The Tailgate Plan to Win: A-Day 2010

Ah, spring football. Two things that I love but never seemed to mix very well when I was a student at Auburn. I hated working spring practices and even worse, the A-Day game.

One of my favorite memories, though, was the 2004 A-Day game when pretty much every full-time staffer had schedule conflicts, so the work crew ended up being pretty much Meredith and a bunch of students. Sometime in the first quarter, I got a call on the radio that I would need to stick with Tuberville since Meredith was going home early. Josh and Kim would handle things in the press box, then Josh and I would be in charge of the locker room post-game.

I remember that 31 players were requested for interviews that day. Josh, Matt Jernigan and I got 30 of those 31 in the interview room. I kept knocking guys’ names off the list, but there was one that was missing. That guy was A.T. Williams, someone who never turned down an interview. Matt had missed him in the locker room and refused to go track him down outside. Josh got him back in the room, and we got nothing but praise handed down to us from the writers in the room.

It was a good day.

This Saturday, I get to go back to A-Day with a different perspective and look forward to getting to Auburn and just hanging out with some friends and (hopefully) get a picture with Tracy Rocker, Trooper and Luper. We’ll see, though.

So, this is a fun tailgate plan to write. The guest list isn’t all that long, but it should be filled with great folks. Possible attendees are Trey Eiland and his daughter, Bryan Bowen and his crew and a few other assorted folks from my dad’s group. Brad and Amber Gregg will be there with us every step of the way. I fully expect Andy Shores and Michelle to hang out with us also.

The plan right now is for Super Rita and me to go down to Auburn on Thursday night. It will be a late arrival, so Friday may be a little slow to get started. We have a few new additions to the camper to show off, so that should be a lot of fun. All Auburn, All Orange, All Facebook, All Kirk will get into town Friday night.

It’s going to be low-key and casual. Hopefully, the weather sticks around for awhile too. It’s been absolutely wonderful here the past six days.

If you are coming, let me know by sending an e-mail (rushicw@gmail.com). I’ll have assignments later this week. Right now, the plan is to fry up some wings and thighs in our new propane cooker for post-game. Pre-game will be light with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. Those of you not being able to join us in Auburn, you can catch the action on ESPNU with Mike Belotti handling his first ESPN assignment.

It’s time to Do What We Do at our tailgate and get 2010 started right. I’m glad its back, folks. Have a good one.

Til next time, War Eagle.

Chris

New AU football site

I'm not sure who designed this site, but they did a fantastic job. Auburn has been needing something like this for quite some time, and I dare say it blows sites like UrbanMeyer.com out of the water.

http://www.auburnwareagle.com

Make sure not to skip the intro and watch the Auburn Creed. You will not be sorry.

A long December...(and January and February)

"One Day at a Time"

Soon the sun will shine again

Soon things will be fine

Until it does, trust God above

And take one day at a time

- Judith Bulock Morse

This afternoon, I have been trying to clean up a little bit on my desk after a couple of months that have been an absolute whirlwind. Amongst the clutter here in the office, I found a couple of unused/unopened Christmas presents. Normally, this wouldn't be that big of a deal - what with it just being a picture frame, notepad and framed poem. Except the poem came from my grandmother.

You know the drill - sometimes you don't always get a present that is exactly what you want, but you thank the giver for their efforts and thoughts anyway. Over the last few years, my grandmother's Christmas presents have ranged from ties that I never wear to stuffed animals to framed poems that really don't mean very much to me at the time. I thanked her for every one of these gifts, though, because I know how hard it was for her to a.) buy me something and b.) find something perfect for me that didn't have an AU markings on it at all.

Back to today...I decided to look at this frame one more time to try to come up with somewhere to put it. After all, this was the last Christmas gift she gave me, and it's something that will always hold a special place in my heart. When I read it, a funny thing happened - I broke down.

She could always tell me when and where she saw the gift throughout the year that made her think, "This is what I'm going to give Chris." No ifs, ands or buts. However, when I said thank you to her on Dec. 25 for this, she confessed she couldn't remember what she got me. "I bought it a long time ago," she explained.

Well before the stroke, I believe she knew her time with all of us was running down. After three months of fighting, defying the odds, Emma Jean McKinney (all semblances of a grandparent Jeanie or I ever knew biologically) joined her place amongst the angels on Wednesday, Feb. 24. I had prepared myself for the phone call for three months. I wasn't ready, though, not by a long shot.

When dad told me, I became numb. I was panicked because I knew I needed to get to my mom. My boss was in a meeting. Everyone and their mothers around me in the office were on phone calls. I had just unpacked my funeral clothes after Jeanie said she was doing so well the weekend before. It wasn't supposed to be Feb. 24, but I was numb because I knew she was better finally. Just numb.

Phone calls, texts, e-mails - they all came pouring in. It was touching hearing from everyone, and the distances some folks traveled were minuscule compared to the leaps and bounds they brought up my spirits. I'll never forget any of that, and I'd be there for them in a second should the roles be reversed.

It has taken some time, but I'm slowly coming back around to my old self. I'm so very proud of my grandmother for everything she accomplished, and I am just happy she can spend Billie's birthday with her in heaven. The last six years since Billie's death took their toll, and she will never have to spend a day without her or my grandfather for the rest of eternity. That's a truly awesome peace of mind.

When I was writing the obituary (which is one of the most difficult things I have ever written), I didn't break down. I suffered from writer's block like you wouldn't believe because I guess I didn't want to fully process what is going on. I don't know if it was because I felt like I needed to be strong for my mom or my aunt or for others, but I couldn't force myself to crumble even when I've been here by myself.

Little did I know it would just take the words "One day at a time."

This is just a small step in the road to normalcy, but I can feel again. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas - they're all going to be difficult in a way. The last week of February will carry with it a black cloud for a little bit. I miss her terribly, but I didn't leave anything unsaid. The peace from that is unbelievable.

Randy, my uncle, said it best once all the hooplah from the funeral died down and it was just us going to get some food for just our family. "We're not the only ones to go through this, and we'll get through it all together." Pretty philosophical coming from a Bama fan, if you ask me. I had dinner with a friend the other night, and I couldn't seem to stop talking about all the good times I had with my grandmother and Billie. No one will ever take that from me, and there were even good memories to come from the last three months.

She brought us all together, and as we have learned the last 19 days, she kept us all together despite all distances and absences. I wish I had more time to talk to her on the phone or just sit with her in the living room watching TV, but I am OK knowing she knew I loved her and that she loved me. Dearly.

When we pieced all the thoughts together and stories from the day of the stroke in November, it was quite clear to me that she knew where she needed to be to move on. She knew when she needed to do this. And she knew that, through all suffering and agony she may have been fighting internally, we needed her smile, her charm and her love to make this time easier.

And, by giving me this silly framed poem, she knew what I needed from her to get on with the process of grieving. I'm not sure where I will put it, but I will never get rid of it.

I love you, grandma, and I think about you all the time. While I'm going to miss you, I do know we'll get to the point that I never have to spend a day without you again just like you don't have to without those you lost that were so dear to you. Try to let Bertha Jo in the door when she gets there too, but it's OK if you give her one of your sly smiles and make her sweat a little bit. I won't hold it against you. Enjoy all your crowns and the jewelry to coincide with them for the rest of time.

A little taste before a real update...

Before I give a full and more appropriate update, I thought I'd give you guys something that hit the cutting room floor at CollegeSportsMatchups.com. Hope you enjoy.

A change of heart rocks college football again

Commentary by Chris Rushing

So much for bigger things than a silly football game, huh?

I had a heart scare back in May that caught me completely off guard. After spending a morning in an ambulance and emergency room bed, I knew that even simple things are nothing to mess with when it comes to your ticker. Apparently, with the decision that Urban Meyer made Friday night when talking to his family, he didn’t think that it was such a good thing to mess with either.

Which makes today’s news even more bizarre to me.

Sure, there were reports last night that he had turned down a leave of absence from Jeremy Foley. That would make sense, after all, to sit out a little while and come back when he was ready. No need for the University of Florida to get into the coaching carousel if at all possible to stay out. Foley had his man in Gainesville five years ago, and if this was a way to keep him on board, then sobeit.

But Meyer did something that Ron Zook had failed to maintain when he took over for Steve Spurrier in 2002. Meyer made it cool to be a Gator again, and he made this job into the best in college football. Foley could have his pick of anyone out there, and I’m not sure anyone was better suited than Meyer, but he could get awfully close on his choice.

Foley is a winner, through and through. He hates, nay, despises losing. NCAA tournament berths aren’t enough for the guy, but you win a couple of national titles, and you gain job security that allows you to make a second-thought on your decision to leave him in the first place.

See: Billy Donovan.

Donovan and Meyer are great friends, which makes the run that UF had from 2006-07 so special in holding both the men’s basketball and football national championships at once. There isn’t a power struggle between neither the two most prominent UF head coaches nor their respective programs.

However, if Meyer thinks he will be able to just step back in 2011 (or sooner) and regain his momentum built over the last five years, he needs to look closely at the last three for Donovan since his brief exit to the NBA.

The Gators haven’t reached the NCAA tournament since the exits of the fab four sophomore/juniors that earned back-to-back Siemens trophies, and Donovan has had difficulties maintaining the success level acquired during his first 11 years at UF. All those 20-win and NCAA tourney seasons are a distant memory, and the latest three-game losing skid for the Gators may show signs of a fourth-straight mediocre season.

I believe the reports coming from various UF assistant coaches that Meyer knew he made a mistake when walking the practice fields Sunday morning for perhaps the final time as the top man in Gator Nation. I’m sure that the regret was overwhelming, and I don’t blame Foley for allowing Meyer to take him up on the leave of absence offer.

All that being said, by promoting Steve Addazio to interim head coach, Foley and Co. are essentially writing off 2010, and that’s not like Foley at all. That’s not the Gator way. To me, that’s the most confusing aspect of this entire saga.

We’ll keep you posted on any more developments in this strange case. Hopefully, your hearts (and mine) can take it.

A quick update...

What a month...That's about all I can really say at this point.

Somehow, with all the chaos that ensued the last weekend of regular season play in the SEC, we ended up with an Outback Bowl berth when all hope for a decent bowl bid seemed lost. I left Jordan-Hare Stadium on Friday, Nov. 27, feeling certain of a Chick-fil-A Bowl appearance barring upset city that Saturday.

Then, State beat Ole Miss. South Carolina waxed Clemson. Tennessee upended Kentucky in overtime. The final nail in the proverbial coffin seemed to come from Georgia's unforeseen triumph over ACC Champion Georgia Tech to put the finishing touches on a terrible day of football for AU fans.

Fast forward to today...We have our plans booked for the Outback Bowl, and I'm looking forward to a New Year's celebration in Ray-Jay and sunny Tampa. You know, I've always said Tampa is a big, big Auburn town. It's always been good to the Tigers, and it will be nice to give something back.

As for the Iron Bowl, the better team won (as I have stated happens 9.9 times out of 10 in our rivalry), but the better team on the field did not. We had plenty of chances, but the fact of the matter was there was not a single sustained drive that resulted in points all afternoon. There were plenty of reasons to feel optimistic, but as I wrote for CSM, that was perhaps the most devastated I've felt leaving JHS. Now, those guys are playing in Pasadena and...well, I fully believe our 2004 team would wax this team of their's.

Neither here nor there, I know.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. We have had some family upheaval over the course of the past three weeks, but we are doing what we have to do. Please keep my mom and my grandmother in your prayers as both are straining themselves to their max limits. It won't be an easy road to full recovery for my grandmother, but I am confident she will make it there. I just hope it doesn't take everything out of my mom in the process.

2009 has been a pretty good year, and it went by incredibly fast. There were a lot of high points (Vegas, Jimmy Buffett, Jeanie's graduating college, a couple of fun weddings, an incredible opportunity in the CollegeSportsMatchups.com job), and some low points, but I will always look back on this year fondly. I don't know why, but I feel much more grown up than a year ago. Funny how that happens, huh?

I'm hoping to put up a wish list for 2010 sometime in the next couple of days on the website, but here are some items that I won't be able to put in the column for objectivity reasons:

1.) Lache Seastrunk and/or Marcus Lattimore signing up on Feb. 3 to wear orange and blue on the Plains. (Those who have listened to me throughout the summer and the season know that I fully expect our coaches to pull off all three running backs. It's gonna happen, but if it doesn't and we "only" get two of the three, it's still an amazing haul.)

2.) Hook 'em Horns. (I know some good folks that are enjoying the heck out of this season, and some of those are going to Pasadena. Good for them, they had a hell of a team. However, Hook 'em because I still despise the University of Alabama, always will.)

3.) Keeping all our current commitments and adding the following: Byran Jones, Jeffrey Whittaker, Ryan White, Cory Lemonier, Eric Mack, and one/two of the RBs (most likely Lattimore). If Coach Hal can go ahead and book his hotel for Glendale next year, why can't I feel like all these cats are a realistic possibility for our staff? (You gotta believe, right, Coach?)

4.) Coach Hal has to cancel his Glendale reservation in early September next fall.

5.) Coach Hal has to cancel his Atlanta reservation in mid-October next fall.

6.) Coach Hal transfers both reservations over to my name by Halloween.

7.) Darvin Adams gains All-SEC first-team status after getting robbed this season.

8.) More improvements from our tailgate.

9.) More folks to cook at our tailgate.

10.) We feel very comfortable leaving Ray-Jay Jan. 1 about the performance that afternoon and the future on both offense and defense for Auburn.

11.) I will finally accept the notion that Gene Chizik may not have been as terrible of a hire as I once thought.

12.) Trooper Taylor keeps doing what he does (on and off the field in the living rooms with the recruits).

Merry Christmas again, folks. Happy New Year and War Eagle. Catch ya in 2010.

***NOTE***

Outback Bowl plans are as follows:

Dec. 30: Arrive in Auburn, stay at camper

Dec. 31: Arrive in Gainesville, stay at Hineszy's, dinner at Ballyhoo's

Jan. 1: Leave Gainesville by 6 a.m. EST; arrive at Raymond James by 9 a.m. EST; Outback Bowl; drive back to Gainesville or Auburn

Jan. 2: PapaJohns.com Bowl (tentative)

If you are going to the game and want to meet up in Tampa at some point on game day, please hit me up. (rushicw@gmail.com)

Tailgate Plan to Win: The "Iron Bowl's acoming" Edition

Are we really heading into Iron Bowl week? I cannot begin to tell you how fast this has all flown by. First, let me apologize for my absence in writing on here since following the big win over Ole Miss. I've been so caught up in trying to get basketball and football articles written for CollegeSportsMatchups.com, that I have been fighting writer's block a lot more often than I'd like. I'm glad the writing deal is only on the side and not my full-time career right now - I feel like I'm running out of interesting things to say.

But back to the topic at hand: Auburn vs. Alabama. It's a piss-poor decision on CBS' part to move this game to Friday afternoon, but I digress. I do end up with a four-day weekend out of the deal (a four-day weekend in Auburn at that), so I shouldn't complain too loudly. However, the impact that having this game on the largest and most important shopping day of the year will hurt Alabama's economy more than a few tickets unused in Jordan-Hare Stadium. For the record, I expect a sell-out and standing room only crowd, which is big for the number of high caliber recruits AU has visiting.

Speaking of recruiting, it sure is a lot of fun getting kids like Trovon Reed and Michael Dyer to boost our rankings up into the top 10. I've never been a proponent of recruiting rankings, myself, but as Curtis Luper says, "If they're keeping score, I want to win." Reed and Dyer will help get some other bigger names to come forward later as future Auburn Tigers, but even if the class ended with those two at the skill positions in addition to their fellow commits, this is the best class AU has put together since 2002 (and it will likely only get better).

Now, it's time to get realistic. I will cheer my butt off Friday afternoon before the game at Tiger Walk, jawing with Coach Hal and his bunch at WDTrey's tailgate, during the game's warmups and from kickoff to the final seconds ticking off the Jordan-Hare Stadium clocks. That being said, there is very little chance that Auburn emerges victorious from this game. Mark Ingram is the best running back in the country, and Georgia's second half against our depth-deprived defense most likely offered a precursor of bad things to come for our Tigers this weekend. As a trustworthy poster stated on the Bunker last week, "They (Alabama) have us out-manned (this) weekend, but that's changing." For a deeper analysis, check out the site later this week.

We will have a good group for Thanksgiving on the Plains (always enjoy being able to host the Boullys), and our family plans to arrive Wednesday night in Auburn. Super Rita will get down there ahead of everyone on Tuesday, but I plan to roll in somewhere around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Smoked turkey on the Big Green Egg - Camper Edition will be the main course for Thursday with a Boston Butt headlining the menu for Friday.

I don't plan on being at the camper very long Friday morning with the aforementioned appearance of our friends at CoachHal.com. They will be in front of Cary Hall off Thach Ave., and I will spend most of my tailgating day there. I expect most of our group to join in on that one, and I will need to get a head count for Trey at some point before Wednesday. We may even have a celebrity friend of mine stop by if he gets into town with enough time to spare before kickoff.

Some news and notes from Furman and Georgia:

- Furman weekend was a lot of fun. The game lasted about an hour too long, but it sure beats squeaking out a mistake-infested contest against UT-Martin last season. Brad Gregg's clan had a couple of new faces (Amber's father, Brad Hannah), and it was a lot of fun hanging out with them during and after the game.

- We didn't have a cooked meal for Furman weekend, so we called in orders to Buffalo Connection and Brick Oven. It went over very well. Brad and I were able to ride around town and enjoy some old memories while picking up our food orders.

- Meredith Brazzell hung out at the camper post-game, and her visits are far too infrequent. She brings a lot to the atmosphere out at University Station, and I hope she knows that she is always welcome (the same goes to the rest of her amazing family).

- Georgia, what a start, what a finish. I usually despise it when someone uses the phrase "a tale of two halves," but that's exactly what we had in Athens. By the time my "Glory. Glory. To ole Auburn." texts got out of the stadium somewhere in the third quarter, their importance had diminished due to Georgia's adjustments and Eltoro Freeman's absence in run defense.

- I hate to put blame on one thing or one play, and I certainly would not attribute fault to a flag from an official, but when Eltoro went out, our defense's aggression left with him. This was not the fault of Freeman's replacement, Jonathan Evans, but we had absolutely no answer for Caleb King and Washon Ealey from the time Da Bull walked off the field until Chris Todd's fourth down pass fell quietly out of the back of the end zone.

- Brad joined me on this trip, and we had a blast (or at least I did) sans the game. It was Brad's first AU-UGA experience in Athens, and I know Charlie Mac and Mrs. Jane enjoyed his company.

- All Auburn, All Facebook, All Orange, All Kirk got to Charlie Mac's somewhere around 2:30 p.m. EST Saturday after leaving Macon in the 8:15 a.m. CT range. I'm glad he got there for two reasons: 1.) after Friday, he will have seen all 12 regular season contests in person, a first for him and 2.) it would not have been the same without him.

- This is just for Brad: what do Olive Garden and Rome have in common?

- Bojangles breakfast can make almost any hurt sting a little less. Why we didn't have one of those in Auburn and there isn't one anywhere close to me now, I have no idea.

- Josh Jackson, Andrew Monroe and Andy Lawton all hung out with us at Charlie Mac's tailgate pregame. It was great to spend some time together. Andrew and I even ran into an old friend of our's from the 2006 trip. "It's funny. It is."

- As good as Bojangles is for breakfast, Taco Bell is its reciprocating factor for late night post-game meals. It didn't completely cure my depression, but it helped sooth some scars from watching us lose three-straight in Sanford Stadium (the only AU-UGA game I've missed since 1999 was 2005).

- To complete the theme for Georgia weekend, you have to click here: http://tinyurl.com/yzwfsbf

So, in closing, I leave you with this one question to ponder before Friday: "What have YOU done to beat Alabama today?"

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. War Eagle. Let's do what we do - 2002 style.

Chris

Tailgate Review - The "We were treated like royalty" and "We beat Ole Miss" Edition

Sorry for the delay. It's been a little touch and go with the website articles. It's pretty good that I don't write everyday for a living. I am finding myself facing writer's block more and more with those articles (but the pay is too good to quit, so you're stuck reading me there haha).

I just wanted to touch on the last two weeks rather quickly. First, we had a BLAST in Baton Rouge (sans the game, of course). I've said it before and I'll say it again: LSU writes the book on tailgating. There's not a better campus environment in the country than LSU for a Saturday night conference game. None.

I'm sure some of you have heard the old proverb concerning LSU fans, you know, that if you listen to a bunch of people scream "TIGER BAIT" at you and you don't come back at them, they'll stop you and offer you jambalaya and gumbo? I'm here to tell you that it is 100 percent accurate, and it happened to dad and me. We were walking through the parking lot adjacent to the tennis center and the P-Mac when an older gentleman in a fedora stopped us. He asked us to have some jambalaya with him and his crew. We politely declined at first, but his insisting led to us turning around to two bowls held by his wife.

We were told that this was award-winning jambalaya, and I'm not going to argue with whoever bestowed the honors on this recipe. We ended up spending an hour and a half with these strangers who could not have been better hosts. The hospitality shown by almost everyone outside the stadium was incredible, and as I say in the title of this article, we were treated like royalty there. I can't wait to get back down there in a couple of years.

Besides our tailgate friends, dad and I spent some time with his vendor Vince, who also had a pretty good tailgate with some of the best ribs I've had in awhile. I met up with Josh and Katie Jackson on the lawn in front of Memorial Tower, where we reunited with Brooke Patterson and her crew. Inside the stadium, Dennis Hodges (the SEC's top photographer) got some pictures of dad and I together in our front-row seats and visited with us for awhile. I'm hoping Dennis will come up for the LSU-Ole Miss game later this month to reciprocate the hospitality shown to us.

We stayed at the new Spring Hill Suites by Marriott out by the airport, and it was one of the best hotel rooms I've ever had. I like the design and layout even better than that of the Courtyard (it's great to be an adult and stay at real hotels and not worry about Motel 6 leaving the light on for us).

Overall, it was a great trip, but I could have done with a little better showing on the field. Tiger Stadium is one of only three stadiums in the SEC that I have yet to see Auburn win. Hopefully, that trend will end in 2011.

Then, there was last weekend. My patience for most of the Ole Miss fans I know is dwindling every week. After a three-game losing skid and their two-game winning streak following the beat-down they received from Bama, I was just ready to get to the game and let the chips fall where they may. Bowl eligibility was all but guaranteed with a win remaining on the schedule against Furman, so I just hoped for the best.

We had a pretty good showing at the tailgate prior to the game, but I can't say the same for the crowd on campus. Sure, it was an early game, but 20 minutes prior to kickoff, there were still PLENTY of empty seats. I'm not sure I've heard a softer "WAR EAGLE" during the eagle flight. While the student section never got full, the ones that were there were boisterous and helped liven things up for the players during warmups.

Making the trip for the game was Chris Purser, the only Ole Miss representative in our group. Purser has been a great friend over the years and has helped secure countless tickets to Ole Miss sporting events for us, so it was nice to be able to repay those favors ever so slightly. He ran away with Tailgater of the Week for all his help during pre-game and post-game set-up/break-down as well as bringing plenty of drinks for us to get us through the last two home games.

Despite the small crowd and an ominous start from Ole Miss' offense, the Auburn defense rose to the occasion the rest of the afternoon. I couldn't be happier with this win, trust me. I hate it for the Monroes that Arkansas got the best of us, but I'll take W's over Ole Miss and Miss. State every year over all but one opponent (which goes without saying).

We got mom a Big Green Egg for the camper as her birthday present, and we assembled the Egg following the game. By "we" I mean All Auburn, All Orange, All Facebook, All Kirk and Purser. I helped as much as I could, but I'm the furtherest thing from being a handyman you can get, and I tried my best to spend time with the rest of the gang at the camper.

The visitor list included: Katy Braden and her friend Alexandria Cole; Andy Shores; Jeanie and Robert; Brad, Amber and Jarrod in addition to the three of us and Purser. Not a bad group, and we had some stragglers here and there stop by to discuss AU football and whatnot. The steaks off the Egg were phenomenal, and the BGE just takes our tailgating to yet another new level.

Also making its debut was the five-man tent we have outside the front door to sleep additional tailgaters and overnight guests. It sleeps pretty good (when you have air mattresses in addition to the usual sleeping bags, and it beats the alternatives, in my opinion.

Sure, this isn't a long-winded update, but there's your last two weeks. As for this weekend's homecoming affair with Furman, it's becoming more and more likely that I will be trekking solo to the Plains Friday afternoon with everyone meeting up outside the stadium prior to kickoff. Therefore, there will be no pre-game tailgate and probably just some take-out for those who want to come back to the camper post-game to watch other contests (such as Bammer-LSU).

We got back to doing what we did, so that was good. War Eagle. See you on the Plains for (hopefully) a November to Remember.

Chris