My Crimson Chaos

L ess than 24 hours after the anniversary of the tornadoes that ripped thru Alabama, many of us found ourselves cowering in closets waiting for James Spann to give us the nod that we are safe again.  John Servati never got that nod.  Servati, a Junior at The University Of Alabama, was pronounced dead at DCH Hospital last night after suffering injuries from a falling retaining wall in the basement where he had taken refuge.  He lost his life while saving his girlfriend's... John Servati was the kind of man we all hope our kids grow up to emulate.  A resident of Tupelo, Mississippi, he was a member of UA's Swim Team.   Just Friday, Mike Slive announced that Servati was one of Bama's 48 student athletes placed on the Southeastern Conference's Acedemic Honor Roll.  He had carried a 3.55 GPA for his entire career at the University. Thoughts and prayers go out to his friends & family this morning.  The Bama Nation lost one of it's finest last night.  But there

Ashley's Song... T hree years ago tomorrow, countless lives were changed forever...  And it was the first time I would understand what all that entails.  Before that day, the phrase, 'countless lives' was just a headline I saw as I searched for the sports section.  I learned that week that the horrific pictures we see far too often can never capture the tragedy the person behind the lens is seeing.  I saw destruction... I saw death. Much like most of you, I've never paid much attention to weather warnings.  The odds of those suspender-sporting men on TV being right were almost impossible!  As I watched them all perspire in nervous anticipation the morning of April 27th, 2011, something was different.  Something scared me.  I will never be able to understand why, but I knew this day was different. That day, I called my sister at least 70 times.  I lost count of the texts.  Being friends with some storm trackers, I knew she was directly in the line of fire.  She

Canning...  What Alabamian doesn't have a childhood memory of their granny standing over a pressure cooker preparing us for a winter's worth of delicious southern food?  These women deserve a dang medal!!!  Standing there in their finest housecoat over a potential bomb that Syrian rebels would be proud of, they worked to make sure we'd have some good fixins'!  Being born & bread in Chilton County, peach marmalade is my favorite selection in the array of delicacies that have always been lovingly stored in my granny's kitchen.  And for those of you who were abused as children and have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the 'official' definition of canning: Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a shelf life typically ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances it can be much longer. And forgive me if I use a little cre

I n what is becoming the longest 15 minutes of fame in the history of the universe, earlier today news broke that Katherine Webb will star along side AJ McCarron in their very own reality show.  After becoming engaged on March 29th, the show's focus will be around planning their wedding on July 11th.  It will also follow AJ as he prepares to enter the NFL.  But don't rush to set your DVR's just yet, Bammers!!!  Even though  Webb's sister told The Plainsman the show wasn't their idea, a network to air this future Emmy winner has yet to be decided on.   Sigh... Nobody wants to believe in true love more than me, but these two are beginning to make it very difficult to buy into this supposed love story.  Evidently, plans for the show were already underway before their engagement as cameras were there to capture the event.  Because nothing says true love like making a public spectacle of yourself for a paycheck. On a side note, Webb's sister reported that th

B ama Baseball just arrived back from College Station with yet another series win over Texas A&M, making them 8-4 in SEC play.  For those who haven't been keeping score, that puts us at the top of the SEC, y'all!!!  It wasn't the sweep we got to savor over 9th ranked Ole Miss last weekend, but it was still something to get pretty excited about.  No. 15 Bama is showing all the naysayers that this year's team has something to prove.... On Friday night, Bama hosts the university of auburn for the 1st of a 3 game series in SEC play.  And in what is becoming typical Bama Baseball style, they are rolling out the red carpet for fans making the trip to The Joe.  Starting at 5:00, they will be hosting a live concert by August Ashe outside the main entrance of Sewell-Thomas Stadium.  Anyone with a ticket to the night's matchup is encouraged to attend.  As if that wasn't enough, over a dozen prizes will be awarded to some lucky Bammers throughout the course of th

S uicide...  That's always been a word I filed away with atomic bombs, alien invasions, & Syrian beheadings...  Ya know what I mean?  There's just certain horrors in this world that we are sheltered from.  Yeah, we know they're real (okay, the alien invasion part is pushing the envelope), but they are something you READ about.... Not something you EXPERIENCE.  Monday will mark the 1 year anniversary of that silly myth being shattered in my world. Last April 7th, my world changed forever. Life became cut into two parts.  The life before suicide... And the life after, the symbolic Eve taking a bite out of the apple.  Most days, it's hard for me to remember what I did 5 minutes ago yet I can remember the weekend of April 5th-7th, 2013, in such vivid detail. I'm not kidding.  I can tell you everything I ate, what I wore, and how I felt.  After having a wonderful mom/daughter night on Friday, we woke up & did what moms & daughters do. We shopped! I rem