“Blackberry Winter”

I always like to learn something new. And even though I have now past a half century on this earth, there are still plenty of opportunities to learn something new. Just the other day I over heard two ladies talking at a local restaurant. One of the ladies made the comment “Well I guess this is just part of Blackberry Winter.”

My ears immediately perked up. Did she say something about blackberries and winter I asked myself? I am sure that my ears caught this comment because of my new found hobby of being a fruit farmer. That’s right, the Cox household has dived head first into planting a variety of fruit trees, vines and/or bushes. We started several years ago and each year add a few new plantings to our fruit crop.

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“Art In Motion”

It is track and field time of the year again on the local sport scene. This past Saturday I had the opportunity to take in the Panhandle Open at Tommy Oliver Stadium in Panama City. A total of 24 teams for the Panhandle took part in the event, including three of our local varsity teams (Marianna, Cottondale and Graceville).

From the Front Porch: Coach said a boss knows all…a leader asks questions.

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“Florida in February”

I suspect I’m like most folks, complaining about the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter. For the past two months we have endured some pretty cold weather. Then it seemed like it rained off and on for a solid week. While we certainly needed the rain, the drizzly overcast days don’t do much for the old body’s battery.

Then we get a run of weather like we had this past weekend. There was not a cloud to be seen for two days. The Carolina Blue sky beckoned us to come out of our partial hibernation. Temperatures were warm enough to get outside to enjoy the day but cool enough not to sweat or bring out the pesky insects that call Florida home.

I made the most of the picture perfect weather. Saturday, after doing a little “honey do” paint job, I headed for Hinson’s Park.

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“Something Good Must Be Coming My Way”

I recently saw Bill Sprouse at a recent sporting event. Bill then let me know that he is a faithful reader of my column Simply Put. As with most folks if someone tells me that they are a faithful reader of my column I take some pride in that fact. So when Bill told me that you might say that my ego meter went up just a notch. “Yeah, I am one of your eight faithful readers” he added.

My ego meter dipped back down with this comment. All that hard work for just eight faithful readers? “You are now one behind Homer Hirt, he’s got nine” Bill said. My ego meter was back on the rise as I realized I was closing the gap on Homer.

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“A Evening With The Hag”

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So The Hag and I got together again last Thursday for a little reunion. My wife commented that it is amazing that he is still able to sing and play as well as he does at age 73. She was right. I thought of another amazing aspect to our reunion. After all those years of partying together, for this reunion both of us were stone cold sober. And both of us thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

There was a saying back in the 70s and 80s, “The Hag ain’t gettin’ older, he’s just gettin’ better.” By his own admission the Hag is old now. But Simply Put, he is still The Hag, The Okie, The Working Man, The Poet and The Legend.

“Behind Every Signee”

This week’s front page of the sports section celebrates six Jackson County athletes that are movin’ on up to play collegiate athletics. You’ve probably heard the old saying behind every good man is a good (or even better) woman. That might not be a politically correct saying in today’s world, but the theme is right on the mark. Behind every success story there is usually a strong supporting cast. And that is certainly the case when a young athlete signs a scholarship.

Behind every signee there is a support cast of individuals that have helped that young athlete become the athlete, and more importantly, the person they are. Coaches, friends, school teachers and administrators are a big part of that cast. But often there is none more important supporting cast members than that athlete’s parents.

On signing day the athlete gets their picture and an article in the paper. That brief glimpse is what most folks see and know about the athlete and their family. But that brief glimpse is the culmination of many, many long hours of dedication by the athlete and their family. There are plenty of great athletes out there but often the difference between the kid who signs a scholarship and the one that doesn’t is that supporting cast. And most often the parents are at the top of the list of that supporting cast.

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“2010 YEAR IN REVIEW ”

Each year’s last edition of The Times is a look back at the year’s highlights. As I spent some time pulling together what I viewed as the sports highlights from the past year I once again realized that we have a lot of good sports programs in our county. So as you thumb through the sports section this week take time to relish the many sports accomplishments that occurred in our county this year.

Of course there is no way to include each and every sports highlight that occurred during the year. Time and space just would not allow us to do so. And I am sure that there are some highlights that some of you might feel that should have been included but were not.

My process for making these selections is fairly simple. I flip through each paper’s sports section for the past year and jot down those stories that I think are highlights. Then, usually because of space limitations, there is some culling of that list.

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