Hall of Famer!

On Saturday, we packed up the family, stuck our Redbox movie (Mirror, Mirror) into the car’s DVD player, and headed north to the suburbs of Scranton, for my father-in-law’s induction into his undergrad college’s Athletic Hall of Fame!

The evening began with a cocktail reception.  The kids were thrilled to be given cans of Pepsi, while the grown-ups all enjoyed some wine and got to meet some of Al’s college friends/teammates.  When it was time to find our seats, I realized that all five grandkids had camped themselves out in the first row of the audience.  Dave and I had actually discussed the possibility of not even bringing our kids, as we were worried that a bunch of speeches would be hard for them to sit through, and we didn’t want to mar a lovely evening in any way with wiggles and whispered fighting.  However, we also thought it was important for the kids to see their Papa receive this award, so although they were there, the front row was not where we would have picked to install them.

There were three other inductees, and all three were introduced by someone special to them, and then they themselves also gave a speech.  I’m not kidding you when I tell you how entertaining the speeches were.  I’m not talking fireworks or bells and whistles.  Instead, the presenters and inductees generally gave simple, thankful speeches that even held the attention of an extremely bouncy eight year old.  All of the kids were spellbound, and super well-behaved.

Finally, it was Al’s turn!  (When your last name starts with W, you’re always last.)  He was introduced by his former roommate, who not only gave a glowing introduction, but also shared a story involving “tubbies” that had us in stitches.  I was laughing so hard, I was crying, but I will not repeat the story here, because although Dave’s dad responded to lovely that introduction with humor and grace, I’m not sure he would have actually wanted his audience in on that story.

Here’s the man of the hour:

Can you believe I forgot my camera?  And my phone!  I took this one with Maddie’s iPod, and all pictures that follow are my mother-in-law’s.

Al gave the best speech of the night.  I’m going to steal my brother-in-law Allan’s Facebook status, because he described it best: 

Interesting how different people measure success.
Yesterday as my Dad accepted his induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Keystone College, his remarks were not about his accomplishments. They were about the importance of the people in his life. He honored his own Mom and Dad, who supported his endeavors by sitting through countless games. He highlighted his sweetheart, Julie, who although she could not always attend his games due to the nuns' strict rules about curfew at her nursing school, has seen her undying support since those early days, manifested in the numerous softball games of his that our Mom has attended over the past 40+ years, as well as all the sporting events she attended for their 4 children and now 5 grandchildren. Dad referred to the pride his parents would have with this induction, but also the pride he has that in their place, sitting in the front row, were his four children and five grandchildren.
Dad acknowledged that his athletic achievement was only possible because of the teammates he had, as well as the talents and opportunities God provided for him.

Dad showed us yesterday that success is not trophies nor stats. It's the right priorities of God, family, friends, and hard work. Thanks, Dad, for an amazing life that continues to teach us.

Al  got a huge, well-deserved round of applause.  Here are his “stats” from the program:

1959-60- Never missed a start in the Baseball or Basketball seasons,
Baseball team captain & second base man, guard in basketball, All-East Team in Basketball
1960- College Athlete of the Year
1960-61 -Never missed a start in the Baseball or Basketball seasons,
Team captain in baseball & basketball, All-East Team in Basketball
1961- College Athlete of the Year
1963- graduated Gettysburg College, bachelor’s degree, married Juliana Zelna
1965- graduated Drake University, Master’s degree
1968- graduated University of Vermont, Ph.D. in Biology, began teaching at Lebanon Valley College
2012 -49 years of Marriage
-4 children -5 grandchildren -44 years as professor of Biology at LVC (and counting)

And here are some pictures of the Man of the Hour:

                    Al impressing us with his foul shot, 50 years later.  Also, doesn’t he look like Johnny Carson in the old photo?

Al with his children, from left, Dave, Allan, Mike, Al, and Sue

We are so proud of you, Al!  If there were a Father/Grandfather/Father-in-Law Hall of Fame, no doubt you would have been their first inductee.