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. 

Pilgrimage

Books are often like many other products out there.  People tend to be influenced by others and once something gains some momentum it can continue. Often buying habits are copied.  Popular authors gain a following. A video goes viral. A song finds a radio audience. In some cases, a huge advertising budget gets hold of Americans' attention.  I am often amazed at how a new TV show can be introduced as "the new hit series" when it has only been on once or twice? Who knows how it all works? But one thing I do know, is that if one book gains a healthy audience, chances are you will see a series develop.  In series there is success. 

I've been writing many posts on the books that I publish. But I do love it when I get a nice review from someone who writes something on Amazon. We recently got one for Pilgrimage and you can see it here. Pilgrimage is the third book in our Sports and Faith Series by Patrick McCaskey.  I have spent about 10% of my  life on the Sports and Faith Series.  

Parents: Focus on the Good Stuff

Kids on Swing, Library of Congress

Most parents suffer though some consternation over what are good things for kids and what are bad things.  Sometimes it is obvious (arts, sports, etc.), sometimes it is not so obvious (internet, movies, popular music).  But I think most will agree, good things can help our kids become good people. One way to proceed is with activites that you know are good. 

I always like sports and the arts.  Many kids have a natural attraction to sports and it really doesn't take much to make it a positive experience.  [Our book on baseball principles, The 10 Commandments of Baseball, spells out great things that can be taught in a baseball program.] But coaches and administrators do have to be focused on bringing out the good and sharing the benefits with the kids.  We've all seen examples of the "bad" parent who screams awful comments at kids, umpires and coaches.  Some parents want the games to revolve around their offspring and they cannot seem to tolerate the human part of the game.  But in many sports, the basic fundamentals of teamwork, sacrifice and discipline offer so many positive experiences--it's worth some effort to make it work. 

Even Mistakes can be Positive

Kids make errors all the time and often in a game like baseball, mistakes are a big part of the game.  For example, at a higher level, a very good hitter gets on base one out of three times. That means the player does not get on base two of three times! This in itself is a good lesson.  Kids should learn that great efforts do not produce great results 100% of the time.  But the important lesson is to keep trying and overcome the difficulties. Good sports lessons are often good life lessons. 

Arts

In the arts, lessons can be a little more subtle sometimes, but early on it can be tough for parents!  If you have ever had a child who learned to play a musical instrument, you know how much patience it takes and often how painful it can be for the both the child, parent and even teacher.  A beginning instrumentalist is often emitting sounds that are just horrible, but at that stage they need the most encouragement.  

Most parents have had the experience of looking at an early drawing by one of their kids and then trying to coax a description of the subject from your child because the parents are clueless.  The best parent is able to probe without showing any cynicism or criticism.  At the school's arts show, you can see parents of the gifted and parents of the struggling all putting on a good face for their offspring.  

Kids have gifts in some areas and are challenged in others.  Some kids have disabilities, but are exceptionally gifted in some areas.  When we appreciate the work they do, we are sending them on the way to greater things (we hope). 

Healthy and Compassionate People

As a parent, we understand that many programs provide good experiences that can help our kids grow up to be healthy and compassionate people.  If we promote things that can often lead to success later in life, but we teach our kids to be cruel and self-centered, chances are that our child will not be happy in life.  So experiences that lead to success and compassion are things that most parents seek. 

Oops Sometimes

In sports, some people often have problems in understanding just how things might end up in the long term.  Objectively, we might have a great understand of how this works for everyone else, but we may not think so clearly about our situation.  As a child gets older, the gate to the next level of play tends to get narrower and narrower.  It's important to help make it work when the child is involved and also help direct the child when it is all. 

In Sports and Faith: More Stories of the Devoted and the Devout, Patrick McCaskey talks about former Chicago Bears kicker Bob Thomas and how he wrote about the direction we need to take with  sports if we want them to work for most kids.  There are programs out there that exist for thousands of kids, but seem to be focused on results that might help one or two who might go on the pros.  When I coached, I always hoped that I was preparing kid for the next level, but I didn't run the team as if that was the main goal. Many of the best coaches in early sports programs realize that when they make  teaching skills and developing character a goal, winning becomes less important. Fun is a sideline of these kind of efforts and it often revolves around a team that respects and appreciates team members. Fun comes when players achieve some success--when they become better.  If a coach gives up on teaching and helping kids develop their talents, and just goes for fun, it rarely works from my experience. A team is work and play. 

In team sports, it is often encumbent upon a coach to work the hardest with the players who need the most help.  Improvements with the weakest players can often create the greatest team improvement.  Focusing too much energy on a team's stars, can often limit a team's improvement in my opinion. When you coach a team sport like football or soccer, you learn pretty early how a weak player at any position can be exposed by the competition.  As kids get older, you need to bring the team skills up.  

End Game

At some point, chances are that your kids are going to reach their limit in competitive sports.  It may come in the early days of high school, college or even later, but for almost everyone, they go on to other things.  For many people today, it just means they switch gears a little. As they get older, they jog, hang out at the gym at times, play softball or golf, etc.  There are many things adults can do to help stay fit and also to have fun.  If they love competition at some level, there are many fun-runs, exercise courses, and activities that can keep them active and fit for most of their lives. 

An artist rarely has to stop playing an instrument or drawing, etc.  as they get older. They might not make the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, but there are community orchestras, open mic nights, or amateur exhibits to experience.  It's always fun for me to see someone playing the paino at holiday celebrations--a bit of a lost art today when compared to the past. If you participate in music, the arts, or sports, chances are that  you will always friends.  When we encourage kids and their activities in positive ways--it helps them to belong. 

The Brown and White

Forty plus years in the making, The Brown and White is a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. Collin is a white boy who is living in turbulent times in a changing city. He clings to his neighborhood and his family as he heads out each day with his classmates on the Brown and White, the ancient school bus driven by free-spirited Willie. Memorable characters abound as this story unfolds. Collin's loveable family, especially his Irish Catholic policeman father and his Irish immigrant mother face life together. Collin and classmates blaze their own humorous and passionate trail through the late 1960s. A unique cast of terrific teachers are there to see the boys through. Laughs and life meet readers head on as they travel on the Brown and White.

Another Brown and White Adventure

I had just written another post on my job hunt and my frustrations with looking for a job.  It was tiring and taking forever. Plus, I was not good at it and I knew it. Coming from my Irish Catholic background, son of a humble Chicago Patrolman, humility came with the territory and there is something very unhumble about those who successful sell themselves to prospective employers. 

Someone who knows about job searches had just told me that I needed to sharpen up my resume and get some kind of narrative going on my own personal talents.  I thought I might just take it to the next level and meet with my informal adviser, Willie the Bus Driver from my high school alma mater, Mount Carmel High School. I wanted Willie's thoughts. Of course, Willie's been dead for many years, but being Irish and supersitious, I never let death put a halt to good conversation. So I was game if Willie was.

Willie was a tough guy although tiny--his features were elfish like in Santa Claus. Instead of red, he dressed in grey like the Maytag repairman.  Unlike Santa, who has a magic dentist, Willie had few teeth. And he talked kind of funny, but he was our man. We loved Willie and knew there was wisdom in most everything he said.

So I walked over to 114th and Western this morning and waited for the Brown and White bus. I had my old Brown and White leather school jacket on that looked at it had been worn by everyone who had gone to Mount Carmel. 

The bus was a long time coming.  It has been in some kind of other dimension and I think Willie stopped for a cup of coffee before warming it up. But it did come at last and Willie pulled the bus over and the huge old fashioned mechanical doors swung open. I hopped up the stairs just like the old days and showed Willie my old Carmel ID. He looked it over and looked at me and said: "how does I know it's you?" Before I could think of anything to say, Willie said, "oh. forget it."

As I sat accross from Willie, it dawned on me that I was approaching Willie's age now, the age that the "old boy" had died. Once I got past that scary thought, he looked over at me and said, "so why does you want to see me, Norris."

"Well, Willie, you see I am having difficulty finding a new job and people tell me I have to really sell myself.  And it's just hard and I thought I would ask someone who could help me--maybe make up some bull. And I thought of you."

Willie looked at me and said, "I think yoos got yousself the wrong man, Norris.  I am no good at bull, but maybe I can help."

I wasn't sure I agreed with what Willie said, but I waited for the wisdom. Willie stopped talking for a few minutes and he lit up a smoke--a Marlboro long.

"Well, I'd drop the bull and tell them yoos went to Mount Carmel.  That has to help, duzntit?"

"I guess I could do that, I usually just put my college on my resume, but who knows, maybe that might work," I said.

I started to wonder if I had overestimated Willie's wisdom. 

As the bus pulled up toward 107th Street, Willie said, "We're going to pick up your old pal Hannie. Maybe he has some ideas."

Jeez, I thought, this is getting kinda of complicated.  First I pull Willie out of retirement and now he has a guest for me. 

There with a couple of sweet rolls about the size of frisbies and a couple stryrofoam cups of hot coffee stood one of the south side's greatest politicians who never ran for public office, my old pal Hannie.  Hannie was a couple inches taller than Willie. Today, I don't know why but he dressed a little like Buster Brown. I closed my eyes and shook my head and then looked again, but he was still dressed the same way.  Then I remembered, Hannie wore Buster Brown shoes with a soft kind of suede surface to them.  Then it dawned on me that as usual whoever had control of things today was not me.  

The big mechanical door swung open and Hannie climbed up the stairs. In a second or two he was sitting across from me.  He handed one coffee and sweet roll to Willie and took the other for himself.  He had done the same every morning he took the brown and white in high school and it seemed natural today.

I looked at Hannie a little puzzled because I knew the neighborhood had changed. "Where'd you get the sweet rolls?"

"Wendt's diner, open today for this special occassion," exclaimed Hannie.

I looked across the steet and sure enough the restaurant and sign had reappeared after many years. And when I looked closely, I could see old man Wendt in his white shirt and apron. "He must be 110 at least," I said.

"No, he was younger when he died and thats where he stays," said Hannie.

Not sure how the age of the dead works out, I just stood quiet.

Willie looked at Hannie and thanked him for the treats. Then he said, "Hannnie, your old Pal, Norris, here isn't having much luck finding a job and he wants to know if yoos have any ideas for him."

Hannie looked at me and said, "so that's the deal--wondered what this was all about.  You're looking for some connections."

"No, Hannie, I am just wondering what in the hell I am doing wrong, it's just not working."

"Well, my uncle was the president of the outside electricians, but he's dead. And you know my mom worked at city hall and she knew the first Daley, but she is long dead, too."

And then as Willie and I stared at each other, Hainnie went through a litany of dead people, a hundred names or more who could have helped me, but they were all gone. It was a good refresher course for our time back in the day on the South Side. 

"Well, Hannie, maybe you can ask all the dead for their prayers, that might be about best."

"OK, Norris, they can sure do that."

Willie interupted, "well boys we are approaching 103rd Street and that means Dan Dollar will be there. Maybe Dollar will have some ideas."

Sure enough, the brown and white pulled up and there was Dollar, a little grey around the edges, but sporting his old light colored buckskin coat with leather fringe. Dollar did immitations of teachers, movies stars, comedians and other notables. He was one of the coolist guys in high school--at least we thought so.  Suddenly, I felt excited because Dan had manuevered his way around the Chicago Public School system. If anyone would know the ropes to job hunting, it would be him.

Once again the bus stopped and Willie opened the huge door. The stooped figure of Dan Dollar walked up the stairs and deposited himself on a seat near us.  About a second after we go the "how the hell are you, Dollar," out of our mouths, Dollar was doing his immitations of the top entertainers like he had done back in the day. I wasn't sure if he would be doing new stars of the day, but instead he entertained with routines from Ed Sullivan including Poppo Gigio and  Senor Wences. Not very cool, but for us very entertaining. 

After some "oh Eddie's" and funky Spanish, we give Dollar some luke warm applause.  Dollar looked over at me and said, "so what do you need?"

I explained for him all the problems I had with job hunting. The dead ends, the frustations over all kinds of things involved in it and the idea that people were looking for long lists of talents that certainly no human being had. Dollar leaned back and looked at me and then over at Hainne and Willie.  "You know what he needs to win at the job game today, don't you?"

Hainnie shook his head.

Willie light up another cigarette and said nothing.

I looked at Dollar and exasperated, I said, "OK, what!"

Dollar looked at me and said, "Sharp elbows. You need to move in and clear everyone else out of the way."

"Sharp elbows," I said.  You mean we wake Willie from the dead, he brings this bus from another dimention, and we all come back to the school bus for a dose of wisdom and we get "sharp elbows?"

Dillon looks at me and says, "What do you expect from a guy who looks like the Maytag Repairman, another dressed as Buster Brown and an amateur comedian who looks like an aging rock star? If you wanted some genius ideas on a job, you should have had Bill Gates and Warren Buffet!" 

I looked at myself in my high school Brown and White coat and started to feel kind of foolish. For the rest of the trip to nowhere we sat by the windows and looked girl's legs in the cars below. 

The Brown and White

Forty plus years in the making, The Brown and White is a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. Collin is a white boy who is living in turbulent times in a changing city. He clings to his neighborhood and his family as he heads out each day with his classmates on the Brown and White, the ancient school bus driven by free-spirited Willie. Memorable characters abound as this story unfolds. Collin's loveable family, especially his Irish Catholic policeman father and his Irish immigrant mother face life together. Collin and classmates blaze their own humorous and passionate trail through the late 1960s. A unique cast of terrific teachers are there to see the boys through. Laughs and life meet readers head on as they travel on the Brown and White.

You Think You Know, but You Don't

I remember the venerable coach Dennis Green who led the Northwestern Wildcats and the Stanford Cardinal in the college game.  In the pros, he was head coach of the the Vikings for 10 years and coached the Cardinals for 3 seasons.  

After coaching for Northwestern and Stanford, many people might have expected he would be a cerebral Bill Walsh type coach. But he was more outwardly emotional. Many  thought of him as a players' coach. 

Green's emotions will be remembered in a rant that he had after his Cardinals lost to the Bears.  Fans will remember an angry and resultful Green exploding after the post game conference and howling :

"They are who we thought they were...and we let 'em off the hook!"

Like almost all coaches who last in the NFL, he had good years and bad. Coaching is a mix of highs and lows, victories and losses.  A lot of coaching character comes into play when you pick yourself up after a loss, a string of losses, or even a season of losses in some cases.  And with Green and other coaches, you know that the best laid plans don't come to fruition at times in large part because of yourself as well as the human beings who surround you. 

Green's players thought highly of him. After Geen's death in 2006, one of his players, Randall Cunningham,  said he "built our morals, our character, our integrity." 

I think the cameras can sometimes catch people at a low point in life and unfortunately if it comes to define us in the media, people have the wrong impression and it also affects their sense of reality.  I think people tend to forget that.  Our perception of people when based on inaccurate information or overemphasis can tend to distort our sense of reality. We can become damaged as well. 

Green violated a few coaching principles in his news conference, he lost his patience with his own team in public and he attacked the winning team in the bargain. He knew who the Bears were (assuming the Bears were bad) and his team still lost.  

But Green was good man. 

Dennis Green had a lot of good days and by no means should we judge him for one  lousy press conference.  But this bad example is very instructive for us, human like Green.  

I think it shows us how vulnerable we are at any moment.  Like a coach, our performance can change in a heartbeat when we fail to deliver, but it can also change when those around us fail.  A good coach can look like a bad coach, a good father can look like a bad father, a good mother can look like a bad mother--it goes on and on.  We should not be defined by one unfortunate moment in time. 

For Chistmas time, I think it is also important for me, to keep my judgements about others in check.  We don't know how it feels to be very poor and vulnerable. We don't know how it feels to be sick , addicted, and destitute. We don't know how difficult it may be to get up after so many failures and fight another day.  So in my imaginary news conference after a rough loss, I need to keep things to myself, say my prayers to the Almighty and go on. 
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The Brown and White

Forty plus years in the making, The Brown and White is a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. Collin is a white boy who is living in turbulent times in a changing city. He clings to his neighborhood and his family as he heads out each day with his classmates on the Brown and White, the ancient school bus driven by free-spirited Willie. Memorable characters abound as this story unfolds. Collin's loveable family, especially his Irish Catholic policeman father and his Irish immigrant mother face life together. Collin and classmates blaze their own humorous and passionate trail through the late 1960s. A unique cast of terrific teachers are there to see the boys through. Laughs and life meet readers head on as they travel on the Brown and White.