New Poem--about the Spring of 1970

Sorry I have been absent so long from this blog. Maybe I was in jail; or maybe in a mental institution; or maybe I was in Montana with my family. What in the world triggered this poem, 46 years later?

Last Month at Notre Dame—May 1970

The world being blown apart, spring of 1970,

Cambodian Invasion, endless bloody Vietnam War,

Kent State and Jackson State massacres,

Student strike at Notre Dame where we . . .

The privileged sat on a bank above St. Mary’s Lake

Or off-campus at a friend’s party, strumming our guitars,

Singing “The Children and the Flowers” or “For Baby for Bobby”

Or Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.”

Steve didn’t know it, but he was going to Vietnam to die in a helicopter crash;

Me and Chris to a Cincinnati ghetto and a Peacemakers’ commune;

Others to Mexico, graduate school, one brilliant friend to a job as a garbage collector,

Many to the military, yet far from the horror of Southeast Asia.

I remember that May: Mike, Chris, Tim,

Carol, Julie, Vangie, Rene, Tom,

Warren, Dick, Steve, John , many more,

Beloved friends.

Our last month as school comrades,

In the beautiful safe womb of Notre Dame,

Eager yet afraid of what awaited us

Outside the gates.

Bob Coughlin / July 19, 2016

Poem for Marty Gerrity (and James Taylor)

I recently purchased James Taylor's new album (Before This World) and began thinking about my introduction to the music of JT. It came with Marty Gerrity's arrival at the University of Notre Dame in the late winter of 1970. Marty brought two albums with him (and really, not much else!). But wow, what a gift that music was. Marty  became our friend--we were happy to have him around with his brother Mike (Mike was our dear friend and classmate from the Notre Dame Innsbruck Program). I got to know all the Gerrity family: Tommy, Mike, Kevin, Ellen (and her then-boyfriend Tom), Ann, Mrs. Gerrity, Aunt Peggy--flawed and loving and fun--and very very American-Irish. Below is my poem for Marty, who died a couple years ago.

Marty Gerrity Brings James Taylor to Notre Dame

(For Marty, 1952-2013)

When Marty Gerrity hitchhiked into town,

late winter of 1970,

he brought two record albums: James Taylor,

and Sweet Baby James.

“Carolina in My Mind,” the bluesy edge of “Night Owl,”

“Something in the Way She Moves,” “Circle Round the Sun”--all the themes

and genres were there in album #1, then

“Sweet Baby James,” “Steamroller,”

“Country Road,” “Fire and Rain”--

album #2

flattened us, inflamed us, and flooded us

with emotion.

The photo of JT on Sweet Baby James

reminded us of Marty, the long brown hair,

the wistful eyes, full of promise,

and a measure of trouble.

Yes, Marty, we will always remember

your coming to town,

your gift of music,

your trouble

and your grace.

[Bob Coughlin / June 30, 2015]

"Sweet Baby James"--Great Song for the 1st of December

I always think about this beautiful tune on the 1st of December. The song includes the lines "The First of December was covered with snow / So were the turnpikes from Stockbridge to Boston /And the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting / With ten miles behind me and 10, 000 more to go."

I would think of these lines when I was hitchhiking around America 40 years ago, just starting out on a journey. And now I think, for James Taylor and the likes of me, that it's 10,000 miles behind me and 10 miles left to go. It's been a great trip. And that's life. And I am grateful.

Postscript: This song, and James Taylor in general, make me think of the Gerrity brothers, Marty and Mike, who brought the Sweet Baby James album to Notre Dame and introduced us to this great artist.

Der "Rudi" (Tim Forward) Besucht Mich in Ohio!

So happy today to have lunch with my old friend from Notre Dame and Innsbruck and Salzburg, Austria, Tim Forward. Back in Salzburg, in the previous millennium (1967) we called Tim "Rudi" after a character in a book about the famous Swiss character Wilhelm Tell (I think that was the origin of Tim's nickname). Almost all the Notre Damers who studied in Salzburg and Innsbruck had nicknames. Sometimes they were logical and more often they were inexplicable. Why was I called "Wilder Mann"? Why was Chris Cotter called "Wheat"? And Tom Heinen "Spider"? Why was Mike Gerrity "Misha"?

Thirty-six 19-year-old boys in the Innsbruck Program--all of them bright, ambitious; many fun; a few stone crazy. Forty-five years later some of the guys have had incredible success. Two have died--Steve Shields in combat in Vietnam around 1973 and John Higgins from cancer. One of my favorites is Tim Forward, "Rudi"--so happy he stopped by today on his way to Chicago and Green Bay.

Tim Forward and Bob Coughlin at the Red Hawk, Concord, Ohio

James Taylor in Charlotte

It was 1969 or 1970 that Marty Gerrity (Mike's brother) came to the University of Notre Dame with albums of James Taylor. The beautiful and intelligent music was a revelation and the beginning of my interest and affection for JT's artistry. Surely he is one of the great singer-songwriters and performers of our generation.

Last week he performed in Charlotte. His words were very funny and his music was beautiful, singing "In My Mind I'm Going to Carolina, " "You've Got a Friend," and "How Sweet It Is to be Loved by You."

In his remarks he has a retort to Clint Eastwood and his talking-to-a-chair speech; and he has a remark about "old white guys." Being one myself, I enjoyed this remark.

James Taylor's music brings a tear to the eye for all it has meant to me during my life.

An Example of a Famous Macaronic Song: "Siuil a Run"

A long time ago I learned a macaronic song, consisting of English, Irish, and nonsense words, called "Siuil a Run." I remember singing it at Notre Dame parties (1966-1970) with Mike Gerrity and maybe Brian Wilson. At the time I had no idea there were Irish-Gaelic words in the song (the very title means, "Walk, My Love!" in Irish). The title is pronounced /SHOOL ah ROON/.

Macaronic songs and poems incorporate at least 2 languages, and sometimes more (see my attempt at a macaronic poem in the previous blog posting). Wikipedia give the following as the lyric to "Siuil a Run." In fact, there is no definite lyric but many variations:

I wish I was on yonder hill

'Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill

And every tear would turn a mill

Is go dté tú mo mhuirnín slán

Chorus

Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin

Siúil go socair agus siúil go ciúin

Siúil go doras agus éalaigh liom

Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

I'll sell my rock, I'll sell my reel

I'll sell my only spinning wheel

To buy my love a sword of steel

Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red

And round the world I'll beg my bread

Until my parents shall wish me dead

Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain

I wish I had my heart again

And vainly think I'd not complain

Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

But now my love has gone to France

to try his fortune to advance

If he e'er comes back 'tis but a chance

Is go dté tú mo mhúirnín slán

One translation of the Irish chorus is

Go, go, go my love

Go quietly and peacefully

Go to the door and flee with me

And may you go safely my dear.

 

A youtube performance by Clannad": http://youtu.be/4ZP-4B7kHqA

Innsbrucker Reunion: Herr Gerrity und Herr Coughlin

Mike Gerrity, Terry Morris, Linda, and I met for dinner last week at "11th Street Dockside" restaurant in Port Royal, South Carolina. I met Mike either at Notre Dame in 1966 or in Salzburg, Austria in 1967. We "studied" together (along with 34 other Notre Dame guys) in Salzburg and Innsbruck, Austria. Mike is a translator of German and Russian (and probably a half dozen other Slavic languages). He has the most interesting curriculum vitae that I know of (I think mine is pretty interesting too--but I wasn't ever (officially) a garbage man). Mike has worked on the hotline in the White House, has been a medic in the army, has picked up garbage in Berwyn Heights, Maryland, and for more than 20 years has translated the most complex scientific documents from Russian and German into English. Mike and his wife Terry are two of the best trivia players I know--and really, two of the smartest people I've ever known. They are also plain old-fashioned wonderful people and I am so privileged to know them.

Notre Dame-Innsbruck Friends from 1967-68

The 1967-68 Notre Dame Innsbruck Program:

The top photo looks like something out of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and the Magical Mystery Tour! It shows some of the Ehrlerstrasse Pension gang drinking beer, strumming guitars, and wearing funny hats (the hats belonged to Steve Shields). Included here are Mike Celizic (seriously ill these days), Chris Cotter, Steve Shields, and Mike Gerrity. The special effects in this photo are the products of chance, time, the print being rolled up in a tube for years, blood, sweat, tears, and probably some measure of alcohol.

The bottom photo shows 5 members of the Notre Dame-Innsbruck Program, probably in September of 1967 at "Eisriesenwelt," gigantic ice caves outside Salzburg, Austria. In this photo you can see Steve Shields (died in Vietnam, circa 1972); Charlie Bradley; Brian Wilson; Bob Coughlin; Mike Gerrity. There was quite a scary hike to get to the caves, including a trek across a cliff face (holding on to cable affixed to the rock). I can't remember who took this photo.

Happy Easter!

I spent some time on Good Friday with Linda at Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Euclid, Ohio. This holy place, a replica of Lourdes, sits on a high hill above Euclid Avenue, US Route 20, with a view of Lake Erie a few miles to the north. This shrine is an island of sanity in a sea of insanity. There is no doubt that it is a holy place.

At the Grotto Linda and I lit candles--for my Dad and Mom, for Linda's Dad and Mom, and for all our friends and family, living and dead. I thought especially of Kenny Przybylski and Sr. Franzita Kane. As we did the Stations of the Cross, I thought of my friends who have health challenges: Linda Cotter, Jack Pendergast, Mike Gerrity, John Connell. And certainly their spouses who help them cope: Chris, Vicki, Terry, Marlene.

We Catholics and Christians (and really, all of us, whether Christian or not) have the great gift of Holy Week: The Eucharist of Holy Thursday; the suffering and crucifixion of Good Friday; the waiting of Holy Saturday; the victory over sin and death of Easter Sunday. May all this redeemed suffering and the greatest victory be with you, with all of us, this Easter.

Making Music (Part 1)

[Part 1]. Music must be one of the great consolations, one of the great pleasures of life. I wish that my parents had encouraged (cajoled, threatened, forced) me to take music lessons as a kid. We didn't think about making our own music in my family, alas, but I began to make music for myself junior year at St. Joe's High School in Cleveland. The inspiration was Pete Gasper, my classmate, and the music of the Beatles. Pete was also my inspiration to begin writing poetry. Pete was one strange and interesting dude, a fellow living in Eastlake, born of Portuguese heritage, who discovered that he could woo girls via poetry. Where is Pete today? Did he continue his pursuit of poetry? and girls?

Anyway, Pete set me on the path. I bought an inexpensive Hohner harmonica and began playing by ear, with absolutely no instruction and even without many musical models. Eventually, the models became the harp riffs on some Beatle songs and the harmonica parts in Bob Dylan songs. I eventually got pretty good on the harmonica, at least good enough to entertain myself.

A couple years later, I roomed with Brian Wilson (the Hilo Pediatrician, not the Beach Boy) during a Sophomore Year Abroad program in Innsbruck, Austria. Brian had a guitar and was an excellent player. He taught me to play a few chords and a few simple songs (the first being "G-L-O-R-I-A, Glo-ri-a," written, I've heard, by the great Irishman, Van Morrison). I played these songs fairly well. We had great fun in Innsbruck, banging on guitars at informal sessions at the Weisses Kreuz Gasthaus, right in the heart of Innsbruck's Altstadt. The Innsbruck guitar bangers included the late John Higgins, Mike Celizic, the MSNBC.COM sports columnist, Brian Wilson, Mike Gerrity, and myself. Other guys joined in on guitar and on harmonica, including Charlie Schaffer. [more coming]

Julia and Eddy's 1st Anniversary: Part II--Wedding Guests

There were a bezillion guests at Julia and Ed's wedding, including my brothers, shown in the top photo: Jimmy, Kevin, Sean (Denny and Sher's son), Denny ("Little Cogs"), and me.

The bottom photo shows my friends from the University of Notre Dame/Innsbruck Program (1967-68): Tom Heinen ("Spider"), me ("Wilder Mann"), Tim Forward ("Rudi"), Chris Cotter("Wheat"), and Mike Gerrity ("Misha").

We all had a terrific time the weekend of the wedding.

Big Birthdays: Little Cogs, Big Cogs, Big Mike

June is a big month for birthdays in my family. On June 7th, "Little Cogs," Denny Coughlin, will celebrate Birthday # LVIII. "Little Cogs" is about 6 inches taller and 2 years younger than "Big Cogs," who will celebrate birthday # LX four days later. And right between Denny and me, my great friend Mike Gerrity will also be celebrating birthday # LX.

Happy Birthday to me, Denny, and Mike. May there be several more (make that many, many more!).

[Photo shows Grampa Connie Coughlin holding Bobby (left) and Denny (right) circa 1951, Hayes Avenue, Willoughby-on-the-Lake, Ohio]