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Soundings: Stories with Sister Jean
BYThe last time I saw Jean Lenz it was pretty much like the first time — and all the times in between. I smiled throughout the conversation, listening to her talk.
Read full articleUnbalanced: Bad Santas
BYOverdosing on too many gooey Hallmark Christmas movies? If you believe this seasonal sugar rush needs a dash of Bad Santas to bring you down, our culture’s Grinches are happy to provide.
Read full articleUnbalanced: How not to give directions
BYYes, I get lost. A lot. If you have to give directions, listen up.
Read full articleUnbalanced: Breaking up is hard to do
BYThis break-up is making me tear my hair out. I’ve had easier times dumping boyfriends. In the past, it was easy for me to change stylists.
Read full articleUnbalanced: Plastic garden
BYThe gardener down the street has switched plants this year. Instead of wooden flowers stuck in the stone-covered border along the front of the house, she’s now displaying plastic ones.
Read full articleEasy reading
BYMaraya Steadman, author of The Playroom columns, is taking a well-earned summer vacation from writing. We miss her already, but she promises to be back soon with more to say about the singular art of parenting. In the meantime, we have other blogs to capture your attention.
Read full articleUnbalanced: The missing funeral
BYMy unintentional participation in a stranger’s funeral procession was as close as I was going to get to a funeral cortege for my uncle. He’d always made it clear that after his death he wanted no visitation, no funeral, no graveside service, no nothing.
Read full articleNDAve: Woo Named Reliever-in-Chief
BYCarolyn Y. Woo, dean of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, will leave ND at the end of 2011 to serve as president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services. CRS, fasten your seat belts.
Read full articleND Free Pass: A Notre Dame cheer
BYSeven months, 20 Notre Dame athletic events and 17 blogs later, I’ve limped to the finish line in my race to view all the Notre Dame varsity sports in a school year. We spectators don’t deserve monogrammed letter sweaters, but I’m still bummed that I never did catch a free T-shirt.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Baseball
BYFor several innings, it appeared that bat boy Zach might be the Irish MVP during the May 1 Notre Dame baseball game vs. Seton Hall. First, the crowd serenaded him for his 12th birthday, much to his head-ducking embarrassment. Then, with Seton Hall ahead 3-0, Zack left the dugout and easily caught a foul ball as it rolled off the overhead safety nets.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Softball
BYAs you walk along the winding sidewalk toward the beautiful Melissa Cook Stadium on the southeast corner of campus, it’s easy to spot the long-time fans of the Notre Dame softball team. They’re the ones carrying blankets.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Tennis
BYNotre Dame tennis teams frequently lost games to the South Bend weather. But once the indoor Eck Tennis Pavilion was built, right next to the outdoor Courtney Tennis Center, neither rain nor snow could stop a match. Advantage, Notre Dame tennis.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Lacrosse
BYThe usher at the April 23 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse game halted my entry into Arlotta Stadium. “There’s free barbecue in that tent,” he said, pointing off to the side. “You should try it.” As anyone who attends ND sporting events knows, it’s not wise to argue with an usher.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Blue-Gold Spring Football
BYThe Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring football game offers a wonderful spectatorpalooza. Free parking near the stadium. Tickets cheap enough that spectators probably can afford a snack at the concession stands. The best seats you can grab. The marching band playing ND football game favorites. The leprechaun and cheerleaders whipping up the crowd.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Golf
BYIf I’ve learned one thing in my spectator sampling of the less-heralded side of Notre Dame competitions, it’s not always to trust advance information posted online. Take golf, if you would, please — and please without telling me the details of your shot on the 14th hole.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Bengal Bouts
BYYou could have knocked me over with a gentle tap when I realized during the third match at the Notre Dame Bengal Bouts that I was enjoying the bouts.
Read full articleLazy I: Signs in the sand
BYI’ll speak for myself: I’ve done a poor job paying attention to North Africa and the Middle East during my lifetime. I suspect this is true of most Americans, but I shouldn’t presume. I know I wasn’t expecting the news from Tunisia last month. Now I can’t look away.
Read full articleSoundings: Threads of life
BYIt’s one of the best benefits of working at this magazine — developing very good friends, despite the distances, whom you come to know through their writing, by talking out story ideas and life and writing with them.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Women’s basketball
BYYes, I was among the 1,000 or so hardy — or maybe foolhardy — fans who to attended the Feb. 1 ND vs. Syracuse women’s basketball game. The blizzard of 2011 was gearing up, and the icy wind and stinging snow pellets made even a short walk to the Joyce Center’s Purcell Pavilion a winter’s agony.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Fencing
BYIrish fencers always duel their way to the top of the NCAA rankings. You will see a live-action game of strategic finesse, what has been called “physical chess,” as competitors chase and withdraw, lunge and run, stab and feint, and display intricate footwork and calculated swordplay.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Swimming and diving
BYCast your mind back to the Beijing 2008 summer Olympics games, when swimmer Michael Phelps grabbed eight golds and a 100-meter butterfly world record. He made history.
Read full articleSoundings: And the winner is . . .
BYI wasn’t disappointed that none of my three kindergartners got an award during their elementary school’s assembly. But awards: an interesting topic, especially now with a national debate ignited by a Chinese Tiger Mom scolding America for its leniently errant parenting style.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Track & Field
BYAs I continue to sample all the ND sports, I run into some fun surprises, like the Notre Dame Invitational track and field event. Loftus had the air of a three-ring circus, minus the animals and any semblance of central heating but complete with amazing variety acts.
Read full articleSoundings: Season of hope
BYWe hope for gifts and — more — the meaning behind them. We hope for the good times and comforts of family. We hope for peace and well-being. We hope for Jesus Christ to come to earth, to come into our lives.
Read full articleLazy I: Where is Baby Jesus?
BYThe Great Nativity Question, in any conscientious Catholic household, is whether baby Jesus takes up his position in the stable with the rest of the figurines or stays in the box until 12:01 on Christmas morning.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Hockey
BYMy Notre Dame spectator experience has been teaching me a lot about being a fan. Recent lesson: You wanna be a hockey fan? Toughen up.
Read full articleSoundings: Sins of omission
BYWhen I finished writing the Joseph Brennan obituary for our winter print edition, I knew I had more to say. It has gone unsaid for decades, and it’s too late now.
Read full articleUnbalanced: Fear factor
BYMy walking partner is deathly afraid of dogs. If a dog is anywhere nearby, she’ll position herself so I am between her and the threat. What? Better that I be attacked than her?
Read full articleND Free Pass: Volleyball
BYNo bikinis, no sunny skies, no sand. Already the Notre Dame volleyball team is at a disadvantage in terms of drawing spectators. But don’ t tell their fans that.
Read full articleND Free Pass: Rowing
BYA spectator needs comfort as much as excitement, and I had a great plan for watching the ND rowing team compete against Tulsa. Arrive at Farmer’s Market before the racing start. Buy a sweet treat, then head for the bridge and cheer as the boats passed by.
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Editor Blogs
