I was thinking about Al last week. I had come across a series of individuals in a particular day who appeared to be sleepwalking through life. They didn't care about what they were doing and it was readily apparent to whomever interacted with them. This made me think of Al. Al always threw a great deal of passion into the current task at hand. He was not afraid to 'ruffle feathers' when he saw something that he didn't think was correct or proper. His personality was imposing to some but I viewed those who felt imposed upon as afraid of life. Al loved life and he displayed this quality with everyone he interacted with. The world needs more Al's. One final thought. My interaction with Al came about by a small, thoughtful, gracious gesture he performed that few do and which told me everything about the man. I was in the process of deciding who I wanted to coach Rose the following season as her team had broken up. She was at a summer event that Al was involved in. At one point in the practice Al told the girls to switch the jerseys they were wearing, red to blue to mix the teams up. Now I have seen other coaches give this same instruction but only Al did the following; upon giving the instruction Al immediately put his hands on his knees and looked directly down at the floor and waited long enough for the girls to have switched jerseys. Of course they all had t shirts and sports bras underneath but out of respect Al still averted his eyes like the true gentleman that he is. At that exact second I knew this gracious, thoughtful gesture told me this is the guy.