Go Navy! Beat Army!

After three years of disappointment, Navy's football team came through in a very big way today and soundly beat the Army team, 31-7. Army scored first on a long drive, but Navy responded with 31 unanswered points.

Navy's Malcomb Perry rushing for one of his two touchdowns

The Navy quarterback, Malcomb Perry, was truly remarkable, rushing for a record 304 yards on 29 carries. Equally impressive was Navy's defense. They held a normally explosive Army offense to a total of 148 yards. 

Overall it was a wonderful win for Navy and I can speak from experience when I say that Navy's current plebe class of 2023 is very happy tonight. Because of this win, the plebes get to act almost like normal human beings until January when they return from their Christmas leave -- aka, vacation. (I assume such traditions still exist.) 56 years ago, in December 1963, my plebe class experienced much the same happiness thanks to another quarterback named Roger Staubach when Navy beat Army 21-15.

The Army-Navy game was always a very special event in our family since my late brother, Jeff, was a West Pointer, class of 1962, and I was a Naval Academy grad, class of 1967. I also came from a multi-generational Army family, so when Navy beat Army...well, I'm sure you can imagine the personal thrill of victory as opposed to the agony of defeat experienced by others in the family.

A salute to the Army team as well. The cadets played hard, never gave up, and along with the Navy midshipmen, gave the nation a glimpse of the kind of remarkable young leaders the service academies produce.

Go Navy!!

On Friday Dear Diane and I left Williamsburg and made the drive to Fairfax without driving a mile on an interstate highway. As a result we were blessed with some beautiful scenery and even encountered three bald eagles that flew alongside the car only feet away from us. What magnificent birds! Unfortunately I was driving (and being tailgated by a local in a pickup) and was unable to take any photos without careening off the road.

Above: fall colors in rural Virginia
We're now enjoying the hospitality and lovely home of our old friends, the Lees, who have agreed to put up with us for a few days. Yesterday, while Nancy and Diane roamed through the shops of Annapolis, Dave and I took advantage of his season tickets and spent the afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium as the Naval Academy's football team beat Georgia Southern, 53-19 -- a wonderful day for Navy football.

Above: Navy on its way to another score

Above: the Navy stadium during the game
Before the game the four of us went to the Midshipmen Store to pick up a few USNA souvenirs and then took a short walk to check out the statue of Tecumseh who's always painted up for each game. I also took advantage of the opportunity to stop by my Class of 1967 tailgate get-together and renew some old friendships.

Above: Tecumseh ready for Georgia Southern


Above: Nancy and Dave at USNA

Above: Dear Diane and I standing outside the window to my room back in 1966-67

Above: 1967 classmates -- Dave Church, me, Pete Nanos
This morning we attended Mass with the Lees at their parish church, Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale, a welcoming and Spirit-filled parish. We decided just to chill this afternoon and watch football -- a needed day of rest. Tomorrow we leave Virginia and begin our trip home. We've had a wonderful stay but look forward to returning to the warm air of sunny Florida.
Pax et bonum...

Digging for My Roots

Thanks to our dear friends, the Lees, Diane and I will travel to Ireland at the end of the summer. Our friends called to tell us they had a couple of extra tickets to the "Emerald Isle Classic" -- the Navy-Notre Dame football game -- being played in Dublin on September 1st. (That's American football for all you Europeans out there.) Would we like to join them? Well, there was only one reasonable answer to such a question, so I started doing what I enjoy most: planning our two-week trip. Not only will we get to see what I hope will be a Navy victory over a highly favored Notre Dame team, but we'll also spend some time touring the country.

Although I've traveled rather extensively in Europe, I have never been to Ireland, the home of all my ancestors. Indeed, three of my four grandparents were born in Ireland. The family of the fourth, my paternal grandfather, had left Ireland and settled in the United States a generation or so earlier, probably at the time of the potato famine in the 1840s.

My paternal grandparents, c. 1940

My grandfather, however, was born in Canada, accidentally, he claimed, when his parents were visiting family in Quebec. This inadvertent Canadian birth of the son of two American citizens caused him no end of trouble throughout his life, but especially during his Army service in the Spanish-American War and Boxer Rebellion.

Thomas Moran

I barely knew Grandpa. He died when I was only five years old. And I know even less about his side of the family. Tracking down this group of ancestors might be a challenge.

I know more, however, about his wife's family, the Morans. My paternal grandmother died in 1960, having outlived her husband by ten years. She was the only grandparent I knew well. Born in Ireland she came to America as a toddler sometime around 1880 and often spoke to me of the voyage which she swore was on a sailing vessel -- quite the adventure for a small child. I've included a photo of her father, my great grandfather, Thomas Moran -- a rather distinguished looking gent even if his tie is a bit crooked.

My grandmother's family came to the United States from Mullingar in county Westmeath and so I assume I have some distant relatives still living there. My father was able to touch base with a few some years ago, and so I intend to spend several days in Mullingar searching them out. The photo below is of Thomas Moran's brother, Jim Moran, my great, great uncle. He stayed in Mullingar and died years ago at the age of 99.

Jim Moran of Mullingar

I never knew my maternal grandparents who died long before I was born. Interestingly I discovered only recently that both were born in Ireland. I had just assumed they were born in this country, but each listed Ireland as his and her place of birth on my mother's birth certificate. Unfortunately they included no town or county, and my mother never spoke much of her parents.

It would seem, then, that these fairly shallow roots leave me with a genealogical challenge which I will happily pass on to one of my children. My elder son is probably the best candidate since he seems to enjoy this sort of research. He's already dug rather deeply into Dear Diane's family past and uncovered a number of distinguished early American and English forebears.No doubt at some point we'll discover that her family owned my family. Such was the fate of the Irish in times past.

But I will look instead to the future and plan to enjoy this trip with my beautiful wife and wonderful friends.

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Texas Bowl Revisited

Well, that little post of mine on the Texas Bowl (Navy vs. Missouri) certainly generated a whole mess of attention to an extent that I'm not at all accustomed. Usually about 30-60 people read this blog, and most of them are other Catholic deacons or personal friends. In the past 24 hours over 1,000 people have checked it out, and virtually all of them were interested only in my comments on Navy and Missouri. It would seem I'd get a lot more attention if I wrote about football instead of religion and culture, but I suspect I'd run out of thngs to say after five or ten minutes.

Anyway, to all the Missouri fans who made comments, I thank you for straightening me out on the communication problem that led to the unintentional "battle of the bands" that occurred immediately after the game. Once it was explained that the TV network was the instigating culprit, I understood completely. Media folks tend to fall off the bottom of my list of favorite people. They're right down there with Washington politicians. (I suggest we all pray for them.) I assumed the worst because of some of the problems Navy teams have had with opponents' fans in recent years, although not with either players or bands. Last year's game against Rutgers comes to mind. But I should have known that the Mizzou players and band wouldn't intentionally act so disgracefully.

And so, assuming the information I have received via the comments to my earlier blog is correct, I apologize and trust that Navy will have an opportunity to beat Missouri once again soon.

Blessings for the New Year and Beat Army!

Texas Bowl: Navy 35, Missouri 13

Navy finished a great season yesterday with a dramatic and unquestioned win over Missouri in the Texas Bowl, beating the Tigers 35-13. Not only was Navy's triple option offense too much for Missouri to handle, but their defense came through repeatedly, especially in the red zone. And Navy quarterback, Ricky Dobbs, despite two turnovers, went on to pass for 130 yards and run for 166. He also made four of Navy's five touchdowns. Here's a recap: Navy Victory in Texas Bowl. As a USNA alum (class of 1967) I was especially proud of these disciplined, intelligent young men.

The only disappointment was the attitude of Missouri's players and band after their loss. I have never seen a Navy opponent act this way: for the first time I can recall, an opponent, in this instance the Missouri team, left the field before and during the playing of Navy's alma mater, "Navy Blue and Gold." And the Missouri band played at the same time trying to drown out Navy's band. Disgraceful, and an insult to these young men and women who will soon place their lives on the line for their country. And an insult to Navy's alumni who have done so in the past. Ah, well, it's just one more example of the ever growing incivility and barbarous behavior of some of our citizens who should know better.

Blessings and happiness for the new year...and Beat Army!