When the Saints Go Marching In!

With the recent Superbowl victory by the Saints, I’ve been thinking a lot about my New Orleans roots.

It’s been 40 years since my husband was watching the game at Tulane stadium when Tom Dempsey kicked his unbelievable 63-yard field goal. There were 2 seconds left on the clock and the Saints had lost. Or so he thought. Dempsey was attempting to make the longest field goal kick in National League history and David had already left the stadium thinking full well that he knew the results of the game. (It’s like leaving the theater before Ferris Bueller appears on the screen after the credits and tells you to leave the show.) As my husband describes it, the stadium was rumbling. Tom Dempsey, the man born without toes on his right foot, had made history.  The final score was 19 – 17 in favor of the Saints.

Now, back to the present and last Friday’s errands. We were out making groceries (New Orleans colloquialism) when M saw a Saints balloon hanging out with other Superbowl balloons tempting us to buy it. David and I looked at each other and he claims that my face lit up when I saw it. That’s another story that I won’t be sharing, but needless to say it was an irresistible, impulse purchase. Yes, right here in Kalispell, Montana, 2,000 miles away from New Orleans was that balloon just waiting for us.  Watching the Superbowl last Sunday and seeing the Saints victorious after so many failures gave me a good feeling.  I have no regrets about leaving the metro area, as I love Montana and feel the Crescent City has been gone with the wind for a very long time. But watching the game reminded me of my Southern roots and of how lucky I’ve been to live in such extraordinary places.

Mardi Gras is exactly one week away from today, so I’ll sign off now and have M and E decorate the sunroom with beads and colored masks.  If y’all are curious as to how we ended up here, read Grandpa Davey’s series of articles:  Crossing Texas, Worst Case Scenario, and Reckless Abandon. They are really good!

Here’s the video of Tom Dempsey’s field goal. You should watch it!

Till next time,
Marlene