So today I got the official word that Ralph D. "Dud" Daniel has joined our heavenly father. I thought I would share some "Dudley" stories with you all. For my friends who aren't "fraternity men", Ralph Daniel served our national fraternity for over 60 years. He was a charter member at our chapter at Arizona in 1947, and became the Executive Director of our national fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, shortly after that. He served as assistant director for "Dab" Williams, who is a legendary alum from my own chapter at Illinois. In his 63 years of service, Dud became known to all as "Mr. Phi Psi." He lived and breathed our ideals, our morals and challenged us all to become better MEN. Not just fraternity men, but MEN who contributed to our communities, raised our families, and made this a better world to live in.
I first met Dud in 1977. He attended a district council meeting in Champaign. I was a newly initiated brother and was amazed at how he accepted everyone he met as a friend and a brother. Dud put the "Gentle" into the word gentleman. He had an ear for everyone he met, remembered names and faces like no one I've ever known, and became a friend for life at first meeting.
As an undergrad I shared time at meetings with Dud several times. My first Dud story happened in 1979. Our chapter was celebrating our 75th anniversary and we invited Dud to come join us for the festivities. Never one to miss an opportunity to spend time with undergrads and alums, Dud was there with no official duties, except perhaps to make certain the wine was properly chilled (FYI, if the wine wasn't chilled right Dud was known to drop an ice cube or two in the glass) and that everyone felt welcome.
After the festivities on a Sunday morning, Dud asked if I would take him on a campus walking tour. I proudly accepted, knowing full well that I was a walking encyclopedia on the campus! About 10 steps into the tour Dud pointed out the grave of John Gregory, the first president of the UI tucked neatly next to Altgeld Hall. I didn't know that was there, and how did he know?
A few steps later Dud spotted Illini Hall, and said, "that's where Dab Williams came up with the idea of Homecoming." As we walked by Lincoln Hall Dud pointed out the sculpture and carvings on the walls. Finally I said to Dud, "I thought I was giving this tour, how do you know so much about our campus." Dud apologized and said in his quiet, humble way, "Dab used to come back for homecoming every year and he would bring me. Over the years, I watched many of these buildings get built, and Dab of course had seen nearly all of them built. So I had a good tour guide!"
Thanks to Dab, Dud called our chapter "whiskey Delta" and Northwestern's chapter was "lemonade Alpha." Dud loved joke with the brothers from Northwestern and Illinois about that topic.
I was with Dud at a meeting in Chicago once and we were staying at the Union League Club downtown. Now we stayed there because it was cheap! Member's guests stayed there for a small fee, and we were both eager to save a buck. In the morning we met in the dining room for breakfast. Dud ordered a small bowl of fruit and a bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch. Dud loved Raisin Bran Crunch, the perfect combination of flavor and crunch he said. Anyway, when his bill came he reached for the tab, and as he looked at the bill his eyes opened wide. His breakfast had cost $19. He put it down and said, "for $19 you would think they would have picked the fruit fresh this morning, and maybe given me a few extra raisins." Always the gentleman, Dud paid his bill, but he mentioned it to me several times that day and we joked about it as recently as last year at our annual convention.
There was a Fraternity Executive Leaders convention in Monticello every year, which is just west of Champaign. Dud would always call when he came to town to meet for coffee or lunch. One time he called and asked if I would join him in a tour of Alpha Tau Omega's new headquarters. Virtually every fraternity leader welcomed Dud when he visited, and ATO was no exception. I picked him up at the airport and we headed to the building. We were a bit early. Dud was always early, and one of the staffers volunteered to walk us through the building. They had photos of past presidents on the wall. Dud knew most of them and pointed them out to the ATO staffer and I. We were escorted into a large meeting room with lots of ATO paraphernalia. Dud looked at every thing, and then said to me, over here is hole in the floor where new initiates rise from the grave to become reborn. And behind this wall is a badge that lights up with all of the fraternity mystics. And he pointed out several other things. Now I don't know if he really knew this, or he was just having fun, but I guessed from the stunned expression on the ATO staffer's face that he was pretty close to the true meaning. I had another internal chuckle as I watched Dud show off his fraternal knowledge to an innocent stranger!
A few years back Dud returned for the 100th anniversary of our chapter. He had a very low key role presenting an award, but served as wine taster and reception host. Once again on the Sunday after the ceremonies Dud wanted a walking tour. This time I chose something that was built in the last 25 years. We walked through the Japanese gardens located to the west of the UI President's house. There are over 1000 floral displays there. I thought it would be a leisurely stroll through the grounds, but no, Dud had to stop and see every single flower. What I thought would be an hour walk turned into a 3 hour lecture about gardening. Who knew he knew so much? But it was a wonderful afternoon.
I was fortunate to know Ralph Daniel and spend time with him every time we were at the same event. He always found time to talk, even though there may have been 500 at the event who wanted to do the same. He was graceful, caring, engaging and loving. He never met a brother he didn't like, although he didn't understand a lot of them. And he has made my experience in Phi Kappa Psi better, just because I knew him.
Dud had a charge he gave us all at most of the meetings we attended. I'll share it now as it is how many of us were introduced to him, and challenged by him:
"Let us be what we say we are. A Fraternity, not a club, based on ideals and not expediency and run by men and not boys."
And our fraternity yell:
"High, High, High, Phi Kappa Psi, live ever, die never, Phi Kappa Psi."
I'll miss you Dudley. Keep the wine chilled in heaven for me.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Harry Chapin Stories Part Two
So the big day came and I was off to Willard Airport to pick him up. We picked up Harry and immediately took him to Kam's for a press conference. It was in the basement of Kam's believe it or not and the local radio and TV stations were crowded in to hear the news. The mayors were there with their bright gold keys to the city and the proclamations were delivered. Harry had to leave for a minute to call President Carter. As I said earlier, Carter named him to a President's Council that day and Harry called into the announcement.
We had Harry for the day and we used all the time. First he went to Garcia's Pizza. Back in the day Garcia's was near the corner of Wright and Green where Coco Mera is now. Harry put on a blue denim Garcia's shirt and sold "Gutbusters" for $2. All proceeds to World Hunger Year. Ralph and Joe Tomato were there and enjoying every second of having Harry selling pizza in their store. After 30 minutes we went to Record Service. For the younger generation, Record Service was on Green Street across from what is now Subway. They sold real vinyl records and had a few hundred Chapin albums for him to sign and sell. Harry's record company manager made sure we didn't run out, and even brought us a few hundred albums for give aways later in the day.
Next stop was the Red Lion on Third and Green. The Red Lion still stands today, although it's much different than the old days. We charged a special admission there and Harry sang a song or three. And then we went across the street to the White Horse. There was a hamburger special there and Harry signed autographs for a fee. All in all we raised about $1500 in two and a half hours.
It was 5:30 and time for dinner. We sold raffle tickets to local sororities and had a special drawing the night before the show to announce the winner. Our National President, Ken Potter had flown in from Oregon for the event and he was going to pick the winner.
A quick aside here. About 3 days before the show Harry's agent called me and said he needed to know where Harry was going to be for dinner to put on the itinerary. I told him that I didn't know as we were going to pick the winner in two days. Well, he had to know now, so I had to "pick the winner."
So...I looked at the total tickets sold and from that determined that Pi Beta Phi was the winner. Pi Phis was only a block away from the Auditorium and it would make it easier to get Harry to the concert on time. So, Pi Phis won! It made it somewhat awkward the night of the drawing as I had to tell our National President to "randomly pick Pi Phis" from our batch of tickets. But he covered me well!
So we went to Pi Beta Phi for dinner. The lovely ladies of Pi Phi sang a serenade or two to Harry. And Harry leaned over to me and said, "go get my guitar so I can sing back." I raced over to the Auditorium and announced "I need Harry's guitar!' Of course the UI security team thought I was a lunatic, but one of his stage crew recognized me from my back stage ventures and said, "he's ok, he's a friend of Harry's."
So I took the guitar back and Harry sang to the women. They sang back, he sang, etc, etc.
In fact I looked up at the clock and it was 6:55 and we only had 5 minutes to get back to the stage for the real concert.
Harry put on a great show. He brought his entire band for the concerts which he rarely did at benefits. I remember Harry's brother Steve complaining because he didn't have a Steinway piano, and "how could a university as big at the UI not have a Steinway available," but that was the only complaint. Between shows we had set up an appearance at Kam's. Because the concert had sold out we worked out a deal where both shows were simulcast into Kam's. And Harry was going to arrive and sing a few songs between shows.
So we head out of the side door of the Auditorium to walk over to Kam's. Now picture 1800 people in line on the UI quad waiting to get in a show at 9:45 PM. Harry and I were walking by and Harry, always the jester, says "hey what's going on here?" Someone answered "we're going to a Chapin concert. Harry said, "he sucks, don't waste your time." And someone yelled "it's Harry....!!" So we start running full speed to Kam's to get away from the crowd.
We got back in time for the second show and afterwards had the band and Harry of course back at the fraternity house. At about 3 in the morning, Tom Kappelman and I got Harry into the back seat of his car and drove him to O'Hare.
We raised about $25,000 for World Hunger Year that day. In today's world that would probably be in the neighborhood of $150,000. And between the pizza slices, and the t-shirts sold, and record albums signed, touched a lot of people on one great day.
I suppose that the moral to this story is that it's ok to have a dream and follow it. Harry dreamed of a world where every person had a food to eat for every meal. Not because of food drives, but because people were taught how to raise and care for food and the land. A few years later Harry died in an auto accident on his way to a benefit concert. For me, Harry planted the seeds of always giving back. No matter what the cost was to you in time, or effort. I have tried to fertilize those seeds my whole life.
As Harry often said, "Keep the change!"
We had Harry for the day and we used all the time. First he went to Garcia's Pizza. Back in the day Garcia's was near the corner of Wright and Green where Coco Mera is now. Harry put on a blue denim Garcia's shirt and sold "Gutbusters" for $2. All proceeds to World Hunger Year. Ralph and Joe Tomato were there and enjoying every second of having Harry selling pizza in their store. After 30 minutes we went to Record Service. For the younger generation, Record Service was on Green Street across from what is now Subway. They sold real vinyl records and had a few hundred Chapin albums for him to sign and sell. Harry's record company manager made sure we didn't run out, and even brought us a few hundred albums for give aways later in the day.
Next stop was the Red Lion on Third and Green. The Red Lion still stands today, although it's much different than the old days. We charged a special admission there and Harry sang a song or three. And then we went across the street to the White Horse. There was a hamburger special there and Harry signed autographs for a fee. All in all we raised about $1500 in two and a half hours.
It was 5:30 and time for dinner. We sold raffle tickets to local sororities and had a special drawing the night before the show to announce the winner. Our National President, Ken Potter had flown in from Oregon for the event and he was going to pick the winner.
A quick aside here. About 3 days before the show Harry's agent called me and said he needed to know where Harry was going to be for dinner to put on the itinerary. I told him that I didn't know as we were going to pick the winner in two days. Well, he had to know now, so I had to "pick the winner."
So...I looked at the total tickets sold and from that determined that Pi Beta Phi was the winner. Pi Phis was only a block away from the Auditorium and it would make it easier to get Harry to the concert on time. So, Pi Phis won! It made it somewhat awkward the night of the drawing as I had to tell our National President to "randomly pick Pi Phis" from our batch of tickets. But he covered me well!
So we went to Pi Beta Phi for dinner. The lovely ladies of Pi Phi sang a serenade or two to Harry. And Harry leaned over to me and said, "go get my guitar so I can sing back." I raced over to the Auditorium and announced "I need Harry's guitar!' Of course the UI security team thought I was a lunatic, but one of his stage crew recognized me from my back stage ventures and said, "he's ok, he's a friend of Harry's."
So I took the guitar back and Harry sang to the women. They sang back, he sang, etc, etc.
In fact I looked up at the clock and it was 6:55 and we only had 5 minutes to get back to the stage for the real concert.
Harry put on a great show. He brought his entire band for the concerts which he rarely did at benefits. I remember Harry's brother Steve complaining because he didn't have a Steinway piano, and "how could a university as big at the UI not have a Steinway available," but that was the only complaint. Between shows we had set up an appearance at Kam's. Because the concert had sold out we worked out a deal where both shows were simulcast into Kam's. And Harry was going to arrive and sing a few songs between shows.
So we head out of the side door of the Auditorium to walk over to Kam's. Now picture 1800 people in line on the UI quad waiting to get in a show at 9:45 PM. Harry and I were walking by and Harry, always the jester, says "hey what's going on here?" Someone answered "we're going to a Chapin concert. Harry said, "he sucks, don't waste your time." And someone yelled "it's Harry....!!" So we start running full speed to Kam's to get away from the crowd.
We got back in time for the second show and afterwards had the band and Harry of course back at the fraternity house. At about 3 in the morning, Tom Kappelman and I got Harry into the back seat of his car and drove him to O'Hare.
We raised about $25,000 for World Hunger Year that day. In today's world that would probably be in the neighborhood of $150,000. And between the pizza slices, and the t-shirts sold, and record albums signed, touched a lot of people on one great day.
I suppose that the moral to this story is that it's ok to have a dream and follow it. Harry dreamed of a world where every person had a food to eat for every meal. Not because of food drives, but because people were taught how to raise and care for food and the land. A few years later Harry died in an auto accident on his way to a benefit concert. For me, Harry planted the seeds of always giving back. No matter what the cost was to you in time, or effort. I have tried to fertilize those seeds my whole life.
As Harry often said, "Keep the change!"
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Harry Chapin Stories Part One
So yesterday I mentioned that I was a Harry Chapin fan. What I didn't mention is that I got to know Harry when I was in college. I thought it might be fun to tell my Harry Chapin Story today.
I was a freshman at the U of I. And I had already become a Chapin fan. I am not sure when or where I first discovered Harry's music, but I know that I used to listen to his music in the undergrad library while I was studying. I read in the newspaper that he was going to appear in the ZBT Dance a Thon at Huff Gym. And of course I had to go and see him in person. A few days before the concert I heard they planned on auctioning off tickets to fly with Harry on a Lear Jet to Oklahoma City. Being the bold negotiator I am, I called someone from ZBT and asked what they hoped to auction the seats for. The guy on the other end said they hoped to raise $75 per seat. So I said, if I give you $75 can I have a seat. He said yes.
I went to the concert and sure enough I had a seat on the plane. After the show, 7 of us boarded a bus and then a jet and flew to Oklahoma City with Harry. A funny aside, when we landed I had a call to make, so I went and used the pay phone, (no cells in this era) and missed the limo to the concert. But I got a cab to drive me and got in back stage.
Harry talked about his experiences in Champaign during the flight and back stage. At one point he said that one of his 5 all time favorite shows was at the UI Auditorium on the quad. He said that he got his first standing ovation ever during a show after playing "Mail Order Annie." I mentioned to him that the library had a copy of that show and that I had listened to it several times. He told me he would like a copy of it, and gave me his address to send it to.
When I got back to Champaign I went to the library and asked them for a copy. They said, "only Harry Chapin can request a copy." So, I sent a letter to Harry and he sent me back a letter formally requesting a copy. I got it, sent it and in return he sent me tickets for his show in Chicago in the fall, with back stage passes of course.
One of the things we talked about in Oklahoma City was his commitment to benefit concerts. Harry played over 300 shows a year, 200 of which were benefits. He firmly believed he was blessed with a gift and was "obligated to share it." He said that he had started his own charity, World Hunger Year, and that he wished he could come to Champaign and do a benefit for his own charity. This got the wheels spinning in my head. What if I could produce a benefit concert for Harry?
By the time the show in Chicago came around I had done some research. And indeed came up with a plan to produce a show at the Auditorium for Harry. Now all I needed was for him to say yes. So between shows in Chicago I boldly asked him if he would consider it. He said yes! He put me in touch with his agent and said, 'work it out'.
Over the next year and a half I worked out a date. I meet with the Mayors of Champaign and Urbana and convinced them they should give the keys to the city to Harry. That they should proclaim it Harry Chapin Day in the twin cities in honor of his love of the cities and his devotion to charity. Guess what, they all agreed.
Harry's agent told me that Harry was flying in at about noon and that we had him all day to raise money. We could do anything we wanted, appearances, fund raisers, etc, just make sure that money went to the charity. And 'oh by the way' President Carter was going to appoint Harry to the "President's Council on World Hunger" and that would happen that day as well, so we needed to have a news conference.
Together with about 8 guys from my fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, we went about planning and organizing the day. Press conference at 2, appearances from 3-5, dinner at a sorority a 5:30, 2 concerts starting at 7, and then an post concert party. Our obligation, make sure we maximized the money and got Harry to O'Hare by 5:30 AM for a flight.
About a month before the event I got a call from the student affairs office. The Vice Chancellor wanted to meet with me. Turns out there was a university policy against student organizations booking concerts where the contract was over $10,000. Oh my! First I met with one of the Vice Chancellor's assistants who broke the news officially to me. But I asked to meet directly with the Vice Chancellor. His name was Stan Levy and this was the first time I met him. I pleaded my case to him, outlined the entire project and the money we stood to raise for world hunger, that the President of the United States was going to call in to the press conference, etc, etc. Stan looked at me and said, "if the University has a policy that prohibits a project like this, then maybe we need to consider a way to change the policy." Wow! I never expected that. Stan pointed me in the direction of Sue Snowden who was the president of Star Course, a student run booking agency on campus with permission to sign acts like Chapin.
Sue was amazing! She agreed to co-sponsor the event with us and help us work out the things we didn't know how to do: sell tickets, set up a concert, security, etc. It was a blessing for sure! Sue and I became close friends and she went about teaching me how to produce an event. I probably have used the things she taught me 1000 times since then, so it was time well spent.
The shows sold out in about 2 days and Harry Chapin Day in Champaign was ready to present. I'll write more about the event in my next blog!
I was a freshman at the U of I. And I had already become a Chapin fan. I am not sure when or where I first discovered Harry's music, but I know that I used to listen to his music in the undergrad library while I was studying. I read in the newspaper that he was going to appear in the ZBT Dance a Thon at Huff Gym. And of course I had to go and see him in person. A few days before the concert I heard they planned on auctioning off tickets to fly with Harry on a Lear Jet to Oklahoma City. Being the bold negotiator I am, I called someone from ZBT and asked what they hoped to auction the seats for. The guy on the other end said they hoped to raise $75 per seat. So I said, if I give you $75 can I have a seat. He said yes.
I went to the concert and sure enough I had a seat on the plane. After the show, 7 of us boarded a bus and then a jet and flew to Oklahoma City with Harry. A funny aside, when we landed I had a call to make, so I went and used the pay phone, (no cells in this era) and missed the limo to the concert. But I got a cab to drive me and got in back stage.
Harry talked about his experiences in Champaign during the flight and back stage. At one point he said that one of his 5 all time favorite shows was at the UI Auditorium on the quad. He said that he got his first standing ovation ever during a show after playing "Mail Order Annie." I mentioned to him that the library had a copy of that show and that I had listened to it several times. He told me he would like a copy of it, and gave me his address to send it to.
When I got back to Champaign I went to the library and asked them for a copy. They said, "only Harry Chapin can request a copy." So, I sent a letter to Harry and he sent me back a letter formally requesting a copy. I got it, sent it and in return he sent me tickets for his show in Chicago in the fall, with back stage passes of course.
One of the things we talked about in Oklahoma City was his commitment to benefit concerts. Harry played over 300 shows a year, 200 of which were benefits. He firmly believed he was blessed with a gift and was "obligated to share it." He said that he had started his own charity, World Hunger Year, and that he wished he could come to Champaign and do a benefit for his own charity. This got the wheels spinning in my head. What if I could produce a benefit concert for Harry?
By the time the show in Chicago came around I had done some research. And indeed came up with a plan to produce a show at the Auditorium for Harry. Now all I needed was for him to say yes. So between shows in Chicago I boldly asked him if he would consider it. He said yes! He put me in touch with his agent and said, 'work it out'.
Over the next year and a half I worked out a date. I meet with the Mayors of Champaign and Urbana and convinced them they should give the keys to the city to Harry. That they should proclaim it Harry Chapin Day in the twin cities in honor of his love of the cities and his devotion to charity. Guess what, they all agreed.
Harry's agent told me that Harry was flying in at about noon and that we had him all day to raise money. We could do anything we wanted, appearances, fund raisers, etc, just make sure that money went to the charity. And 'oh by the way' President Carter was going to appoint Harry to the "President's Council on World Hunger" and that would happen that day as well, so we needed to have a news conference.
Together with about 8 guys from my fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, we went about planning and organizing the day. Press conference at 2, appearances from 3-5, dinner at a sorority a 5:30, 2 concerts starting at 7, and then an post concert party. Our obligation, make sure we maximized the money and got Harry to O'Hare by 5:30 AM for a flight.
About a month before the event I got a call from the student affairs office. The Vice Chancellor wanted to meet with me. Turns out there was a university policy against student organizations booking concerts where the contract was over $10,000. Oh my! First I met with one of the Vice Chancellor's assistants who broke the news officially to me. But I asked to meet directly with the Vice Chancellor. His name was Stan Levy and this was the first time I met him. I pleaded my case to him, outlined the entire project and the money we stood to raise for world hunger, that the President of the United States was going to call in to the press conference, etc, etc. Stan looked at me and said, "if the University has a policy that prohibits a project like this, then maybe we need to consider a way to change the policy." Wow! I never expected that. Stan pointed me in the direction of Sue Snowden who was the president of Star Course, a student run booking agency on campus with permission to sign acts like Chapin.
Sue was amazing! She agreed to co-sponsor the event with us and help us work out the things we didn't know how to do: sell tickets, set up a concert, security, etc. It was a blessing for sure! Sue and I became close friends and she went about teaching me how to produce an event. I probably have used the things she taught me 1000 times since then, so it was time well spent.
The shows sold out in about 2 days and Harry Chapin Day in Champaign was ready to present. I'll write more about the event in my next blog!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Special Friends! Thank you
When I was a bit younger...ok a lot younger, I was a huge fan of Harry Chapin. He was a classic singer/songwriter of the 70's and 80's. Today's generation might know the song "Cat's in the Cradle" that he wrote and was covered by Guns and Roses. But in the late 70's it was a hit all on it's own. Harry wrote a lot of great music, basically story songs, and would get on stage about 300 times a year and sing and tell all of his stories. One of his family's favorites was "Circle" a song he always ended every show with and also sang at "weddings, funerals, graduations and holidays." It was a great song, with great lyrics and a deep meaning. One of my favorite lines in this song is "old friends, they mean much more to me than the new friends, because they can see where you are, and they know where you've been."
One of my oldest friends is Brenda. Now I have known Brenda since high school. Back in the day we worked together on the school newspaper. I was sports editor and she did about everything, including features editor I think. Most of all she typed all of my columns and stories so they would fit in the paper! She was a special friend. We had a group of about 6 or 8 of us that hung out all the time. Not your typical clique, just a random group of students who all connected in some way or another through the newspaper.
Brenda and I grew to be very close friends, and then at some point we grew apart. That happens with high school friendships for sure.
I hadn't heard from her for about 20 years and really had no idea where she ended up. Then a few years ago we were planning a reunion. While I didn't track her down before the reunion, I did find out that she was living and working in Florida. Ironically, she was working with Pepsico, and in fact we had both worked for Pepsi in different divisions at the same time.
The good news is that we reconnected, and since then have kept in touch thanks to emails, cards and holidays. She never forgets my birthday or Christmas. In fact some years the only gift I have gotten was from her. This isn't a sympathy plea! My family is spread out and we don't always get together for the holidays. But, Brenda has never forgotten.
Two weeks ago there was a beautiful fresh wreath at my door. She started that tradition a few years ago. And last week there was a BIG BOX on the doorstep. I can't wait to open it!
But back to Harry Chapin... Brenda is in fact a very old friend! And indeed she means more to me than most of the new friends I've gathered in the last few years. I'm very lucky she remembers me!
One of my oldest friends is Brenda. Now I have known Brenda since high school. Back in the day we worked together on the school newspaper. I was sports editor and she did about everything, including features editor I think. Most of all she typed all of my columns and stories so they would fit in the paper! She was a special friend. We had a group of about 6 or 8 of us that hung out all the time. Not your typical clique, just a random group of students who all connected in some way or another through the newspaper.
Brenda and I grew to be very close friends, and then at some point we grew apart. That happens with high school friendships for sure.
I hadn't heard from her for about 20 years and really had no idea where she ended up. Then a few years ago we were planning a reunion. While I didn't track her down before the reunion, I did find out that she was living and working in Florida. Ironically, she was working with Pepsico, and in fact we had both worked for Pepsi in different divisions at the same time.
The good news is that we reconnected, and since then have kept in touch thanks to emails, cards and holidays. She never forgets my birthday or Christmas. In fact some years the only gift I have gotten was from her. This isn't a sympathy plea! My family is spread out and we don't always get together for the holidays. But, Brenda has never forgotten.
Two weeks ago there was a beautiful fresh wreath at my door. She started that tradition a few years ago. And last week there was a BIG BOX on the doorstep. I can't wait to open it!
But back to Harry Chapin... Brenda is in fact a very old friend! And indeed she means more to me than most of the new friends I've gathered in the last few years. I'm very lucky she remembers me!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Field of Dreams - Augie Garrido and Kevin Costner
For those of you that don't know I had the pleasure to work for the Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics for about 6 years. I was sort of the director of baseball operations in that job, although it was called the assistant to the associate athletic director. I worked directly for two great baseball minds, Richard "Itch" Jones, a legend in Illinois with the success he had at Southern Illinois University and at Illinois and maybe the nicest human being on the planet earth, and I also worked for Augie Garrido. Augie came to Illinois from Cal State Fullerton where he won two College World Series for the Titans. He spent 3 years here in Champaign before going back to Fullerton and eventually on to Austin Texas. For those that don't know, he has now won 5 national championships and is the winningest coach in college baseball history.
Working for Augie was a treat. You never knew who might be on the other end of the phone. Joe Torre called a few times, Jim Levebre and even Billy Martin.
One day we got a call from Peter Gammons. Peter was working for Sports Illustrated at the time writing the scorecard section of the magazine. This was long before his stint on Baseball Tonight on ESPN. So Peter called and wanted to talk to Augie. Coach was in Seattle coaching the Goodwill Games, sort of a mid olympics world competition. Gammons had to talk to Augie and I explained Augie was hard to reach right now, but that he called me nightly if he had a question he wanted to pass on. Peter gave me the question: Kevin Costner was about to release a movie, Field of Dreams. Kevin claimed he played on Augie's 1979 national championship at Fullerton. Could Augie comment on Kevin as a player. I promised Gammons I would pass on the question and call him back the next day.
When Augie called I happened to be at the office. I asked the question, and Augie said, "I don't think that Costner ever played for me, but maybe he was a walk on or something. I just don't remember him."
"Check my desk, there is a photo of the whole team and on the back is a list of the team roster." So I checked and there was no Kevin Costner in the photo.
I called Gammons back and passed on the news. In next week's Sports Illustrated Gammons wrote, "Kevin Costner claims to have played for Augie Garrido at Fullerton, however Garrido has no recollection of Costner being on the team."
Ok, so this would have just died right here, except about 3 weeks later Augie accepted the job to return to Fullerton and coach the Titans. Project #1 on the list for Augie was building a new stadium, and donor #1 for Augie to contact was none other than Kevin Costner. Costner wasn't pleased that Augie had forgotten about him!
But, over time they patched up their issues and Costner not only donated to the stadium but has become a life long friend of Augie's. Turns out Costner was never on the team, but took Augie's "Principles of Coaching" class at Fullerton.
Working for Augie was a treat. You never knew who might be on the other end of the phone. Joe Torre called a few times, Jim Levebre and even Billy Martin.
One day we got a call from Peter Gammons. Peter was working for Sports Illustrated at the time writing the scorecard section of the magazine. This was long before his stint on Baseball Tonight on ESPN. So Peter called and wanted to talk to Augie. Coach was in Seattle coaching the Goodwill Games, sort of a mid olympics world competition. Gammons had to talk to Augie and I explained Augie was hard to reach right now, but that he called me nightly if he had a question he wanted to pass on. Peter gave me the question: Kevin Costner was about to release a movie, Field of Dreams. Kevin claimed he played on Augie's 1979 national championship at Fullerton. Could Augie comment on Kevin as a player. I promised Gammons I would pass on the question and call him back the next day.
When Augie called I happened to be at the office. I asked the question, and Augie said, "I don't think that Costner ever played for me, but maybe he was a walk on or something. I just don't remember him."
"Check my desk, there is a photo of the whole team and on the back is a list of the team roster." So I checked and there was no Kevin Costner in the photo.
I called Gammons back and passed on the news. In next week's Sports Illustrated Gammons wrote, "Kevin Costner claims to have played for Augie Garrido at Fullerton, however Garrido has no recollection of Costner being on the team."
Ok, so this would have just died right here, except about 3 weeks later Augie accepted the job to return to Fullerton and coach the Titans. Project #1 on the list for Augie was building a new stadium, and donor #1 for Augie to contact was none other than Kevin Costner. Costner wasn't pleased that Augie had forgotten about him!
But, over time they patched up their issues and Costner not only donated to the stadium but has become a life long friend of Augie's. Turns out Costner was never on the team, but took Augie's "Principles of Coaching" class at Fullerton.
Friday, December 3, 2010
When your childhood role model is gone. Goodbye #10
I moved to Chicago when I was about 9 years old. Up until that point I had been a Detroit Tigers fan. Bill Freehan, Denny McClain, Mickey Lolich and Al Kaline were all my heros. It didn't hurt that they won the World Series in 1968. But in 1969 I discovered the Chicago Cubs.
In those days the Cubs played during the day. So I would get home from school and tune in WGN with Jack Brickhouse and Lou Boudreau and watch the final innings every chance I got. I loved baseball as a kid. I played in little league as much as possible and kept playing through high school. And I loved the professional players.
1969 for those of you who aren't sports history buffs, was the year the Cubs led the National League for most of the season. Ernie Banks, Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley, Don Kessinger and Ron Santo manned the infield positions. But it was Ron Santo that I idolized. He played hard every day. This was the era of great play at the hot corner with Brooks Robinson playing for the Orioles, Tony Perez for the Reds, Sal Bando for the A's and Ron Santo, starting All Star third baseman for the Cubs. He hit 29 home runs that year and 123 RBI's. And he played the hot corner like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up everything that came near him.
History will tell you the Cubs blew a 9 game lead in September to the "Miracle Mets" and that it was one of the worst collapses in the history of baseball, but for me, it was the year that I became a Ron Santo fan for life.
When many people think of Santo now, they remember him on the radio as the color analyst for WGN Radio. He is the "everyman" announcer, saying what we might say and cheering and groaning along every pitch and out for the Cubs. But when I think of Ron, I remember him kicking up his heels as he ran off the field after every win in 1969. He played the game hard. And he loved playing the game. This despite the fact that he suffered from diabetes. Remember that in the 60's and 70's people with diabetes didn't play professional sports. In fact the Cubs kept it a secret for years. But that never stopped #10. He had heart, and he had courage.
My only disappointment was that I sent Santo several letters over the years hoping to get an autograph. I used to send a card with self addressed envelopes to my favorite players hoping I would get an autograph back. In those days, most players responded. Some even sent photos and other things back that I didn't ask for. But Santo returned a printed photo and stamped autograph. I was crushed!
About 10 years ago I bought a Santo autograph on Ebay. I was thrilled to finally have it.
Every kid needs a hero. Ron was mine. I had his poster on my wall, I used a Santo wood bat in little league and I checked the box score every day to see how he had done. My friends loved Ernie Banks, or Fergie Jenkins or some other Cub. But I stuck with Santo.
Over the years I've met most of the Cubs of that era in person. I especially enjoyed meeting Lou Boudreau as I helped to get his number retired at the U of I. But I never met Santo. And I regret that I never had the chance to thank him for all those years I followed him.
Ron lost both his legs to diabetes. But I know he's happy to be in heaven with the ability to kick up his heels again and root for our beloved Cubbies from a prime seat.
In those days the Cubs played during the day. So I would get home from school and tune in WGN with Jack Brickhouse and Lou Boudreau and watch the final innings every chance I got. I loved baseball as a kid. I played in little league as much as possible and kept playing through high school. And I loved the professional players.
1969 for those of you who aren't sports history buffs, was the year the Cubs led the National League for most of the season. Ernie Banks, Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley, Don Kessinger and Ron Santo manned the infield positions. But it was Ron Santo that I idolized. He played hard every day. This was the era of great play at the hot corner with Brooks Robinson playing for the Orioles, Tony Perez for the Reds, Sal Bando for the A's and Ron Santo, starting All Star third baseman for the Cubs. He hit 29 home runs that year and 123 RBI's. And he played the hot corner like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up everything that came near him.
History will tell you the Cubs blew a 9 game lead in September to the "Miracle Mets" and that it was one of the worst collapses in the history of baseball, but for me, it was the year that I became a Ron Santo fan for life.
When many people think of Santo now, they remember him on the radio as the color analyst for WGN Radio. He is the "everyman" announcer, saying what we might say and cheering and groaning along every pitch and out for the Cubs. But when I think of Ron, I remember him kicking up his heels as he ran off the field after every win in 1969. He played the game hard. And he loved playing the game. This despite the fact that he suffered from diabetes. Remember that in the 60's and 70's people with diabetes didn't play professional sports. In fact the Cubs kept it a secret for years. But that never stopped #10. He had heart, and he had courage.
My only disappointment was that I sent Santo several letters over the years hoping to get an autograph. I used to send a card with self addressed envelopes to my favorite players hoping I would get an autograph back. In those days, most players responded. Some even sent photos and other things back that I didn't ask for. But Santo returned a printed photo and stamped autograph. I was crushed!
About 10 years ago I bought a Santo autograph on Ebay. I was thrilled to finally have it.
Every kid needs a hero. Ron was mine. I had his poster on my wall, I used a Santo wood bat in little league and I checked the box score every day to see how he had done. My friends loved Ernie Banks, or Fergie Jenkins or some other Cub. But I stuck with Santo.
Over the years I've met most of the Cubs of that era in person. I especially enjoyed meeting Lou Boudreau as I helped to get his number retired at the U of I. But I never met Santo. And I regret that I never had the chance to thank him for all those years I followed him.
Ron lost both his legs to diabetes. But I know he's happy to be in heaven with the ability to kick up his heels again and root for our beloved Cubbies from a prime seat.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thanksgiving again!
My family is spread out around the US. My sister is in Boston, I have brothers in Kentucky, Wisconsin and Chicago and a step mother in Florida. And to add to this, during most holidays I'm just a little tired from refereeing basketball holiday tournaments and not really eager to travel to visit. So, the end result is that I find myself staying home during Thanksgiving.
Now I'm not looking for sympathy at all. There's something refreshing about the phone not ringing or not having something planned for a day. There aren't many days during the year when I truly have nothing on my calendar.
I love Thanksgiving. I love turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie and all the good stuff that goes with it. And I love sitting around the table with my family and catching up. But, this doesn't happen every year, or even most years for this holiday. We tend to all get together at Christmas, and maybe that's enough.
So, most years I find myself getting offers to join other families for their holiday. It's awkward to be in other people's celebrations. They have their own stories and traditions and somehow I feel like I'm intruding on their plans.
But it is fun to see how other people celebrate. Some just drink until they are just out of it. I have to laugh because they could serve McDonald's hamburgers and I'm not sure anyone would notice. Some take the food very seriously. "Grandma's recipe for stuffing" or whatever special addition to the mix.
Don't get me wrong, I have had some wonderful dinners with wonderful people over the years on Thanksgiving. But I have been a spectator at some disasters as well.
My dad used to take Thanksgiving very seriously. Cooking the turkey was an event in our house. He tried everything, everyone's recipe, everyone's basting techniques over the years. I think he finally found true peace when he got a recipe to cook the turkey on his Weber Grill. He marvelled at how good it tasted and how juicy it was. Personally, I couldn't tell the difference. But Dad was happy!
So tomorrow is another holiday. I don't have any plans right now, but you never know what will happen. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful day and has the opportunity to do whatever they love to do for their celebration! Oh, and if you happen to have some extra leftovers....I love turkey sandwiches and leftover stuffing most of all!!
Now I'm not looking for sympathy at all. There's something refreshing about the phone not ringing or not having something planned for a day. There aren't many days during the year when I truly have nothing on my calendar.
I love Thanksgiving. I love turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie and all the good stuff that goes with it. And I love sitting around the table with my family and catching up. But, this doesn't happen every year, or even most years for this holiday. We tend to all get together at Christmas, and maybe that's enough.
So, most years I find myself getting offers to join other families for their holiday. It's awkward to be in other people's celebrations. They have their own stories and traditions and somehow I feel like I'm intruding on their plans.
But it is fun to see how other people celebrate. Some just drink until they are just out of it. I have to laugh because they could serve McDonald's hamburgers and I'm not sure anyone would notice. Some take the food very seriously. "Grandma's recipe for stuffing" or whatever special addition to the mix.
Don't get me wrong, I have had some wonderful dinners with wonderful people over the years on Thanksgiving. But I have been a spectator at some disasters as well.
My dad used to take Thanksgiving very seriously. Cooking the turkey was an event in our house. He tried everything, everyone's recipe, everyone's basting techniques over the years. I think he finally found true peace when he got a recipe to cook the turkey on his Weber Grill. He marvelled at how good it tasted and how juicy it was. Personally, I couldn't tell the difference. But Dad was happy!
So tomorrow is another holiday. I don't have any plans right now, but you never know what will happen. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful day and has the opportunity to do whatever they love to do for their celebration! Oh, and if you happen to have some extra leftovers....I love turkey sandwiches and leftover stuffing most of all!!
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