Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Development of a UT Football Fanatic, Part 3


December 6th, 1969 was an exciting day that I eagerly awaited all week. That morning I put on my UT James Street jersey and believe it or not, I had burnt orange jeans. I was ready for the game. It was played in Fayettville, Arkansas to a packed house. The Razorback fans all had their hog hats on and there were a good amount of Longhorn loyals there as was the Longhorn Band (Showband of the Southwest).

We had some family friends over to watch the game and plenty of food. We all watched intently on the game. At the end of 3 quarters, the game was not going well for the Longhorns as they were down 0-14. UT scored on the first play of the fourth quarter and then went for 2 and the game was now 8-14. Time was down to less than 5 minutes in the fourth and Texas made an unbelievable play. It was 4th and 3 on the 43. Texas called a timeout and Street went over to talk to Coach Royal. Royal called a pass play that they had only run 4 times all season and none had worked. The receiver chosen was not even the most dependable receiver.

Street goes back into the huddle and calls the play to pass to Peschel. Royal called the play based on what the Arkansas defense had been doing all game on big 3rd down plays. Royal played a hunch and guess what, it worked. Street threw a perfect pass, Peschel caught it and brought the ball to the 13 yard line. 2 plays later Bertelsen scored to tie it 14-14. Happy Feller kicked the extra point to make it 15-14 with 3:58 to play. Come back to hear the rest of the story.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Development of a UT Football Fanatic - Part 2

The week leading to the UT vs Arkansas Shootout was a blast. My parents allowed me to answer the phone differently that week. I was normally supposed to answer the phone "Prentice residence, Camille speaking". That week I got to change the way I answered the phone and I used "Beat Arkansas, Camille speaking". My parents also took me to the UT Pep Rally. There were so many people there in Memorial Stadium or at least it seemed like it to a 9 year old. The spirits were high, the team was pumped and everyone was ready to beat the Razorbacks. By then I knew the words to the "Eyes of Texas" and the "Texas Fight Song". I had a blast that night.

As we were leaving the stadium and walking on the track, Darrell Royal came up behind me and patted me on my favorite UT windbreaker. You have to realize that by this time I knew he was my hero. He was the coach at the time for the Longhorns and is still a legend there today as well in all of college football. After that pat on the back, I would not let my mother wash the jacket for a very long time. I was in heaven.

The rest of the week was full of anticipation. We prepared food for the watching party and waited for Saturday to arrive. Come back for the next posting to hear about the game.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Development of a UT Football Fanatic

I became a Longhorn fanatic in 1969 when I was 9. My dad started teaching me that fall about the game of football. I watched the UT games and the Cowboy games with him. The fall of 1969 was a special season. The Longhorns were poised for greatness that year. They played as a team. The Horns were led by quarterback James Street who was undefeated as the starting quarterback for the Longhorns. The Longhorns ran the wishbone. They defeated Oklahoma that year 27-17. They were off to a great start.

The Horns marched through the rest of the schedule to the Shootout with Arkansas. It was to be played in Fayetteville, Arkansas with a lot of attention as the game had been moved to the last weekend of the season for the celebration of the centennial of college football. Many were considering this the Game of the Century. It was so exciting to be in Austin leading up to the game. Come back and read the rest of the story.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Twitter

A lot of companies are jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, but before you make your move, make sure you know what you're getting into.
Twitter is what's called a microblogging application. It provides a convenient Web-based platform that lets you send and read updates, called "tweets." Tweets run no more than 140 characters in length, and can be sent to subscribers, called "followers." You can update by going to your Twitter page, sending a message by phone, or via a Web plug-in.
Many companies use Twitter in conjunction with Facebook and other social media applications. It provides a means of periodically reaching out to people interested in your company with brief, minor updates or even big news.
In the best situations, Twitter acts as a clearinghouse of first-hand news, informative Web links, and insights into the activities of prominent leaders in everything from retail to Congress.
For example, Whole Foods keeps a lively and useful Twitter account here. (http://twitter.com/wholefoods) The Zappos CEO keeps his own Twitter account; so does Senator John McCain. (http://twitter.com/zappos, http://twitter.com/senjohnmccain )
But, as many Twitter users discover firsthand, this hobby can quickly turn into an all-consuming obsession. If you're not careful, you can end up Twittering about, say, the chorizo breakfast burrito you'd like to have, http://twitter.com/diiskrej/status/1577310161
or the symbolism behind cleaning your cat's litterbox.
http://twitter.com/reidstott/status/1578187119
As a small business owner, you want to project a professional, knowledgeable image to your universe of current and potential customers. In order to do that, here are some tips:
1.If you keep a corporate blog, you can have it automatically send an update to Twitter every time you post something new. That will encourage your Twitter followers to check out your blog, where they'll find useful information (you are posting useful information on your blog, right?).
2.Link to books, blogs, or items in the news that are relevant to your business.
3.Write about upcoming events, if you're hosting a lunchtime seminar or giving a presentation to your local Rotary Club, let people know.
4.If there's information you want to share with a customer, think about whether it might interest other people, too. Let's say you're a veterinarian treating a dog that just came in with heatstroke, you might tweet a few helpful tips for keeping your pets cool in the heat.
5.Sign up to follow Twitter users who are authorities on topics that interest you.
6.Don't overload readers with too many updates in a day.
Twitter can be a fun, easy way to reach out to customers and show people another side of your business. Just make sure it's the right side, and leave more personal musings to your personal Twitter account.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Virus Threat

Beware of a new virus threat that is currently going around the Internet. You should be aware of emails that say they are from the FBI and they contain information regarding homeland security being jeopardized and about terrorist groups. There are attachments in these emails and once opened, your computer will most likely become infected and the hackers will be able to take control. The FBI does not send out official reports and does not send unsolicited emails.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Great Grandparents

These are my great grandparents Josiah and Maude (Butler) Ashworth. We are not sure when this picture was taken but it was well over 50 years ago.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Picture of Olympic Athlete

Camille with Josh who won a couple of golds medal in swimming at the Olympics in 2004.