Saturday evening found us watching college football at home. I was struggling with my learning for the day, because I couldn't pinpoint one thing I had learned. We were watching the Auburn/Arkansas St. game, and they showed a picture of Toomer's Corner. Now, if you're not an Auburn fan, you may not know the importance of this intersection. It's right outside the Auburn campus, and after every home game that is won, fans flock to Toomer's Corner and TP it. There's even a live webcam where you can watch the action.
Auburn football runs in my blood. Even though I've never lived in Alabama, my grandfather was a professor at Auburn and the pastor of Auburn First UMC for a number of years. My father attended Auburn for his associate's degree. And Auburn is the town where I knew my grandparents. It always felt like "home" - especially to a preacher's kid who moved a lot and never really had one home.
I remember visiting during the fall, when college football was alive and kicking. My grandfather often worked at the games, and if we were in town my dad would go with him. That left me, my mom, my sister, and my grandmother at home, where Grama would cook while she listened to the game on the radio. Boy, she got into her Auburn football games!
I have a vague memory of going to Toomer's Corner one night after a game. I'm pretty sure it happened, because it certainly is something every Auburn fan should experience at least once. I must have been very small, likely riding on my father's shoulders, as the fans went crazy in celebration. Seeing Toomer's Corner on TV brought back all those memories of Auburn games, and Auburn itself - my grandparents' home, my cousins playing in the back yard, the sense of family that I was surrounded by as I grew up. To me, Auburn will always feel like home.
Today I learned that even though I never lived there, Auburn, AL will always feel like my home.
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