I'm an Indian Outlaw...

Well, not really.  I did find out a couple of weeks ago, however, that my Cherokee heritage is more significant than I once thought.  Ivey and I traveled to Cherokee (via Maggie Valley to pick up Dad) to spend some time with my Papaw Bill.  It had been way too long since I had seen him.  He wanted to take Dad and I around Cherokee to visit some of the graves of our ancestors.  We began the trip up from the museum at the grave of my great-great-great-great grandfather, Nimrod J. Smith.

Nimrod was quite the historical figure.  He's got to be the only member of our family with a Wikipedia page.  He was the fourth Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians.  He fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.  His Indian name was Tsaladihi (this roughly translates to "Charlie-killer" and was a conversion of his middle name "Jarrett.")  He worked very hard to get his people recognized as a tribe under federal law by the U.S. government and is generally credited as being the main driving force behind this taking place.  In short, he was pretty much a badass, although the world really could have done without that jheri-curl mullet:

From there we drove up into Birdtown where I saw the fantastically amazing headstone of Johnny (Bubba) Rowland:

Not only did this thing have an engraving of a dump truck on it, but his nickname seems to have been Cue Ball.  I can't remember exactly how he was related to me, but, based on these two things alone, I wish I could have gotten to meet him.  We also ran across the gravesite of Beauford Roland:

Beauford was shot in the back after a poker game gone wrong.  Three different brothers were tried for the murder, but none were ever convicted.  Seeing as how Papaw Bill and I both love Texas Hold'em a lot more than we should, it seems that the Roland gambling gene didn't die with Beauford on that night in 1981. 

We saw what has to be one of the coolest trees in the world:

It was a fun day and I really enjoyed learning a little more about the family history.  It's not often that you get three generations of Roland's together.  I'm glad Ivey finally got to meet Papaw Bill and I'm glad that she was there to take some good pictures.  I'll have to make sure not to put as much time in between the next visits.

I DO

I'm engaged to the most wonderful woman that I have ever met.  It's been a crazy ride, no doubt,  but worth every up and down to get to this point.  I know this news has surprised friends and family alike, and for good reason.  We were not even dating at the time of the proposal.  I have been asked more than once if I am sure I know what I am doing.

I do.

While it may seem a little sudden (and it is), this is the culmination of four and a half years of two people figuring one another out.  Love, passion, and compatability were never a problem.  I have never met someone so much like me.  She's funny, she loves football, and she has a giant heart.  No, we seemed to have everything you need, but we could never quite get over the hump.  I have always been quite scared of commitment of any sort.  Try me.  Come up and say "Travis, what is your favorite _________?"  and watch the blood drain from my face.  I will immediately start prefacing my answer with things like "I haven't thought about this a lot lately" or "I'm sure I'm leaving something out" or (my personal favorite) "How about a top 5?" 

I have finally found something I can commit to, though.  Once the realization hit, it was really quite easy.  Without this lady, my life seems a little darker, not as much fun, and very bland.  With her it's exciting, hopeful, and full of possibilities.  Could I make it without her, and her without me?  Sure we could.  But why would you want to, when the best life you can have is together?  I'm convinced I have found my soul mate and I'm excited about our future together.  We are planning a beach wedding, the leading candidate being

Charleston, SC

We will certainly have more details to share in the coming weeks.  We are so looking forward to sharing that day with our friends and family.  Thanks to all of you for riding this roller coaster over the years.  We never would have made it here without you. 

THE IRON BOWL!!

I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the 78th rendition of the Iron Bowl. For those of you not in the know, the Iron Bowl is moniker for the annual football battle between the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) and the University of Auburn (War Eagle!). I have never had much of an affiliation for this game other than just being a big fan of college football. It's a major rivalry game that ranks right up there with Army/Navy, Michigan/Ohio State, and the Tobacco Road basketball war that is Carolina/Duke. For the past four years, however, the Iron Bowl has taken more prominence in my life. My fiance' is a major Auburn fan, much to the chagrin of her mother and father who bleed Alabama crimson. We were visiting said mother in Chattanooga during this year's Iron Bowl, so we trekked down to the local Buffalo Wild Wings for beers, football, and fun. This year's game did not hold much promise, as Alabama came in undefeated and ranked #2 in the country, while Auburn was having an off year. With a rivalry like this, however, you never know what is going to happen. Everyone was all smiles and peace-loving before kickoff

but that would soon change. Auburn scored first on a 67 yard end around and then recovered an onside kick and took a surprise 14-0 lead. Shirley was starting to get nervous, and it showed:

She befriended a TENNESSEE fan (puke) who was adamant that I drop Michigan and pick up an SEC team so that Ivey doesn't have to marry "out of conference." If Alabama didn't score soon, I feared that she may end up like this:

Alabama did turn it around, however. Down 21-19 late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Greg McElroy put together a 79 yard touchdown march that will forever be known in Bear Bryant country as "The Drive." It ended with a touchdown pass to a senior running back (Roy Upchurch) that had never had a touchdown catch. When Rolando McClain batted down Auburn's hail mary in the end zone, Shirley could breathe easy again. At the end of the day, it felt like a win/win for everyone. Shirley gets her shot at the national title game, Ivey has to feel good about Auburn's prospects for next year, and I got to see a great college football game. With all due respect to Roll Tide! and War Eagle!, though, I do hope that one day Go Blue! will once again play in a game that means something.......

Tweaking on Catnip

-courtesy of Jennifer Ivey

Songs that make you say............

I feel like, at this point in my life, I understand real heartbreak. Well, romantic heartbreak anyway. I'm a never-married guy pushing 30 and I've had my share of break-ups, each seemingly worse than the last. I don't know that I could have truthfully said my heart had completely been broken until this last one. I'm talking real heartbreak. The kind that you can't seem to wrap your head around. The kind that just doesn't make any damn sense to you. The kind where you feel like you must have done something wrong to deserve this type of karmic punishment. James Earl Jones once said that "one of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter." Luckily for us, there are plenty of musicians out there who can utter them for us. I've compiled a personal top 10 list to get you through some different stages during this tough time. Here are the first five and an intermission. Enjoy.

Number 10



Live- "Lightning Crashes"

WHEN TO USE: IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BREAK-UP

-This may seem like a strange choice, but let me explain. I had just gotten this cd back in 1994 as a freshman in high school right before I found out that my new girlfriend was seen making out with some other guy down at Mark Watson Park. Originally believing this to be untrue, I called her. Upon finding out from her that it was true, I listened to "Lightning Crashes" over and over again for probably two weeks. It helped in it's weird, sad way. Had I known that the band wrote the song for a friend of theirs who was killed by a drunk driver and then donated her organs to a 10 month old baby to keep it alive, I may have gained some valuable life perspective on what really matters and how unimportant this incident would be in ten years. However, not knowing that, 13 year old me continued to wallow in self-pity, hitting the repeat button on this song until I started high school and met some other girls who would do far worse than elociN (name reversed to protect the innocent) did.

Number 9


Drive-By Truckers- "A World of Hurt"

WHEN TO USE: AS SOON AS YOU GET TIRED OF "LIGHTNING CRASHES"


-Okay, you're still pretty early on with this thing. Food doesn't taste right. The sun doesn't seem to rise as high in the sky as it used to. You can't even distract yourself properly. Anything you once liked, you now despise. No, you don't want to go out with your friends. No, you don't need a new book. No, you have no desire to see that movie even though you heard it was amazing. You just want to be alone with your sorrowful thoughts and self-pity. There's nothing wrong with that. Wallow away to the sound of Patterson's voice telling you that you don't need to buy a whore or kill yourself, that (if you hang around long enough and pay attention) it can actually be "great to be alive." You won't believe that right now, but you need to hear it.

Number 8


Red Hot Chili Peppers- "Under the Bridge"

WHEN TO USE: WHEN YOU WENT TOO FAR

-I don't know what you did, and I don't need to know. Maybe you left a mean message on her blog. Bad, but not terrible. Maybe you called one of her best friends to see if she's seeing somebody new. Borderline creepy and stalker-ish. Maybe you drove over to her house at midnight and knocked on the door after seeing another car there. Restraining order territory. It doesn't matter what you did. You're hurting. We all do things we wish we could take back. After your "incident" you are going to feel very alone. You will have nobody to help you. You're too embarassed with what you've done to even tell your friends the story. You will never feel the words to "Under the Bridge" more than you will at this point in your life. It will speak to you. While you are listening and coming to grips with your mistake, it may help you to think that Anthony Keidis was renting cheap motel rooms and shooting up with heroin all alone during some of his prime rock star years. Like I said, we've all felt alone and we've all done things we wish we could take back. Keep your head up.

Number 7


T.I.-"Dead and Gone"

WHEN TO USE: WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING GOOD AFTER YOUR "INCIDENT"


-Okay, so you messed up. You're feeling down. You need to turn that around. As soon as you do something positive, keep that good feeling going with "Dead and Gone." Maybe you made it to the gym every day this week. Maybe you finally started that novel. Maybe you helped an old lady cross the road. Whatever it is, use it to help yourself get over your previous stalker/loser incident. "Dead and Gone" is all about washing away old sins and starting fresh, and that's just what you need right now. So, get your rap on and when Justin Timberlake hits those squeaky high notes, just know that he's singing about you. You're a new person. Thrust your chest out and get out there to face the world again.

Number 6


Lucero- "Nights Like These"

WHEN TO USE: WHEN YOU FIND OUT SHE'S SEEING SOMEONE ELSE


-This, my friends, is a tough one. I know you just started fresh with T.I., but this will bring you crashing back down faster than you ever thought possible. That's the problem with real heartbreak. It's a roller coaster. Extreme highs and extreme lows. You are gonna need Ben Nichols' scratchy voice and sad lyrics to get you through the next few days. He sings like he's been there before. Hell, he sings like he LIVES in agony and you're just a visitor stopping by for a short visit. Once you hear the depravity in that gravelly voice you will have to instantly feel a little better about yourself. His voice says that he's been places you don't want to go, and he's still here. It's the kind of message you can use right now.

INTERMISSION

-Do yourself a favor and youtube "Everyday Normal Guy" by Jon Lajoie. You will be glad you did.

Fantasy Football 2009!!

Well, another football fantasy draft is in the books. This is Michael showing off the belt that he gets to hold for the next year as the defending champion. There were quite a few surprises this year. Not many picks went as everyone expected. The completed board (while unreadable at this distance) looked like this:

Many thanks to Jennifer Ivey who was a great draft board writer (not the most exciting thing to do in the world) and also made a giant portion of her famous black bean salsa (with avocado!) that I will continue to get to enjoy today. Thanks to Michelle Patterson for standing in for our California friend Ryan Dills. All the food everyone brought was great and I think it turned out very well. I can only hope that this is Calvin Johnson's year and I will not end up looking like an idiot for taking him 3rd overall. Either way, thank God football season is almost here! Absolutely the best time of year.