Stormy Weather

It's Saturday and I'm sitting in my office doing a little catching up on postponed tasks while waiting for the right time to set out for the stadium.  Yes, it's a "game day" and in an effort to secure free and proximate parking, I coerced my significant other into rising at 6 a.m. to follow me to the parking lot and give me a ride home after dropping off the car.  Later, he continued the personal limo service by dropping me off on campus.  TIP:  for 2 weeks a drop-off at the campus post office has worked nicely as a means to get relatively close and find a spot to stop without incurring the ire of the traffic lords.

There's nobody here in the MI at the moment--quite a switch from Friday when students were busily working on homework assignments in the reading room and one of our senior faculty was happily ensconced behind a giant foam pillow that was cradling a book she was perusing with beatific intensity.

Downstairs in the lobby of the library, there is a lot of casual meandering going on since the torrential (in the words of the local weather reporters) downpour that has been going on since last night abated.  During the cease-water, all of the grills on the quads sprang into action and got their charcoal blazing to take advantage of the hiatus.  I availed myself of what is arguably one of the finest game day delicacies--the steak sandwich prepared by the Knights of Columbus.

I have pretty much decided that I will go for a "cluck-and-moo" combo.  In other words, prior to the game, I'll visit the Nelson Port-a-Pit barbecue outside the stadium for some of their chicken.  Tried their boneless rib sandwich last week and found it less satisfying than the chicken; however, they had small roasted potatoes (done in the same style as their roasted chicken, I was assured) and found these delicious, although pricey.

As you can tell, I have certain food fancies that form a significant segment of my personal game day ritual.

The fans (including those of ND's nemesis Michigan) are decked out in all sorts of foul weather gear.  ND ponchos, Crocs, knee-high waterproof boots, and umbrellas of all sizes and shapes abound.  The humidity is 93% and the chance of precipitation is 80%, with thunderstorms a distinct possibility.  Some flooding has been reported in White Field and I have donned a bathing suit under my outerwear in order to prepare for a thorough drenching.  (Many years of following the Ohio State team around the Big 10 has given me some practice in gearing up for all sorts of football weather--as well as another reason to view Michigan supporters as demon spawn when considered en masse.)

Last week's game against San Diego State had perfect weather and I enjoyed introducing our new Mellon Fellow, Susan Dudash, to ND football rituals.  The win was scratched out of some dismal first-half play, good special teams work and a good 4th quarter.  Luckily, SD St had no passing game, or we'd have gotten shellacked.

Well, gametime is approaching, so GO IRISH!

Summer People

We're creeping into summer here in South Bend, so that means nights in the 40s and days that totter into the 70s. Right now, we're midway between the end of spring semester and the beginning of summer classes. A lot of the students are either off for summer research projects (like many of our faculty) or getting in some recreation time before a summer of paleography with Frank Mantello or a return to the pleasures of planning or finishing a dissertation. 

Shortly, our SIEPM fellow, Sander de Boer, a philosophy graduate student from Radboud University, Nijmegen (Netherlands), will be finishing his 3-month visit with us and returning home. We're still enjoying the company of our 2007-08 Mellon Fellow, Cristina Maria Cervone, asst. prof. of English at Villanova, although she will be moving back to Philadelphia in mid-summer. Susan Dudash, from Fordham's Dept. of French, will be in town this week to secure housing for her 2008-09 Mellon year with us and returning later in summer to begin her year in residence. John Alexander, a returning visitor who clearly can't get enough of the MI, will appear in June to work in our Ambrosiana microfilm collection. John is an architectural historian at the University of Texas, San Antonio.  Owen Phelan, ND History Ph.D., now at Mount Saint Mary's University and Seminary in Maryland, will be returning to his old stomping grounds for a research visit.

Our local visiting scholars, Aaron Canty (Saint Xavier U.), Warren Lewis (Martin U. emeritus), and Bobby Meyer-Lee (Goshen College) will be making guest appearances in the reading room periodically this summer as well.

One of the best parts of my job is meeting visitors like these and introducing them to South Bend and Notre Dame.  Welcome back to one and all!