Wednesday

Notice the upward gaze in the new photograph used for my homepage here. It's a "WTF" moment as I must be doing a little computation of my immediate future midway up the Galibier. Caught on the zoom lens by 2 from a perch on a switch-back further up the mountain.

My pal Roy and I had to run into C-town Monday to meet a a guy about another one of Roy's company's. Flying private to a little airfield on the North side called Palwaukee Airport. I was along for support as the matter was more of Roy listening to another plea for capital. (He has a lot of folks who think he is their answer to bad economics. Whatever.)

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Anyway, I'm sitting in the lounge doing another one of 3's Outside The Box NYT's crosswords when a big guy comes over and sits down opposite me, snarfing down a Diet Coke and a chocolate-frosted donut. (Is there a more obvious disparate combination?) I notice an ND logo on his briefcase, and then getting a direct look at his face, I realize that I'm sharing the waiting area with Charlie Weis!

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LtPC: Coach Weis, I'm an ND alum from way back. What the heck are you doing here?

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CW: Just getting back from a recruiting trip up North. We had an alumni association rep in our party who had to get to a fund-raiser in Winnetka tonight, and this was the closest airport. Now they decided that we needed to refuel our plane. When did you graduate? And what are you doing here?

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LtPC: Before your time. 1971. I'm here with a client who is in the conference room putting the squeeze on a guy who hasn't been able to meet his revenue projections for the year, and who now wants more capital for a new product. My official role on this one is traveling companion. So did you get the recruit?

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CW: Who knows. Kids these days change their minds every day. We won't know for sure until signing day. And even then there's always the possibility of a last minute change of heart. I hate recruiting. At least in the pros, the money is out front on the table. You never know with the college game.

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LtPC: Didn't you have a bunch of recruits in South Bend on Saturday for the USC game? How'd that work out?

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CW: Kind of like the game. It would have been better if we had won.

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LtPC: It looked like the USC defensive line was the difference in the game.

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CW: Yeah. We knew that they'd be tough. I think they got worn down though by the end of the game. I mean, they had a pretty good workout chasing Jimmy down all afternoon.

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LtPC. How come you don't get those type of guys at ND?

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CW: Two words: Sunshine and academics.

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LtPC: But you had to know that coming in here. Winter has been a bear here forever. And we always had a smattering of the football players in our regular classes in the '60's and '70's.

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CW: Kids today can play in the South or West and get the same amout of TV time as playing at ND. And without naming names, I don't think that they make it to all that many calculus or engineering classes.

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LtPC: That's not likely to change.

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CW: I don't know. Coach Holtz won a national championship here. He said academics are for losers. (Of course, there was a bit of a cloud when he left here.) Father Jenkins and the Board want to get back to those big paydays in the BCS. And we need some stars to compete. Plus, Father Hesburgh and Father Obama are both committed to getting us back on course.

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LtPC: What does the President have to do with this? And do you realize that you just called him "Father?"

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CW: Oh, he received all kinds of distinctions when he was here for commencement in May. They didn't publicize it, but as part of his honorary degree, they also added Holy Orders in the fine print. He and Mayor Dailey had a couple of Olympic events scheduled for our facilities and that was going to mean a bunch of upgrades at no cost to anyone. I'm not sure where the funding is going to come from now.

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LtPC: Coach, I don't think that it's wise to mix religion and politics. Can't you just get some players who can run fast?

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CW: We're working on it, LtPC. In the meantime, we're upgrading our schedule. Next year we have William and Mary instead of Michigan, so our secondary will definitely show improvement.

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LtPC: Right, Coach. Gotta run. You seem to have everything covered.

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CW: Thanks. Make sure you send in your contribution to the university. Make it a big one.

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LtPC: You can bet on it.

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My pal Roy and I had a pleasant trip home.

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BCOT