Slow Saturday in Title Town

This is a great Gator tailgating video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCFbx87OAxs

Florida International University is coming to town tomorrow and it is a little hard to get excited. I just do not think the Golden Panthers will be that much of a game. (I wonder if Michigan said the same thing before Appalachian State blew their doors off?) I know, I know, any given team on any Saturday can ruin the season for us. But F.I.U. really? We are four games away from winning it all again and knowing what is to come serves to keep my emotions in check. After this home game we have Florida State and all of the heat that comes with that bitter rival, then Alabama for the Southeastern Conference title. I am confident that the SEC championship game is not only for the conference title, but in reality is the national title game. If Bama can beat us, especially given our terrific defense, then the Crimson Tide will whack the Texas Long Horns. So for me the game in Atlanta is for all the marbles. Yep, you are right, I do have on my Orange and Blue goggles.

The picture at the top is of my nephew and his son. Skip is my brother's son and Jackson is his son and my brother's first grandchild. I first saw Skip when he was just a baby. In April of 1969, my Dad died in Viet Nam. I came home from Alaska and my brother Stan, Skip's mother Robin and Skip came home from California. I had been in Alaska for more than four years and had not been home during that time period. If I remember correctly Stan was in his senior year at Stanford and he and Robin were the proud parents of a new baby boy. It was also the first time my mother had seen Skip and my two year old daughter, Kimberly. Think time does not fly? Kimberly was 42years old this year. Losing our dad was a difficult time for everyone. However, in the midst of our mourning my father's passing, we shared the joy of celebrating his grandchildren joining our family. It was over forty years ago and yet it seems as if it were only yesterday.

So why the picture of Skip and Jackson? I received an e mail from him today and I remembered the first time I saw him. And maybe it is close enough to Veteran's Day that my Dad has been on my mind.