I heard the cow bells Friday night. This time they were ringing against Wake Forest in their 23-17 loss to Mississippi State. The bells took me back to 1999 and the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The Clemson Cooglers, (that would be us), were working a day watch at the Baymont Inn in Hotlanta in anticipation of a Clemson win against Mississippi State. Bill, his son, Tony, and myself decided to cut costs by sharing a room. We arrived in time for a fast food lunch and a nap. Our motel seemed to have equal amounts of Clemson Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs. All was fine until we got up from our nap. We decided to venture to the dome for the Orange Loud and Proud Pregame show. That plan went south as our car gave us that awful nothing sound of a dead automobile. The next friends we made were the AAA Auto Club Mechanics who jumped us off and led us to a Pep Boys Auto Parts for a new battery. By that time, the Loud and Proud Pregame show was over. It was a race to the subway to get our seats. If you’ve never been to Atlanta for a bowl game, just know that you will be mauled, stepped on, and pushed as hoards of sports fans clamor for the subway.
Our Tigers suffered a mauling at the hands of the ‘cow belled’ Bulldogs, 17-7. Weary from the day, and depressed about losing the game, I climbed into bed. I got back up to pop in my ear plugs as Bill and Tony were famous for their snoring capabilities. Finally, I nodded off into dreamland—-until 1:30 a.m. It was a chorus of cowbells that brought me to a state of complete panic. I really thought it was a fire and jumped up yelling for us to get out. Bill realized the nature of the disturbance and just said, ‘relax, they’re celebrating, go on back to bed.’ I tried, but, when Bill wasn’t snoring, Tony was, it was like an echo from one deep throat to the other. With their snoring, and the cow bells clanging, I retreated to the lobby in my Clemson nite gown and Tigerhead slippers. I approached the night clerk and asked if he needed any help. Puzzled, he asked, “Ma’m do you have a problem?”
“Yes, but you can’t solve it.” I told him about my snoring roommates, and the cow bell symphony.
“I know that I can’t go back to sleep so, I thought if you need help here at the desk, I could stuff envelopes, answer the phone, make coffee?” He laughed, got me a blanket, and asked the cow bell brigade to give me some quiet. They finally had mercy on me about 3 am, but Friday nite the cow bells clanged again. I’m so sorry that Wake couldn’t clip their clappers. Here’s to ringing in the New Year, may it be better than the last!
Orange you glad you know me?