Friday Night Therapy In The Valley

I’m writing this column on Monday morning, about nine hours after the Ole Miss game ended in a victory. Yet, I’m sure my resting heart rate is still well above normal levels. I made the classic Ole Miss fan mistake of feeling secure going into a game, and this has left me with the classic Ole Miss fan health conditions of seasonal tachycardia and hypertension.  

That contest stressed me out badly enough that I quit watching it with one minute, thirty-six seconds left in the entire game. The final two-minute warning served not just the players and coaches but me, as well. I was warned that I couldn’t handle it for two more minutes. I stood up from the sofa, grabbed my true crime novel, threw Ole Miss’s fate to the winds and went upstairs to bed. It’s important to know one’s limits and when one is not needed. 

I blame my inability to guide the Rebels to their victory via my personal attention on my likely having Covid the entire week. Covid makes one weak in constitution. Although, to my credit, I still officially remain in the small club of people who have “never had Covid.” It’s pretty impressive to have never officially gotten Covid, if I do say so myself! My strategy for not officially getting Covid all these years remains the same: don’t get tested for Covid. If you don’t get tested for Covid, then you just have a cold.  

In less stressful football-adjacent news, Water Valley’s Friday Night Light business activities on Main Street have really been cool to watch develop. Seeing Water Valley open back up again on Friday nights after some years of not many options in that regard has been terrific. If you haven’t already, I suggest you go by the new Gordon’s Gallery and Cattywampus Vintage this Friday night.  

These two businesses are neighbors at the intersection of Main and Blackmur Drive. Gordon Gallery shows paintings by owner and popular Mississippi artist Bradley Gordon. Bradley’s work includes portraiture and landscapes but is most well-known for his paintings of Southern wildlife. If you like deer, ducks, turkeys, horses, alligators…then this work is for you! The gallery also sells books and small works and acts as a pop-up gallery for various visiting artists. Important to note: Gordon’s Gallery has a bar! Like with beer, folks! Isn’t this all we’ve ever wanted? 

Cattywampus Vintage is two doors down from Gordon Gallery and, without exaggeration, one of the best vintage clothing stores I’ve ever been to. What did Water Vallians do to deserve this place? It’s destination-shopping-worthy and I imagine will bring in out-of-towners, if it doesn’t do so already. Owner Jen Barker is a gem, and you’ve got to stop by and shop after supper and ice cream downtown this Friday night. There’s a men’s section in the store, as well, so your date won’t feel left out.  

So, as you choose your weekend plans this football season, remember that Water Valley’s Friday nights are the perfect antidote to whatever anxiety-inducing happenings come out of Oxford on the weekends! Visitors, if you need a fun, chill and traffic-free night out that can also act as a preemptive beta blocker before game day, then come see us in the Valley!