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Larry Forness Letter After Nov. 8 Loss to Boston College
I have already read several of your emails tonight regarding the sickening performance of our team against B.C.
More, Larry Forness letter after Nov. 8 Boston College game
Responses, Larry Forness letter after Nov. 8 Boston College game
Thought you would be interested to read what a couple of fellow Lead Heads have said in reply to my impassioned email. Jan is owner of a big health care facility in NJ, and Paul is an ER physician.
Date: Monday, November 10, 2008, 2:49 PMNot that I have any clue how the world works, but it appears that ND is succumbing to the trend in America (and perhaps elsewhere, but here is where I live) in that those with any power at any level please only those directly in their sphere and have little regard for the greater good of those that they should be beholding to. They completely forget who brungʼem to the dance. They screw people and say it is only business, as if business were not made of people, real live breathing folks. They take credit when something randomly happens that appears to be good for the moment and immediately blame others when things go sour. Or worse yet, try to make you believe it wasnʼt so bad.
Rationalization rather than realization rules. Let me try to convince you, spin it rather than admit it was a screw up and needs fixing. They talk the talk, but wonʼt and are incapable of walking the walk.
Humans are secondary to amorphous concepts of success. And success is only measured in dollars. Worse yet immediate dollars. Relationships with any depth are getting more and rarer.
Basically it seems that America and our institutions like ND are loosing their soul and are not concerned with fostering genuine creativity and a national or local spirit. The future is defined as this quarter and not our great grandchildren. Tradition goes out the window and as it does so goes the roots that nourished it in the first place.
Getting concrete, having phenomenal athletic teams is not mutually exclusive to having outstanding academics. They are complimentary. Athletics requires its own innate intelligence. Rather than reject athletes who are not quite there academically, why not take a few and help make them improve their academics and benefit from their skills as well. Have ND looked at as an institution that not only helps disadvantaged in other countries like the commercial shows, but to take a handful of real live Americans and help them hone their innate skills and develop other life skills as well. There are tremendous lessons to be learned and taught on the field as well as the classroom.
The most inspired performance the team showed was against Michigan and who was there to light that fire? Dr. Lou.
Like I said at first (if anybody made it this far through my ranting and rambling) I can be way off base here, but that is the way it feels to me over the last few years as I look out over the landscape here and wonder what they hell is going on. Does anyone really give a rats ass about actually doing something great rather than making whatever trivial bullshit they do try to seem great.
And in the famous words of Austin Powers, Iʼm spent.
Mr. Jan DeBenedetto
Senior Vice President Business Development
Vitaquest International, Inc.
West Caldwell, New JerseyFrom Paul GillSubject: Re: Weis has GOT to be fired, etc.
Monk:
This seems to be a common theme: an administration who sends out pleas for $$ on an almost monthly basis, but has no other use for its alums. I never received a response from Kerry Temple at ND MAGAZINE (an email and a letter), nor did I hear from Chuck Lennon.
Funny thing is, over the years I wrote Fr.Hesburgh on a number of topics, and he responded to every single one of my letters. Now if Fr.Ted had time to pen a response to me, how come these other people don't? I shudder to think what it would take to get a statue of Fr.Lange approved by this group of self-important snobs. (By the way, Fr.Lange had no use for the ND administration either.)
Paul
Jim Davis and Forrest Hainline, game thoughts Nov. 3, 2007
Forrest Hainline and Jim Davis had dinner in New York City on Saturday November, 3, and commiserated about the Navy game. Each wondered if there has ever been such a joyless coach at Notre Dame. It seems the only “nasty” in the football team is the coach's disposition.
Forrest A. Hainline III
Goodwin Procter LLP
Three Embarcadero Center
24th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-733-6065
415-677-9041 fax
415-963-1126 cell
fhainline@goodwinprocter.com
http://www.goodwinprocter.com
Rick McPartlin on the Sugar Bowl and Chicago Boys' Night Out Jan. 12th
Fellow 68ers:
Now for some good news, having played a team with players of a different species. It was bad enough that the quarterback is bigger than Alan Page, but when the offensive tackle was bigger at birth than any of our linebackers is now that is a problem.
Anyway, those of us who attended Notre Dame before it was infiltrated with women and lost only five games in four years are planning on continuing our annual night out on Rush street Friday, Jan 12. We will be meeting at Butch McGuire's at 6 pm. Attire is whatever one wants. The attorneys from downtown dress accordingly–grey suit, bland tie. I will not wear a suit- to avoid bleeding all over it.
See you then.
Rick McPartlin
richard mcpartlin [thirdrfmcp@yahoo.com]
Report of the event: Rick's encouragement, with the support of Dave Kabat, short-hitter Bryan Dunigan and other correspondents produced a good turnout, including Rick's son Brian, Matt Walsh's sons, Roger Guerin's son Brian, and Rick's lifelong friend, Harvard grad Paul McCarthy. Tom Weyer said that Rocky Bleier, a hit at one of the pep rallies, has agreed to think about helping Tom put some life into the president's remarks at the next reunion. We also heard from Tom that the recent gubernatorial election turned on Joe Kernan's reluctance to curry favor from southern voters with a personal doling out of capital punishment on the lawn of the governor's residence. In a quiet conference, Bob Ptak, Roger Guerin, and Matt Walsh made plans for Saturday Mass attendance while their wives were away for the weekend. If Tom Gibbs arrived home reeking of beer, it was only because a clumsy waiter splashed a drink all over him. Bryan Dunigan's early departure from the gathering prompted some muttering: Mary was in town and, following the inclination so few of us were able to act upon years ago, Brian had a date on a Friday night – no time for the boys' night out.