Political Quotes

“48 years ago this August marks my first practice as a football player for the famed Meridian, Mississippi High School Wildcats. After almost a half century, I still remember the fragrance of freshly cut dew-covered grass juxtaposed against the pungent odor of skin balm and the human stink of a sweaty locker room. 1966 was the first year of our newly appointed head coach, Bob Tyler, from a small town in north Mississippi. My initial thought and first reading of him was a Meridian Star news article in which he was quoted as saying he believed in maintaining a high level of physical conditioning. I immediately knew that meant we would be running our butts off. And we did. Our first August practice was everything I expected, and much more. We practiced twice a day, sometimes three times a day, first in shorts and then in full pads. Temperatures approached 100 degrees, with 100 percent humidity. Prayers for a quenching rain usually went unanswered. Coach Tyler kept some of the existing assistants such as Jerry Foshee and the late Earl Morgan, and brought in new ones, including Charles Garrett and Robert Turnage. Charles McComb, Jim Redgate, Don Evans, and Doug Marshal were also assistants under Tyler. August, 1966, practices under Coach Tyler and staff seemed unique, even from the beginning.…”