Long Time Coming..

I have to start out by saying how blessed I am.

I have been on a natural high ever since we won the championship last Friday. WORLD CHAMPS - man it feels so great. Many of you already know that it was more about the things that occurred before me even getting to Phoenix.

It started in high school, getting close to the championship trophy, then the 2 Final Fours in college. Then, losing my college coach, the late great Sue Gunter, losing my grandmother,Jewel Johnson, etc. All off the bumps that I faced in the road was all worth it. The excitement has continued after leaving Phoenix with all of the celebrations, I came home to Kenner and Baton Rouge to celebrate as well. I'll start with Thursday.

This was the day of adopting my Grandmother's elementary school, an assembly at my high school, and a visit to Chateau Living Center. The start of it was really rocky and a little disappointing so I won't speak too much on that, I'll just say that I thought the elementary school would have been better prepared and would have done a much better job handling things, but I was wrong. So after being fairly disappointed we moved on over to my high school; now that was awesome.

They really showed me a lot of love back a Bonnabel High. The assembly was really nice - the students had some awesome questions, but most of all, the teachers that taught me were full of joy. I hugged, laughed, joked, talked, reminisced and everything while there. It was great. I also spoke with the new principal Mr. John Kulakowski who is trying his best to do some amazing things with the school. He is trying to get Bonnabel back to the way it was, back to a place an educational environment should be, and I really like the energy and enthusiasm that he is showcasing.

From there we went on over to the Chateau Living Center. The people there were adorable. They were having their live entertainment amongst themselves when we arrived. As I am walking through the door, a lady comes in behind us in her wheelchair. As I proceed to move to the side (out of her way), she says with a big smile on her face and a little raspy voice, "I just love you", as she reaches her hands out to me. "I have followed you your entire career at LSU and congratulations on winning the championship." I just smiled as I was completely stunned and caught off-guard, and I gave her a hug and said thank you. Ms. Estelle was definitely a fan not only of me, but for the Lady Tigers.

As we proceed to get further in, the entertainment is rocking. It was so good to see them with so much energy and so much enthusiasm, as they sang for their peers. It was so cute. As I mingled through the crowd, I was talked into dancing. LOL, yes dancing. So I stopped by a lady and asked if she wanted to dance, and she smiled big and said yes. My heart was just filled right then. As we danced on the floor, she begins to tell me that her parents as well as her brother were all dancers so it was something that she loved to do. She said she had been wanted to get up and dance, but she didn't want to look crazy dancing alone.

I was so happy that I choose to dance with her, and she was just as happy. I know they enjoyed my visit, but they don't realize how much fun I had and how much joy that brought to me in just the little time I was there. It was truly something special. Oh yeah, one other thing. I ran into Mrs. Benson, (her husband, Tom Benson, is the owner of the New Orleans Saints) as she was coming in to visit her mother that was inside. I had taken a picture with her earlier. I don't know them personally but I would like to thank them for keeping the Saints in New Orleans, it has brought so much joy back to a much needed city of New Orleans, and all of the people have embraced them.

That has capped the first day, and it was one that I will truly remember. I will fill you in about Friday, which was another beautiful day.