Nourishment!

We have a column routine at our house.  As soon as Big Al gets a chance to read the Wednesday paper, he’ll say something along the lines of “Good column Oprah.” (Oprah being the name Sister has called me for the last 18 years.)

A couple of weeks ago we had a deviation from our established column affirmation.  The Big Guy finished the paper, folded it in his lap and stated “Well, that was a good column, except you left something out.”

My stomach did a flip.  What word did I omit? What glaring proof-reading error was there to somehow correct?  Wide-eyed, I leaned forward and shrugged urging him to spit it out.

“You didn’t give Coach Stuart credit for the ‘Great day to be a Wildcat!’ saying,” he said.

“That’s ridiculous,” I shot back.  “Everybody knows that’s a Coach Stuartism!”

Alan went on to remind me how many new people we had in the community and how I had even written about the influx.  Surely not everyone who might happen across the column would know to give credit where it was due.

The twins had been listening to the exchange and were soon right in the middle of the conversation sharing their most treasured Coach Stuart sayings.  Coach Stuart is often quoted, never boring and envied by many for his enthusiasm and super-human metabolism.

“The math gods are crying” or conversely “the math gods are smiling” are two sayings Coach Stuart has shared with class after class of Neosho High School students.  Sticking with the numeric theme, reminding the class that “One is the loneliest number” has also stuck with Sister and the twins.

Food seems to be high on the Coach Stuart hit-parade.  Whenever it’s time for lunch he has been known to flash the peace sign and sing out “Nourishment!”  Every student who has ever crossed his path knows that Coach regards Dr. Pepper as the “nectar of life.”

The hardest part about trying to write a column regarding Coach Stuart is writing the words without conveying the delivery.  He always marries his sayings with his voice and smile.  They are a constant triptych of attention grabbing information.  I’m confident we could solve the problem of boredom within the confines of any subject matter if we had Coach Stuart offering the lecture.

On a purely personal note, Coach Stuart and I have shared a college rivalry for many years.  Both being graduates of the former “Big 8” schools; we enjoy good natured ribbing and trash talk anytime Kansas State meets up against Oklahoma State on the football field or basketball court.

I’m sure if you asked Coach Stuart he would tell you that every day is a great day to be a Wildcat!  He would say it with a smile and mean it.  Maybe there’s an idea there for the next Welcome to Neosho billboard!