The Marks Post: Things for which I am most thankful

We made it another trip around the sun since last Thanksgiving. Hooray us!
Now it is again time for stuffings of turkeys, cranberries, pigskins, and afternoon naps. I am more partial to the naps, but that is just me.
It is also time once again for us to be mindful of the things for which we are most thankful.
In no particular order, here are some of the things I am thankful for this year.
I am thankful for my parents. If they had not met on that fateful night at Toby’s in Opelousas, then I would probably not be here today. They also sent me to Sacred Heart for 13 years where I was instilled a solid Catholic education.
I am thankful for being able to serve Sacred Heart Church as an extraordinary minister and lector and Sacred Heart High School as a Come, Lord Jesus! leader again this year. CLJ gives me an opportunity to lead some of the younger generation on their way to finding God in all things. It is the same group of kids, so that makes it a lot easier to get through to them. It helps, though, when I bribe them with candy.
I am thankful for walking where broad magnolias shade inspiring halls at LSU as a college student. I know it sounds chiché, but that was the best four years of my life.
Speaking of the best things of my life... After LSU beat Alabama this year in football, I posted on social media that it was the second best night of my life. When asked what was the first, I replied with a GIF of the Cubs winning the World Series in 2016. Raymond Partsch, our former editor, then commented and asked, “So not winning the national title for the 2003 or 2007 seasons but a regular season win is second best?”
I replied back and said, “The nights of the title games were trumped by the night the Cubs won the World Series and tonight.”
I got a text message the following Monday morning that they were talking about me on 103.7 The Game. Raymond has a morning talk show now, and, apparently, he was taking a few jabs at my comments on ranking sporting events. I did not hear the show, talked to Raymond after. He said his producer came to my defense on air. He also said he never mentioned my name on air, but a caller did call and ask if they were talking about Tony Marks. Anyway, I digress.
I am thankful for having press credentials to the LSU home football games. I went up in the press box Saturday for the Arkansas game. They probably reheated the pulled pork and hot dogs from the last home game. Then they had the windows open. All I was wearing was my Cubs’ pullover jacket, so I was not prepared for the temperature drop and left after halftime.
Speaking of the Cubs, I am thankful they hired former catcher David Ross as manager.
I am thankful for another year of being sports editor for The Oakdale Journal. This year as sports editor has been special for me because I got to cover championship runs in girls’ basketball, softball, and baseball and am covering a championship run in football. Plainview won state in girls’ basketball and softball, Reeves made it to the state finals in girls’ basketball, Kinder softball made it to the state finals, and Oberlin and Kinder baseball won the state championships. Also, Oberlin and Kinder are playing tomorrow in the football quarterfinals. I will be with Kinder in Ferriday and will be back in the LSU press box Saturday for the game against Texas A&M.
I am probably most thankful for the past six months because today is six months to the date that I am editor of the Ville Platte Gazette. What a fun six months it has been! With the help from the other staff members, including our new associate editor Nancy Duplechain, I remained relatively sane and was able to churn out papers edition after edition. We did some good work along the way, and I look forward to keep doing so for at least another six months. We also had our share of missteps along the way, but this job does not come with an instructional manual. I know for me, these mistakes have helped me to grow as an editor and as a person.
If I am still editor at this time next year, I hope to have another column about the things I am thankful for. Hopefully, it will include another LSU football national championship, a trip to the press box for the national championship, and another Cubs World Series.