Skip to main content

A crisp Sunday morning, a delicious skillet, and a flash down memory lane!

 

It's a beautiful, crisp autumn Sunday morning. I've got a mug of chai latte, the sun's slanting through the window, and I can almost hear Adam Levine singing "Sunday Morning" in the background. It's the perfect time for reflection... and existential crises about my kitchenware. And, let's be honest, my deep philosophical musings about why some things just keep coming back.

Today started innocently enough. I fired up my trusty cast iron skillet – yes, that cast iron skillet, the one I briefly abandoned for a fling with non-stick, then titanium, and then the siren call of anything promising to be "effortless." But, as with all true loves, I've returned. And today, she rewarded me with a perfectly crusty, cheesy, ham-and-Picante egg scramble. Oh, the sizzle! The sear! The kind of taste that makes you nod knowingly, as if to say, "Ah, old friend, you just get me."

And as I sat there, basking in the glow of culinary contentment (and perhaps a little residual egg grease), I couldn't help but notice the profound truths unfolding before me.

Remember when football coaches were practically auditioning for Wall Street? Bear Bryant in his legendary houndstooth fedora, Tom Landry in his impeccably tailored suit. These men looked less like they were strategizing against a blitz and more like they were about to close a multi-million dollar deal.

Now? It's a hoodie and tracksuit parade! Gone are the days of sideline splendor, primarily killed off by the league-wide apparel contracts of the early 2000s. It's all about comfort, team branding, and looking vaguely like you just rolled out of bed, but with a very expensive logo on your chest. It's the "athleisure-ization" of sideline leadership. But fear not, my friends, for the cycle promises that one day, some brave, visionary coach will reclaim the fedora, not for sideline wear, but for the post-game press conference.

My delightful breakfast was perfectly complemented by some avocado toast. But not just any avocado toast, oh no. This was olive oil-drizzled, guacamole-smeared, picante-kissed avocado bread with a spritz of lemon. The final dish was the "old meets new" playbook in action! The earthy, rustic scramble from my heirloom cast iron, paired with the vibrant, utterly new avocado toast.

And that, my friends, is precisely what fashion does. We go through phases of sleek minimalism, then swing back to the max bohemian rhapsody of the '70s. We even find ourselves eyeing a "new" pair of wide-leg trousers that look suspiciously like the ones from our college days in the early '80s. The detail that defines the classic aesthetic—like a pocket watch with a waistcoat- constantly cycles back as a statement of refinement and deliberate, old-fashioned chic.

We've tried it all in the Sturgill kitchen. Microwaves for speed, pressure cookers for efficiency, air fryers for crispiness without the guilt (mostly). We swapped our cast iron for non-stick, then for "titanium wear," only to find that sometimes, a little stick is good. Sometimes, a little struggle to develop that perfect crust is what makes the food sing. So, we cycle back. Back to the cast-iron skillet —the foundational piece of cookware that delivers results no high-tech gadget can truly replicate. It’s the culinary equivalent of realizing that while AI can write a brilliant symphony, there's still something irreplaceable about a human musician pouring their soul into a simple melody.

Life is less about constant innovation and more about continuous rediscovery. It's about taking the best of the past, pairing it with the best of the present, and serving it all up with a side of humor and a perfectly seared scramble.  

It's not about choosing the new over the old. It's about letting the old enhance the new. Now go grab your skillet, fire up the stove, and embrace the next glorious loop in the cycle. Happy Cooking and clever dressing!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Inclusion - Giving Students What They Need to Succeed

I officially surrendered my man card the day I said, “I do,” back in 1987.  Apparently, there are no returns. Yesterday I wept in my office. Not the dignified, single-tear kind of weeping. I’m talking full-on, reach-for-the-Kleenex, thank-God-the-door-is-closed weeping. We had just told a parent—whose child is on the spectrum—that we believe in her son, and we want him to stay at our school. Those words cost us something. They cost planning. They cost resources. They cost energy. But they didn’t cost us our mission. And here’s the irony: this conversation came on the heels of another one where I had to tell a “potential family” that we didn’t believe our school was the right fit for their children. Same day. Same office. Same principal. Two completely different outcomes. If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s an internal battle between a principal’s head and heart, let me assure you—it’s not theoretical. It’s daily. And sometimes it’s exhausting. Like most of my blogs, there’s a b...

On Humanity, Rumor, and the Discipline of Decency

Every so often, the world reminds us, sometimes gently, sometimes with a jolt, that God’s plan for us still runs through the old, unfashionable virtues: love, charity, humility, friendship. Not as slogans. As practices. Lately, the reminder hasn’t come through a clear, verified tragedy so much as through the way we react to rumor, outrage, and one another. In an age where headlines race ahead of facts and partisanship outpaces compassion, the simplest test of our humanity may be this: Do we refuse to cheer the suffering, real or rumored, of those we disagree with? I think about friendship across differences. Actor James Woods once said of director Rob Reiner that political differences never stood in the way of their love and respect for each other. Reiner fought for Woods when others wouldn’t. They worked together. They remained friends. That’s how it is in the real world, or at least how it should be. You don’t have to agree to stay human. I also think about families who live with add...

Reigniting the Fire: From Embers to Flame

  There’s a moment in an interview with Michael Franti that’s stayed with me. He spoke about how a roaring fire, once reduced to embers, doesn’t need much to come alive again, just a gentle breath, a little attention, a whisper of wind. And suddenly, the flame returns. That image, embers waiting patiently for someone to believe in their potential, feels deeply personal. Franti once said, “I think of love as an action. Finding something that’s outside of yourself, to serve someone else’s soul, helping to ignite someone else’s spirit, to bring about ease of heart and joy, serenity in somebody else.” That quote reminds me that reigniting a fire, whether in us or in others, is about connection. It’s about showing up, listening, and offering warmth when someone feels cold inside. Not long ago, I found myself in a place I never expected to be. The fire inside me had dimmed. Life hadn’t knocked me down in one dramatic blow; it had chipped away, little by little. Leadership challen...