The Weekend at the College ...

So on Friday I fired up the 2 year old Hyundai, and Wifey and I hit the open road. First stop: the Denny's in Hallandale, to fetch my partner Paul and his son Alex.

I hustled Wifey out of the house, telling her repeatedly that Paul and I have always shared a military-like punctuality, in which early is on time and on time is late! Wifey reminded me that this behavior bordered on, or actually crossed into, the obnoxious, but she complied. We arrived at 1145, and, sure enough...no Paul!

Ah, old age. Paul's girlfriend Patricia dropped him off over 20 minutes late. I knew an era had passed...

Armed with Denny's turkey club sandwiches, we headed North, chatting happily and listening to Alex's I Phone App on Howard Stern, interviewing the virginal Gloria Estefan about her husband's penis size. I'm at least as adolescent as any guy, but I just never found Howard Stern that funny. Funny like the obnoxious kid in Hebrew School, of course, but no funnier...

We cruised into Gainesville, and headed for the AEPhi house. Handsome Alex, who looks ten years younger than he is, set some sorority hearts aflame, and we greeted D2 and her roommate Ali.

We also got a hearty welcome from bubbly Carly, with her happy demeanor and gorgeous blonde hair. She and D2 have been friends since Middle School, and now take the college journey together.

We went back to the hotel, and met Mike, his boy Chris, and Chris's friend Jason, a certified sports trivia genius. The kid is 16 or 17, and was quoting scenes from Canes games that happened well before he was born. I was way impressed.

The group, now including D2's terrific boyfriend Josh, mustered at Dragonfly, Gainesville's best sushi restaurant. The grown ups (or at least those with real IDs) drank adult beverages, and we waited for our table, We then feasted on sushi and each other's company. Paul's nephew Grant was there, too, and it turned out that he knew Josh from their Broward Jewish teen years --March of the Living -- and enjoyed their reunion.

Paul pointed out, correctly, that these are truly the good old days --with our families' kids all happy and soaring, including, I reminded him, his beautiful granddaughter!

Saturday, Mike, Chris, Jason and I headed to the Flying Biscuit for a hearty new Southern (their style) breakfast, and then met Paul, Alex, and Grant to caravan to Tally. Wifey left for the sorority mother/daughter day, which included Zumba, dueling pianos, and dinner. D2 reported later that it was "Moms Gone Wild" - a veritable menopausal nonstop party of singing and dancing, including, apparently, one mom who seductively squirmed atop a piano like she was in the "Fabulous Baker Brothers" movie...

Our day was, conversely, one of testosterone (except, it turned out, for our Canes).

Ah, my friend Mike --always the adventurer. Instead of the boring interstate, he took us on a route of a country road. It turns out that Newberry Road in Gainesville heads west and then North all the way to Tally.

We passed the small towns, and counties I didn't even knew were in Florida. Gilchrist? There were several prisons, Hardees instead of McDonalds and Burger Kings, gun shops, and CHURCHES. And then more churches! We marvelled at the fact that they all stayed in business, with seemingly small town populations.

If I ever move to NW Florida, clearly I have to become a minister --that's where the money is. Oy vey.

We rolled into town, and Paul and Alex jumped into Mike's Expedition --Grant went off to a friend's apartment --and we found a tailgate lot. We were amazed that it was free parking --next to the FSU basketball arena --and realized later why: it was a good mile away frm the stadium.

Still, Mike grilled, we drank beer, and admired the comely young FSU co eds. I remembered my visits to the campus in the early 80s, and nothing has changed: FSU, for some reason, seems to attract gorgeous women.

Several were dressed as sexy Seminoles. We started to question our affiliation with the Canes...

And then came the game. It turned out to be a contest between 2 crappy teams. The Canes proved crappier. We lost. It was actually pretty boring, especially for a game that ended 24-19. The most passion was raised by spectacularly bad calls by the refs --most against UM.

Mike waited on line 45 minutes to hit the bathroom. Any thoughts about buying a soda were fantasy. Miami has no on campus stadium, and therefore no real college game day atmosphere, but we DO have the better tailgate parties (Norman has stone crabs!) and the plusher stadium. As I become an old codger, things like being able to pee when required take on greater importance.

The Canes may be mediocre, but the Club Section at Joe Robbie rocks, in an AARP sort of way...

Sunday, the rest of our crew had either flown or early drove home. Wifey and I picked up D2, and we headed to Ivy for some gourmet omelettes, and a recount of the weekend's activities. We learned that maybe some of the Moms weren't quite ready to give up their 20s --trying to party harder than their daughters...

Wifey and I, as usual, marvelled at our darling D2. She's within shouting distance of 20, getting a 4.0 GPA, gorgeous, strong, and funny. Our cops runneth over.

And even though she was 350 miles away, D1 was not to be excluded. She texted me that while walking in her Brickell neighborhood, she saw a Dad on a bike with a toddler in a helmet behind him, and though of the two of us, 20 years ago...

Her sister warned me she's probably angling for something...

Wifey and I left for Miami. She suggested we stop in on ancient Mom, which we did. We found her fully dressed and made up, even though on Sunday she usually has no visitors. She thought it was Monday, and her caregiver Louise was to come take her to an appointent. Just as well...we enoyed our visit, and brought her some smiles...

So it was a fine weekend at the college, which turned out like we planned.

Good friends and family --as good as it gets.