Theodore Hesburgh
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
South Bend, Indiana
After the Social Capital conference, I had the honor of attending a reception at the Notre Dame Pressbox, a reception that was attended by Rev. Theodore "Ted" Hesburgh.
Once again, the Notre Dame legends caught up to me. I'd heard of this man before, in point of fact, you can't attend Notre Dame without hearing his name mentioned. And for good cause: he was president of the university for 35 years, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, held 16 different presidential appointments and has 150 honorary degrees (the ost in the world), and on and on. The man is a legend.
But all of that is available on his webpage. What one can't get from his bio is the experience of his presence. And believe me, it's something. Just like at our breakfast with Lou Holtz, I kept thinking to myself "am I just awed by the legend, or is it the man?"
It's easy to get caried away. After all, people act differently around him. The respect is palpable. There are eight of us at the table--all students. Everyone is quiet, possibly awed to silence, but most likely just hoping they can summon all their wits to think of something intelligent to say. Our conversation is light--someone asks him about the most memorable place he's visited. His answer: Antarctica. Wow. His life is replete with such toppers. After accomplishing a difficult task for then President Nixon, he was offered a favour--any favour. What does he ask for? A ride on the SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest plane ever made. He officially holds bragging rights over 99% of pilots on the planet, having flown at Mach 3.5. Very cool.
Just as had happened with Lou Holtz the previous day, everyone at the table seemed too caught up in the moment to be able to think of something interesting to talk about. I asked him about Carl Sagan. "For a man who claimed not to believe in God, he sure liked to talk about it a lot!" was his comment. He talked of their long conversations about religion and the existence of god. Man I wish I'd been there to witness one of those conversations!
After the Social Capital conference, I had the honor of attending a reception at the Notre Dame Pressbox, a reception that was attended by Rev. Theodore "Ted" Hesburgh.Once again, the Notre Dame legends caught up to me. I'd heard of this man before, in point of fact, you can't attend Notre Dame without hearing his name mentioned. And for good cause: he was president of the university for 35 years, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, held 16 different presidential appointments and has 150 honorary degrees (the ost in the world), and on and on. The man is a legend.
But all of that is available on his webpage. What one can't get from his bio is the experience of his presence. And believe me, it's something. Just like at our breakfast with Lou Holtz, I kept thinking to myself "am I just awed by the legend, or is it the man?"
It's easy to get caried away. After all, people act differently around him. The respect is palpable. There are eight of us at the table--all students. Everyone is quiet, possibly awed to silence, but most likely just hoping they can summon all their wits to think of something intelligent to say. Our conversation is light--someone asks him about the most memorable place he's visited. His answer: Antarctica. Wow. His life is replete with such toppers. After accomplishing a difficult task for then President Nixon, he was offered a favour--any favour. What does he ask for? A ride on the SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest plane ever made. He officially holds bragging rights over 99% of pilots on the planet, having flown at Mach 3.5. Very cool.Just as had happened with Lou Holtz the previous day, everyone at the table seemed too caught up in the moment to be able to think of something interesting to talk about. I asked him about Carl Sagan. "For a man who claimed not to believe in God, he sure liked to talk about it a lot!" was his comment. He talked of their long conversations about religion and the existence of god. Man I wish I'd been there to witness one of those conversations!
posted by Nic at 1:53 AM
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