A Rather Collegiate Weekend

Saturday we drove to Tuscaloosa, AL for the A-Day Game with my brother and his wife. This is a scrimmage between players of the same team to mark the end of spring training. It's always a big deal for Alabama fans, but was an even bigger deal this year because of the arrival of the new coach, Nick Saban.

I am the only one in my family who was actually born there and baptized in the chapel on campus and probably also the only one who had no idea what the big deal was about A-Day.

I have to admit however, that I began to understand it as we watched the stadium fill to overflow capacity and then listen as the gates were closed to even more standing outside. The 92,000 plus fans made the game the biggest spring game in history, which meant we were a part of history - pretty cool!

It was fun to walk around campus, eat at a great college dive and see the hospital where I was born. It was also fun to be among so many Bama fans and be able to walk down the street to the shouts of "Roll Tide!"

We got back home around 2:30 a.m. , got up, went to mass and then headed to Athens, GA to see my brother Kevin. He was inducted into the Arch Society at UGA. This is a HUGE honor and the most coveted student organization on campus. The application process is long and involved. Hundreds of students who apply don't get accepted. I am very proud of Kevin.

The Arch Society Members are basically looked on as Ambassadors for the University. They do every thing from greeting people the president brings on campus, to being on the field and in the president's box at football games, to showing new recruits the ropes. It's a very service oriented group that puts in a lot of volunteer hours on campus and in the community.

I don't know how he'll find time to do that while studying and participating in all of his fraternity's activities, but then again, college students learn to function pretty well on little sleep. I am certain that all of these activities will serve him well as he goes out into the work force in one more year. He will certainly stand out in the line of applicants. Good job Kevin!