Six Word Saturday: Notre Dame Death Notice

My Six Words ... Ted Hesburgh's Legacy: Putting People First.

I come from a Notre Dame family.  My Dad went to Notre Dame; my older sister went there as well.  In fact, that's how they met. 

That joke is one of the first things I think of when I think of the University of Notre Dame.  When I think of Notre Dame, I think of people associated with their football, basketball and marching band programs. The name I associate to Notre Dame more than any other is that of former university president,  Rev. Theodore "Ted" Hesburgh.  Father Ted passed away late Thursday night in South Bend, Indiana, at the age of 97.

Hesburgh served as president of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987 and was a major national and religious figure.  If you were to google Hesburgh, pictures like the one below of him and Martin Luther King would pop up. You would  also see pictures of him standing with past and former U.S.  presidents from Eisenhower to Obama.  You would see pictures of him with popes.  But the picture that comes to my mind is of him and my grandfather in the 1950's when my Dad was an incoming freshman at Notre Dame.  It is a picture in my mind only, but as clear as any of the images I can pull off the web.

My grandparents were dropping off their oldest son at ND and father Hesburgh had met with some of the parents at a social.  He was introduced to my grandfather and the next day, he saw my grandfather again and remembered his name and other aspects of their conversation.  This is the picture in my mind, it may not be exactly how it went down almost sixty years ago, but all I know is my dad was very impressed that such an important man as Hesburgh would recall talking to his father.  

Ted Hesburgh was many things: one of the greatest educators of the 20th century, a civil rights champion, and a Congressional Gold Medal recipient, just to name a few.  However, his greatest achievements come from his ability to relate to ordinary people like my grandfather and be a model of leadership to ordinary people like my Dad.  

Hesburgh didn't always want to be president of a major university.  He had hoped to serve the Navy and his country as a chaplain on an aircraft carrier.  In 2013 at the age of 95, the Navy made Hesburgh  an honorary chaplain.  While we don't all get the opportunity to advise presidents and march with historical icons, but we do have the opportunity to serve ordinary people in any way we can.  In this way, we can make Father Hesburgh's greatest legacy our own.

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Dr. Seuss and More.

Yes, today is Theodor (Ted) Geisel's birthday and the beloved children's author best known by his pseudonym Dr. Seuss has been well celebrated today in the blogosphere. He was born on this day in1904 and died on September 24th 1991. At least 3 blogs in my blogroll have broached the topic. Check those out here, here and here. My post is going to be less about Seuss and more about others who share common bonds with him.

First here is a short list of a few other Theodore's who were known by other names.





Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. 26th President of the United States.

Born: October 27th 1858. Died: January 6th 1919.



Other nicknames: The Trust Buster, The Hero of San Juan Hill (among others).



Quote: No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man's permission when we ask him to obey it.

Theodore (Ted) Samuel Williams. Hall of Fame left fielder for the Boston Red Sox

Born: August 30th 1918. Died July 5th 2002

Other nicknames: Teddy Ballgame, The Splendid Splinter (among others).

Quote: Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.

Rev. Theodore "Ted" Martin Hesburgh. President, University of Notre Dame 1952-1987.

Born 5/25/1917.

Other nicknames: Father Ted.

Quote: The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.

While there are many famous Theodore's (One of them is even a Chipmunk) to choose from. I picked these 3 to accompany the good doctor for these reasons:

1) They all at one time went by Teddy or Ted.

2) They all were alive at the same time. For about 18 months from May 1917 to early January 1919 they all breathed the same air.

3) Like Teddy Roosevelt the other 3 would be on the Mount Rushmore's of their chosen professions. Seuss made the Children's book what it currently is. Hessburgh is a revered figure in religious, academic and political circles. He is Guiness world record holder for honorary degrees. Ted Williams is the best baseball player of his generation.

Here is a quick video from: The original Cat in the Hat television special. The cat is voiced by Alan Sherman (Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah) also born in 1924.

And now 3 videos featuring other doctors who really weren't doctors at all:

1. Dr. Johnny Fever (portrayed by Howard Hesseman in WKRP in Cincinatti 1978-1982

2. Dwight "Doc" Gooden Major League Pitcher 1984-2000

He still owns the record for strikeouts as a rookie.

3. Dr Pepper

The soda was invented in 1885 at a drug store in Waco,Texas by Charles Alderton. It was introduced to the country at large at the Worlds Fair in St. Louis in 1904, the same year Geissel was being introduced.



Others born on March second include: Desi Arnaz (1917), Mikhail Gorbachev (1931), Karen Carpenter (1950) and Jon Bon Jovi (1962)

People of note born in 1904 Peter Lorre- Actor (Casablanca and Maltese Falcon), B.F. Skinner - Behaviorist ( or as psych 101 students call him, the rat man), and Johnny Weismuller. Olympic Medalist and Tarzan actor.

So that's it for me. No time left to tell you that when Amy and were getting married we registered for a copy of Greens Eggs and Ham. (See how I snuck that in.)

addressing the President

In planning my 1 year blog-o-versary which takes place later this week, my mind has become a virtual university of blogging theory. I am reviewing what worked in the past year and what didn't. What new ideas I have for the blog and what old ones never quite materialized. One idea I had has to do with the fact that many people in the blog-o-verse talk about hot topics. Chasing headlines has not been what I did here in year 1. In fact, I have been thinking for a while that blogging about cold topics would be nice .

The problem however is that some hot topics are cyclical and even though one issue had cooled considerably by this summer, in early fall it reached another boiling point. What I am referring to is President Obama speaking to students. The students I was planning on writing about was the Notre Dame graduating class of 2009. However, on the day after Labor Day, Obama addressed school children and was met with controversy, once again.


I decided I would wait a few more months and let the memory of the angst that preceded the latter speech die down. Like the Cold Topics idea, I have also wanted to have a segment in this blog called "Dave handles the tough issues". Now this may not seem like a tough issue to you, but in a moment you will see why it is one to me. It has to do with my relatives.

The University of Notre Dame invited President Obama to address the graduating class of 2009 and to receive an honorary degree. Many people were in an uproar because of the obvious disparity between their views on many issues, specifically those on abortion.


It may seem that this is a tough issue because of the divisive nature of the abortion debate. What really makes it hard for me is that issue seems to pit Notre Dame against President Obama. This is where my relatives come in.


My Mother is the biggest Notre Dame fanatic in the universe. So much so that Lou Holtz thinks she needs to tone it down. My Dad and sister both went to Notre Dame (that's how they met) but she takes it much more seriously than those 2 combined. If I am planning some party for my kids (2 of which had the gall to be born during football season), I check the ND website for the football schedule before sending her an invitation. If you don't believe that? look at my folks cars replete with Notre Dame banners, and vanity plates.


Speaking of cars, let's speak of my my Mother in Law. A nice Irish lass herself. Whose families hail from the lands of Cork and Kerry thus her maiden name of Corkery. Unlike, my mother, my MIL has actually lived at Notre Dame, when my FIL attended grad school there. But Golden Domer paraphernalia does not hang off her car, what does is the 2008 Election slogan: Hope. Not Fear. Obama 2008.


My mother in law loves Obama and my mother loves Notre Dame. So How do I tight rope this issue to make sure that my family has places to dine on the Holidays? I will tread gently, beginning by telling you my opinions before I watched Obama address the graduates and then some thoughts after watching it.


I do not agree with Obama's views on abortion. I have not voted for him in some part because of these views. I have written him and shared my opinions on the issue with him. However, I agree with Notre Dame inviting him to speak. I would gladly have President Obama address my children (which is why my children "attended" his speech to grade school students via the internet in September.) He is my president, not because I want him to be, but because God ordained it. I have enough respect for the position to know even being in the audience to hear him say things I disagree with would be a great honor.


Now as for the speech, now that I have viewed it. (Here is a link if you have not and desire to do so). I feel that I benefited from listening to hearing him speak at Notre Dame. Here is the President of the United States admitting to making changes in campaign policy due to the heartfelt letter of someone who disagreed with him. Here is a staunch supporter of abortion advocating less pregnancies and more adoptions. Perhaps he was just telling them what he wanted them to hear, it wouldn't be the first time a politician that. I think when you can have any sort of agreement from both sides of a divisive issue that this is a good thing.



Now quickly on to his address to students to kick off this 09-10 school l year. I was shocked at all the negative attention it received. While I disagreed with the stir the Notre Dame invite garnered, I at least understood it. This school flap, I did not get. Imagine this conversation:





A: I have an idea let's impeach the president.


B: Why should we do that? What high crimes and misdemeanors has he done?


A: He spoke to school children? What did he tell them, deface public property, slaughter sheep dogs, root for the White Sox?


B: No, stay in school.


Now, I understand that there was some objections to the teaching points that his staffers wrote for his speech. I also understand that the context of those questions was much easier for me to understand once I saw the speech.

Almost one year into the Obama presidency there may be legitimate reasons for his detractors and even his supporters to be concerned. His advisers may need to get him a new dictionary because it doesn't seem he understood the meaning of the word stimulus. He had only the support of his party on health care reform after portraying himself as a unifier. I am sure that many other people could you tell you what they think is wrong with the Obama Presidency, I am just saying speaking to students should not be on that list.

Next Time: The New Year in Review