<p>“he’d be painting this.” So said my friend from Hawaii, catching his first-ever glimpse of Bama during our visit this past weekend. After seeing UA once again through his fresh eyes, my sophomore son’s bright eyes, and my own bleary ones, I thought I’d share the highlights, especially for those of you considering Alabama with trepidation (as were we back in 2009/2010).</p>
<p> The fall foliage, Riverwalk, downtown, and campus landscape were picture postcard perfect. I took numerous photos that you’d swear were from New England if you didn’t know better. We live in Hawaii, so trust me when I say that Alabama is beautiful.</p>
<p> The politeness and manners exhibited by everyone we encountered, regardless of age, color, or creed, were incredibly uplifting. My son introduced his many friends to us at Saturday’s tailgate extravaganza. He’d introduce them by name, then each of them would invariably re-introduce themselves while shaking my hand, saying, typically, “John Jones, sir. It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” I can tell you how many times I’ve had that experience back home. Zero.</p>
<p> The politeness and manners exhibited by my son were transformative. I lost count of the “yes, ma’ams” and “yes, sirs” he uttered, as well as the number of times he opened doors for women and elders, and deferred to them when exiting elevators and buildings. I don’t quite recognize this guy yet, but I love him!</p>
<p> The passion, pageantry, and generally gracious nature of the spectacle that was game day was like nothing I’ve seen. You don’t have to care a wit about football to get swept up in the vortex of pride, joy, anticipation, and community that was generated; the kind of stuff that makes life worth living. My wife doesn’t know a first down from a safety and she was enthralled (in houndstooth and crimson lipstick). By the way, by Sunday at noon the campus and surrounding environs were immaculate. You’d never have known there’d been a party so large that it created human gridlock the day before.</p>
<p> We ran into Honors College Dean Shane Sharpe at the game. He met me once in early 2010 and has interacted with my son once or twice. Yet, he recognized us, greeted us by name, and wanted to make sure that everything was going well for our son. Amazing. Alabama is a place where it’s cool to be warm. How hip is that?</p>
<p> Call me corny, but I love the endless, communal exchanges of “Roll Tide” that folks share in virtually any situation, whether friends or strangers. A guy stepped on my ankle trying to squeeze out of the bleachers and into the aisle at the game. He shot me an apologetic glance and said, “Roll Tide?” 'Nuff said. 
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<p> Most gratifying was something my son uttered out of the blue. He’s a National Merit scholar who got into every college to which he applied. I share this not to boast (please don’t flame me), but to provide context. I’ll be honest: the National Merit package and mom2collegekids had a lot to do with us selecting Bama. But yesterday my son said, “Dad, knowing what I know now, if I’d been offered a full ride by every school in the country, this is where I’d want to be.” </p>
<p>Roll Tide.</p>
We’ve really enjoyed them. </p>