Page 68 - Cityview Jan-Feb 2017

PRYORITIESBy Robert E. Pryor, Sr.66JANUARY FEBRUARY 2017E PARKED HIS OLD OVERSIZED LINCOLNnext to the fence so his walk was shorter thanit might have otherwise been. As he completed the ritual of extricating himself from his car, he pulled his cane from the back seat to begin the trek to the football complex alongside his friend Al, whom he picked up every day on his way to watch UT football practice. “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself,” he said, an expectant smile burning across his face in anticipation of Al’s reactionto his joke—a joke he’d repeated many times. It was his way. He enjoyed entertaining others, andwhen Floyd Edgar Cli , Jr. was in your presence, he believed it was his role to entertain. He rarely disappointed.He was my uncle, my momma’s baby brother, and in the nal decades of his life the patriarch of our family. Until “Uncle Floyd” died in 2006, he taught Pryors and Cli s how to laugh, howto make others laugh, and how to value the importance of family. While so many claim the title of “Best” or “Most Loyal” Vol fan, he was the only one known to me to actually receive an o cial designation. He served as the Tennessee state chairman of the Vol Fan Club, where he was