In Yosemite National Park, I spotted a fellow visitor sporting a UNC basketball jersey. Travelers arrive from all over the world, so I would expect to see Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls jersey, knowing his fame as a professional. But his #23 in Tar Heel blue?!
The same guy happened to slip in line behind me for food. He told me in heavily accented English that he was from France. When I shared that I lived in Chapel Hill, he asked what it was like. Perhaps because of our surroundings of dark green and gray — the evergreens framed by the massive granite monoliths — I told him about autumn and the leaves of gold, orange, and red as bright and brilliant as a sunrise.
“Ah,” he smiled, “you have the home sick, no?” Seeing the truth dawn on my face, he changed the subject. “Tell me what is like the Dean Dome.”
I chuckled. That was also beautiful! The retired jerseys, including Jordan’s, flying high in the rafters over the gleaming hardwood floor and the home crowd a sea of light blue.
“Maybe again we meet there!” We shook hands on the possibility, however unlikely, still a hope worth rooting for.
Image via Todd Melet
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of “Little Big Moments,” a collection of mini-essays about parenting, and “Tigers, Mice & Strawberries: Poems.” Both titles are available most anywhere books are sold online. Taylor-Troutman lives in Chapel Hill where he serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church and occasionally stumbles upon the wondrous while in search of his next cup of coffee.
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