The Wal-Mart curse continues

It never fails. Seriously. If I’m in Wal-Mart, 9 times out of 10 I get a call from someone I’ve been waiting to hear from.

Well, it happened again this morning as I was about to wrap up my shopping adventure.

Yes. I’m in charge of the groceries in my household (that way I can’t complain about dinner choices). The pantry was low, so I made the trip to Wolly World. Wednesday morning is always the best time, because there is very little traffic.

And as I’m checking out $170 later, my trusty Blackberry starts buzzing its U2 ring tone. It’s 9:52 and I’m right in the middle of my debit card transaction. A quick decision has to be made.

I can either ignore the phone or answer it. If I answer it, it’s rude to those waiting on me in the check-out line (I certainly get agitated when the role is reversed), not to mention the look I’ll get from the  red-eyed cashier, who looked as if she was one wrong move on my part from losing it and going postal. If I don’t answer it, I miss the call. What’s a sportswriter to do?

Well, I took my chances and didn’t answer. Mistake.

Of course, it’s Rick Stansbury, calling me back from last night. I should have known.

Anyway, he’s on the road recruiting and told me to call him back, but be understanding if he doesn’t answer the phone due to the rural roads he was traveling. So when I got back home and put everything away, I called. Honestly, I was expecting his voicemail. Rarely does he pick up.

But to my surprise, and delight, he answered and gave ME a hard time about not being available when HE needed me. Ha, ha, I thought. I decided to laugh at his attempt at humor. He certainly was.

Anyway, we spent 25 minutes on the phone, talking about everything from basketball to baseball and press row seating. Some was on the record. Some was off. All of it, though, was entertaining.

As for Jamont Gordon, he said, “He listened to us last year and he listened to us again this year. He has to go through the process. It’s a big decision for him, and if he feels this is the right time to make the move, then he should.”

He added he won’t let what might happen affect his recruiting. “I learned a long time ago you can’t worry about things you can’t control. My first couple of years, I worried from April to June about the draft. It was on my mind when I went to bed and when I woke up. It’s not like that anymore. I have no control.”

He said he won’t sign anymore players this year, and that his recruiting efforts are geared toward the 2009 class. 

As for the moral of this story: If you want someone to return a call, go to Wal-Mart. It usually works for me.