My family spent this past weekend in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for some Crimson Tide football, a Christmas gift to my mom from our oldest son & daughter-in-law. Saturday morning, in the shadow of Denny Chimes on the University of Alabama’s Quad, I sent a photo of the chime tower to a friend & asked if he knew where I was. He answered, “Holy Ground! You did take your shoes off?” I barely made it to that sacred spot. Friday night at our Airbnb, I scoped out the bookcase & found a book on ‘Bama’s arch rival Auburn & asked my mom if she’d like to read it. Even at 82 & with dementia, the fire from her eyes told me that the Iron Bowl portion of her mind is in perfect order. Later, she & her brother let all know that the Tide has 17 national titles & once they hit 21, one of the two will expose a toe. Through pregame outside & inside the stadium, she made sure her 3 year old great-granddaughter was properly indoctrinated. I guess she was, she’s now a big fan of of mascot Big Al. Ironically, the first student to don Big Al went 1st grade to 12th with my mom.

As we headed home, we stopped at the statues outside Bryant-Denny Stadium & took a photo of my mom, me, & the 3 year old in her houndstooth pants with the Coach “Bear” Bryant statue. At that point, the other 7 in our party headed toward the car, I made a pilgrimage to pay respects to my first sports hero, a member of 2 of those 17 title teams, Jimmy Fuller. The guy who picked me up one day from kindergarten & gave me a chinstrap I used through 8th grade, who escorted my boys on the sidelines in 2006 & hugged my neck pregame in a way that made me feel like the 5 year old he carried home, it’s nice when those you lift up don’t let you down.

As I caught up with my tribe in Denny Chimes afternoon shadow, I thought about a quote my dad got from Jimmy who got it from the Bear who I reckon got it from God. My dad’s paraphrase, “A crisis, no matter how great or small, separates those around you into groups, the keepers & the quitters.” My tribe could’ve quit on my mom & she’d never known. They could’ve said it was too hard a weekend, dealing with one with dementia, one that’s 3 & one that’s 1 but they didn’t. They’re keepers, because they think my mom was worth the effort even if she can’t keep all the memories, but they’ll keep the memory of the dignity they’ve let her keep. This morning, as we left church, the 3 year old sprinted toward my mom, shouted “Meemee!”, & kept my mom’s leg in her two armed hug. I should have taken off my shoes, we were on Holy Ground…