Timeout My vacation: Good coffee, LSU, and a weird marriage vow

By Graham Thomas

Posted: July 29, 2009 at 9:13 a.m.

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BENTONVILLE — A few thoughts and an opinion or two while sorting through e-mail and getting back into the swing of things after a week's vacation.

◊As the crow flies, a trip to Lake Charles, La., isn't near as long as the route my family and I took this past week. With more than 2,000 miles logged on our Dodge Caravan and way too much coffee in the last week I'm definitely ready to be grounded for a little bit.

◊Speaking of coffee and Louisiana, Wal-Marts in northwest Arkansas are really missing out when it comes to good quality brew. It would be nice to not have to travel long distances to buy Community Coffee.

◊ The longer trip down was my choice because it gave me a good excuse to visit Baton Rouge for the first time since I graduated from LSU in 2004. So of course that's what we did, and we even ate at my favorite restaurant while down there. If you're ever on campus, there's nothing better than Louie's Cafe just past the North gates.

◊Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge is still an awesome sight when you're coming across the Mississippi River bridge. The thing is just menacing looking from the outside.

◊My best friend, Chris, is an English instructor at McNeese State in Lake Charles and got married last weekend. I was the best man in the wedding and hence the reason for our trip. His groom's cake was designed as a replica of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on the campus of Ole Miss.

◊Chris and his new bride, Ann, came up with the strangest arrangement I've heard of this side of marriage. Ann, an LSU fan, promised to love Chris, cherish and honor him and even swore she would give up pulling for the Bengal Tigers and stick with Chris's Rebels as long as Chris, a 49ers fan, succumbed to her love for the Dallas Cowboys.

Apparently, the future kids will be brought up in this mold, as well.

When I tried to discourage it, Chris said to me, "Graham, are you really telling me you're going to let your kids grow up and pull for the Razorbacks, the most disillusioned fan base in the SEC?" My response, "Yes sir."

◊We had to pick up our tuxes from a tux shop in Orange, Texas, and just as we crossed the state line I noticed the mile marker read 881. If you ever wondered how gigantic Texas is, there's a good indication.

◊On the way to this tux shop, we passed by Little Cypress Mauriceville High School in Orange - home of the Battlin' Bears. It didn't looklike the synthetic turf movement has made its way to LCM just yet but their football stadium reminded me of the way football stadiums used to be built - all concrete grandstands on both sides that looked strong enough to withstand a Russian air strike. Something tells me that's a cool place to enjoy a high school football game.

◊A week away from the office was nice to recharge the batteries and get ready for what's hopefully an exciting fall sports season.

◊◊ ◊

Graham Thomas is a sportswriter at The Daily Record. He can be reached by e-mail at grahamt@nwanews.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Sports, Pages 8 on 07/29/2009

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