Kerry Group; A Growing Force that Began in Ireland by Lawrence Norris

On  this blog, I have been writing about all-things Irish from an Irish American persepective.  This post is about a block-buster Irish Multi-National called Kerry Group. Kerry Group is one of the biggest companies originating out of Ireland

In 1972,  a state owned company, a group of small farmer co-operatives and a US company formed what is now known as Kerry to manufacture milk protein (casein) to the United States. Almost immediately, the company acquired other companies and organizations. 

From primarily a dairy company, Kerry expanded into meat products, specialty food products, food ingredients, and made a strong push into its future with a research and development focus. It was becoming a leading Irish Multinational. Through more acquisitions, Kerry’s growth and development created a leading global food ingredients corporation. Building its Global Technology and Innovation Centre in Beloit, Wisconsin, Kerry allows customer collaboration to develop innovative products that can be delivered quickly and differentiate offerings in the marketplace. The Center has been a model for new facilities that Kerry has built across the globe. Kerry has been shifting naturally to a more holistic provider of Taste and Nutrition to the global food, beverage and pharmaceutical markets to help serve consumers who want to live better, feel better and eat better.

In recent months, Kerry Group has purchased Geneden a small company whose technology focuses on probiotics and who holds many patents. It is thought that technology and know-how from companies such as Geneden can be used across many components of the Kerry Group operations. 

“Kerry Group sponsors the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in its 22nd year. The €15,000 Award recognizes Ireland’s leading literary talent. Kerry Group’s involvement with Concern’s RAIN project supports farmers and helps preserve vibrant and economically viable rural communities. Kerry Group sponsors Kerry Group’s Rás Mumhan, the first major Stage Race of the Irish Cycle Racing season. The race covers over 500 km . 

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The Brown and White

Lawrence Norris is the author of the The Brown and White, a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. Collin is a white boy who is living in turbulent times in a changing city. He clings to his neighborhood and his family as he heads out each day with his classmates on the Brown and White, the ancient school bus driven by free-spirited Willie. Memorable characters abound as this story unfolds. Collin's loveable family, especially his Irish Catholic policeman father and his Irish immigrant mother face life together. 

Mice and the Winter by Lawrence Norris

Mice come into the house from cold fall air

and haunt my kitchen until I set traps for them. 
My neighbor tells me they must make a home
out in the old pile of logs where the rabbits go.


But there's something spiritual in my wood pile
it holds relics of my old apple tree
and I can't bring myself to get rid of the logs
summer home of mice and hiding place for rabbits.

But like all dead things I hold onto,  it brings trouble, 
memories of mistakes I have made that sneak up
and cry out on these cloudy winter days
scolding me for what I failed to do in summer.

So on these cold mornings when nothing is warm
and even the squirrels won't come out of their nests,
I sometimes battle ghosts stuck in my head
like mice that come in from the cold, haunting my kitchen.

Copyright 2017, Sporting Chance Press

Norris is the author of the Brown and White, a fictionalized memoir published by Sporting Chance Press that is available through Amazon. The book is book about a young man's freshman year in the late 1960s in Chicago--changing neighborhoods and challenges--yet, a humorous and positive book. 

Another South Side Irish Adventure

Someone who knows about job searches had just told me that I needed to sharpen up my resume and get some kind of narrative going on my own personal talents.  I thought I might just take it to the next level and meet with my informal adviser, Willie the Bus Driver from my high school alma mater, Mount Carmel High School. I wanted Willie's thoughts. Willie's been dead for many years, but being Irish and supersitious, I never let death put a halt to good conversation. So I was game if Willie was.

Willie was a tough guy although tiny--his features were elfish like  Santa Claus. Instead of red, he dressed in grey like the Maytag repairman.  Unlike Santa, who has a magic dentist, Willie had few teeth. And he talked kind of funny, but he was our man. We loved Willie and knew there was wisdom in most everything he said.

So I walked over to 114th and Western in Chicago this morning and waited for the Brown and White bus. The bus was a long time coming.  It has been in some kind of other dimension. But it did come at last and Willie pulled the bus over and the huge old fashioned mechanical doors swung open. I hopped up the stairs just like the old days and showed Willie my old Carmel ID-shown above. He looked it over and looked at me and said: "how does I know it's you?" Before I could think of anything to say, Willie said, "Oh, forget it."

As I sat accross from Willie, it dawned on me that I was approaching Willie's age now, the age that the "old boy" had died. Once I got past that scary thought, he looked over at me and said, "so why does you want to see me, Norris."

"Well, Willie, you see I am having difficulty finding a new job and people tell me I have to really sell myself.  And it's just hard and I thought I would ask someone who could help me--maybe make up some bull. And I thought of you."

Willie looked at me and said, "I think yoos got yousself the wrong man, Norris.  I am no good at bull, but maybe I can help."

I wasn't sure I agreed with what Willie said, but I waited for the wisdom. Willie stopped talking for a few minutes and he lit up a smoke--a Marlboro long.

"Well, I'd drop the bull and tell them yoos went to Mount Carmel.  That has to help, duzntit?"

"I guess I could do that, I usually just put my colleges, Benedictine College and National Louis University on my resume, but who knows, maybe that might work," I said.

I started to wonder if I had overestimated Willie's wisdom. 

As the bus pulled up toward 107th Street, Willie said, "We're going to pick up your old pal Hannie. Maybe he has some ideas."

Jeez, I thought, this is getting kinda of complicated.  First I pull Willie out of retirement (and the grave) and now he has a guest for me. 

There with a couple of sweet rolls about the size of frisbies and a stryrofoam cups of hot coffee stood one of the south side's greatest politicians who never ran for public office, my old pal Hannie.  Hannie was a couple inches taller than Willie. Today,  he dressed a little like Buster Brown. I closed my eyes and shook my head and then looked again, but he was still dressed the same way--like a very old fashioned school boy.  Then I remembered, Hannie wore Buster Brown shoes.  Then it dawned on me that as usual whoever had control of things today was not me.  

The big mechanical door swung open and Hannie climbed up the stairs. In a second or two he was sitting across from me.  He handed one coffee and sweet roll to Willie and took the other for himself.  He had done the same every morning he took the brown and white in high school and it seemed natural today.

I looked at Hannie a little puzzled because I knew most of the neighborhood had changed. "Where'd you get the sweet rolls?"

"Wendt's diner, open today for this special occassion," exclaimed Hannie.

I looked across the steet and sure enough the restaurant and sign had reappeared after many years. And when I looked closely, I could see old man Wendt in his white shirt and apron. "He must be 110 at least," I said.

"No, he was younger when he died and thats where he stays," said Hannie.

Not sure how the age of the dead works out, I just kept quiet.

Willie looked at Hannie and thanked him for the treats. Then he said, "Hannie, your old Pal, Norris, here isn't having much luck finding a job and he wants to know if yoos have any ideas for him."

Hannie looked at me and said, "so that's the deal--wondered what this was all about.  You're looking for some connections."

"No, Hannie, I am just wondering what in the hell I am doing wrong, it's just not working."

"Well, my uncle was the president of the outside electricians, but he's dead. And you know my mom worked at city hall and she knew the first Daley, but she is long dead, too."

And then as Willie and I stared at each other, Hainnie went through a litany of dead people, a hundred names or more who could have helped me, but they were all gone. It was a good refresher course for our time back in the day on the South Side. 

"Well, Hannie, maybe you can ask all the dead for their prayers, that might be about best."

"OK, Norris, they can sure do that."

My mind wonered back to my dad who had some connections, but he told my brother and I that there would be no new policemen in the family. By the time I was in high school, not only were the cops poorly paid, but they were harassed by war demonstraters and villainized like never before. They got no respect and my dad wanted us to have some of that. 

Willie interupted, "well boys we are approaching 103rd Street and that means Dan Dollar will be there. Maybe Dollar will have some ideas."

Sure enough, the brown and white pulled up and there was Dollar, a little grey around the edges, but sporting his old buckskin coat with leather fringe. Dollar was our entertainment in high school, he did  immitations of teachers, movies stars, comedians and other notables. He was one of the coolist guys in high school--at least we thought so, but we weren't exactly in the "cool club."  Suddenly, I felt excited.  I knew Dad was a late-bloomer and had manuevered his way around the Chicago Public School system. If anyone would know the ropes to job hunting, it would be him.

The bus stopped and Willie opened the huge door. The stooped figure of Dan Dollar bound up the stairs and deposit himself on a seat.  About a second after we go the "how the hell are you, Dollar," out of our mouths, Dollar was doing his immitations of the top entertainers like he had done back in the day. I thought  he would be doing new stars of the day; Dan was always very contemporary. But instead he entertained with routines from the old Ed Sullivan Show including two of the wierdest acts by today's standards, Poppo Gigio and  Senor Wences. Not very cool, but for us very entertaining. As in school, Dan added a boy's high school twist to the humor and I am not sure if it would have passed decency standards. 

After some "oh Eddie's" and funky Spanish, we give Dollar some warm applause.  Dollar looked over at me and said, "so what do you need?"

I explained for him all the problems I had with job hunting. The dead ends, the frustations over all kinds of things involved in it and the idea that people were looking for long lists of talents that certainly no human being had. Dollar leaned back and looked at me and then over at Hainne and Willie.  "You know what he needs to win at the job game today, don't you?"

Hainnie shook his head.

Willie light up another cigarette and said nothing.

I looked at Dollar and exasperated, I said, "OK, what!"

Dollar looked at me and said, "Sharp elbows. You need to move in and clear everyone else out of the way."

"Sharp elbows," I said.  You mean we wake Willie from the dead, he brings this bus from another dimention, and we all come back to the school bus for a dose of wisdom and we get "sharp elbows?"

Dillon looks at me and says, "What do you expect from a guy who looks like the Maytag Repairman, another dressed as Buster Brown and an amateur comedian who looks like an aging rock star? If you wanted some genius ideas on a job, you should have had Bill Gates and Warren Buffet!" 

I looked at myself in my high school Brown and White coat and started to feel kind of foolish. For the rest of the trip to nowhere we sat by the windows and looked girl's legs in the cars below. Just like the old days, I thought.  

The Brown and White

Forty plus years in the making, The Brown and White is a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. Collin is a white boy who is living in turbulent times in a changing city. He clings to his neighborhood and his family as he heads out each day with his classmates on the Brown and White, the ancient school bus driven by free-spirited Willie. Memorable characters abound as this story unfolds. Collin's loveable family, especially his Irish Catholic policeman father and his Irish immigrant mother face life together. Collin and classmates blaze their own humorous and passionate trail through the late 1960s. A unique cast of terrific teachers are there to see the boys through. Laughs and life meet readers head on as they travel on the Brown and White.

Latest Resume

Virtue for Exemplary Lives

Patrick McCaskey

"Hope sustains and ecourages us. In many ways it is the virtue of those who lead exemplary lives--those who are active not passive."

From: Patrick McCaskey's Sports and Faith: Stories of the Devoted and the Devout.

Sports and Faith: Stories of the Devoted and the Devout is a personal chronicle of Chicago Bears Senior Director Patrick McCaskey that looks back at decades of spiritual enrichment and life lessons from athletes, coaches, religious and everyday people. McCaskey recalls the stories of those who worked hard to make the cut on and off the field plus people who left comfortable lives to serve the under-served in extraordinary ways.

Look of the Irish, Why not?

I think when you get older you tend to look at things through a kind of lense that opens up to what you value and love.  Maybe you've learned a few things as well and you appreciate what they call diversity today. But diversity is a much overused word. I think I tend to see people as not so much "diverse" or different from me, but really more similar although they are different. Some will think I am just fooling myself and don't get it, and maybe they are right. But in the past week when puzzling on things, I have said "I am not that bright" so I am going to keep to the simple notion that I am delivering here. 

The photo above is my grandson Ciaran. 

I have one of those blended families, so I have three grandchildren and I love them all. Of course, when you are a step-grandfather, like I am for two of my grandchildren, you want to make sure you don't step on anyone's toes and take credit for things maybe you shouldn't.  One of my step grandchildren, Jacob Liam,  lived with us for a year and he visits for a few days at a time now.  His long stay left an emotional impression on me that I can't really explain (remember I said that I am not that bright so I don't have to). But let me get back to Ciaran. 

As you can see by the photo, there is something soulful and poetic about Ciaran. And like his name, he speaks Irish to me. And by that I mean that he exudes grace and a sacred message for me that I interpret with an Irish heart. And for me, a sacred message is an Irish message because that's how I was raised.  As a young boy, I looked over at my Irish dad in church and saw him praying his rosary and Ciaran reminds me of my dad and his faith. The image of my father praying says everything to me. 

Cairan  is beautiful and I would not want to change a thing on him. He is my daughter's son and she is a beautiful woman with a lot of Irish.  But I have to be honest, Ciaran takes after his dad. And I don't think his dad is Irish at all--though he is an artistic and soulful man. But I have come to appreciate diversity as I have said. And yet, Ciaran looks Irish, because I am Irish and I love him and I see everything with Irish eyes, because I have two of those. 

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My Irish Catholic book is called The Brown and White. 

Saint Augustine and His Mother Saint Monica

Sports and Faith II 

The following passage is from Sports and Faith: More Stories of the Devoted and the Devout by Patrick McCaskey, Copyright 2015, Sporting Chance Press.

Saint Monica is remembered as the mother of Saint Augustine.  Monica was an innocent and pious Catholic who was married to a Pagan named Patritius, who was likely a drinker as well as a carouser.  Monica had three children: sons Augustine and Navigius, and a daughter, Perpetua.  She wanted her children to be Baptized and brought up in the faith, but she was hindered by Patritius until he himself was converted.  Patritius died after his Baptism and left Monica a widow.

Monica spent many hours praying for her son Augustine’s conversion and salvation.   Saint Augustine would look back on his youth as a time of reckless immoral behavior. 

Augustine was promiscuous, lazy, and a reveler.  Augustine took up with a mistress with whom he had a son and lived for many years.   Saint Monica was a devout Christian and impressed those around her by her faith and prayer life.  Augustine’s mistress was not an acceptable wife and he hated to leave her, but he did.  He took his son Adeodatus (gift from God). Further consternation resulted from Augustine’s adoption of Manichaeism.  Manichaeism was a popular religion at the time that divided the world between good and evil principles with things material considered evil and things immaterial intrinsically good.  This dualistic theology was at best a heresy.  Monica was so disturbed by this turn in her son, that she originally barred the door to him. 

As Monica did all her life, she prayed and prayed and prayed.  She was assisted by  Saint Ambrose in converting Augustine.  Biographical information on Monica is sketchy at best, but it was suggested that she was at least temped by drink and managed to fight it off.  Her ability to avoid the destructive nature of vice as well as her incredible faith and untiring prayer life has made her a Patron Saint of Alcoholics.   Saint Monica example of the power of prayer has stood out for Christians over the centuries.

 Saint Augustine went on to give his wealth to the poor, his life to the priesthood, and his labors to the Catholic community of his time.  Bishop Augustine is considered one of the greatest Christian writers and a Doctor of the Church.

Alcoholism is a disease that is passed down over the generations.  Three generations of my family were alcoholics until my father put it on hold.  When he was fifteen, he had five beers while singing in a saloon one night.  His head was spinning.  He came home and said to his mother, “I’ll never drink again.”  I followed his example and have stayed away from it altogether.  I believe I am a better man for it. 

Saint Augustine’s Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.

—Saint Augustine

Jordan Lynch Back at Northern Illinois University

Jordan Lynch

If you are checking the stats and game notes for the Edmonton Eskimos in Canada this year to see how former quarterback of Northern Illinois University Jordan Lynch is faring, well, he is back at NIU this season coaching running backs. Lynch is a fellow alum of Mount Carmel High School. 

Canadian teams have a swarm of quarterbacks because they play on a much bigger field in a more wide open game. Often, the QBs in Canada have kind of an old school toughness and a personality to go along with it. The Canadians do not pay anything like the NFL here, so it's not like you can go up to Canada, play a few years and sit back and live comfortably. Most players also have their eye on the next step in their career and just how they are going to look after their families full time. 

So for reasons known to Lynch, he decided to hang it up in Canada and head back to the sideline in DeKalb where he works for his old coach, Rob Carey. I had an opportunity to meet Coach Carey a few years ago and I was impressed. Carey is a supurb coach and a very smart guy. His program is excellent and I'd have to believe his staff is a great place to start a coaching career. 

In coaching, at the professional and college level, there is often  a lot of movement that goes on.  There is also a progression of steps that are often involved, but things happen in unusual ways as well. It's not always clear, but you move up in responsibility as you go along. Sometimes you stay with a head coach as they move from school to school. People have different goals and not everyone wants to be a head coach. Some in fact go back to high school, and some even go on to the pros.  

I remember researching the life of Bill Belichick and his dad Steve was a good coach. But Steve wanted more stability than what would be offered  by just coaching, so he focused on scouting and teaching at the Naval Academy. Bill Belichick himself took another path and started working in the pros where he did things like drive the other coaches around and pick up lunches--he moved up from there. So there are traditional roles and some other roads you can take, but it depends on your goals and circumstances--and then like any job there is a matter of  things like luck, fate, destiny. 

I wish Jordan Lynch great success in his next step. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Pray for Us. 

Lawrence Norris is the author The Brown and White, a fictionalized memoir about his time in High School. 

Two New Books by Chicago Irish: Houlihan on Politics and Maher on Catholic League Football

A couple Irish Chicago men have new books out.  They are like night and day, but both authors are known widely here and media men.

For fans of Chicago politics, Mount Carmel Alum Mike "Houli" Houlihan has a new book out called Nothing's on the Square about his experiences on the 2015 mayoral campaign trail with Jesus “Chuy” Garcia who was running against Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Rick Kogan, of Chicago Tribune/WGN Radio, calls the book:

“a deep dive into the wicked and wacky world of Chicago politics with a man who knows the score. An incisive, rollicking, intimate trip.”

Houlihan is chairman of Hibernian Transmedia, a public charity dedicated to Irish and Irish American culture. Known to many Chicagoans, Houlihan wears many hats. In addition to his involvement in politics and public relations, he is an actor, playwright, radio show host, producer and author to name a few. His books beside Nothing on the Square include Hooliganism Stories and More Hooliganism Stories. His one man biographical play called “Goin’ East on Ashland” was performed in Chicago for six years. 

Nothing on the Square is available on Amazon and his publisher at https://abbeyfealepress.com . Checkout Houli's Facebook page for news of upcoming book signings as they are schedule and where you can meet the author.

For fans of Chicago high school football and the Catholic league, Tim Maher has a new book. I have spoken to Tim Maher the past 6 months or so as he was preparing his 3 Yards and a Cloud of Dust for publication.  The book is out now and available at Chicago Catholic League Football. Tim was certainly a big part of the St. Rita Championship Season that his book covers. But he is one of those guys who has been a big part of sports in Chicago at its most visceral level.  He sweats, bleeds, and breathes Chicago sports. 

Tim's reach goes way beyond St. Rita and even football. One of his other life-time avocations has been Chicago softball and he is a member of the Softball (16") Hall of Fame. He has been involved with media coverage of Chicago sports for many decades. 

But there are many things about 3 Yards and a Cloud of Dust that are attractive to many people--I hesitate to even suggest the people who will read it because it's a little like one of those items on the Antique Road Show that appeals to collectors from different genres. Tim's book is definitely a football story, a Catholic League story, a Chicago story and more. And the book is very visual--tons of photos, lists, and even a poem here or there.  

One of the elements to the book that I know Tim felt very strongly about was the reproduction of coaching notes for each of the games described in the book for St. Rita's run at the 1970-1971 Catholic League and Prep Bowl Championship. The notes are included as they were written so readers are taken back to the time in every way possible. 

After writing my own book about high school called The Brown and White, I was reminded of the allegiance that athletes certainly have to their schools. I think this is likely the case of the players just having so much deeper roots with their schools than most kids based on the sacrifices and frankly the punishment that they put in while there.  The after hours, endless practices, and training create a bond that might be described as Marine-like. And in most cases, there was a payoff in that the athletes were often the kids most respected and appreciated at the schools.  At least in my era, no one was paying much attention to the Science or French Club (I was in Fr. Pryor's Science Club).  At Mount Carmel (my school), most everyone wanted to be on one of the teams.  I think we had at least half the school try out for the football team and I suspect the same might be true for Tim's St. Rita, and other schools such at Mendel, Brother Rice, etc. 

Of course, the teachers and administrators at the schools take academics very seriously and want their students to succeed in life and become good men. Tim alludes to that in the book as well, but he comes at it from an athletes perspective. This is a football book, after all.

And that allegiance, that love of school and the significant impact that it has, well, it is a big part of Tim's story.  It is not so much a point made in the lines of text, it is often between the lines. 

Tim is a product of Visitation parish in Chicago. I don't think there was ever a parish that produced football players like Visitation--a school that produced athletes who would star in the preps and then go on to many of the best colleges. 

I've learned at times not to project how people will read and how much they will appreciate what someone writes. I have been involved in publishing my entire adult life and there are always surprises.  At the same time, a story like Tim's could only be created by Tim--it is not an exact narrative or something that was written to intellectually reach interested parties.  It is more like a battle plan and diary that gives athletes, their families, and others a return ticket to the time, the place, and the deeds. I suspect, some people may spend a half an hour with the book and others will pick it up again and again. 

If you have your own Chicago "crew" from a Chicago Catholic school, Tim has prices that will allow you to buy a number of books to check off en masse for your Christmas list. For everyone else it's certainly affordable for a single copy purchase. 

Athletes often suggest that they stand "shoulder to shoulder" with each other at difficult times.  Tim's book reminds us that commitment of that kind can come early in life and live on. 

Chicago Bears Vice President Patrick McCaskey to Speak at Harbor House Fundraiser in Kankakee

Patrick McCaskey, vice president of the Chicago Bears, will be the featured speaker at an upcoming Harbor House fundraising tailgate party where you can wear your favorite sports jersey.

On Friday, Sept. 22, at the Kankakee Country Club (2011 Cobb Blvd.), cocktails will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the event will end at 9 p.m.

For complete information see the Kankakee Daily Journal Story. 

McCaskey is a Sporting Chance Press author and his latest book is called Pilgrimage. 

Has the Leprechaun Left the Building or Can You Still Laugh with Coworkers

There was a wild colonial boy
Jack Duggan was his name
He was born and raised in Ireland
In a house called Castlemaine
He was his father’s only son
His mothers pride and joy
And dearly did his parents love
That wild colonial boy.

That wild colonial boy now has a career!

During my working life, I remember a kind of biorhythm thing that went on each week. It seemed like certain days were dreary and hard to get through, and some days most everything improved. I was not depressed, just locked into the job and at times, we were all under the gun and it could be stressful. But it did occur to me that my feeling for each day was very personal, it was about my attitude and my mood. 

I remember working in Chicago on the Northwest side where my office was on the second floor in what people would call a mid-century modern building. Many coworkers worked alongside each other. I had a great spot close the windows. My view was both good and bad, beautiful and ugly--it depended upon where you looked. 

On some days, as I came into the office, I headed for an escalator that took me up to the second floor. But I noticed that on my good days, I bounded up the stairs instead. I also found myself with such enthusiasm that I smiled and greeted coworkers. My greeting announced my presence for the day. Eventually, I got to the point where I would prance down the aisle and tell people “it’s a great day for the Irish.”

Sure, I was Irish through and through, but a little removed by distance.  But I had grown up on the South Side of Chicago in a neighborhood with many Irish families. It's still the home of the Chicago South Side Irish Parade, minutes away from Chicago Gaelic Park, and home to a myriad of Irish cultural institutions not the least of which are a bevy of Irish neighborhood bars. 

But Chicago is a diverse city and I am not sure if all my co-workers appreciated the Irish thing. Yet, I sensed at least some amusement on my coworkers' part even if they were not Irish. So at least it was harmless. Yes, I was enthusiastic, and yes, I loved my job.

When I started to think about it more and more, I noticed that my “great day for the Irish” was for the most part on Wednesday. Sure, like most people, I appreciated Fridays and suffered through Mondays, but there was a certain joy that came to me each Wednesday—hump day. Wednesday could be a day of pure joy. 

I suppose in a way, most of us had a great day each week (or some folks even a few). And these days might fall on different days, but collectively as co-workers, our honest enthusiasm could improve our lives and make work better for everyone. We shared the joy. We were happy people. We took coffee breaks and lunched in the cafeteria. We got to know each other during the work day and went home to our families each night. 

At least that’s how it was!

Something happened to the American workplace, many American workplaces, that has all but destroyed our lives at work. Many work places are deadly dull dreary places to work that are basically killing off employees by savage adherence to a corporate rules that take any real joy out of life. Millions dance to the tune of spreadsheets and worship technology. There are no boundaries to work hours.

Even at "hot job sites," ping pong tables and standing desks can't replace the close connection and love that comes from a functioning family. 

An old  friend of mine tells me that at his job, there are no great days for the Irish or anyone else. "The leprechaun has left the building."

I find that very sad.

If your place of work is decent and you can spread some joy today, please do so. There could come a time when it is impossible. When you find yourself at the total mercy of your employer and every spare minute of your day is about your work. 

Lawrence Norris is the author of an honest book called  The Brown and White.

Chicago Catholic Story on The Brown and White by Lawrence Norris

 Chicagoland

Mount Carmel alum writes a ‘fictionalized memoir’ of his days at the school

byline Chicago Catholic

July 17, 2017

Larry Norris was a freshman at Mount Carmel High School in 1967-1968, a year that was pivotal in Chicago’s history. He recalls that history 50 years later in “The Brown and White” (2016, Sporting Chance Press), a “fictionalized memoir,” seen through the eyes of Collin Callaghan, a freshman at what Norris calls St. Mary’s College Prep. But the school, and, indeed, the South Side neighborhoods that the eponymous “Brown and White” school bus traverses, are clearly rooted in Norris’ experiences as an adolescent in an unsettled time.

Norris answered questions about his book by email for Chicago Catholic.

Chicago Catholic: You call “The Brown and White” a “fictionalized memoir” and you changed the names of not only people, but also the high school and other Chicago landmarks. Why did you want to make some of it fictional instead of writing a straight memoir, and how much did you change?

Larry Norris: I wanted to write a book like John Powers’ “Last Catholic in America” and “Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up” in that the people who are characters can recognize themselves, but it would be up to them. I also wanted the book to be of interest to a wide audience.

From my publishing experience, books are more powerful when they are organic -- when each reader brings into the mix his or her own experiences as the book is being read. When I read Powers myself, I thought about our Catholic culture and some of the things were so funny, yet so true. It was post Vatican II and things were a bit wobbly.

It also seemed easier to think about Power’s fictitious Seven Holy Hills and not to get hung up on the fact that his experience was at St. Christina and Brother Rice. Sometimes when you write about a particular school, that is where your market begins and ends. I love my school, Mount Carmel, but I am hoping the book works for everyone.

Fiction also allows you to round out the edges. It might also make it easier if I get a call from Hollywood and they want to make a movie from it.

Chicago Catholic: You said you’ve been writing this book for 40 years. Why did it take so long for the story to mature? What perspective do you have now that you didn’t have when you started to think about it?

Norris: I was talking to a priest that I knew 40 years ago and he said anyone can make fun of things in writing. I took that to heart and I wanted my book to be a positive book -- although I wanted to keep it real and be funny.

I wrote the various episodes of the book over many years. I was in no hurry; the world had four books by John Powers and several more on Catholic culture. Then, about 20 years ago, I had to take another pass at the entire book because I lost the file.

I went back and spent more time examining the times to describe the setting. I wanted to make sure that the book was about my experience and I wasn't trying to extend too far beyond that. In high school and college, I read a half-dozen books about the black experience. I didn't want to pretend I was the second coming of James Baldwin. So I tried to tell my story, a white boy’s story.

Chicago Catholic: The year you write about – 1967-1968 – was a tumultuous time for Chicago, and much has happened since. How do you think that time changed the city? How did it change Mount Carmel High School, in the near and long terms?

Norris: That's a big question. I had some idea of how the city was changed, but I was very young when that happened. So I guess you could say that much of what I describe was symptoms, not cause and effect.

I wrote about a few experiences that we had and focused on family and teachers. The year's events served as the backdrop, but I kept the book focused a personal level -- not a treatise on the times.

I hope readers will especially enjoy the family stories -- I think that's the strongest part of the book. I have both male and female fans of the book and that makes me feel good.

Mount Carmel survived and not only that, it was able to continue its mission to graduate one class after another of "Men of Carmel." Huge improvements have been made with gifts by generous alumni and the school now has a beautiful campus.

It’s blocks away from the site of the future Obama library. The student body is an ethnic alchemy -- students now will get an even better education. The future looks bright. People see Carmel as an athlete’s school, but it is certainly much more than that.

Chicago Catholic: The book covers not only a time of great social change, but also the freshman year of high school – nearly always a stormy time – for your protagonist. How did the turbulence of the time affect you as you were growing up? How did your growing up change your understanding of the times you lived through?

Norris: I kept the book light and wanted to focus on the fact that we almost all survive tough times and we do so with our family, faith, friends and help from others like teachers. In high school, there is also a tendency of not taking things too seriously. Personally, I think the 1960s left many of us shaking our heads and trying to come to some kind of closure, but I am not sure we will see it.

Chicago Catholic: The metaphor of the bus – “the Brown and White” – runs through the pages until, at the end, it stops, replaced without a word. What came to an end for you that year?

Norris: The story of the first year ended with my friends stopping by my house and sitting on the front steps with my parents. The Brown and White is a pervasive metaphor: the bus, the students, school colors, etc. At the end of the last chapter, we are taking a rest after the brown and white boot camp. We saw everything in brown and white.

The epilogue is a critical part of the book's message in that it talks about teachers that gave us everything they had.

"The Brown and White" is available on amazon.com.

The Top of the Book Pyrimid: The Brown and White?

I remember years ago when a Chicago Catholic radio station was getting started it just broadcast non-stop Bishop Sheen programs all day long. I remember seeing actual programs when they first appeared on TV.  My parents loved Bishop Sheen and I don't know how to describe it, but when you watched Bishop Sheen, you were at ease and inspired at the same time.  You felt like it was really cool to be Catholic. 

When I hopped in the car in the early morning about 20 years ago and heard Bishop Sheen once again, it was little different. The signal was not very strong, but it was almost like you were hearing Bishop Sheen come from the grave--he was speaking to me one-on-one. At the time, it was during our short Chicago days of winter and I was always listening in the dark. The lights on the radio glowed on the dashboard as the Bishop talked through all kind of Chicago weather. 

As I get older, I hate to say it, but I do wonder if we will ever have a speaker quite like Bishop Sheen.  I like to think we will. 

If you were a Father Corapi fan, you remember he was excellent as well. Father Corapi could talk about Catholic doctrine and somehow make it clear, painless and interesting.

I suppose everyone has his or her favorite speakers and writers. I am always amazed to see the C.S. Lewis classic Mere Christianity on top seller lists as it approaches 70 years old. As a publisher, I have to say that kind of success is just unbelievable. 

I am an author myself and I certainly don't put myself in the same company as these great authors and speakers. But I will say that when I was writing The Brown and White I was trying to convey the emotions of Catholics at the time in the late 1960s. The world was a very scary place for many of us, but we did find comfort and faith in our homes and with our friends. 

I also tried to capture some of the Irish sense of faith and humor. I hope I did.  On Amazon, I do have some good reviews from people I respect very much. I just need a few thousand people to pay the $12.50 price for the book on Amazon and life will be very good!  

The Brown and White is a fictionalized memoir and when people express a positive view of it, I feel like they would like my family in those days. And I do find that very exciting. Of course, if it turns out I just sell a few hundred copies of the book, I will start feeling a lot smaller. 

Catholic Brand

I know people don't like to hear about something as crass as a "brand" being applied to a religion, but brands do exist in Christianity. You can argue that your religion is much more than a brand, and I am in total agreement with you, but each denomination of Christianity is also a brand. 

Following Your Own Human Nature

St. Paul saw the problem of splintering groups within the early church and reminded folks that God was the source and the focus of the faith and he played down the personalities. 

For when one person says, “I follow Paul,” and another person says, “I follow Apollos,” you’re following your own human nature, aren't you?...I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept everything growing. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is significant, but God, who keeps everything growing, is the one who matters."

Parables to Get Ideas Across

I think that faith is often an obtuse subject and even Jesus liked to use stories or parables to get ideas across. He knew that we humans are not so bright as to be able to absorb teaching without some additional aids. These aids helped Jesus get His ideas across. 

It was miraculous that from the humblest of beginnings, the early church survived. Certainly, God's hand was in its survival. And it seems that the Lord had made his presence known throughout the centuries. The Catholic Church is still standing although every conceivable taste and preference is fed by many other brands of Christianity these days. On top of all the name brands, there are also the "nondenominational" ones. These help to create a kind of Christian grid. 

In a sense you had a kind of Protestant construction of many different distinct brands and then I see a kind of deconstruction where thousands of churches were established without a real hard and fast belief system other than a kind of outline of Christianity. 

On some Christian radio stations they make an attempt to define the "Christian Church" in a more exacting way. They fall back to the Bible as a source for all truth, but at some point, it always comes out that the Bible seems to be sending different messages to different individuals. 

New Ideas Come Slow in the Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church, there has been a lot of different ideas coming and going. I suspect that's the way it has always worked and then there is some kind of reigning in. The church leaders have a means of issuing documents and explaining principles through the Pope and the clergy. Most other churches aren't so lucky. Lately, the Catholic Church is taking strides to make sure that it maintains its brand as one of the  most disciplined of churches. And by this I mean that its teachings are based on a couple thousand years of church doctrine.  Doctrine interpretation does change--it can't help but change.  People from the fifth century could only understand an idea within the context of their existence then.  The same holds true today.  No one can really understand something outside the context of their own existence. 

Catholic doctrine is Biblical based, but it also takes into account church interpretations of the Bible.  That annoys some people, but all churches have people who interpret the Bible.  I have to chuckle when I hear some guy on the radio explain that his interpretation of the Bible is God's word rather than his interpretation of the Bible.  Someone will go on and on about how the Bible is so simple when it says this or that.  Switch the channel to another Christian radio station and you hear someone else say that the Greek word that has been used in many translations was really a totally different word that entirely changes the interpretation.  Life is messy and the Bible can be messy as well.  The translations keep coming. It was not written in 21st Century English. 

New ideas come slow because the church fathers want to error on the side of caution. Why this surprises people is beyond me! Some people expect the Catholic church to embrace the most widely accepted kind of ideas regardless of its history and principles. And this is why I like to think of the Catholic brand as a means of explaining why it works this way. And when I say a means of explaining why it works this way, that's not to say a means to argue its beliefs. It's a means of explaining the speed of change to its beliefs. I am not arguing that the church has not been inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit. I am just using the term brand to give a modern understanding that an organization of such stature does not change its mission frivolously. 

I think people today get the idea of a brand better than get the idea of the church holding onto beliefs that many don't like. People are exposed to a lot more advertising today than they are to their faith. People tend to believe the church should abide by what's on their list of new beliefs, but we know that there are a lot of different versions of such lists today. Everyone's got an opinion today about just about everything.

During the election Candidate Hillary Clinton said a lot about immigration and she promoted a more compassionate approach to illegal aliens. A few years earlier, her husband said just the opposite. I think the Church wants to avoid those kinds of contradictions particularly on issues of doctrine. 

The Catholic brand has not endorsed female Priests, same sex marriages and contraception. A lot of people had and have a hard time with the Catholic church's views on contraception, but it is consistent with the Catholic churches views on human life and not messing around with it. I think most people could understand the church's position against abortion and euthanasia, but contraception was harder. But if you look at how birth control has been morphing into the post conception phase, I think it's starting to make more sense.

Anyway, folks need to wake up and smell the coffee about the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church isn't going to change its brand. The brand will evolve as it has continued to evolve over a long period of time, but it is not likely going to change very quickly.  And Catholics believe that God will guide the church and will work through the labor of it's best and brightest.  All churches have a human leadership component.

I would caution people however, that although the Catholic brand is slow to change, this does not mean that it is conservative as in "conservative politics." I think it's interesting to hear Catholics today who seem to embrace the Protestant work ethic--you are what you deserve. I find the Protestant work ethic kind of odd--although history has shown that it had a great influence on things like ingenuity and effort especially on the part of folks like the early Yankees.  You hear so much today about salvation through faith--you are saved by faith alone.  It's one of those points that Protestants use to differentiate themselves from Catholics. Historically, Catholics have said that when it comes to faith, you have to put your money where your mouth is--not that you are going to earn heaven, but that faith is empty without action.  That's what things like the Cardinal virtues are about.  Did we foul things up when overusing indulgences and creating a system that allowed misuse of such things--you bet.  But let's not pretend that the church was always outside the influence, many times forced influence, of powerful groups and people out to take advantage of it.  To say that we believe that faith should be accompanied by supporting action seems less than heretical to me.  It's what most people would call common sense. 

People love to point out that we are saved by faith and that Catholics don't believe this.  When you look at the United States history however, the Catholics have historically been much kinder to those who have not made the grade.  The Protestant work ethic says that you have what you deserve--that if you are poor or lowly you deserve to be poor or lowly because you have been lazy.  So for a lot of Protestants, faith will save them, but at the same time, the poor and lowly in society are unworthy regardless of their faith.  One of our former presidents comes to mind in this regard who had both Catholic and Protestant forebearers.  He  could not seem to understand that those who were not tall,  handsome, athletic and talented might not be able to succeed quite the same as he did.  People may be equal citizens, but they are not made equal in terms of their gifts.  People can be poor and lowly due to circumstances that are beyond their control.  

Some very articulate media people are espousing the Church as if its some kind of Republican club--it isn't. Many want to paint the Catholic church as a card-carrying member of the Religious right, but I don't believe that's true--although I can't say that I understand exactly what the religious right is these days there is so much smearing that goes on against most every active faith.
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