The University of South Alabama campus in Mobile is close to my childhood home. I remember when the campus construction was first announced, in 1963. I was a young boy, and the implications didn’t really register at the time, but I did watch it grow in both size and stature over the years. My respect for South Alabama grew substantially when, early on, a close family friend, Dr. Neal Rowell, was hired as a professor in the physics department.

Growing up, my family spent summers in Point Clear. When I was nine years old, my parents purchased a home just north of Bailey’s Creek. Out front, there stood a cast iron bell with a long lanyard that reached back to the screen porch. It was rumored that it would ring at the first signs of a jubilee, alerting neighbors to come take part in the seafood harvest. Truth be told, our bell never rang for a jubilee. Instead, my mom would ring it to let us know it was time to get out of the water and come to supper. It worked every time.