For the banquet this year, I smoked 100 lbs of pork for sandwiches, made 10 lbs of coleslaw, and another 7 lbs of baked beans. Considering that the tension was high, and that there were many unhappy people at the banquet, I think it went OK. The police showed up because they heard that there might be trouble, and the news teams were all over the school trying to get the scoop on Coach Rice. I've never, in my whole life, been able to say that I truly hate a person, but Bryan Rice made me feel that way this year. He destroyed Tanner, he made the season miserable for most, and he disrespected me and many of my friends. To say this baseball season was a roller coaster ride would be a huge understatement! Tanner went from being the Varsity Team Captain, to being treated horribly by his coach and sitting out his last three games of his senior season. It's one of those things that, as a parent, you can see happening, and can do nothing about. I'm not sure there's a worse feeling than watching your child try to do the right thing, and then be punished for it. Rice is a compulsive and sociopathic liar, and wouldn't know the truth if it smacked him in the face. I have been working on forgiving him, and to put it in the past, but every time I think of Tanner's amazing season, totally turned to trash by one man, I feel the anger and hatred again. I think it will probably be a long process for me to find a way to leave it behind, but I will...eventually. As horrible as it was for Tanner, he kept his head up and pushed through. He ended the season with a .339 Batting Average, .441 Slugging Percentage, and .409 On Base Percentage. Needless to say, he was in the top 3 players on the team. I couldn't have been more proud of him. He is an amazing boy and I'm so lucky to be his mom!!
The news stories are
here,
here,
here, and
here
