The Fourth Quarter



An old high school friend  of mine died last week. Don fought the good fight against kidney cancer for 8 years. He was funny, full of life, and thought of others.  So many people were touched by him. Just a few weeks ago he read one of my posts about my son and mailed me a prayer towel with a note of encouragement. I was truly moved. No doubt Don practiced his  Christian faith. 

Don’s death has caused me to pause and think.  At my age this is becoming a more frequent occurrence. And it will continue. Before my retirement I began to reflect about being in my mid sixties. To me it’s a perfect football analogy. I know at the age of 66, I’m more than likely in the 4th quarter of my life.  I hope it’s the early 4th quarter, but I don’t know.  

In football, the 4th quarter usually defines the outcome of the game. Certainly everything leading to the 4th quarter has importance. Many of the key plays that happen are memorable.  But in those epic close games, most of the time what happens in the 4th quarter defines what people remember for the ages.  Examples abound.  At Alabama, we even know them by name: The Goal Line Stand, The Kick, 2nd and 26.  Believe me, Auburn has their share too, but I won’t name them for fear of losing my alumni card. 

When I was in college in the 1970s, Alabama football teams began holding up 4 fingers at the end of the third quarter. To accentuate the point, the student section would shout, “The 4th quarter’s ours!”  Now this practice is common with every college team.  Maybe it’s time to extend it beyond football. Maybe everyone in their sixties should start holding up 4 fingers (if your arthritis allows), and dominate the 4th quarter of their life. 

It’s time to reach out to those people in your life who were important, but have drifted away.  It’s time to say what has been unsaid to those who are important to you. It’s time to give of yourself to others.  It’s time to forgive someone you haven’t forgiven.   We can even name these life enriching events, like The Gift or The Phone Call. 

However you can’t use The Towel - that one is already taken. 

The 4th quarter’s ours! 

 Please like and share. 

#fourthquarter
#holdupfourfingers
@RickandBubba

Comments

  1. RosebudMay 12, 2020 at 8:02 AM

    Beautifully said Joe

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bully4EverMay 12, 2020 at 10:34 PM

    Extremely well done Joe and so well done that even an Old Bulldog from Starkville understood the message. Got you by a few years and couldn’t agree more that we’re in the 4th Quarter and we need to leave it all on the field. We certainly can’t take it with us. God Bless you Brother; RTR, Praise the Lord and Go Dawgs. ����‍��������

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Water Aerobics - H2 Oh - No!

Image
Since I had knee surgery earlier this year, I’ve been looking for a low impact method of exercise.  Actually, my wife has been looking for me. My choice was no exercise - that’s low impact, right?  Of course, she  completely ignored my comments and promptly enrolled me in her water aerobics class at the YMCA.  I should've reported her to the DHR.  Whoever paired exercise with swimming pools should be forced to wear a Speedo that’s three sizes too small.  Pools are made for slothful activities like sunning on a lounge chair, or hanging on the side with an adult beverage in hand. Swimming laps or diving (unless it’s a cannon ball), should be against the law.  Nevertheless, I agreed to go to water aerobics because I could use this for leverage the next time I wanted to go on a golf trip. So in a couple of days, I walked in the Y, flashed my ID, and for the next hour, was SOL.  I changed, went outside, and was greeted by a swimming pool chocked full of people. It looked like Gu
Read more

Joe Willie, Finebaum, And Me

Image
  When my cell phone rang, the name on the screen flashed Paul Finebaum. This wasn't an unusual occurrence because I had been writing jokes for Paul to use at his many speaking engagements.   We also occasionally ate lunch together.   No death threats please - I like Paul. While I don’t always care for his schtick, I know he’s not like his radio persona.  For example, once during a conversation, I told him how much I liked Pat Conroy, the great southern author. A few weeks later, Paul called me and said, “I’ve got Conroy on the show tomorrow. Why don’t you come up and meet him?  You can talk to him during the commercial breaks.”  An act of kindness I’ve never forgotten.   I digress. Unusual call or not, my curiosity was piqued. I picked up my cell, and after some chit-chat, Finebaum told me why he phoned.  “You know about that charity roast of me coming up in a couple of weeks?”  Of course I knew. The airwaves had been hawking it for over a month.  “Well, I just got just got
Read more

Tutus, Taps, & Terror

Image
  Oh Lord, I can almost smell the estrogen.  It’s so powerful that it overpowers the hundreds of bouquets of flowers that parents and grandparents have brought in the auditorium. Everyone taking their seats are smiling and laughing.  That’s because the program hasn’t begun. I’ll check in about 3 hours and see where the smiles are then. In some circles this is known a dance recital, but I think of it as a level of Dante’s hell.   The opening of the event was very unusual: the emcee asked any veterans to stand and we greeted them with applause. My, have things changed. When I was a kid in the Vietnam era, a lot of the audience would’ve probably spit on anything concerning the military.   Then someone sang the Star Spangled Banner, and when the singer finished with, “…and the home of the brave,” at least a dozen people yelled,”Roll Tide!”  I’m ashamed to say I was one of them. Hey, I got caught up in the moment.  I suppose I was having a bit of a Vietnam flashback myself. This rec
Read more