Decades ago and continents apart, I met two people I would encounter again in Tampa. Sadly, they both passed away a few weeks ago. I wish I'd had the opportunity to tell them how much they meant to me.

After twice winning the Florida High School Basketball championship at Hillsborough High, Don Williams returned to his alma mater in Decatur, Ill. As Millikin University's head basketball coach in the late 1960s, he built a dynasty.

To appreciate his accomplishment, consider that his practice facility was built in 1911. Called the Old Gym, it surely was America's only Elizabethan-style basketball venue. Architecturally inspiring, the facility was so outdated that a running track built on the second floor restricted players from shooting from the deep corner.

A soft-spoken man, Don Williams was a beloved coach. Watching his teams brought many moments of joy to my future wife and me. Our paths would cross again in Tampa. He left Millikin to become the first coach at the fledgling University of South Florida. We occasionally met at alumni gatherings.

Wayne Miller and I first met at the Caffe Gubbio in Rome. It was 1980 and we were Fulbright scholars teaching at the University of Rome.

The English professor exuded style, as witnessed by his fashionably appointed apartment near the Forum. I was living with my Sicilian relatives in a slum outside the city.

Long before there was a Starbucks, Wayne and I shared many cappuccinos. He took me to a favorite bistro the day I left Italy in May 1981. He insisted upon ordering. We enjoyed carciofi e cervelli (fried artichokes and pork brains). Like Wayne, it was squisto!

Wayne accepted a dean's position at the University of Tampa. He died in his sleep in February.

To Coach Williams and Maestro Miller, thanks for making my life richer.

Gary R. Mormino