thanked you for some little things “after all these years.” One of my former running backs came all the way from North Carolina. Everyone, to a tee, asked about my 2 boys after all these years.
Marty Lowe was voted Mr. Football in Tennessee, his senior year at Red Bank High in Chattanooga. He chose U of L over FSU, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia and never regretted his decision. His mom, Elanor, met me at the funeral home door and wanted to talk about our recruiting dinner in Chattanooga, right before Christmas of Lowe’s senior year, more than 35 years.
His brothers and daughter spoke during the service about family closeness. Frank and Kathy Karaglanis along with his lifelong friend, Wade, did an awesome job speaking from the heart. Marty’s teammate, Jason Stinson, shared some old Howard Schnellenberger stories from their playing days.
To the Lowe family: “Thanks for a first-class celebration of Life and the opportunity to share my small part about an athlete, father, brother, son and friend, who kept that constant smile glowing.”
There’s nothing bittersweet about asking others and myself to be more like Marty Lowe.
Every time from now on, when I see a number 7, a Cardinal bird, or a Quarterback Whisperer, instructing a bunch of young quarterbacks in a park, I know what they should be thinking.
“I want to grow up and be just like Marty Lowe.”
Fly high Cardinal Brother.
Fly high.