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About Haven Caylor-Brown

http://havensideals.com

Haven Caylor-Brown has an Educational Doctorate in Instructional Leadership. He is a husband and the father of twins, Carter and Ammon. He has taught for over 26 years: From kindergarten to graduate school. His other degrees include Education Specialist in Curriculum and Instruction, a Master of Education in Social Studies Education, and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Studies Education. Carter, Ammon, and Haven are featured in Pyle & Karinch’s Find out anything from anyone, anytime (Career, 2014) for his parenting strategies in questioning children for information, and he is also featured in Scenic Scenes: A collection of Chattanooga’s arts and literature (Over the Counter Productions, 2013) with two short stories regarding parenting. Haven is also the author of Christmas Hawk (Xlibris, 2015) a delightful story about a Red-tailed hawk and the special role she plays during the yuletide season.

Posts by Haven Caylor-Brown

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Surgeries & their “Sleepy Time”

. Fitness, Physical Fitness, Physical Maintenance . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you have had a colonoscopy, you know that the prep for the procedure is “torture”. However, the sleep during the procedure is “divine”. If it were only thus for two of my three surgeries. I have had three surgeries, the appendectomy, the prostate biopsy, and the most recent double inguinal (groin) hernia surgery. Yes, I know the anesthesia is different when a person has a colonoscopy, but for such intrusive and post pain procedures, could they not make the sleep enjoyable for regular surgeries?

I didn’t have a real surgery until I was 48 almost 49. It was  Saturday April 25, 2015. It was an emergency appendectomy. I had ZERO symptoms until 15 hours before my surgery. I even jogged 3 hours before my abdomen started aching. Once at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, I spent about 2 hours crawling to the Emergency Restroom Bathroom or rolling in constant discomfort on the waiting room floor. About 3 hours later, the ER physician said I needed pain medicine, but NO NURSE or whomever was attending, came to check my chart/computer. I lay and had dry heaves for another hour. I finally told Sean who was sitting by my side, “I don’t care who this disturbs, but I’m whistling for help!” I started, and the nurse walked in and said, “Sir, you are being too loud.” I answered, “I’m in pain!” The nurse continued, “… the doctor hasn’t given me any orders.”, I exclaimed, “He was here, and I asked for something for nausea.” Sean added, “yes, he was here and said he would prescribe Zofran.” I cannot remember if the nurse looked at a computer in the room or went to her station because my eyes were closed, but in a few minutes, she returned with the Zofran. I think she apologized, but it didn’t matter, the pain subsided until the CT scan was completed and read; appendicitis! This was approximately at 4 AM, and the emergency appendectomy was scheduled for about 7:30 AM that Sunday morning. The rest that I received from the anesthesia was spectacular. I did not even wake up from the surgery with a headache. Around 2 PM, the nurse had me walking, smiling, and talking as we strolled down the halls of Memorial Hospital. I was dismissed around 5 PM that evening. The BEST things to come of this emergency surgery were my surgery sleep/relief after 15 hours of abdomen pain and the surgeon on call, Dr. Walter Rose. I will mention him again later. The subsequent surgeries to come were lackluster to the appendectomy.

Fast forward 8 years to 2023 and my battle with a high Prostate Specifical Antigen along with an enlarged prostate. The MRI had shown LOW percentages of possible cancer; however, to be 100% sure, I wanted a prostate biopsy. It was at Erlanger with my urologist, Dr. Singh. The wait for this surgery was different, and I did not like it at all. The wait AND the post op was worse than the surgery! The sleep was okay, but Dr. Singh had NEVER said anything about being intubated. I did not realize they had stuck the tube down my throat until I could not swallow during lunch that afternoon. I never had a headache or felt nauseous, but I was “in a fog” all that Thursday. Friday and the weekend found me with lower abdominal pain and that was all. Thanks be to God I was 100% cancer free. If my prostate doesn’t behave, it could all happen again. Once again, neither a comfortable nor dignified experience, but at least the “rest” during surgery was so-so. I had not been battling agonizing abdomen pain for 15 hours, so I guess , perhaps, I didn’t appreciate the sleep as well. LOL

I wish someone would have shared that the longer the surgery the worse I would feel after the surgery. Not the pain, but the effects of the anesthesia. Back at Memorial on August 29 of this year, I found myself waiting for my hernia surgery. The surgeons in Knoxville could not even do an evaluation until the second week of September. Dr. Rose from Chattanooga could perform surgery a month earlier! As I lay on the gurney right before the surgery, the nurse anesthetist gave me my initial shot to “relax me”. I immediately felt the burn. OUCH!  In a few seconds, they began rolling me out of my private, pre-surgery holding room ( I do have to say KUDOS for the individual preop rooms at Memorial. The multi-patient preop room at Erlanger was horrible.) As I rolled to surgery, I remember seeing a few faces, but then I “was gone”.  When I started coming to, I could hear the quiet chatter around me, then the movement to a post op, individual room. The more I came out of the anesthesia, the worse I felt. I have an idea that most of us can take healing pain because we know that it will wane and finally subside, BUT that nausea accompanied by a headache! I did not want to open my eyes, and barely did for 6 hours. Most of you probably don’t know how much Sean loves popular music. As Sean and I pulled away from Memorial to return home to Knoxville, I asked Sean to turn off the radio. He made it over 2 hours without music because he knew how badly I was feeling; true love! I had nausea until up into the morning of August 30. It had been 24 hours. Four weeks later, there are just a few twinges of recuperation pain in my lower abdomen. I am lifting weights again (no squats as of yet) and jogging. However, the memory of the headache and nausea live on!

I will never forget listening to a wonderful, family friend, Gladys Souther Wilson, from Varnell ,Georgia. She had undergone multiple surgeries by the time she was 58, and she once said that every surgery is different. She was correct. If you have several minutes, share some of your surgery experiences. Does everyone have bad side effects from anesthesia? Does everyone go through headaches and nausea? Was my last 24-hour bout of anesthesia withdrawal normal?

So, to finish up, 1 ) Please , do, leave a comment. 2) I know most of us don’t like to plaster our surgeries across social media, so if a procedure or a surgery comes up where you would appreciate some prayers, reach out to me (DM on Facebook, Instagram, or a text message). I will do the same to you.

Last thing… thank you God for the people who have created anesthesia for surgeries whether they’ve been good or bad experiences afterwards. The sleep during surgery is one of Your mercies.

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Busy … from answered prayers

. Church, Family, Vols Football . , , , ,


Matthew 7:7  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

The Caylor-Browns prayed and knocked, God opened the doors, and we are BUSY!!

Working through God’s answered prayers:

The house is wonderful, and we had to wait five months to
get it. God had the plan we just had to be patient. Boxes and bags abound. Sean is busy at the house while Carter, Ammon, and I are at our perspective schools.

I enjoy teaching high school Spanish again, and I am so
grateful God blessed me with my new school. I have zero unit plans or lessons plans from the past, so it’s all NEW and busy.

Ammon and Carter are getting their prayers answered by being
extra busy with public school Advanced Placement courses and honors courses. They really enjoy their clubs and football games so far.

The last and MOST important thing is using the gifts God gave us four to glorify Him, and He has guided us to a Spirit lead Methodist congregation. From May 30 until September 15, it was difficult being in Knoxville every Sunday. We had to move 20 years’ worth of Caylor-Brown collections to Knoxville while cleaning out and selling two houses , and the weekends were the only days we could transport the goods. So now that we have all our important things as well a “junky” things moved from McDonald Road, it’s time to GET BUSY serving our Creator here.

Happy Autumn, dear friends and loved ones. .  If you head to the Smoky Mountains going through Knoxville, spend a few days up here while enjoying a Tennessee Vols weekend, or simply want to visit this beautiful region of East Tennessee some weekend, give us a yell. You’re invited to our house. You can Text me or Sean, or you can send us a Direct Message on Facebook.

Love and Blessings to all

Haven


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Baking with my “Babies” (yep, almost 15 they are!)

. Education, Family, Family Kitchen Time, Food, Parenting . , , , , , , , , ,

Both Carter and Ammon enjoy cooking and baking in the kitchen. I know Mamaw Wimpy was an excellent, country cook, but I never talked with her and spent time actually cooking and preparing meals. With Nanny, on the other hand, I was constantly in the kitchen with her watching and learning and even trying new recipes. The food was always delicious, but, better yet were the conversations during our kitchen time. I loved that bonding time and learning family history time. Ammon, Carter, and I are not to the family history stories yet (too busy with their iPads and such) but we will get there! Just being together baking and cooking is wonderful enough.

Carter fixed a tasty Turkey-fried rice that I carried to school last week, yet I have no photos. It was admirable none the less. One reason I don’t have a photo is because they prepared it at 8:30 one night while I was doing lesson plans for school. Ammon has baked twice this past week while during “down time”, and  I’ve been free to snap some pics. Ammon made some blueberry scones with a biscuit recipe last week; they rivaled Bojangles’ Bo-Berrys. On Friday night we mixed and placed homemade biscuits in the fridge for this AM’s breakfast. They were AWESOME. Today’s breakfast was treat for me since I have been working with a calorie deficit since July 21. We had biscuits, fruit salad / ambrosia ( a Nanny Caylor -learned treat) , grits, and a breakfast casserole ( eggs, ground sausage, and tater tots ) . I was in “Breakfast Hog Heaven” !!

Baking with my children is such a blessing. Whenever I bake and give some culinary advice, I channel my Nanny, and know she would be proud that the Alexander-Caylor cooks live on with the Caylor-Browns during baking and cooking time.

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Pianos : Haven’s Seasons of their intrigue

. Education, Family, Learning, Music, piano, Preschool Unit Plans . , , , , , , , ,

I have a cousin who got an upright piano when she was 9 years old. I was 5 years old at the time. I was intrigued with her playing. No one in my family (not even her parents) was musically inclined, so neither my parents nor hers became mentors for Little Haven (LOL…. some of you probably don’t know that until my dad, Haven <6 ft. 4 inches>, died when I was 16, I was “Little Haven”…. still short of course but not being compared to Daddy) . I would peck out some notes from time to time when I visited her house, and she finally taught me ONE SONG ; “Bone Sweet Bone” . My “musical talents” were channeled into the French horn many years later where I became good enough to be 1st chair in high school 3 out of 4 years, District Band placement (5 years in a row), Solo & Ensemble ribbon winner, etc (never made All -State… LOL). However, I’ve always been intrigued with the piano. 

Fast forward to 2012 in the Caylor-Brown household with Haven, Sean, Carter & Ammon. Sean had a keyboard that he had bought but never learned how to play, and I hauled it out of storage into the Bonus Room for Ammon & Carter’s preschool, music lessons. They tried to concentrate but I found myself on it the most pecking out “Jingle Bells”, “Happy Birthday”, and simple, one-handed songs. One evening, I finished up the kitchen chores, walked upstairs into the Bonus Room, and one of the two or perhaps both children (they covered for each other) had walked on the keyboard and snapped off a key! They were reprimanded, but they didn’t care, and I put the keyboard away. 

2022 – Ammon takes an interest in the piano. A kind friend from church, Sierra Boyd, offers to give Ammon free lessons during the school year. Ammon accepts. Here at the house, Ammon practiced on the keyboard which we had “repaired” by replacing the snapped-off key. No matter what time of the day/ evening Ammon played, I would stop and enjoy the sounds of the keyboard “dreaming” of one day having a piano in our midst.

August 2023. While at school, Sean texts me about a “Piano to Give Away!” that was on Facebook. We all agreed that it would fit nicely in our living room. We simply had to find moving people to safely get the piano to our house. I was at school, so Sean began the communications. The piano arrived at our house on Friday evening (August 18, 2023!). It is even nicely tuned to be over 50 years old. I know the piano is first and foremost for Ammon, but I fell in love with it immediately. Carter is even interested in lessons now as well. Would you like to guess Haven’s inaugural tune?….. Weeeell, it was bum, bum, bum……. “Bone Sweet Bone”. The space where the piano sits looks as though it was waiting for the piano for these almost 19 years of living here.

As I close this blog entry, I simply want to give thanks to God for placing this opportunity in front of us and giving me an opportunity to, perhaps, fulfill a childhood dream of mine of learning how to play the piano ; a 52 years old dream! I hope and pray that, if you want, God will bless you with an opportunity to fulfill a dream or goal that you’ve had stored in your heart for a while. God is great and sometimes “mysterious” in His timing. 

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Dublin Attractions- Part 1

. Family, Family Travel, Ireland, Irish History . , , , , , , , , ,

Dublin Attractions – Part 1

During our Ireland summer 2023 adventure, we would stay put in Dublin almost every other day. The traveling days were exhausting, so we all needed rest. Quite a few museums in Dublin are 100% free to tour, but they do ask for donations. The National Museum of Ireland-Natural History was a variable “step back into time” experience. The building is 2020’s updated, but it has not changed much in over 100 years. This section of this blog entry is dedicated to the extinct Giant Irish Deer / Irish Elk. The skeletons of these Ice Age mammals adorn many castles and museums throughout Ireland. All four of us were mesmerized by their skeletons. Check out Ireland’s plankton eating shark, the Basking Shark too.

A tour of Dublin Castle, however, is not free. The name “Dublin Castle” sounds a bit deceiving, right? Or, to Haven, Dublin Castle’s one, Medieval-style tower lends the idea of the Middle Ages. However, 95 % of the castle is Georgian in architecture. Dublin’s original, medieval castle is underground. When the majority of the Norman Castle burned in 1684, only one Medieval tower remained and city architects decided the complex would be rebuilt in “modern architecture” what was then, of course, Georgian – the British time period of the 4 King Georges of Great Britain 1714-1837. Some of you know that I am a language nerd, sooooooo ….. Dublin is Old-Irish Gaelic “Dubh Linn”. It means Black Pool. Unbeknownst to the general public, there is a river under Dublin Castle and the streets as well. The river is the River Poddle. Through hundreds of years, the river was rerouted around and under Dublin structures as it flows to the River Liffey. When the Middle Ages people created a fortress on the spot of today’s Dublin Castle the River Liffey and River Poddle were almost converging on that spot. Standing on concrete surrounded by 20th & 21st Century buildings you have NO IDEA about these things. Dublin Castle is so proud of an exhibition from Rome, Italy, so we snapped a few shots. Italy’s Davide Rivalta’s bronze lioness roams in the upper courtyard of Dublin Castle. The piece is part of an exhibition, called Grazing in Lucan, & is a collaboration between Rome’s National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art and Dublin Castle.

Our Dublin Castle guide is showing us how the fortress appeared some 800 years ago. Once again, no one can see Dublin Castle’s Medieval section unless they take the underground tour.

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Cashel & Cahir, Ireland: July 18, 2023

. Education, European Destinations, European History, Family, Family Travel, Ireland, Irish History . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our last traveling day across Ireland found us in Cashel and Cahir Ireland. The two towns are just 11 miles apart, but it took over 2 hours to get there from Dublin Airport. It was our second and final car rental while we were in Ireland. Since Cousin Beth Stoker, Mike, Ben and Bradley had visited the Rock of Cashel summer of 2022, we wanted to go. The limestone rock that appears as a mountain rising above the plains of Tipperary is quite impressive. The pre Christian, Celtic pagans used the hill for worship and other rituals before one of my favorite, Christian, historical figures, St. Patrick, preached to them on this very hill. St. Patrick then baptized their King Angus, and converted the area people to Christianity from this very spot.  I was a bit disappointed that the Cashel Gothic cathedral is in ruins and St. Patrick’s cross was a replica. We weren’t even allowed to see the original cross. However, Cashel’s Romanesque church that is/was attached to the Gothic cathedral is intact. It is called Cormac’s Chapel, and its sculptures, arches, and frescoes are classic Romanesque. The extraordinary Irish added their own “signature” to Romanesque art with its high pitched roof. The round tower and the Celtic cross-laden cemetery helped add to the extremely Irish-Celtic spirit of our travel day.

Cahir was just a few minutes away, and Carter had shared that we needed to tour Cahir Castle. Once again, Carter did a great job researching another Irish, historical gem. The Anglo-Normans literally built up a fortress rising from limestone rock in the middle of the River Suir. There were zero entrances/secret passages from the bottom of this fortress. It is a complete structure with no interior ruins like so many of the Irish castles people find. It was not taken by any invaders until one of Queen Elizabeth I’s “favorites” , Robert Dudley Earl of Essex took the castle in 1599. By the time the English Puritan Protector, Oliver Cromwell, took over the castle in the 1650s it was not the Butler hub-bub as it was. My two favorite parts of the castle were the sliding, portcullis gates that would trap a group in 3 seconds flat, and the trap doors in one of the towers. I was transfixed to the geese swimming in the Suir River. I had never seen domestic geese swimming thusly. Be sure to look for the Earl of Essex’s cannon balls in the sides of the castle.

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Trim, Ireland & Trim Castle

. European Destinations, European History, Family, Family Travel, Food, Ireland, Irish History, Learning . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday July 15 found us traveling on a local bus to the town of Trim as well as Trim Castle. You can see the River Boyne from the tower of the castle. Downtown, the bridge over the River Boyne is the oldest, still used, bridge in Ireland. The bridge dates to approximately 1330. The actor/director, Mel Gibson, used the town of Trim in several main sequences in his movie, “Braveheart”. He cleverly trimmed (LOL… get it??!!) Trim to create a Middle Ages, York, England as well as piecing together parts of Trim to make it appear like a Middle Ages, London square. The castle is the largest Anglo-Norman fortification in Ireland. Hugh de Lacy and his successors took 30 years to build it. The central fortification is a monumental three-story keep. This massive 20-sided tower, which is cross in shape, was all but impregnable in its day. It was protected by a ditch, curtain wall and water-filled moat.The castle is often called King John’s Castle although when he visited the town he preferred to stay in his tent on the other side of the river. Why? I guess this needs more research … LOL…

The wind in Trim this day destroyed three umbrellas. Since returning home, Sean bought us “wind-resistant” umbrellas for our next visit to a windy region. Right before our tour of the castle, we ate at a local, Irish family owned Take-Away Restaurant called, Castle Takeaway ! LOL If you all make it to Trim you need to eat there!! Such a diverse menu, but we chose cheeseburgers, onion rings, and French fries! Yuuuuuuum!

Enjoy the photos

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Westminster Abbey: Poets’ Corner – December 28, 2022

. Books, Education, European Destinations, Family, Family Travel . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Crossing the bar

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

Sunset and evening star,

      And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

      When I put out to sea,

   But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

      Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

      Turns again home.

   Twilight and evening bell,

      And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

      When I embark;

   For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

      The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

      When I have crost the bar.

After traveling the world since 1984, my favorite “museum” (it’s really a living, breathing church) is Westminster Abbey. For anyone who is nerdy and loves some world famous literature, they will not want to leave Poets’ Corner of the abbey.

I opened with Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar”. Alfred, Lord Tennyson is buried in Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey. He was England’s Poet Laureate 1850-1892. I researched Lord Tennyson for a literature project in college many years ago. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is a world famous poem as well.  The Bronte Sisters have a memorial in Poets’ corner. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte gives me chills when I read such quotes as Cathy’s “Nelly, I am Heathcliff!”. For us who have felt a spiritual bond to a loved one it is a “punch to your soul”. My favorite short story of all time, “The Happy Prince”, was written by Oscar Wilde. If you read only one of his short stories, read that story. It still makes me cry; “You have rightly chosen,” said God, “for in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me. What the heck happened??, you have to read the story. You won’t be sorry. Oscar Wilde is NOT buried at Westminster Abbey, but in Paris, France. He was a pauper when he died, but fans raised money for his monument where he is buried. Sean and I visited the famous cemetery the spring of 2008. However, Oscar Wilde also has a stained glass window at Westminster Abbey.

I am not a huge fan of Medieval pieces of literature, but every few years, I enjoy a review and read of “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer. He is buried at Poets’ Corner as well. Musical composers at Westminster Abbey? Well, George Frederic Handel , composer of “The Messiah” is buried at Westminster Abbey. He was, indeed, German, but lived and composed in England. The first public performance of Handel’s Messiah took place in Neal’s Musick Hall, Fishamble Street, Dublin, in the shadows of Christ Church Cathedral on April 13,  1742. Ammon, Carter, Sean, and I toured that cathedral and locale on December 22, 2022-Thursday. I am finishing with the world famous, Charles Dickens. He is the author of “A Christmas Carol” ( 1843) and my 2nd favorite novel (Gone with the Wind is my first) A Tale of Two Cities (1859). I love and think of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, when I read “ It was in vain for Madame Defarge to struggle and to strike; Miss Pross, with the vigorous tenacity of love, always so much stronger than hate…”  Please read and see how love triumphs over hatred written through Charles Dicken’s plume to paper.

I hope you all can enjoy some of our photos from Poets’ Corner, a bit of this read, then find some of these pieces of literature to enjoy, ponder upon, and perhaps develop a liking for.

Haven

From Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, the Caylor-Browns wish Everyone a Happy New Year 2023!

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2022 University of Tennessee Vols Football Pt. 2 : Watching God Work

. Vols Football . , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Well, I was jogging when it hit me… God is showing His handy work with the UT Vols football team without a 2023 National Title. As I jogged in the cloudy, Sunday morning of November 27 ( My mother’s 82nd birthday!!) I was talking to God in the Spirit, and I was able to focus on the blessings my household, the Tennessee Vols, and the NCAA football world have received since Tennessee’s losses to the University of Georgia on November 5, 2022 and South Carolina on November 19.

Smokey
September 17, 2022 Vols vs. Akron
Joe Milton III & Hendon Hooker
Walker Merrill
Dylan Sampson
Squirrel White
  1. I/ We would have never known of the awesome friendship between Hendon Hooker and the talented Joe Milton III. Hendon cannot finish his college career because of his torn, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and his best friend has taken over the “star quarterback” position. Even the SEC announcers says they have never seen such a friendship between quarterbacks (lot’s of envy / jealousy I’m sure) . We need friends who love us and support us during the good and bad times, clap for our successes, weep with us in our sorrows, and put up with our crap. Joe Milton and Hendon Hooker have a special bond, indeed.
  2. During their previous 2022, eleven (11) games, I had absolutely no recollection of hearing names such as Walker Merrill, Princeton Fant, Dee Williams, and Dylan Sampson…. Okay, okay… and, Squirrel White (Love that name)!!?? The recent events have brought these young men “to the light”.  Sure we have heard the names Jalen Wright, Jabari Small, Jalin Hyatt, and Cedric Tillman all season, but God wanted us to see some other people in action.
  3. God wanted to show the flaws in the Vols’ defense. Will it be corrected by the playoffs and the bowl games? Probably not, but folks, if Heupel continues rolling like he has since January of 2021, the Vols defense will be crushing the opponents’ offense by the big games (Alabama, Georgia, LSU) October of 2023.

We are not going to the 2023 National Championship yet, but I am standing by what I wrote “…God will use this Vols team to glorify Him, and it WILL BE CLEARLY VISIBILE before the January 9, 2023 NCAA Football Championship in Los Angeles.” The team is glorifying God, but He, in turn, is showing us some “hidden talent”, a wonderful friendship, and a defense (yes, perhaps even a new Defensive Coordinator) that needs to improve. Our God is an awesome God, and “It’s Great to be a Tennessee Vol!”

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2022 University of Tennessee Vols Football

. Family, Vols Football . , , , , , , , , , ,

Take this quote from Haven TO THE BANK: “If UT does not win over UGA today, it’s because God has something better planned!”

Thanks to my niece, Jennifer Barrett-Tatum, I enjoy watching The Tennessee Vols. When she completed both her undergraduate degree and master’s degree from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, I began visiting Jennifer “Little Sister” [ I was 15 when she was born … kinda helped raise her … helped take care of Orrin a little bit … LOVED being a part of her college career & watching her become a phenomenal (perhaps like Uncle Small) ] who now is almost 10 years into being a Doctor of Philosophy/ Education … okay, you get the picture that I’m a fan of my niece. She lived in Knoxville for about 10 years. OMGeez.. Neyland Stadium was a “sea of orange”, the crowd singing “Rocky Top” penetrated my soul (both the Caylor’s and the Cox’s came from East Tennessee) , the COONHOUND (if you know me, you know my love of coonhounds) Smokey the Bluetick, the pioneer waving the UT flag!!!! Haven was HOOKED!!

I watched Casey Clausen (a few years too late for Peyton Manning, I was) and Erik Ainge. Haven even spent $$ on a “#10” Ainge Jersey. I had NEVER done anything like that in my life, and I was 40 years old at the time. Then, bum, bum, bum…. Carter & Ammon! Then…. Back to work … then… Pandemic … NOW 2022, Josh Heupel and Hendon Hooker (possible Heisman Trophy Winner … as of 11-3-2022 , he is the frontrunner for the Heisman!! I’m tearing up. NO ONE is perfect, but Hendon gives every sign of being a faithful Christian young man who gives glory to God for his gifts. People (some whom I’ve met) who have met him says Hendon’s spirit is very “Christ-like”

https://theathletic.com/3755735/2022/11/02/heisman-trophy-odds-hooker-stroud/

It’s been a treat to watch Head Coach Josh Heupel since the Music City Bowl in January. Carter and I KNOW the Vols really won over Purdue. Speaking of Carter, it’s been a Father’s Joy to have Carter by my side this 2022-2023 NCAA football season watching the Vols to what is today their 8-0 record. Our whole family and Jennifer’s family attended the UT vs. Akron game in Knoxville on September 17. When Tennessee beat Alabama on October 15, 2022, Carter and I were in our living room. We sat in enthralled, disbelief when that buzzer sounded and the Vols had won 52-49 . Y’all 101 combined points. What a testimony to the greatness of these two teams. Both offenses had battled beautifully, but the talent of the ever-improving Vols triumphed. Heupel, Hooker, Small, Hyatt and the WHOLE team working together for the art that is college football is some like an animated painting that is constantly evolving and electrifying your brain synapses to keep enjoying and returning to the painting over and over. And, oh, man , the recruiting is gleaning STAR QUALITY players from across the nation: Nicholaus Iamaleava, Sham Umarov, and Chandavian Bradley are only a “drop in the bucket” of rising greatness headed for Knoxville and the UT Vols.

Back to my quote “If UT does not win over UGA today, it’s because God has something better planned!” … EVERYONE I have listened to. Yes, even primary resource whom have been in the physical midst of this 2022-2023 UT Vols team, says something special . “They are a good group of boys.” … many of whom are Christians and know that it’s CHRIST FIRST. So, God does use crazy sports to Glorify Him, and whether this team loses to Georgia today or not, God will use this Vols team to glorify Him, and it WILL BE CLEARLY VISIBILE before the January 9, 2023 NCAA Football Championship in Los Angeles. Happy Saturday, and “It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!”