Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Homecoming 2006
Ah Wilkesboro. It's kind of a podunk little town, but it will always hold a special place in my heart because it's where I'm from. If you have any doubts, get me talking about it, and the accent that inevitably comes out will be a dead give-away. My parents left Wilkesboro in 2000, so I haven't been back much in the last 6 years. Maybe four or five times. But when Emily Furr and I heard that the hot new teacher at Wilkes Central High School was one Mr. Matt Hagaman, we were anxious to visit our alma mater. It really hasn't been that long since I would have been mortified to speak of him in this manner, but I'm a journalist, folks. I have to report the facts. And Matt Hagaman is hot. Period.
So after doing some research, we decided that there was no better time to go than Homecoming, and luckily we hadn't missed it. We were psyched, to say the least. I had an appointment to get my do coiffed that Friday morning, so I had Jill cut me a mullet special for the occasion. Then I donned my new cowchick boots and was on my way. I called Emily on my way. Told her I'd be the one down front with the mullet and the boots, but realizing that neither of those two things would necessarily set me apart, we decided to meet at the Wal-Mart. Again, noting that I might blend in too much with the crowd, I just headed for her parents' house.
So after doing some research, we decided that there was no better time to go than Homecoming, and luckily we hadn't missed it. We were psyched, to say the least. I had an appointment to get my do coiffed that Friday morning, so I had Jill cut me a mullet special for the occasion. Then I donned my new cowchick boots and was on my way. I called Emily on my way. Told her I'd be the one down front with the mullet and the boots, but realizing that neither of those two things would necessarily set me apart, we decided to meet at the Wal-Mart. Again, noting that I might blend in too much with the crowd, I just headed for her parents' house.(It's really quite surreal to go to Wilkesboro now, because I haven't lived there in so long that it feels like it should be unfamiliar, and yet I somehow know how to get everywhere. It's like I'm visiting a former life.)
The Furrs invited me to go with them to Adam and Jennifer's house for dinner. Their back yard is essentially in the J. Floyd Woodward Middle School parking lot, so after dinner, Emily and I did a drive-through and talked about how small and old it looked. We tried to remember the names of our teachers there, and I spent some time shuddering at the memories of embarassing things that had happened within those walls. Things that I'm not sure even happened in real life anymore, but maybe just happened inside my head. Memory is a funny thing that way.
Then we went to Wal-Mart, where we got revved at while walking through the parking lot. You know you look good when you get revved at. We purchased two pairs of gloves for $1.52 and headed to the game.
The Eagles were ultimately defeated, but we still felt victorious standing there on the track, which surrounds the football field, catching up with Matt Hagaman and listening to him tell us how great we looked. No, Matt. You look great. No, really, you do.
At game's end, we were sad to look around and notice that we were the only ones singing the alma mater, but we sang it anyway, with all of our hearts because...
As the eagle soars above the rolling mountains,
We will lift our eyes and hearts as one to thee,
Wilkes Central High, beloved alma mater.
The green and golden eagle shall fly eternally!
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