A Father and his Son

Billy Graham once said, "The greatest tribute a boy can give to his father is to say, ‘When I grow up, I want to be just like my dad.”

By the time Todd Messer came to Clinton County to be the basketball coach, his daddy had already made a name for himself in Eastern Kentucky. A veteran basketball official of 27 years, Leighman Messer had called multiple regional championship games, all a state tournaments and the girls Sweet 16. He had coached football and girls and boys basketball and had been an assistant basketball coach at Clay County. Along the way, he made a lifelong impact on hundreds of kids.

Coming to Clinton County would become icing on the cake in Leighman Messer's already celebrated career. For 16 years, as he helped his son coach the Mighty Bulldogs, he witnessed Todd become one of the most respected coaches in Kentucky.

Coach Leighman Messer was on the sidelines for six all a classic regional championships, an all a state tournament runner up, seven district championships, 13 appearances in the regular regional tournament and nine seasons of 20 or more wins, and when the Kentucky State Senate honored Todd when he became the all-time winningest head coach in Clinton County High School history - 314 wins against 166 career losses, it was an especially proud moment for Leighman, an exclamation point on a beautiful 'like father, like son' story.

On Facebook, Amanda Messer posted a beautiful photo of her husband and their daughter, Lexi, and with it she wrote, "Sometimes all you need is your dad." How very apropos. I am sure going to miss Leighman Messer and his faithfulness to Todd and his family in Clinton County. It has sure been a joy to watch.

The Haircut

I came across a word the other day:

Presumptuous [pri-zuhmp-choo-uhs], adjective

It means failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate. It reminded me of a haircut idea I had when I was about eight or nine years old.

It was a rainy Saturday morning on Third Street. I was inside my house watching the Three Stooges on TV when I heard mom say she was leaving to go buy groceries, which meant dad would be charge of us five kids. He was given one chore to do while she was gone....haircuts for us boys.

At that moment a grand idea came to me. So grand, in fact, that I couldn't wait to do it. I wanted my hair to look like Moe Howard's hair. As soon as mom left, I went to the kitchen and searched until I found a bowl that fit on top of my head, right down to just above my ears.

"Perfect," I thought. "This will do!"

With the bowl still on my head, I went to my dad and asked him to cut my hair really short up to the rim of the bowl. "Okay, if that's what you want," he said laughing. When he finished, I realized quickly that, just as I had predicted, it was nothing short of a masterpiece!

I was so happy...and then my mom came home. Let's just say I had two haircuts that day. I also learned something pretty valuable. Surprising someone with something is not always a great idea.

Eventually, my mom relented and I was able to wear a bowl cut. Well, sort of. It was more like a burr with bangs, but that's a story I'll save for another day.