through years of survival and success in the business of serving barbecue ribs to diners from far and wide.

A waiter approached, no menu in hand. "You want a slab of ribs?" he asked. "Uh, yes, sure,” Cap answered, "and a Dr. Pepper." The waiter returned quickly with a plate of sliced white bread, a bowl of sauce, and a second plate stacked with ribs. That’s all - no cole slaw, beans, potato salad - here at Dreamland, it’s all about the ribs.

Cap dug in. The ribs and sauce were delicious, a distinctive, beefy taste. He methodically devoured it all, and sat back, content, then waddled out to the car and rolled back toward campus. So far, so good - ticket, Dreamland, next: Bear Bryant Museum.

Located at 300 Paul W. Bryant Drive, the Museum contains a stirring tribute to the venerable Bear, and to Alabama football. Cap was greeted first by the Hall of Honor; listing members of the teams the Bear coached over 38 seasons, to 323 victories.

Vintage pictures and memorabilia filled the place, including a replica of the Bear’s office, complete with a houndstooth hat, hanging from a rack with the Bear’s coat, behind his desk.

At the Alabama Express, he shopped to the moving strains of "Sweet Home Alabama" from the speakers above, followed by a continuous medley of other songs, of all kinds, about Alabama, Crimson, Crimson Tide - a concert of Bama melodies.

And on to Bama Stuff and Bama Fever, where he bought a cap, as the afternoon wound down.

Cap ambled lazily back down University, from the strip, toward the Quad. On the south side of the Quad, he came to Denny Chimes, signature landmark of the campus, with the Captain’s Walk of Fame, surrounding its base.  Across the street, south, is the long driveway leading to the white-pillared President’s Mansion.

Cap walked among the footprints and handprints of the Walk of Fame, then lay on the west side porch of the Chimes, and stared up into the branches of the maples, overhead. A few minutes later, the 4:30 chimes woke him from a great power nap.

Exactly a week ago, he had been nodding off under the golden leaves on a hill beside St. Mary’s Lake at Notre Dame. These days, he was nappin’ in all the best places - the measure of a truly successful man, no doubt.

Refreshed, he toured the Quad and the buildings surrounding it on all sides. Graves Hall and Nott Hall among others on the east side. The porch of the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, on the Quad’s north side, faces south, and a stage had been added for tomorrow night’s rally. Then on south down Colonial Dr., past the winding stairs of Carmichael Hall to Reese Phifer Hall, at the corner of University and Colonial.

The Quad is the centerpiece of the campus, surrounded by classrooms and administration buildings, with students continually crossing it, and is also the central pre-game gathering place for the Tide Faithful on gameday.

President's Mansion

Cap walked into the sinking sun, back up University, past the shops, Buffalo Phil’s, the Bad-Ass Coffee House, the Crimson Café, and the Houndstooth Bar - retrieved his car, and headed downtown to dinner.

He felt like Italian, and had heard good things about DePalma’s Italian Café, at 23rd and University. Inviting, cozy, and nicely

Sweet Home Alabama continued on next page...(click here)

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