Review of the Brown and White from the Mount Carmel Website

hERE'S THE BOOK REVIEW THAT WAS ON THE MOUNT CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL WEBSITE.

The Brown and White

THE BROWN AND WHITE

Jon Potocki '65 and Terri Stadler '65 review The Brown and White by Lawrence Norris's '71. This "fictionalized memoir" brought the alums back "home" and proved to be a thoughtful fictionalized account of life at Mount Carmel in the 60's.

Thomas Wolfe, the early 20th century author said, “You can’t go home again.” But both of us recently had a close encounter with the Southeast side of the 1960s in Chicago. We just finished reading The Brown and White, a “fictionalized memoir” written by Lawrence Norris, a 1971 graduate of Mount Carmel. We were so impressed with the author’s stories that neither of us could put it down. Because of its storied format and short chapters, we both finished it in a matter hours (and as John proudly proclaims, ‘not bad for a guy who was in the lowest section for all four years’).

The book was written about a student, the author, and his freshman year at a fictional all-boys HS, “St. Mary’s,” on Chicago’s south side (September 1967 to June 1968). The encounters he writes about between the upper classmen and the new freshmen included many experiences that many of us actually had during our first year at Carmel: being called “Bennies,” being the brunt of the upper classmen’s jokes and high jinx, etc. 

Although the book is a fictionalized account, most of us tried to identify every character in the book with someone from our first year at Carmel, 1961 – 1962. Growing up on the South Side of Chicago was and still is a special kind of life. 

The book takes its title from the brown and white school bus that the student rode and centers on the many experiences that he had coming and going to school in the turbulent late sixties: passing the (Aquinas, Mercy, Longwood, St. Francis, Loretto) girls who were waiting for their CTA bus, getting harassed by the residents in the “bad” neighborhoods that they drove through, all the while looking out for something or someone special passing by in a car. 

The book contains various “hooks” that caught both of us as we scurried through its pages. First, the complex and confusing social aspects experienced in the Chicago during the Sixties (i.e., race relations, assassinations, the Viet Nam war, sportpractices, football games and girls) contributed to the personal development of each and every student at the school in the book, as well as our own. Second, for many us, there was one person at Carmel who had a lasting impression on each of us. In the book, a guy named Willie, the bus driver of the Brown and White, was the adult who had a special impact on the author and the other bus riders. As an unlikely adult, he would have a major role in two of the students’ lives. Third, the portrayals of each fictional teacher triggered our own imaginations, trying to identify each of them. Finally, family played a major roll for the author and for us. Whether ours were a loving and thoughtful family or one filled with dysfunction, the book captured this critical element in the development of each of us. 

Finally, we both identified with the book’s main character in numerous ways. His freshmen experiences, in many ways, were our freshmen experiences. We think that anyone who reads this book will feel the same tug back to their freshmen year at Carmel. Mount Carmel High School, then and now, is more than just a school. It is what our society today needs: the challenges of pursuing hard work, following direction, obeying authority, developing right relationships among all students and teachers (regardless of race, academic capability or social background), and being presented with the opportunities to grow physically, mentally and morally/spiritually. The book is all about this growth for the author, and in turn, invites us to reflect on our own growth that we experienced at Carmel. 

Mr. Norris did a great job with his book. We believe that new students and alumni should all read this fine work. It will bring back some fond memories for many alumni and contribute in many ways what the brown Our Lady of Mount Carmel Scapular is really about for new students. If you work hard as a boy you will leave a man: Ready to think of others in a challenging world where inclusiveness benefits all, where Our Lady of Mount Carmel points us to her Son, the God who lives with us and in us today, just as we learned in the Sixties hanging around the Chicago’s south side. 

The Brown and White can be purchased on Amazon by clicking here.

The Irish Books, Art, and Music Program at the Irish American Heritage Center in 2018

Sporting Chance Press was at the Irish American Heritage Center for the IBAM event. I was one of the authors present and had a table with The Brown and White, Sports and Faith II, The 10 Commandments of Baseball, and my Saint Kevin and the Blackbird shirt.

THE BROWN AND WHITE

Great Quick Read

The Brown and White is my own story about a young Irish American boy in his freshman year in high school during the Chicago Troubles in the late 1960s. 

SPORTS AND FAITH II

The Sports and Faith Series are books that promote the good in sports. Sports and Faith Book 2 includes stories of current professionals and legends; spotlighted are teams such as Bob Ladouceur s De La Salle squad portrayed in the motion picture When the Game Stands Tall. Burke Masters (featured on cover), Matthew Lightner, and Grant Desme three promising athletes who decided on a role of lifetime service are spotlighted. McCaskey recalls the stories of those who strove to make the cut on and off the field.

 

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF BASEBALL

The 10 Commandments of Baseball is about the baseball principles created by the greatest Major League Baseball manager of all time, Joe McCarthy. McCarthy's Irish youth was troubled by the early death of his father and his parish priest convinced his mother that Joe should pursue his baseball dreams and go to college rather than jump right into the plumbing trade. 

Most of my books are available on Amazon. But click on the links above for more information.  

Saint Kevin and the Blackbird is an an 800 year old Irish story about the great saint. Saint Kevin went out to his small hut or cell to pray one day and he extended his arm out the window of the tiny building. A blackbird landed on his hand and the saint patiently left his arm outside while the bird built a nested, laid eggs, and saw them hatch and fly away. Seamus Heaney wrote a beautiful spiritual poem looking at what the saint might have thought and gave his reasons for the deed.   I was so enamored with it that I had the shirt made up.  Patrick McCaskey is a big Seamus Heaney fan and in our next Sports and Faith book, Worthwhile Struggle,  we include Saint Kevin's story and the Heaney poem. You can see the sweatshirt below, but send me your requirements at lmj.norris@gmail.com--it comes in men's sizes small, medium, large, 1X large and 2X large. All are gray  long sleeved and I had another themed shirt made up on another saint a few  years ago just for myself and I have worn holes in it--it's that comfortable. 

Saint Kevin and the Blackbird

Our latest Sports and Faith Series book is Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage is Patrick McCaskey’s third book on Sports and Faith. Pilgrimage explores various Christian shrines and holy places popular with today’s trekkers and seekers. Awakened by modern fascination with places like the Way of Saint James, many athletes whose achievements are celebrated in this Sports and Faith book, have made pilgrimages part of their faith journey. The Holy Land, Rome, Lourdes, Fatima, Assisi, and several other places of interest and their origins are examined.

Author Patrick McCaskey has peppered the book with his own poems and narratives on all things McCaskey. The popular author’s poems and his own literary and papal pilgrimages are here. McCaskey shares personal episodes that readers will find simple, insightful, and touching.Pilgrimage shares stories of exemplary athletes and others who are successful in sports and life. These writings are often the product of the author’s efforts on behalf of Sports Faith International, an initiative that honors devout athletes and coaches. In Pilgrimage, some of those featured have left sports for religious vocations—a college volleyball star, an Olympic Speed-skater, and a professional (female) football player! Add to these, stories on coaches, teams, and athletes of all shapes and sizes, including some who have struggled mightily with their sport and their calling. Sports training as a metaphor for religious growth and is found throughout. Athletes train seriously for sustaining endurance, improving their skills, and maximizing performance. Many faithful Christians use such training to make a difference for the unfortunate, teaching young people, and working tirelessly for others. These efforts are featured.

Pilgrimage includes some stories you may not expect: The story of Lou Gehrig, the great Christian gentleman of baseball. EWTN sensation,Bear Woznick, devout Catholic, radio and TV host who challenges people to abandon themselves to God, and live a life in pursuit of God’s will in the boldest, most rewarding way possible. Then there is Mark Philippi, a nationally recognized Strength and Conditioning Coach and Power-lifting champion. Another story features West Point graduate and army officer, April Ortenzo, who is following her family’s example of service and sacrifice to others.

Pilgrimage is a well-rounded offering that helps readers on their own faith journey through the examples of many others. Some readers may not be able to make a life-changing journey across continents and oceans, but this book can give readers some insights and enrichment. For those seeking adventure and travel in their future, here’s a personal introduction.

Book: Flesh and Blood Experiences

Good Read with a Cup of Tea

Publishing could be fun if it wasn't so frustrating these days. But after 16 years of Catholic schools and decades of work in professional publishing, I have had some input on things we publish and the works themselves. I bring my experiences into the mix and that makes it more fulfilling.

I was taught by Dominican Sisters, Carmelite Priests and Brothers, and Benedictine Monks and Nuns. In-between publishing books like The 10 Commandments of Baseball by J. D. Thorne and our Sports and Faith Series (most recent Pilgrimage) by Patrick McCaskey, I did publish an eBook about my grammar school years called Callaghan Goes to St. Cajetan and I published a print book on my high school experience called The Brown and White. These are humorous books that are based on my childhood.  Books of this kind allow readers to enter the author’s world and at the same time call to mind their own experiences as well. That’s one thing I have found in my work at Sporting Chance Press—a good book can be a personal invitation to remember things we may never have been able to remember without some kind of stimulation.

That may sound a little weird, but I swear it is true. Going out with J. D. Thorne to speaking engagements I heard him talk principles, players and his own experience from The 10 Commandments of Baseball.  And sure enough, the audience would react to what he was saying and often mention stories and experiences his book quelled within them.  The 10 Commandments mentions that baseball on the radio was one of the few forms of entertainment that people had before TV.  Out on the farms, it could be a real life-saver.  Some in J. D.’s audiences talk about those experiences. Often, J. D. and his audiences remember a special love they both had for the game and its players. 

Patrick McCaskey is a grandson of George Halas, the founder of the Chicago. Bears Halas was a leading member of the original NFL organization. Some people might imagine that they would have little in common with his family, but that’s not true. In many ways, Pat and his siblings were raised like many of us with shared bedrooms, chores, school work, athletics, and much more.  Sure there are experiences Pat had that are much different, but there is a lot of common situations as well.  Often Pat’s presentations, like his books, talk about some funny things that happened to him that most of us can appreciate.  As a teenager, Pat once hopped on his bike and road 10 miles to see a girl he had met—she wasn’t home. Pat also shares his faith experiences and what it has meant to him. 

I always find it a little difficult to sit at a table sometimes at an event staring down at a collection of books that some people may see as a commodity—books for $12.50 or $20.  But for me the books are about flesh and blood experiences—laughter and tears—and much more. 

Saint Kevin and the Blackbird

We are creating a "Saint Kevin and the Blackbird" shirt. The image was created by Curt Rabinak and I think it is a winner. We are including a brief story on Saint Kevin in our next book in our Sports and Faith Series called Worthwhile Struggle. 

Seamus Heaney wrote a poem based on Irish-Catholic tradition called “Saint Kevin and the Blackbird.”A blackbird landed on the Saint’s hand while his arms were extended in prayer—the bird laid its eggs in his hand. The kindly saint holds the bird until the eggs hatch and the young birds leave.

The actual story dates from roughly 800 years ago. 

I am having the design printed in grey and available in men's sizes--small-medium-large-2X and 3X for starters. They are $25 and should be here by mid-October. If you'd like to order just send me a note at lmj.norris@gmail.com. I used the same fabric and color for a shirt I did on the Way of Saint James and work it myself many many times--very durable. 

Saint Kevin of the Nettles

Publisher Norris 

In our latest book in our Sports and Faith Series, we include a brief piece on Saint Kevin.  He is one of my favorite Irish Saints based on a story an Irish friend of mine named Kevin, told me long ago.  

My friend, Kevin, has parents right off the boat and they named their American-born son, Kevin. Perhaps it was  because they thought Kevin was going to be good looker, as was Saint Kevin according to tradition. Maybe they thought he was going to be a bit of a discipline problem and they thought he might be affected by the ancient story of Kevin throwing himself in the nasty itchy nettles when he was tempted by a woman. Maybe they wanted him to think about living a clean chaste life. My friend told me the story of Saint Kevin and the nettles. I was very much impressed. 

But it is also possible, that my friend Kevin's parents heard another story about Saint Kevin and the Blackbird. In this ancient story that was made famous by the marvelous poet Seamus Heaney, the saint went out to a hut or cell for to pray. He stuck his arm out and a blackbird landed on his hand to nest. The patient saint, miraculously held his hand out for the complete duration of the blackbird's nesting season. Only when the eggs were hatched and young birds flew away did Kevin let down his hand. 

The story is a magnificent story of patience, sacrifice, endurance, love, faith, and charity. Heaney himself described Kevin's sacrifice as one made for the reward of the right reason done for the right reason. 

I was so impressed by the story of Saint Kevin that we are including it our next book called Worthwhile Struggle and I am also making a lovely shirt made up to honor the Saint (see above---God bless the good work). My son-in-law created the design. I am having a modest number of shirts made up and I will be selling them for $25.  I am having them made long-sleeved for the fall and winter. I have used this particular shirt before and it shrinks a little, but is very comfortable and durable. 

My Great Grandma Callaghan

Great-grandmother Callaghan (photo stolen from my sister) 

My dad's mom came over from a stop in England, they were originally from Ireland. This is her mom, who came over with her. The Callaghan's set up in Chicago. There were some Callaghans who stopped by Ottawa and I wonder if some of my family were there for a short while. This looks like a Chicago neighborhood to me and the American flag shows that they are here.  

My dad was the oldest in the family and would sometimes travel to the cemetery with his grandmother, Holy Sepulchre out west on 111th Street from his neighborhood on the south side. My dad was a favorite of women--not a romancer, but you just knew there was something kind about him and he was always interested in what anyone he was conversing with had to say. Women liked a good listener and he was usually cheerful and polite.  I think like most men, when his temper bubbled up or he was moody, it was usually at home with my mother. She was tough enough to dish it back at him, if she was so inclined. They were a great match. 

My Dad 

My dad was a favorite of his grandmother. My grandmother looked a lot like her mother above--she was tiny though and she always wore her hair in a bun. She just seemed like an older lady for as long as I knew her. Today, I suppose she'd be out getting her veins fixed and her hair tinted. 

My dad never played the Irish card, although he always lamented that had he taken his mother's name, he might have done better on the Chicago Police force.  When my dad was a cop, things were not that great--the salary was very low during the first Daley era. My dad always had 2 jobs and sometime three. His dad was a Norris, a name that has English roots, but does go back in some places in Ireland a few hundred years. His father started out with a horse and wagon delivery service--vegetables, furniture and ice. He moved up and became a Teamster. But he didn't touch a drop of liquor, never swore, and went to Mass regularly.  My sense is he was honest,but he died a few years before I was born. Being an officer in the Teamsters at the time, he did a lot of Alderman type things for his members.  Going to jail to bail people out when they got drunk and disorderly. Pulling them out of bars when called--whatever it took to make sure they stayed employed and worked for their families. 

My grandfather and grandmother "adopted" a young boy who was by himself in the neighborhood. Like all of his brothers, he had some rough spots, but they loved him and in some ways he was my grandmother's favorite--the youngest.  But after they took him in, their luck changed and my grandfather moved up on the socio-economic ladder. It might not have been much of a change, but my grandfather could buy a new car every couple years and had bought some suits. My grandmother was eventually able to stock her pantry and sometimes invite my dad over to take some food back to his young family. That was what happen in those days when your folks were doing well--there was no trust funds or big inheritance, but you could stop by and help yourself to some extra groceries. 

I hope my readers have good thoughts about their parents, their ancestors today. We all have some bad memories and some have a lot of bad memories, but maybe today you can recall some good. I also hope can say a prayer for those families members who have died. I am old sinner, but it doesn't take a saint to be a good pray-or. God Bless, you. 

Larry Norris is the author of The Brown and White a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. 

For Crying Out Loud, Picking Chicken Can be a Hassle

Old Fashioned Values Have Value

Someone I know works at a local grocery store in the deli. The store has a special cheap chicken deal one day a week when you can buy a certain pre-selected mix of chicken for a couple dollars off the regular price. It is a big deal. They sell a lot of chicken on those days. At the same time, the margins are low, the deal is the deal--no substitutes! 

My friend was packing up those orders for chicken lovers, but she was constantly getting requests from people to mix up the pieces according to their liking. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you just go pick the pieces willy nilly, the cheap chicken deal falls on its face for several reasons. It could be that people are requesting the larger more expensive pieces so that the store loses money. Or the planning that goes into the cooking fails and they run out of pieces so that the folks who are willing to play by the rules can't get the chicken they want.

But it doesn't stop people from belittling workers at the counter and insisting they fill the orders according to their individual wants.

It's one of those head-shaking complications that you see in our world today. People want they want even when it hurts the other person, even when it can cause the other person to lose their job. Even when it is unfair. 

In years past, I suppose I would have found something of humor in the situation, but I know the woman who has to deal with these customers and I am not amused. 

Lawrence Norris is the author of  Callaghan Goes to St. Cajetan and The Brown and White in paperback and on Kindle. He has not written a book on working in the deli. 

Aristotle and Saint Thomas

Saint Thomas Aquinas,
 Fr. Lew Lawrence, O.P., Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas make me smile.  I mean these two men were uber "thought leaders" as they say.  If they were around today, they would both be on TV and all over social media. I don't think anyone could think like these two in the context of their lives and times. And if they were here they would be that much better able to see though a lot of nonsense that is going on . 

Here's a couple good quotes (source brainyquote) from Aristotle for today: 

The worst form of inequity  is to try to make unequal things equal. 

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is at the worst. 

Here's a couple good quotes (source brainyquote) from Saint Thomas for today:

Happiness is secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man's own will. 

Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand. 

I was lucky enough to go to a very good college, Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas,  where we had some exposure to Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas.  

Larry Norris is the publisher of Sports and Faith Book 2 and Pilgrimage by Patrick McCaskey. 

Saint Blaise Feast Day Today

Martyrdom of Saint Blaise, Girolamo da Santacroce

Saint Blaise was the bishop of Sebastea and a doctor. February 3rd is his feast day. He is the Patron Saint of woolcombers, wild animals, and suffers from throat diseases.

The first known record of the saint's life comes from the medical writings of Aëtius Amidenus who lived after St. Blaise and likely wrote about Blaise in the late 5th or 6th century. Amidenus depicts Blaise helping patients suffering from objects stuck in their throats. Blaise is said to have performed a cure of a boy who had a fishbone in his throat who was choking. Among healing miracles credited to Blaise, he was said to cure diseased beasts during his refuge in the country away from persecution that had came to pass under Emperor Diocletian beginning in 303. Diocletian demanded that Christian comply with traditional Roman religious practices. 

In 316, the governor of Cappadocia and of Lesser Armenia, Agricola, had Bishop Blaise arrested for being a Christian. St. Blaise was tortured with iron combs, beaten and beheaded.

In many churches on 3rd February – his feast day – the blessing of throats takes place. 

Crossed candles are placed against the throat and the priest or minister says: 

"Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from all ailments of the throat and from every other evil: in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

As a child in Catholic Schools, we always had our throat blessed each year on this day. Today, I had mine blessed at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Crystal Lake, Illinois, after our That Man is You session this morning. It was wonderful. 

Like many saints,  writings about St. Blaise were done many years after his death. St. Blaise was (and is) a particularly popular saint. 

Larry Norris is the publisher of Sports and Faith Book 2 and Pilgrimage by Patrick McCaskey. 

St. Brendan of Birr, Apostle of Ireland

Attribution: Andreas F. Borchert, Stained Glass Window at St. Brendan Church, Birr

In my book called The Brown and White the lead character Collin Callaghan is a high school boy from an Irish Catholic family. As an Irish Catholic American, you may not have all your i's dotted and your t's crossed on authentic Irish culture. It's funny  though because I have to wonder how many of us have it all together on our own culture.  In some ways we think we live in the culture and if that is not authentic enough, than what is? 

I am not so sure.  

I remember many years ago working in downtown Chicago.  I came from a family that included policemen, nurses, and teachers.  I thought my touch points with the culture were pretty strong. But a funny thing happened when I worked on Sundays at Kroch's and Brentano's bookstore. A very different group of Chicagoans would come out of their Lake Shore Drive apartments/condos, take a short cab ride  and shop. The young people would come with their parents and grandparents and come into the store.  The pace was very slow, none of them seemed to be in a hurry. I think many times there were making a day of it--and after shopping going for dinner and maybe a show or a play. Probably spending on entertaining one day more than my family did in a month. 

While my family and many others in Chicago at the time had toiled with junky cars, old houses, and cheap meals--the Lake Shore Drive folks were remarkably different. Many of them never owned a car or had them stored away somewhere for the rare occasions when they needed them. A house with a year wasn't part of their American dream. The kids went to private schools that I never heard about and when they shopped and ended with a hoard of parcels, they paid for some kind of delivery service. 

The North Shore residents would look out each morning on the lake.  Most city experiences that I might remember were not shared with these people--but certainly they were part of Chicago--contributing to the culture too--in fact today, many would suggest that they had a better grip on the city than me. They lived close to museums, the music halls, the theaters, downtown and the lake. 

I remember later on in life reading O. Henry's stories of New Yorkers. They say O. Henry  loved all 4 Million New Yorkers and he wrote many stories about many. At one time, he write a story a week. And his characters experiences were human and surprising.  

I guess the lesson for me was that it was not so easy to understand the culture of a city, because it has many elements and people come from many backgrounds. It also reminds me to keep my eyes open to learn about culture and different things it offers. 

And while I see our culture, I will also continue to look at Irish culture and enjoy doing it. 

St. Brendan of Birr 

Brendan of Birr is one of the twelve apostles of Ireland, twelve Irish monastic saints of the sixth century who studied under St Finnian at Clonard Abbey.  St. Brendan was born about 500 and the year of his death is not agreed upon by scholars, but most think he died about 572. Sometimes confused with the more well know, St Brendan of Clonfert (the Navigator), St. Brendan became a friend of St Columba (also known as Columkill) and St Brendan the Navigator. It was at this time the monks of Ireland began a period of 300 years of illuminated manuscript creation. The Book of Kells being the most famous is said to come from one of the monasteries of St. Columba—the Kells Monastery or perhaps created at Iona in whole or in part and then shipped to Kells for safety.

St. Brendan of Birr founded a monastery at Birr in central Ireland although everything we know about Brendan comes from the writings on other Irish Saints. After St. Columba was excommunicated, St. Brendan defended him and told others that Columba was held in high esteem by God and his excommunication was rescinded.  St. Columba would go on to found his celebrated monastery at Iona, an island in the Inner Hebrides off the coast of Scotland.

St. Brendan of Birr’s feast day is November 29^th. Brendan's monastery at Birr is said by some to have created the MacRegol Gospels (after Brendan’s death), which are now housed at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Larry Norris is the publisher of Sports and Faith Book 2 and Pilgrimage by Patrick McCaskey. 

The Brown and White Irish

The Brown and White

The Brown and White is a very readable and interesting book. I come from one of those families that was a step out of the old world and so our lives were heavily influenced by our Irish roots. 

I made a mistake recently and posted something on an Irish social network site.  It was just my thoughts on how Ireland was going through some changes in their attachment to Catholicism and I suggested that if they drop the faith they will lose something that has been significantly Irish-in their DNA. I know about the priestly scandals and the brutality from certain institutions that has been reported in the last decade, etc.  And I don't pretend to understand it all, but to lose your faith because of some bad religious caretakers is a mistake. I think I said a couple times that it was up to the Irish whether they would allow Catholicism to become a trivial pursuit there. 

Some people didn't like me expressing my opinion. "A foreigner who has never lived in Ireland, etc."  

I suspect that the media has made a huge deal of the issue there and many many people have gotten on the bandwagon.  I am sorry about the scandal, but there are many thousands of magnificent religious people who came from Ireland. And that rich heritage of priests, brothers, and nuns made a difference all over the world. Parishes all over the United States would welcome a new group of Irish priests now, but they are not coming. And we have had our scandals here--so our numbers are down as well in churches and schools. 

Although I am not an Irish citizen, I had to get my opinion out.  There are a lot of evil people who are out to cast Catholicism and frankly they ignore the massive good that it has done. I know many of my Irish relatives expressed an appreciation and love for their faith, the faith of their ancestors. It was a faith that people suffered for and died for.  Many poems, stories, and songs are predicated upon the faith experience of the Irish. If the Irish decide to eliminate their own faith, to me it's like replacing the anger of English oppression with a self-loathing.  

This is my blog and this is my opinion.  You can get plenty of other opinions on sites elsewhere.  


Larry Norris is the author of The Brown and White a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. 

God-Moments from Childhood

Woman and Child

I think most of us are to some extent hypocrites--not "perfect" hypocrites, but rather people who fail at things--even some things  that we try to hold dear.  

I was talking to some friends recently about how some habits that our kids take on really can set us off--aggravate us!  And upon reflection, those habits are often failures of our own and they set us off because we see that our kids are carrying them on despite our best (or worst) efforts. 

Frank Zappa use to say, "We are all bozos on this bus." We are all sinners. 

Of course, it is important for us to pick ourselves up after each failing and attempt to get past it--to do better--to live better--and to be better. 

Often, I look back at my childhood for life lessons. All my relatives had blemishes.  They committed sins. As a kid you didn't dwell on this kind of stuff, but in those days people would sometimes be crushed from the weight of guilt and disappointment. For Catholics, we understand that sins are painful to us and those we have hurt, but our beliefs tell us to get past them. I don't think the church wants us to wallow in misery, although some people believe we should. 

Some people can't get over even one rejection.  A "Dear John" letter is more than they can handle.  Sometimes one rejection leads to violence. But people often have more than one romantic relationship and most get beyond the tough ones.  However, as people get older, they sometimes bring back events in their lives and allow them to take a bigger place than they actually had when they occurred.  I suppose this is natural, but I think it can be harmful. 

Some of the happiest people I have known in their 40s, end up as "sad sacks" in their 70s.  They look back and decide they want to be miserable and that their lives were more troubled than they let on.  I think this is more an age thing than actual disappointment.  They slept like a baby in their 40s and 50s, so they weren't obsessed then, why be obsessed now?  Sometimes I think we need to take lessons on how to get older gracefully! 

I remember one relative who had some very sad moments in her life and those moments would have crushed most people.  As a kid, I never gave her credit for her ability to keep going on.  Her life, like many of ours was messy, but she was a woman who had faith and she was a darn good "prayor." She had fortitude. 

My church men's group is called "That Man is You." And our group leader asks us each week if we had any God-moments. When I look back at my life, I often think of this relative of mine and how she presented us with many God-moments, one at a time, when we were young.  Sometimes it was an Irish story, sometimes a prayer, and sometimes it was encouragement and assurance that God was out there for us all. I hope the Good Lord gives her credit for it.  Our lives can be disappointing at times, but maybe we can inspire others. Maybe we can summon up God-moments for others. 

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Lawrence Norris is the author of The Brown and White and the publisher of Pilgrimage and other fine books. 

Ed Sheeran is popular all over the world

I was thinking about Ed Sheeran today.  No, I am not some kind of crazy fan! But in my searches of internet music of the Irish variety, I have seen some songs by Ed. I do a lot of writing about Irish interests on my blogs. 

Ed Sheeran is popular all over the world. My wife and daughters are listening to the radio and they tell me that Ed Sheeran is the big story in music. It is hard to figure on some level because he is one man with a guitar, but I think he excites people the way the Beatles did 50 years ago. This man is uber talented and his songs seem to lead way outside the normal bounds of voice and instrument.  

I heard a few days ago that Ed Sheeran made it twice on the YouTube rundown of most popular videos for this year.  James Cordon's Carpool Karaoke with Sheeran was one item in the top ten and his song, "Shape of You," was another that features a Kyle Hanagami dance routine. Rather than explain the dance business, if you haven't seen it, view it.

Ed is an English artist with an Irish  father. He is a young man and he has played with many others in group performances and duets. In an era of big sound stages and incredible techno-performances, his songs and his popularity throw a monkey wrench into probability calculations. He has performed duets with Beyonce, Clapton, Bocelli, Eminem, Taylor Swift, Tori Kelly, Elton John, Chris Brown, Demi Lovato, Sam Smith, and others.  

His three albums are named via mathematical signs that are written out on his web site as Divide, Multiply and Plus. 

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The Brown and White

Larry Norris is the author of The Brown and White a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School.