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By LAMAR THAMES

I have been a Jacksonville Jaguar season-ticket holder since the beginning. Until this year. Try as I might, I just couldn’t bring myself to sign up for another season. It just wasn’t in the cards.

Can Tim Tebow save the Jaguar franchise? It is a big responsibility, but I think he can do it.

Or should I say, the budget.

I’m sure you have heard of a little thing called the Great Recession? Well, I am one of the victims of it, going on almost a year now. The $700 tab for a pair of tickets for my wife and I was just a bit too steep for our financial portfolio. I know, we could get a four-pack or the new thing they are calling the flex pack, but we have passed on it for now.

I am sure that we will attend some of the games, but I just don’t want to invest several hundred dollars in tickets right now since one source of our family income  — unemployment checks — will be drying up soon. I would rather keep that money in an income-producing vehicle for the time being until one of two things happens: 1) I get a job, or 2) I win the lottery. (The odds of the latter happening are probably greater than the former, if only I would buy a ticket.

Anyway, I feel really bad about not renewing our season tickets. Especially since I keep getting emails from Jaguar owner Wayne Weaver telling me how much he wants me back.  I hate to disappoint him like this, but the reality is that these are tough times. Maybe next year. Read the rest of this entry »

Ronnie Winter of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus performs in Alabama in December.

I see where the red-hot band The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is planning a benefit concert to help raise money for band uniforms for Middleburg High School, which many of the group’s members attended.

This is an exciting idea on several levels. It benefits the school, it gives exposure to a worthy cause and it could be the catalyst for other home-grown celebrities to come to the aid of the cash-strapped education system in Clay County.

Consider the possibilities.

1. Country music legend Tim McGraw’s family was living in Middleburg when he was born. Do you think he could sell out the Clay County fairgrounds arena Read the rest of this entry »

Lamar Thames

Uh, oh!

Was Monday’s announcements of massive nationwide layoffs the flash-flood warning of an economic tsunami heading our way? 

School districts across the state are facing large budget cut that will force them to eliminate jobs. Home Depot, Sprint, Caterpillar and Pfizer are among the latest national companies to announce huge job losses. 

I am hearing talk of layoffs in nearly every walk of life these days, including the elimination of a job that recently hit home. Clear Channel Radio announced on Jan. 20 it was laying off 1,850 employes across the country. One of them was my son, Joe, an advertising sales person in Jacksonville. He lost his job on the day Barack Obama was inaugurated and the same day that both radio talk show personalities David Lamm and Joe Cowart lost theirs. Read the rest of this entry »

KURTIS THE  STOCK BOY AND BRENDA THE CHECKOUT GIRL

(This story appeared on line and is verified by Snopes.com)

 

In a supermarket, Kurtis  the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand, a distant smile caught his eye, The new check-out girl was beautiful.  She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled  softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left.  He looked at her card, BRENDA.  He walked out only to see her start walking up the road.  The next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She said it wasn’t possible. Read the rest of this entry »

      Jacksonville, FL. – A seven-year old boy was at the center of a Duval County courtroom drama today when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him.

        The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible. The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her.

    When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

    After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Jacksonville Jaguars, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

(Note: This article was written by Lamar Thames’ son, Robert. They sit on different sides of the aisle when it comes to football loyalty.

      It’s almost here! The game of games between the fabled Alabama Crimson Tide and the rich, fast and powerful Florida Fightin’ Gators.

      I was raised to be a Bama fan, unknowingly, by a Florida fan. The subtext of that remark is what brings scope and color to this game for me.  

       Thanks to my dad [Lamar Thames] for that ‘accidental’ 1973 moment, when   watching the Sugar bowl, he said, “We’re rooting for Alabama son.”  Read the rest of this entry »

The fans and flag football players at Dye-Clay YMCA on Moody Road in Orange Park had to bundle up Saturday morning, Nov. 21, as the temperatures plummeted overnight and were in the 40s at the 9 a.m. game time. So much for global warming! Click on the photo bar above to view more cold weather and football action.

A very moving tribute to our veterans at the Jaguar game Sunday.

click here