Jayhawks, Birdman, Krits, Dad, and more memories…

This afternoon I’m flying to Kansas City to be with our girl, Krits. On the way there I was forced to take a connector through Nashville and received a call from my best Jayhawk buddy, Bird. His name is James but I renamed him in 5th grade. He’s been Bird ever since. Now that he’s a fine 56 it has morphed into Birdman. Good.

Bird called because he’s a bit nervous before the Jayhawks game this evening. He called, he told me, because he wanted me to calm his nerves. So, we talked a little Jayhawk hoops while I waited for my flight and I thought about how great it was to talk to him. You see, Bird transferred in to Franklin Elementary a nervous Nellie back in 5th grade. The fine city of Salina had just decided to close his old school and bus him on over. I remember him sitting down next to me and making fun of my Connie shoe box that I kept my supplies in. We were best buddies before our first trip to the playground. Have been ever since.

Tonight the madness will continue. Krits and I will be watching in some sports bar and cheering for the Jayhawks with flick kicks and double fisted pump jumps. I’m wearing a throwback Jayhawk jersey with the name Chalmers on the back. I got this one a few years back to remind me of the Jayhawk Championship back in 2008 when Mario’s miracle happened before our very eyes. Yes, back in 2008, Krits and I flew to San Antonio to watch the Jayhawks take on Memphis in the title game. We got there a day late from catching Taylor Swift (Krits favorite at the time) but just in time for the miracle. I’ll never forget it. So, tonight, tune into some madness if you like that sorta thing and make some memories with a few you love. The real point of being a spectator, I’ve come to appreciate, isn’t so much in witnessing the miracle as it is in making the memory. I love the Jayhawks, sure enough. I love the Jayhawks mostly because they remind me of my Dad and all those Saturday drives from Salina to Lawrence. He would stop along the way and get me something to eat, we would look at the hill where he walked for graduation and sit in the same seats he had sat in while watching Wilt. We made memories. Memories I still hang onto.

So, tonight, Krits and I will be watching. We’re spectators. We’re gonna be together win or lose. Rock Chalk Jayhawks. It’s gonna be good…