I was at UF. I will never forget the phone call from his secretary my freshman year telling me I had an appointment with the dean. I was quite nervous when I sat waiting to be ushered in. Well, Dean Hale came around the desk shook my hand and proceeded to tell me that unbeknownst to me he was a frat brother and good friend of my dad and dad had asked him to keep and eye on me while I was at UF. Dean Hale went on to add that he had indeed been keeping an eye on me and that I was about a half heartbeat away from flunking out, getting drafted and shipped to Vietnam.  He added that I needed to stop drinking and partying and try studying every once in awhile. 

Needless to say that shocked the hell out of me. It straightened me up enough to stay in school and eventually get into the Naval Air Reserve thus avoiding the real danger of dying face down in some damned rice paddy. 

Thank you Dean Hale for making a real impact on my life and countless thousands more. You have now gone on to join my daddy and all the other Great Gators in the sky. You will be missed.