Thanks for the Memories

“A friend loves at all times, and
a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)

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In 1938 actor Bob Hope starred in the romantic comedy film Thanks for the Memory. The movie’s title score won an Oscar for best original song and soon became Hope’s signature theme for the rest of his long career.

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“Thanks for the Memory” could have been our theme for last night’s dinner with five retired Vestavia Hills High School football coaches and their wives. Originally planned as a birthday dinner celebration for an important milestone birthday, our dinner plans quickly changed with a friend’s Covid diagnosis.  Rescheduling nine families proved to be quite difficult. Ten of us eventually wound up gathering to celebrate, not just a birthday, but a lifetime of friendship and stories from the last 49 years of Coach Buddy Anderson’s distinguished high school coaching career.

Everybody pitched in and brought their best recipes. The food was delicious; the friendship and fellowship was rich; and the laughter was loud and long. One person commented, “If we could bottle what just happened tonight, we’d be rich!” The truth is: we already are!

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All of us had favorite VHHS stories to share. Some of the memories included:

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  • Stolen VHHS football helmets later recovered from the Cahaba River

  • Countless broken down bus and stranded kids accounts

  • Pre-season football camp misadventures

  • State championships won and lost

  • Kids won and lost as well

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The coaches headed to our dining room and the wives gathered around my kitchen table. When the laughter became louder in the kitchen instead of in the dining room, the guys made their way to the kitchen. The stories and the laughter only grew larger and louder.

Throughout the night, somewhere during our four hour celebration, each one of us said, “We needed this!” Indeed, if the last 18 months of the Covid pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we all need each other.  We are made for relationships, both with God and with each other. And good relationships require time and maintenance.

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The VHHS coaching staff and family relationships have run deep through the last 49 years, thanks in large part to Coach Anderson and his wife Linda. Over the last 49 years they have continually opened their lives, hearts, and homes to all of us. Together we have:

Rejoiced with those who rejoiced

Wept with those who wept

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Celebrated our wins

Mourned our losses

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Raised our kids

Raised each other’s kids

Helped to influence and mold the children in our community

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It has truly been a great blessing for Bruce and me to be a small part of the Vestavia Hills community and staff. And so, along with the students and administration at VHHS, we humbly say: “Thanks, Coach!”

While it is important to remember and celebrate our past, we can’t live in it. Together we move forward with the next generation of VHHS students, athletes, coaches, staff, and leaders.  Our grandchildren are now third generation Vestavia Hills students. It’s up to them to build on the foundation, legacy, and tradition that has been established and passed down. We wish you all the best for when you win, we win too.

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As we turn the page in this season of our lives, we gratefully say, “Thanks for the memories!” Always remember Coach Anderson’s own signature theme: “Once a Rebel, always a Rebel!”