Too Many Books

Yes, I'm all serious and writerly, but I'm a sporty girl, too. I mean, not in the coordinated, running aound with athletic gear sense, but in fandom... if there is a bigger Indiana basketball fan than me, I would like to meet him! I took these photos at a game I went to last year at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. A friend of mine has season tickets, and her seats are pretty high up there. This was our view of the court during the first half of the game. However, at halftime the most wonderful thing happened. A man was leaving early and sold us his tickets for $10.00. They were in a section called The North Lodge -- behind the home basket and ten rows from the floor. Can you see this picture at all? Once we were cozied up in our amazing new seats, I took a picture of the nosebleeds, thinking just how far we'd come. I mean, we'd hit the big time scoring these seats, rubbing elbows with the newspaper photographers, the wealthy, and the alumni. Just look how ...

Happy 85th birthday (one day late) to my Mammaw, who is the most beautiful person on the earth. I hope I grow up to be half the woman you are. I love you for your strength, your wisdom, the way you laugh, and for unplugging appliances during thunderstorms. I love the way you pronounce Hawaii (Huh-why-yuh) and Hello (Mellow). I love your sense of humor and your generousity.I love you.

Over the weekend, some outdoorsy men in orange vests repaved and restriped the bank parking lot.  When I got to work this morning, yellow caution tape sealed off both the entrance and exit to the bank lot, leaving it to resemble a crime scene. I secretly hoped that there had been a body found in the ATM lane or something, and that I might be able to go back home since I wasn't a witness. I think I've been watching too much Dexter lately.  Alas, Thankfully, the only reason for the caution tape was the new Purdue-colored parking lot, which looks lovely but smells like burnt rubber . The odor reminds me of my childhood: I am riding with my grandfather through the twisting back roads of rural Indiana, headed back to Bloomington or maybe Bedford from Carmichael Cemetary, where my lineage lay. I need to tinkle and have no choice but to make in the cornfields. My Papaw pulls over. As I step out of the Cadillac, my mary janes go squish in the not-yet-harden...

I first wrote this on facebook, but here it is again, filed in a spot in my heart and now, here... IUPUI By Amberv Murphy Filed in : Recap Did anyone else attend Tuesday night's barn burner against IUPUI, or "ewwy-pooewy" as my hubby, a Louisville fan, called them? I was lucky enough to sit in the North Lodge (a la "stand up, old people") during the second half and the energy in the crowd was ELECTRIC. I was pinching myself to score such great tickets at a great price. Ten rows from the floor, I sported my 87' champs t-shirt, which I've worn since my dad gave it to me in the 80's, so it's threadbare but perfect. I'm die hard, bleeding crimson and cream, and never daunted, though I had to move away from Bedford, Indiana to Louisville as a child. I never wavered from my Hoosier loyalty. Through it all, we are tried and true. It doesn't matter how young or inexperienced we are this year, or what sanctions are imposed on us for our blissful y...