Reflection #37 (Only 1059 to go!): Working Backwards

       It was quite a day.  I'm going to use a "Seinfeld" device and start from the last event and work backward...or is it forward?    I'm also going to drop a few names with which some/many of you are not be familiar.  On Friday (5/25/12) afternoon, Frank..."Mr. Raispis" to you...and I visited Ms. Joan Terracina, who was the secretary-to-the-treasurer for many years.  I’m not sure the exact number of years, but she started before I came to Ignatius in fall of '61 and retired around 1990.
      Through the good times and bad, Joan had to deal not only with the challenges of the job, but the challenges of the "unique"  personalities and temperaments of the men for whom she worked.  These men who were her bosses were good and qualified administrators, often confronting unimaginably difficult problems...especially in the realm of finances.  Joan some how was able to soldier on efficiently, while treating the rest of the staff with cordial grace.
     In anticipation of meeting up with Joan, I thought about Ellie Rapata in the Principal‘s Office, Anne Jendro at the switchboard, and Lorraine Krupa in the Dean’s Office.  If I remember correctly, Lorraine had the nickname of “Sarge” among the students, but never to her face.  These women, as well as many others, were the glue that kept our institution working on a day-to-day basis.  (Ellie and Anne are no longer with us, God rest their souls.)  
     Anyway, Joan is doing well.  One doesn’t ask a lady her age, but I believe that she is in her ‘90’s.  She needs assistance in order to get around, but her memory and her spirit are great.  

     Before Frank and I visited Joan there was a reception and lunch for the “jubilarians”, a gathering of alumni who had graduated at least 50 years ago.  The oldest alumnus was from the class of 1939. I had a nice long chat with Fr. Jim Creighton (class of 1947), the rector of the community back in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.  Not every student would have known him because his role was more involved with the Jesuit community than with the school itself.  However, he knows a lot about the behind-the-scenes occurrences that were important to the life of the school.   He told me the story of how Bob Hope came to put on a benefit for Ignatius..."Hope for St. Ignatius" in December of 1976.   Nothing sinister, but it was interesting and clarified some old stories.  Then during lunch, I had the privilege to sit with Don Hoffman. He is a great and generous man, but a private man.  I’m going to write a blog about him in the near future.
       I also want to give a shout out to John Tracy, who I saw at lunch and who has just been inducted into the Catholic League Hall-of-Fame, an honor richly deserved, and probably long over due.

     “Finally”, the day started with the end-of-the-school-year Mass.  The seniors had their Baccalaureate Mass the night before, so they were not there, and their "2012" banner was retired.  For those of you too old to know what that means, now there is a banner for each class (year) that is displayed in Holy Family Church during school Masses.  It's a nice, fairly new tradition.  In church, the pews that are usually reserved for the senior class was occupied by the "jubilarians".
     Fr. Ross Pribyl, S.J. was the celebrant, and, as usual, gave an excellent homily.  The longer I've gone to Masses, the more I realize how uncommon that is.   I had a strange experience as I sat in the back of Holy Family Church listening to beautiful voices that came from our students as they sang and recited the prayers.  Suddenly, I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I was home.  It was both emotional and spiritual.  It was just a warm safe relaxing feeling.  All kinds of  poignant memories swept over me.
     Also, at the end of mass, the awards for the students-of-the-year were awarded.  I’m embarrassed to admit that I had trouble hearing the names of the freshman and sophomore recipients, but I made a point of asking for the name of the Junior-of-the-Year Carmen Pintozzi Award winner.  It was Katie Loftus.  I don’t know the young lady, but for those of you who know my story, you’ll know why that has a special significance to me.  If you know Katie, congratulate her for her achievement.

     OK, so this isn’t the most exciting blog ever written.  Looks more like the world’s longest Facebook entry, but for me it was a really nice day.

1076 Reflection #36 (Only 1060 to go!): Odds-and-Ends

>First, Tuesday (May 1st) was Frank Raispis' 85 birthday. Frank is a humble man, who shies away from “gratuitous” attention, so I wouldn't have mentioned it, but, when I pulled up the Ignatius website, there was the announcement with his picture. For those of you who might not have seen him lately, he does need some help getting around, but he's sharp as a tack. He comes into school twice a week to tutor (Latin, what else). My dad use to refer to ungrateful people as having a "what have you done for me lately?" attitude. In Frank's case, he poses that same question to himself. In his case, it's worded, "What have I done for you lately?"

>Spring seems to be the season of the alumni. On April 21st, the reunions for the classes of '86, '92, '97 and '02 were held. I truly enjoy seeing the alumni, and hearing their stories. Does it sound corny if I say that I am very proud of them/you? If it does, so be it. Even the students who weren't all that they could have been...which, to some extent, may include everyone, including teachers. Any teacher who was totally satisfied with their body of work is probably slightly delusional. Just saying!

>While the occasion for the encounter was not a happy one (a wake for their father), it was good to see that the Kunkel Brothers, Bill ('74), Tom ('77) and Jeff ('79), were all doing and looking well as were their sister and mother. Bill chided me, good-naturedly, to write blogs more often. While that ain't gonna happen, it was a very nice compliment none the less.

>Also on the alumni-front, over the last month and a half, I've enjoyed separate luncheon visits with Don Siliunas ('79)...Dr. Donatas Siliunas to you...and Joe Fisher ('67). Don, besides his work in the medical field and helping his wife raise their four children, has been a force in improving the facilities at the Lithuanian World Center in Lemont.

>Joe and I meet to celebrate our common April birthday-month...not the same day...every couple of years. Along with everything else that he does, he still works with the other guys in his class to organize get-togethers for the class of '67. Besides the Ignatius Golf Outing (June 27), their group is going to gather for a Sox game on July 25th. (If anyone else, either from their class or near that class is interested, you are welcome. If you can't get ahold of Joe or Marc Petrone, contact Sean Maccready, the Ignatius Alumni Director, or me.

>In the last blog, I listed several alumni who were listed in Wikipedia as having gained some degree of "celebrity". I also invited anyone who had some other names to add to the list to contact me. Don Wlodarski ('67) gave me a good one...Tom O'Hara('60). For those of you who are too young to remember, Tom was the first Illinoisan to run the four-minute-mile, and he set and held the world record in the in-door mile in the '60's. I seem to recall that he was favored in the '64 Olympics, but was stricken with the flu during those games. He certainly deserves a nod.

> Additionally, how about Marc Davis ('86)? He is an NBA ref who occasionally appears on TV, and is sometimes actually "high-lighted" during the sports segment of the news...as happened a couple of nights ago. (No! It wasn't a scandal!)

>Noel Vivar (class of 2000) has offered to up-date the Wikipedia item if we can come up with other worthwhile "celebrity" names.