Hard times — \u00a0a Congress locked in venom and contempt for those with whom one must negotiate, \u00a0“partisan” is a common adjective for elected officials at the national level; \u00a0 Detroit city caught in uncertainties about bankruptcy that stir mistrust and fear for the future; \u00a0 UDM negotiating a McNichols faculty contract turned acrimonious and hurtful.<\/p>\n
*********\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *********\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *********\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *********\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *********<\/p>\n
I’m in Denver for a meeting; the sun rose onto the Front Range of the Rockies s half hour ago. \u00a0Serene and majestic, these mountains — \u00a0Crisp dry air about 70\u00ba \u00a0— a great recruitment poster for Regis University where I am meeting; of course tomorrow will be rainy with a high of 45\u00ba and snow showers; mountains can be volatile. \u00a0And Denver is a city with city problems too. \u00a0 Regis works at engaging them as do we in Motown.<\/p>\n
The mountains remind me of our home town, Detroit. \u00a0 One narrative defines \u00a0“Detroit” as the home of ruins porn, corruption, \u00a0and broken dreams. \u00a0 Another narrative, newer and fresher, defines “Detroit” as a home of renaissance, courage, and improbable creativity. \u00a0 Sometimes UDM has portrayed its strengths — a great faculty, excellent programs, a beautiful campus — as if we operate in a place-less bubble. \u00a0dodging the word “Detroit.” \u00a0 Increasingly, though, I see signs that\u00a0“Detroit” might become our best recruitment poster. \u00a0 A city already bustling with urbanity in its center, a city poised to teach other cities around the world how to restore battered neighborhoods, a university with guts and imagination, vital and alive right in the middle of that restoration.<\/p>\n
Today’s word is not a poem but a little bit of history about our two core traditions, the Sisters of Mercy and the Jesuits:<\/strong><\/p>\n When Catherine McAuley began the Sisters of Mercy (September 24, 1828) she had the gall and the wit to spend her inheritance \u00a0building in the heart of Dublin (where the well-off held sway), a place of home and schooling for Dublin’s desperately poor women and their children. \u00a0“The House of Mercy” still stands and remains the heart of the Sisters of Mercy world wide. \u00a0 St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, \u00a0loved and believed in cities. \u00a0He insisted that Jesuits look for places to live and work at the heart of cities. \u00a0 That is why Ignatius has his place, with 3 other founders of Catholic religious orders of men, in this moderately well-known \u00a0saying, probably anonymous.<\/p>\n \u201cBernard\u00a0loved\u00a0the valleys Ignatius\u00a0loved<\/strong>\u00a0great cities.”<\/p>\n p.s. \u00a0A correction from yesterday, embarrasing evidence that editors can create and then miss typo’s:<\/strong><\/p>\n A poem for days of diminishing light<\/p>\n Here come the stars to character the skies, Robert Frost “The Literate Farmers and the Planet Venus”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hard times — \u00a0a Congress locked in venom and contempt for those with whom one must negotiate, \u00a0“partisan” is a common adjective for elected officials at the national level; \u00a0 Detroit city caught in uncertainties about bankruptcy that stir mistrust … Continue reading
\nBenedict loved<\/strong>\u00a0the\u00a0mountains
\nFrancis\u00a0the towns . . .<\/p>\n
\nAnd they in the estimation of the wise
\nAre more divine than any bulb or arc,
\nBecause their purpose is to flash and spark,
\nBut not to take away the precious dark.
\nWe need the interruption of the night
\nTo ease attention off when overtight,
\nTo break our logic in too long a flight,
\nAnd ask us if our premises are right.<\/p>\n