New Kid in Hogtown

Returning to Gainesville, Florida for a visit is one of Cindy and my favorite things to do.  For one reason it’s where we went to college and it’s always fun to take in the sights—those that have been in existence since we were enrolled as well as those that came on the scene well after we graduated many years ago.  For another it allows us to engage in one of our favorite activities: ‘Gator shopping.’  I know the local businesses have appreciated our loyal and generous support over the years.  I can tell because all of them send us Christmas cards.     
    

Another reason is that occasionally we have the opportunity to show off our favorite city to someone else for the very first time.  Our most recent trip to Gainesville was no exception, because that was when we formally introduced our grandson Krischan to the magic of the home of the Florida Gators, also known as ‘Hogtown’ by the locals and the student body. 

We made the five-hour drive from Senoia to Gainesville on a Saturday.  That evening we had dinner at the home of friends of ours (also Gators, of course) who just so happen to have a three-year old son.  Krischan was a natural playing ‘big brother’ to his new friend and when it came time to head to our hotel it was all we could do to convince him it was time to go. 

‘Yes, Krischan we know it’s early but G-Pa has a marathon to run in the morning and he’d like to get at least a couple hours of sleep before he has to run 26 miles.’

Cindy tried her best.  Only this is apparently what Krischan actually heard her say:

‘G-Pa said we need to leave NOW and yes I know you’re having a great time playing with the train set and watching cartoons with your friend but your G-Pa is pure evil and wants nothing more than to make your life miserable.’

Well, at least I’d be getting a couple hours of sleep before running 26 miles.

Race morning I asked Cindy to take Krischan and meet me at a specific spot on the course so he could run the final quarter-mile with me, thus allowing the two of us to cross the finish line together (I had already cleared this ahead of time with the Race Director). With almost 26 miles under my belt I met up with Krischan, and he immediately started running so fast it was as if it was his way of punishing me for making his life miserable the night before.

As we neared the finish line I slowed down slightly so Krischan could cross the finish line a step in front of me.  I made eye contact with a volunteer and motioned for her to place the finisher’s medal around Krischan’s neck and she politely obliged.  The smile on his face was…well, let’s just say that ‘miserable’ was no longer in either one of our vocabularies. 

(A little background: Krischan has completed four one-mile fun runs.  All of these fun runs had an accompanying 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) race.  Krischan, upon completing his fun runs invariably asks me if he will be getting a medal.  I always give him the same answer: Medals are only given for the longer race.  The stage is now set for the next paragraph.)

Krischan’s beaming smile was momentarily interrupted by this rather insightful comment:

‘Gee, that didn’t FEEL like three miles!’

After a couple slices of post-race pizza we headed back to the hotel for a short nap and a shower.  We then headed out to stimulate the local economy and did our very best to buy every new product in orange and blue the city had to offer (Note: We were $ucce$$ful). 

Our new favorite store selling ‘all things Gator’ is called Alumni Hall.  Let me tell you, it was like a kid in a candy store.  Krischan seemed to like it, too.  Wearing his new orange Gator T-shirt, Krischan made a point to do the ‘Gator Chomp’ for one of the girls ringing up one of our purchases while making it perfectly clear he doesn’t like the Bulldogs (of the University of Georgia).  I doubt it’s possible for any grandfather to have been any prouder of their grandson than I was of mine at that particular moment in time.

We then turned our attention to taking Krischan to see some of the places on campus that make the University of Florida so special.  Our first stop was Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and Florida Field, also known as ‘the Swamp.’  How did he enjoy his first trip inside the house that Tim Tebow, Emmitt Smith and Steve Spurrier built?  Let me answer with a simple equation:

Excited boy + empty 88,548 seats + an unscripted Sunday afternoon

= 88,548 possible places to sit

I should have remembered that from my freshman calculus class and probably would have…had I not taken the class over 40 years ago.  And studied. 

Outside the stadium we stopped to see the bronze statues of the three Gator Heisman Trophy winners; Tebow, Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel.  I asked Krischan to sit in front of the latter’s statue so I could take a photograph, reminding him that he had met Danny Wuerffel several months ago at the College Football Hall of Fame.  You may remember that Krischan wasn’t too impressed meeting the quarterback of Florida’s first National Championship football team in person.  Well, let me be the first to tell you Krischan was even less impressed with his bronze statue.  Getting him to sit still for a single picture was slightly less difficult than getting him to leave our friends’ house the night before. 

However, he was impressed with the bronze statue of an alligator sitting outside the stadium.  He was even more impressed with he saw a second bronzed alligator twice the size of the first.  In fact he asked me to take pictures of him in a variety of positions: With his arm stuck inside the alligator’s mouth, riding the alligator bareback and lying beneath it as if he was in the midst of an alligator stampede (should there be such a thing). It was nothing less than Reptile Heaven indeed for a wide-eyed five-year old boy getting his introduction to the mystique of the Swamp.

With a little time left to kill before joining our friends for dinner, we made quick stops at the O’Connell Center (the ‘O-Dome’), where the Gator basketball team plays home games and Lake Alice, one of the favorite spots for student recreation (alas, there were no live alligators to be seen, although there were white heron everywhere).

Krischan seemed to really enjoy his orange and blue weekend.  So much, in fact that once we got back home I wrote ‘Florida’ between the words ‘Krischan’ and ‘Kollege Fund’ on the envelope that won’t be needed for another 12 years.

Twelve years that will most certainly go by in the blink of an eye.

Or as quick as a Gator Chomp.