but here goes.  I met DJ in the dorms of UF in 1977.  I was scared beyond belief.  I had noooo idea what I was going to do and there were some obviously talented guys on our floor.  My brother's last 1/4 at UF was my first and he encouraged me to throw a frisbee in the dorm hallway with him.  Before long, a game of killer Frisbee broke out with 5 or more guys on each end of the hall retarding the incoming disc being flung at violent velocities.  The object was to hit the wall behind enemy lines.

After many skinned knuckles (did I mention the ceiling was maybe 7’ high) and a huge ice breaker achieved, I turned to my brother, but he was gone.  Job 1 accomplished.  Happy could at least make it through day 1.  Killer Frisbee became a tradition.

Our dorm floor was amazing.  We went to concerts together.  We went to fb games in blocks.  We played every imaginable IM sport and won at least one campus championship in nearly each sport.  Heck, we even played intertube water polo to win a campus all sports trophy.  DJ and I played on most of those teams.  Celebrations were massive and cleanup on isle 5 was never good.

Beyond sports, we were a family.  At the end of each year, we all gathered in the commons area and a huge awards ceremony would be held.  Some of the awards were not flattering, some were.  The flaming  #badword# award had a unique trophy.  However, what made our dorm amazing was the people.  We had each other’s back.  We helped our friends.  Each Thanksgiving we prepared a family meal for all 60 people on the floor.  Nearly all came.  After dinner and the obligatory food fight, clean up was accomplished.  Mashed potatoes can get in odd places.

DJ had the coolest dorm room.  He ran a radio station out of there and amassed the single greatest record collection I have ever seen.  Free.  He allowed me to spin the vinyl and it was a blast.  He had a really cool logo painted outside his room and it was the place to be.

From this group of friends came future lawyers, doctors, builders, entrepreneurs, priests, and above all, great people.  Most all have some sort of post-grad degree and that is probably what motivated me to get my Master’s.  I had to keep up. Friends like DJ kept me from coloring too far outside the lines and were patient when I had to clean up my mess.  None of us were in a fraternity because of the 60 friends we had already made.  We have since lost a few.  They have been called Home, but our experiences at UF were more than academic, they were personal.

DJ and I have our girls entering UF at the same time.  The work they put into school and life are a reflection of each of our friends in the dorms and of course, our wives.  Our girls trick or treated in Jax many times together when the Fl v Ga game was inconveniently on Halloween.  Priorities!

Post UF saw many of us getting together en masse for dorm reunions.  Road trips to fb games have been many.  Many a golf match of death has been played.  But what I have learned from my friends and experiences is that Gators love their school.  I did my doctoral work at FSU and I can say there is a huge difference in the way the FSU students I interacted with view their school.  I hope this wasn’t too sappy, but I am so proud of our daughters because I firmly believe it was our personal experiences I have described above that have influenced the success our children achieved. 

I can only hope their experiences at UF are remotely as wonderful as DJ’s and mine. Go Gators.