One of the most interesting stories I’ve ever worked on is an upcoming piece on Robby Wilson and his collection of military headgear that has expanded from a college hobby to world renown non-profit organization preserving 20th Century head pieces. Wilson said that each arm of the military uses headgear as a major recruitment tool. In fact, one fashion expert informed Wilson that for the better part of the last 500 years, fashion has been driven by military uniforms of the era.
I remember a football recruit once from Georgia that I had covered chose Florida State simply because of the Seminoles’ helmet. Stylish uniforms obviously work in recruiting outside of the military, too. Even tradition-rich programs such as Notre Dame have dabbled with their looks. The Irish used a large shamrock sticker on their helmet for the game last season against USC.
Many schools are incorporating black into their team colors (see Georgia and Arizona State). Phil Knight-backed Oregon has Crayola searching for names of new versions of green with its multiple uniforms, while schools like Maryland appear completely lost in trying to find something of which recruits will be attracted.
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Two months in my new town and I’m starting to get by without relying as much on my GPS (global positioning system). Not exactly the most tech-savvy guy in the world, I caught myself recently believing that the iPhone had gone haywire, telling me it would take 18 hours for me to get to Conway while sending me on some country back roads to get there. It took a few days for me to figure out that I had hit the “walking” icon rather than the “car” icon.
I have no plans – EVER – to walk from Little Rock to Conway.
In a recent interview with Bill Terry of the Friday, Eldredge & Clarke law firm, the 89-year-old former gunner in World War II told me a story of how his grandfather had been captured in Tennessee during the Civil War, but exchanged in Macon, Ga. His grandfather then proceeded to walk from Macon to Little Rock, which according to Google maps is more than 600 miles. The only GPS used back then was the sun and the stars, and how one survived a walk through the terrain of the day, not to mention the wildlife and outlaws, is beyond me.
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Finally, a few items from the stupid is as stupid does department:
A North Carolina 8th grader was suspended for 55 days from his middle school after bringing a bag of oregano to school and pretending it was marijuana, this after his class had received a lecture on the dangers of the plant.
The mother of the student said “it was just a joke,” and that her son was embarrassed that it had turned into such a big issue.
Here’s betting he won’t look for laughs in that method again.
Pop star Rihanna is not winning over many fans with her decision to rejoin former boyfriend Chris Brown in collaborating some new songs. In 2009, the then 19-year-old R&B singer Brown was arrested for assaulting Rihanna, whose bruised face was shown on seemingly every media outlet in the following days. Brown was released on what many felt was a light bond and probation. Then, just 10 months ago, he was arrested after reportedly tearing up his dressing room and breaking a window following an interview with “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts, who questioned Brown about his restraining order from Rihanna.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that comedian David Cross will never again be invited to the White House. Cross admitted in a recent interview that he snorted cocaine in the same room as President Obama and his Secret Service agents while attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2009. Cross said he did so just so he could say he had.
Then there was the 22-year-old man in Quebec, Canada, who died last week after being hit by a car … while riding a couch.
Yep, you read that right. Apparently, “couch surfing” has become something of a YouTube hit. The driver of a vehicle either pushes or pulls the couch. In this case, the driver lost control and pushed the couch into the other lane, where he was hit by another vehicle.