I haven’t written about my buddy Jay Bell from “Bradenton-Fun-in-the-Sun-Baby, Florida” lately.
You’ve probably heard about high inflation at the grocery store when you had to trade your eldest child for a dozen eggs.
The suits in charge have been increasing interest rates in order to cool inflation. That makes it more expensive to borrow money.
Jay Bell happens to rent money for a living, and customers aren’t banging down his door these days.
There has been an upside. While delivering mostly hot food in coastal Florida, he’s witnessed some stunning sunsets and shared many of them with me.
Obviously, the grandeur doesn’t translate to an iPhone screen, but I appreciate the glimpses of paradise he sends my way.
I also send pictures to him. The other day, I sent one of a tumbler filled with orange juice, which is not nearly as inspiring as a photo from the beach at sunset. Clearly, I need to up my game.
I just scrolled through our text chain and realized he sends far more photos than I send him. On the flip side, he’s never written a story about me. So it all balances out in the end.
Speaking of balancing out, I let my people down during the national title game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, but everything worked out fine in the end.
I was strictly raised to support SEC teams whenever they’re playing out of conference, but TCU had a standout year and earned the right to play on the biggest stage college football has to offer.
I knew it was wrong, but I pulled for the plucky Frogs.
And they were skewered.
But Jay Bell sent me a text during the game that took the sting out of my defeat by proxy.
He sent a picture of a pitcher. (Actually, it was a stein, but I couldn’t resist the wordplay.)
One of Jay’s oldest friends — they practically shared a cradle — grew up to be a preacher. I’ve heard stories about Mike Snell for decades, but this one is special.
A TCU alum, the Rev. Snell lives in Temple, Texas. An elderly member of his flock, Theda Maxfield, was a member of TCU’s first nursing school graduating class.
“It seems that one of her final cognitive acts was watching the exciting victory over Michigan,” Mike sent to Jay, and Jay sent to me. “She loved her TCU football.”
If you don’t recall, TCU won a thrilling game against the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 51 to 45. Mrs. Maxfield was treated to an excellent game. Speaking for those of us who love college football, we’d all appreciate such a win before we go through the next doorway.
As you may know, Georgia trounced TCU in the title game by a number so astronomical that there’s not enough space to reprint it here.
Mrs. Maxfield missed that game, which I think most college football fans might agree would count as excellent timing.
Mike performed the funeral service and helped her family say goodbye to their beloved Theda. In appreciation, they gave him a TCU stein from the 1950s.
“What a thoughtful gesture,” Mike texted. He closed with a hopeful, “Go Frogs!!”
The carnage on screen didn’t sting nearly as bad as it could have because of the cool story I just told you.
And my good friend made it happen. In a way, I guess you could say Jay sent us another sunset.
M. Scott Morris is a former editor of The South Alabamian. He’s a writer and editor living in Tupelo, Mississippi.
