So Long Mac - And Thanks For All The Burgers

It didn’t matter whether it was the weekend or a weekday, the question became familiar over the next four and a half years.

“What are we doing for dinner?”

“Harcombe (the college cafeteria)?” …. “Nah, not feeling it.”….. “Subway?”….. “Not in the mood for sandwiches”…. “Huddle House (another Clemson staple)?”….. “We just ate there last night at 1 am.”…. “Clemson House?”…. “Don’t want to walk up that hil”….

“Hey, have you guys heard about this place called Mac’s?,” somebody said.

“Yeah, actually. A guy at church was telling me about it. Said they have awesome burgers and that the guy who runs it is really cool,” I said.

Nobody had any idea where this place was. We just decided to go find it So we all piled in my friend Greg’s 1973 Monte Carlo known as The Battlewagon. Not quite recalling who all was with us, I’m pretty confident there were more people in the car than for whom there were seatbelts.

We drove around the city of Clemson (which really doesn’t take too long) a few times, not finding this place called Mac’s.

Frustration started to set in. So, finally, we decided to ask someone.

We saw a university police officer patrolling one of the lots, pulled up to his car, rolled down the window and asked if he knew where Mac’s is.

Image source: Anderson Independent-Mail, www.independent-mail.com

He joked around with us at first, asking us what was wrong with the school cafeteria, and why we wanted to go to this place called Mac’s. Finally he told us where it was.

So we went. And it was closed.

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Mac’s Drive-In opened in 1956 in Pendleton by friends Dan Gentry and Harold “Mac” McKeown. Mac sold the restaurant a few years ago – but that didn’t stop him from still being a fixture there.

Mac died Wednesday night.

He was great guy and was a friend to everyone.

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The first time I ate at Mac’s Drive-In was a few weeks after our adventure in finding it.

It’s kind of a small place. I just remember the first time I walked in there I was like “Wow. It’s like Clemson exploded on the walls in here!” But the experience is truly in sitting at that counter and taking the environment of the diner in.

There are photos dating back to the early days of Clemson;almost all are photos of Clemson sports, and as you might imagine, most of those were of Clemson football players – of yesteryear and of present day. Many were autographed.

“How you boys doing today?,” he said as we entered.

We sat down at the counter. Now this was not the type of place where you ask for the menu. You just know you’re going to get a burger. And you don’t necessarily have to say that’s what you want.

“Cheeseburgers all around,” said one of my friends.

There were only a few other people in the diner at the time, but for the time being, Mac was welcoming us and asking us if it we were freshman. As if he didn’t know.

I’m sure the flag went up when we walked in the door and our jaws dropped open at the love for Clemson all over the walls. Yeah, we were Mac’s newbies alright.

I told him that Clff, the guy from church I mentioned earlier, had told me about Mac’s Drive-In. Cliff played on Clemson’s 1981 national championship team.

“How’s ol’ Cliff doing?,” he asked.

That was just Mac. He knew all the Clemson players. He was friends with all Clemson students. He knew when it was your first time there. Over time, he watch as those same students graduated, became parents, brought their children to his diner to introduce them to this place, this food, and this man; and the cycle repeated. It's a Clemson family thing. It's just feels right.

I don’t know whether he ever picked up on my name. I ate there enough that he probably began to call me “ketchup and pickles.” While I’m just humorously speculating on that, that’s seriously what I would get on every burger – and I still do.

I just know it’s a very special place, run by a very special man - a person who would welcome you as you came with a “Hey guys” or “Hey there big man” – something along those lines. Maybe not immediately. He may have been behind the grill at that particular moment. But once he saw you, he would always greet you.

I know there’s no way I can count how many times I went to Mac’s and how many of his delicious burgers I consumed.

I remember occasionally going in on a Monday and he would be leaning against the counter having conversations with his patrons about the game that had just been played two days before. That was always really entertaining.

The visit usually was a result of that question “What are we doing for dinner (or lunch)”?

Mac’s Drive-In is just one of those places that helped make my Clemson experience memorable - and so did Mac. As the place and the man did with countless other Clemson students.

All I know is that the diner better live in on Mac’s name. What a tribute it would be to the man if it was still around in another 100 years.

Your Tiger family will miss you Mac. So long – and thanks for all the burgers.

Jeremy

I hadn't been at work more than about 30 minutes or so when I learned about what happened to Jeremy and his brothers.

My phone rang. I didn't recognize the name on the caller id. It ended up being a guy who works on the SC Runners Web site, is an area cross-country runner, and is a journalist with one of the major dailies in the area.

Jeremy and his brothers Dan and Ryan had just been visiting some family in North Dakota and were returning to a summer mission program in which they were participating in at Yellowstone.

There had been a very serious accident. Dan and Jeremy were thrown from the car. Ryan had suffered minor injuries.

Jeremy was airlifted to the Bozeman hospital. That night an article ran in the Bozeman paper that there had been a traffic fatality in that wreck.

Obviously there was a bit of a misunderstanding as to Jeremy's condition. The authorities admitted to that.

Some tests were done which indicated that Jeremy didn't have any brain activity. He was put on life support.

His family talked to his high school cross country coach. His coach relayed news of Jeremy's accident to the person who called me on the phone those 30 minutes or so after I got into work.

He wanted us to know - and to let Jeremy's college cross country coach, Mike, know.

I sat back in my chair as I heard the news. I took a deep breath. I asked what had happened. I asked how Jeremy's family was doing. I told him to let Jeremy's family know that he, his brothers, and their entire family were in our prayers.

As I got off the phone, I took a minute to take everything in. I was still in shock. I said a prayer for Jeremy and his family.

Jeremy went through surgery the next day to relieve the swelling on his brain. They did another test which showed Jeremy did have brain activity. He's been on a respirator since. But there have been some positive signs.

He has responded to some voice commands. There have been some movements also. He has opened his eyes slightly.



I didn't know Jeremy very well when he was a student-athlete on our campus. He ran cross country and set numerous school records which still stand. I had talked with him a few times though.

The first time I ever met Jeremy was a brisk Saturday morning before our team was to run the annual Eye Opener race in Spartanburg. He and his teammates were all smiles. They were hyped up to run. I introduced myself, shot a few photos with him and his teammates, and then shot their races. Jeremy came in 6th in our division.

I interviewed him for a profile story in our alumni magazine a few weeks prior to his graduation.

Jeremy is the type of guy who always had a smile on his face. He's the type of guy who always had friends around him. He's determined. He's strong. He's a fighter. He's a role model. And he's a very strong Christian.

I learned a lot about him in the hour or so that one day when we talked. His coach, Mike, always talked highly of him. His teammates always did. He became a brother to his teammates as they all became brothers and sisters to him.




Getting back to the morning of that call.... so I'm sitting there at my desk after hanging up the phone. I look up our cross country coach's number and dialed what probably is the hardest phone call I've ever had to make.

I told him about Jeremy. I listened as he stumbled for words. He was in disbelief. I still was too. Then I sent out an email across campus to our faculty and staff telling them about Jeremy.

It's been six weeks now.

Jeremy has shown that he's a fighter. He's shown he's not yet done. God is keeping him here for a purpose. We may not know right now what, but God is watching over Jeremy.

I pray he recovers. Nobody knows for sure what will happen. Only God does.

It's been a shock for the tight knit family that I work with. It's been weeks of prayers. From friends, from family, from alumni, from students - from our entire community.



I never thought when I took this job that I would become friends with so many of these students. Part of me at first was like, 'That's really not my job to be friends with them. Sure I need to be cordial. But it's probably not a good thing to be friends with them.' The other part though, 'Well, if you want to be effective in your job you have to get to know the students to be able to tell the news media and the alumni what these students are doing and about the things going on on our campus.'

I never knew that I would know so many of them by first name. Become friends with some of them on Facebook. See them on campus and ask how their day is going - or what they think of Kim's SMC 101 class. That's what makes this job so fun.

But you really can't help but establish friendships with them -- and want them to succeed. When they do awesome things, you get excited for them. You're taking photos of an athletic game and all of a sudden you're yelling for them and cheering them on. They get injured in an accident late one night on campus and you say a prayer for them.

Then at the end of the year you say goodbye to one group, wish them the best of luck, and three months later welcome another group to campus. There are some that I've even stayed in touch with as they've gone on to places like Clemson, Southern Wesleyan, Winthrop, Florida Atlantic, College of Charleston, or even Syracuse.



Again, as I mentioned earlier, I don't know Jeremy very well, personally. But I know his character. And I know what kind of an impact he has had on our campus - with his friends, his teachers, our coaches, our staff -- with his extended family.

But for his real family -- there is no way I could possibly begin to talk about what they're going through let alone even imagine it. We hear through Jeremy's CaringBridge Web site how he and his family are doing. We hear from his friends. We hear from his former teammates.

And we continue to pray that he recovers.

Jeremy is in an acute care facility in Spartanburg now, as his family talks to a facility in Atlanta. His brother Dan hasn't totally recovered either. He has a long road ahead of him also. But he's been released from the hospital and is going through outpatient physical therapy in Bozeman.




Earlier this week, our director of student activities and leadership development, Kim, suggested, after talking with one of Jeremy's family members, that we do a run / walk fundraiser as part of our upcoming Family Day / Homecoming activities. So she and I and a few other folks from our staff met a couple days ago and got the ball rolling on that.

The Jeremy Vangsnes 5K Benefit Run will be held at the Spartanburg Methodist College campus on Oct. 3. The money raised from the event will go to a fund already set up to help assist his family with medical costs involved in their care of Jeremy and his brothers.

We're excited about this. We're excited to be able to help out part of our extended family - to help out Jeremy's family. We pray that he will recover. Only God knows what the ultimate outcome will be. But we're looking forward to contributing our little part to His plan.

We're hoping for a few hundred people to participate. It would be awesome if we could get many hundreds of people to participate.

In my time as a journalist, I covered various fundraisers, charity work, service work, etc. It's always great to be able to cover those kinds of stories. But to be on the other side and actually be part of the team that is there to bring about the result of the project is a totally different experience.

Sept. 12, 2001 was one of my proudest days professionally -- not for myself, but for the efforts of the entire team of coworkers that I worked with at WYFF. The station put on a telethon fundraiser to aid the Red Cross' relief efforts following the terrorist attacks of the day before. If I recall correctly, in 24 hours we raised over $300,000.

I know this event for Jeremy and his family is one that I and my coworkers are going to be tremendously proud of. But we're not in this for any reward. At the same time, if we can say that this event, that Jeremy's and his brothers' stories, that his dedication and/or his character will have brought someone closer to their family, to God, and/or to their purpose in life, then that will be a great thing.

At the same time, we'll be helping part of our extended family alleviate some of their financial burden and lifting them up in their time of need. And we'll continue to pray for them, for Jeremy, and for their entire family.

And if you're interested in participating in the Jeremy Vangsnes 5K Benefit Run, just let me know and I'll get you some more information on it.

Christmas Thoughts

It's been awhile since my last post... I know. I've had a lot going on -- both with the holiday season, with work, with being lazy and not writing anything worthwhile to post....

But today is Christmas -- the most worthwhile topic to discuss. So I'm attacking this from several different angles, some of which will be entertaining, some of which will be very serious.

The photo above I shot of our advent candles at church. I no idea that it would turn out like that, I frankly was just playing around. I love photography. It's somewhat of an accidental hobby. I had to take photos as a newspaper reporter when I first started out in journalism. I don't have a decent camera of my own --- so I use my work camera to explore my hobby. I think I'll start posting some of my work periodically. But I love this photo. I love it because it shows the peacefulness and beauty of this holiday season. When I look at it, I can't help but thank God for the most wonderful gift that he ever sent us -- his son. I thank God for all he has blessed us with, blessed me with, and pray that he wil provide comfort, wisdom, and courage to all who need it, not only this holiday season, but throughout the year.

This is a time of year that is very hard for me. My grandfather died in December 1999. Christmases since then have felt like something has been missing. But I know he is with me in my heart. And I know he is watching out for me. I miss him. I know anyone who has ever lost a loved one can identify with that feeling.

But I've been thinking about something else alot lately. We had a lesson at church a few weeks ago where we discussed with each other some of our Christmas memories and wishes. One of the ladies at our table when asked what her one wish was for this Christmas was for our troops to be brought home. Think about this - we have been in Iraq now longer than our troops were involved in World War II. Many of our troops have served multiple tours either in Iraq or Afghanistan, or both, since 9/11. Putting my political views aside on the war, I wish they would be brought home for Christmas, every last one of them. That would be a wonderful gift. I wish I could see each and every one of them get off their plane on the home soil and watch their loved ones run to them. Our men and women in the service are defending us and putting their lives before ours this Christmas and, knowing that God has a plan for each and every one of us, pray that they are kept safe and know that they are loved.

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So how has my Christmas season gone?

Here's a quick rundown:

I waited until the Friday before Christmas to shop for my wife. I hate buying women's clothes and am no good at it to begin with. I could not find anything I wanted to get. So Saturday we went out to the mall, I gave her money for clothes and she bought clothes. I went and grabbed a few odds and ends while she was doing that. Christmas shopping done.

Sunday we went to our early service at church. which we typically go to because my wife sings in the praise team. Music was great, as always. We wished our friends a merry Christmas. Ducked out from the children's play to finish some Christmas grocery shopping. After that, we went to my sister-in-law's for Christmas with the in-laws. My nephews (ages 7 and 6) along with my neice (2) loved their gifts. And we had a blast watching them open them up. We bought the 6-year-old nephew an electronic parrot which was the hit of the day.

Monday, Christmas Eve, was low key for the first part of the day. One of our friends lost her mother earlier this year so we invited her up for Christmas dinner at our house. Between chores to clean the house, we wrapped presents for each other. Christmas wrapping done. All gifts finally under the tree. Our friend came over, we had a nice meal, and then called some other friends to see if they wanted to go to the 11 pm Christmas Eve service at our church. So we all went to that. It was being led by our church's college students. There were a few logistical hiccups, which brought some laughs, but we had a very nice time. We came back, built a fire, and at about 12:30 opened our gifts to each other. Then we watched the Santa Clause 3. Went to sleep late and woke up about 9:30 am.

I called my folks and wished them a Merry Christmas. Talked to them for a while, and then we hit the road to my wife's aunt's house for Christmas lunch. Went and had some good food, fellowship, and conversation. Went to visit an uncle of my wife's who is in the hospital. Came home, and went out with the friends that went with us to Christmas Eve service to Denny's for Christmas supper. The place was packed. Considering it was either that, IHOP, or Waffle House, we knew we were in for a long line. But, that's what you get for Christmas in Greenville, SC when you go out for supper.

Friday it's off to Charlotte to spend the day with my family.

In the end, it was a fun few days. I enjoyed it - and do not look forward to taking the decorations down, nor to how much crap my wife comes home with in the morning.

Are you ready for some football?

It's that time of year again.... When only three colors consume the mind (at least my mind): Orange, White, and Purple.

It's Clemson football time.

Now I'm not going to pretend that I have ever really known alot about football itself. I didn't play it as a child. I really have no clue what most of the rules are. And I can't tell you anything about individual players statistics, past or present, let alone know their numbers.

Two of my best friends in the world, Banks and Rob, can tell you Clemson stats until they are blue in the face. And I admire them for that. That's just not my thing though.

The thing I like about Clemson football is the electricity of it. When you're in a stadium with 80,000 screaming fans, all pulling for the same team, there is nothing like it. From the tailgating, to the hanging out with friends, getting crazy, drowning the misery of defeat or revelling the victory, it is one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had.

In college my friends and I would start off every game weekend on Thursday night with a hearty round of drinks. That would lead to another round; and another round. And by the time Saturday morning came around, we'd drag out of bed to go tailgate with Banks' folks. We were all like their surrogate kids. They'd have food for everyone. and man, it was good. Banks' stepmom makes some wicked good food.

And no matter the win or the loss, we would always cap the game off with another round of drinks... and another... and another.

The whole game weekend experience was a series of foolishness, debauchery, and insanity the levels of which I cannot describe. In one particular instance that stands out in my mind thoug, on a Saturday in the pre-dawn hours, my friends and I strung a banner on the front of our dorm that read "God Has a Hard On for Tigers." By the time we rolled out of bed later that morning, it was torn down. Looking back, it was immature and I'm rather embarassed of it from a religious standpoint, but at the time it was ridiculously funny and still makes me chuckle.

Now that I'm older, I still love Clemson football. I love making snide comments about USC football. I love that instantaneous comradery that is established the moment you meet another Clemson fan or alum. We all have a very special bond and it's one of those things that we cherish.

But back on the being older train, the whole ceremony of the Clemson game, at least for me, has changed forms to a much tamer aspect. My wife and I have spent the weekend planning out a menu for a get together we're having at our place with a couple that we are great friends with.

The evening will consist of nibbling at the various appetizers my wife will have put together and not let me cook because she just doesn't like the way I do things in the kitchen and watching the game from the comfort of the sofa, floor, or chair, or whatever horizontal surface we decide to sit on. There will be some adult beverages involved... but nowhere near to the extent of which we used to consume.

The last time I drank too much, I blew out blood vessels in both eyes later that night from puking. I don't plan on doing that anytime soon. My drinking habits and tolerance have definitely changed since I was a foolish, young college student. Not that from time to time, I'm not a foolish, thirty-something, but that will be a topic to discuss in a later post.....

But now it's time to bring on the football -- and kick some Seminole ass. Go Tigers!