Daniel replies:

It is not for me to criticize or make suggestions, but knocking one's offspring on the head, after having arrived at college and presumably with the bursar's office of said college knowing where and how to get in touch with the parent, may be a teensy bit after the moment.  Had you written, """"Here is a picture of me knocking my son on the head with a Brown University catalog, beside the Interstate, before disappearing into the night,"""" that might have been more in the spirit of making sure the lad would have an interesting story to tell later in life...to the other polar bears.