I remain so fortunate to have the best of people in my life loving me, supporting me, and having fun with me. It happens, as I believe is true for most of us, that the very best for me are family. Last year, Ryan was telling Bapa and me that he would be in South Bend in October for a conference with his colleagues from Stanford. That, of course, led to the beginning of a plan to gather together there for golf and maybe a football game at Notre Dame. We looked at calendars and saw that USC would be here on October 18th to play the Fighting Irish, and that quickly became the anchoring point of our plans. Any of you that know us realize that we generally have to have an acronym to describe our trips together, and this would be no different. While PRABANDHA is certainly a bit long, it became apropos when pairing it with one meaning we latched on to. Pat Ryan And Bapa At Notre Dame Happy Again (PRABANDHA) became our mantra for a long weekend together in the Midwest. One literal meaning in Sanskrit for the word is “a continued or connected narrative or discourse”. We are blessed to continue our family narrative together for now more than 30 years.
After Ryan picked us up at Midway in Chicago, we made our way to a very comfortable AirBnB within walking distance of Notre Dame before heading out to dinner at the Linebacker Lounge in South Bend. We had read that it is a must see, and we wanted to beat the crowds that were sure to arrive on Friday. It was an excellent experience, though I have to admit that I have had a much better breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, particularly in Matthews Indiana! Overall though, we agree that it is a must stop when here for a Fighting Irish weekend!
Bapa had been placed in charge of finding a course for our Friday round of golf, and he sure found a gem! Blackthorn golf course in South Bend get’s double thumbs up from each of us. While chatting with the Starter, he told us that the group in front of us included the singer/songwriter known as October London. We had never heard of him, but we looked him up and he definitely seems legit! It turns out that he was getting in a round on his birthday at the course next to his home. We looked over to his house and saw that he was also smoking meat in his backyard smoker while traversing the links! Below in the picture I took of this beautiful tree on the second hole, you can see October’s group down to the left of the tree.
It was a really nice course. We saw lots of wild turkeys and some beautiful scenery along the way. Ryan and Bapa indulged me in allowing some pictures with a Notre Dame banner that was in my room as a kid and still remains in my possession as a gift from my Dad from a long time ago.
You’ll notice in the first picture that Bapa had special ball markers made up to commemorate our trip together. He also got each of us a PRABANDHA golf towel! What a thoughtful and generous man. Thanks so much Bapa!
One really cool thing we saw on the course was an old dairy barn. The cart path actually goes right through it! It was unique, and very cool. Ryan caught a couple of pics of me as I entered on the cart path. What a fun feature!
Ryan and Bapa played the best, both shooting an 81. I successfully avoided double-bogey, until # 18 and shot an 83! But the scores don’t matter much when you have the chance to play with loved ones on a truly beautiful day in Indiana. This is one of those rounds you remember and look back upon quite fondly.
We stopped at BRU Burger Bar for lunch on the way home, and I was amazed at how much that area has been built up over the last 20 years. There were people everywhere, but we still got a table quickly and had delicious food and great service.
Outside of Family, my favorite folks are Framily. For Stacey and I, Tim and Julie Riegle have been our closest friends since 1992. We truly consider them part of our family, and use the term framily for them quite lovingly. Over the years, we have been lucky to also become close to their families. This trip afforded us an opportunity to see Tim’s Mom, two sisters, and brother in law who have recently relocated to South Bend. They are in the process of renovating a beautiful home, and welcomed us for a nice visit Friday evening. Thank you guys so much for having us in!
On Saturday, we awoke to worrisome weather forecasts. None of us get too concerned about watching football in the rain, but thunder and lightning are a different story. Obviously, there are the safety concerns that come with lightning, but there is also the inconvenience of lightning delays. Several years ago, I experienced a lightning delay at Notre Dame Stadium with my brother Tim and my Dad. It was miserable. Anyway, Bapa recommended that we do our morning walk around campus before any of the weather came in, and it was a VERY good suggestion that we all agreed to pursue.
For whatever reason, my Dad always preferred to stay over near Saint Mary’s College where my sister Maggie went to school. Our AirBnb was over there. So I was familiar with that walk to campus. Many years ago, Ryan and I were with my Dad making this same walk through the woods. My Dad said to Ryan “what a great place to be a squirrel … plenty of OAK!” He overemphasized OAK, and we still laugh about his comment today. In truth though, we did not see any oak trees during our walk!
My first stop on campus is always at The Grotto to light candles and say a prayer. It is a lovely and serene place. Bapa’s friend back home had told us to take the time to stop at the statue of Tom Dooley and read the letter he wrote while hospitalized with cancer. I must admit that I was not familiar with the story, but now suggest that you must read the letter which is on display next to the statue. It is amazing how much the Grotto, and Notre Dame, meant to Dr. Dooley, and to all ND grads. I am not a grad, but I have come to appreciate how special this place is to them, and to many others like me.
We strolled the campus and soaked in the game day atmosphere that defines Notre Dame for many around football season. It was so nice to do this together under a beautiful sky before the rains arrived in South Bend.
As the weather approached, we returned to our cozy home to watch college football and talk about rankings, and upsets, and games we have been to before. The three of us are more than capable of boring others with our sports talk, but we never bore each other! Bapa and I remember the days when you couldn’t look everything up on your phone, and it was easier to lie about who won in 1986, or who ran for the most yards in 1990! Now, as soon as those questions are asked, one or more of us quickly looks up the truth and shares with the others. I like to believe that we are all a little bit smarter because of it. We have to retain some of that knowledge, don’t we?!?
There was much debate about what to do with the pending weather. We kept a close eye on the forecast and the somewhat sparse updates coming out of ND. Shortly before we were going to head over for some of the pre-game activities, they were all cancelled. We remain quite glad we weren’t standing in the rain outside of The Main Building when the skies opened! Closer to kickoff, it looked like a window was opening for an ontime start, so we headed towards the stadium. They were calling for more rain and thunderstorms later, so we dressed appropriately before heading out.
As we approached the Grotto again, there was a great deal of clapping and cheering. We saw a couple embracing, and it appears they had just gotten engaged! Congrats to the new lovebirds!
The campus is just as beautiful at night, and it actually didn’t rain for our walk over! That rain gear didn’t help much with the personal body temperature though, so we were quick to shed our jackets on the way.
We literally sat in our seats (actually we stood near them, as everyone was standing) as the opening kickoff occurred. It was quite a scene, and it was captured well by Bapa, who gets credit for the below pics of an ND scoring drive in the first quarter!
The skies continued threatening, and as I’ve said, lightning delays are miserable. So, we decided to make our way home to watch the end of the game from the comfort of our AirBnB. This was a really good decision, as it also allowed us to watch Ryan’s beloved Hoos from UVa comeback to win their sixth game while eating pizza on dry couches! We all know that as we age, such comforts can trump a wet game in a crowded stadium when you aren’t actual Alumnus! We have ZERO regrets, and were happy to then switch over and watch the Irish beat the Trojans! We declare this football Saturday an outright success for a few good men!
Bapa and I were flying out of Midway in Chicago, and Ryan took us to the airport. He was then picking up his colleagues at both Midway and O’Hare before heading back to South Bend for their conference. As we left the AirBnB, we hit one small snag. As Bapa opened the door on the passenger side, it got caught in the air handler unit! Bizarre indeed, but easily corrected with a slow departure while Bapa pressured the door. I mostly just watched. Great problem solving Bapa and Ryan!
I can’t say enough about how much these trips mean to me. I am blessed to have a son and a father in law that continue to make them so special. Thank you Gentlemen for remaining the very best. You are truly GOOD MEN!
Love!