Spring break elevates our collective senses in unique and prolific ways.  The season of Lent culminates on Easter, bringing with it a ravenous return to sinful habits for which pledges of abstinence have held dominion.  Pollen fills the air, along with the coughing, sneezing and wheezing that symbolizes the official start of spring.  Hope springs eternal for the fans of baseball’s perennial cellar dwellers and also-rans.  This is the season when NCAA basketball champions are crowned and the annual green jacket is awarded amid choruses of “a tradition like no other,” which is another way of saying, “no women allowed.”

Our spring break began with a scheduled tour of the University of West Georgia in Carrollton.  Spencer is completing his senior year at McEachern High School and is poised to expend four more years of academic blood, sweat and video games.  With enrollment deadlines looming, it was time to confirm the address of where to send all future tuition checks.

Part of the University System of Georgia, UWG has nearly 12,000 students enrolled, far more than I realized.  As we arrived on campus, we were greeted by an enthusiastic team of student volunteers.  Always the one to make a cultural splash, Spencer donned a Kuwaiti t-shirt with Arabic inscriptions and a wool tam with rasta stripes.  The first student leaders we encountered showed speechless deference, but one older staff member couldn’t contain himself.  “I love your t-shirt,” he gushed.  Spencer’s admirer was wearing a pink tie along with a fuschia dress shirt.  All of this complimented his ruddy complexion and thinning red hair.  I offered a smirkish grin and cast a “don’t encourage him” look in his general direction.  Spencer found the incident rapturously affirming.  It’s truly amazing how far your money will go at a Goodwill store.  For five dollars, you can purchase an ethnically inclusive wardrobe and satisfy the tastes of culturally deprived citizens of Carrollton.

Our walking tour of the campus included visits to student dorms, the library, the quad, and the campus recreation center.  Afterwards, we were invited to take a bus ride to the outer edges of campus to view new student apartments, the new athletic complex, Greek village, and view the site of the new nursing school, which is under construction.  It occurred to me that if Spencer attended UWG and asked a coed out on a date, in all likelihood, she would either be matriculating as a nurse or a teacher.  Now that’s a tough choice.  Do you want to date a girl who is drawn toward a career working with doctors or first-graders?  In the minds of some, there’s little difference between the two.

Our tour hostess was a sophomore who enrolled at UWG hoping to transfer after completing her freshman year.  But she found the experience at West Georgia suitable and decided to stay and complete her degree in Carrollton rather than move to Athens and attend UGA.  As a parting gift, Spencer and I were presented with a free voucher to eat at the student cafeteria.  We entered the dining hall through doors which read RFOC, which means “Real Food on Campus.”  I wondered out loud, “How do they classify food served in other dining outlets on campus?”  The UWG campus also features a Chick-fil-a, Subway, and Einstein Bros. Bagel.  And if that’s not enough, there’s a Starbucks, which is strategically located in the library.  If I’d had a Starbucks inside the library where I attended college, I can imagine that some of my C’s may have actually become B’s or even A’s.  Kids have it so easy these days.

Spencer and I completed a set of tasks at the outset of our visit.  In order to locate certain campus offices, we were charged with finding our way through a maze of stairways and hallways in hopes of meeting staff members in career services, financial aid, the registrar, housing services, and student orientation.  As we progressed through our check-list with Lewis and Clark-efficiency, Spencer kept chanting, “Lead on, Sacagawea.”  We found the exercise meaningful and were rewarded with a t-shirt upon completion of our assignment.  Though there are more mazes to navigate in the future, I derived proud satisfaction in our working together for a common goal.  Though my college days are now categorized under early American history, the prospect of entering college holds a strange fascination for me.  I’m immensely proud of Spencer and anticipate a rewarding and perhaps tumultuous four years.  As I’ve learned, you can’t always create an ideal future.  But you can dress for the occasion, acknowledge those who ignore you, and embrace your future with trust in the one who knows the territory better than you.  Go Wolves!