“Who says you can’t go home? There’s only one place they call me one of their own …”
— Bon Jovi, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”

Some things change. Some stay the same.

This column ties together both, old and new places. Memories of Dorinda.

And football and ice cream. A strange combination, true, but you’ll see.

We’ll start with football and the new.

The man noticed my black University of North Alabama cap as he passed by me in the frozen food section of a Foley grocery store last week.

“Bobby Wallace,” he said, referring to the former UNA football coach who led the Lions to three straight Division II national championships in the 1990s. Of course, I knew who he was talking about. And so began a long conversation about UNA, six hours away from the Gulf Coast in Florence.

He had played football against UNA, when West Alabama was still known as Livingston University. Small world.

We talked a few minutes more, and I told him about UNA’s new on-campus football complex — with the Lions scheduled to play their first game there tomorrow — Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium.

Our conversation brought back a flood of memories for me afterward.

I had just gotten back from Florence and visiting my grandchildren. And my trip also gave me the opportunity to view the new stadium, nestled alongside Pine Street between the school’s other athletic facilities.

I drove by the new stadium and around UNA. The campus is much a different one now than it was during my time there. But it remains a beautiful campus. And my alma mater.I still have ties. My daughter works there. My oldest grandchild, Rhys, is in kindergarten at the university’s Kilby Laboratory School. Picking him up one afternoon after school, I went by the new complex, seeing more new buildings and construction along the way. There are other changes, too. UNA is a Division I school now.

UNA was a natural choice for college — just five minutes away from where I grew up. It was home. I was a student there when I first met Dorinda back in 1983.

And it’s a place where as sports editor of the local newspaper there I covered those three national championships.

The Lions open their new stadium tomorrow with a game against Alcorn State. I won’t be there for that one. Maybe another time.

The campus and Florence still hold a lot of memories for me. As does the sweet part – the ice cream.
Just over a mile from the new stadium is an old, familiar place — Trowbridge’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop, a Florence landmark.

I picked Rhys up from school and we went to Trowbridge’s for ice cream — you must try the orange pineapple. The place is a step back in time, standing on Court Street since 1918. It’s a must-go place if you’re ever around North Alabama. My parents took me. We took our children.

The Trowbridge’s visit prompted more memories — taking him there with Dorinda in May of 2024. We laughed as he smeared ice cream all over his face that day, loving every minute of it.

This time, though, it was just me and Rhys.

Rhys is 5 now. I showed him pictures of that 2024 visit with his Dee Dee. A sweet memory.

Who says you can’t go home?

I just wish she could go back with me.

Wayne Smith is a freelance writer and has worked as a writer and editor at newspapers across Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. His column focuses on navigating Gulf Shores alone after losing his wife to cancer, and the places he discovers and the people he meets. Read his previous columns at www.GulfCoastMedia.com. Contact him at wwsmith6410@gmail.com or visit www.doublewwordsmith.com.