U of F Homecoming

For the past few years we have made it a habit to attend the Homecoming festivities at the University of Florida. Both Delinda and I, as well as our two daughters, are all graduates of the good ole U of F and getting back to Gainesville once a year is always fun. We get four tickets to the football game and the Alumni Bar-B-Q (the O'Connell Center is inside and air conditioned and right across the street from the stadium) We take the motorhome and go up on Thursday and then just enjoy a couple of days relaxing and reminiscing as we stroll around campus and see all that is new...as well as all that is exactly like it was when we were there 45 years ago. Of course when the Gators play as well as they did last Saturday, it makes it an even more enjoyable time. Our daughter, Stacey and middle grandson, Andrew joined us on Saturday for the game...and this made things even better. Family...both natural and collegiate...make for a wonderful weekend.

WPDQ Control Room

Unless you were in the radio or record business, this photo probably doesn't mean a thing to you. However if you ever were associated with the most exciting business of radio, you recognize this 1960's era control room. This is the first control room I worked in after I graduated from the University of Florida and Delinda and I moved to Jacksonville, Florida to work at WPDQ. The studios were on the 13th floor of the ACL building in downtown Jacksonville, right on the St. Johns river. Back then we actually used all four of those turntables...and...of couse this was decades before computers. Notice the large machine up on the right...this was referred to as the "window shade" and was use to record commercials and jingles and play back by sliding a bar across the "shade." I loved this studio and want to thank Bob Dillehay for sending this picture.

Where Are The Real Gators?

Being a graduate of the University of Florida and having all of the immediate family being Gator Alums, I have, obviously, been a part of the Gator Nation for quite some time. So, it is easy to imagine the frustration last Saturday when the good ole U of F stumbled in a game that they should have easily won. What happened? In my humble opinion, I think that the Gators have more talent and speed and better athletes than ever before evidenced in the football program...and that goes all the way back to before "Bear" Wolf (remember him?) However...I have noticed in the first four games that even though the Gators have this wonderful array of talent...they just are not in-sync! They are just not playing with the reckless abandon that they did two years ago when they won the National Championship. I don't know if they are trying too hard to protect Tim Tebow from the pounding he got in the past two years, or what. But...it needs to stop. You can't play the game of tackle football in the SEC and walk on egg shells at the same time. They seem to be playing with caution instead of confidence, finesse instead of fierceness, and expectations instead of execution. If the coaches who are paid millions of dollars a year can't figure this out we are doomed to more disappointing Saturdays...but...if they do....look for Florida to be playing in January...maybe even in the National Championship Game!!!