Uncle Larry And Bill Callahan

We went to a wedding in Chicago back in June. We were seated for dinner after the ceremony at the same table as some of the relatives of Kate, the bride. Included at the table was Kate's Uncle Larry and his family.

So, how do you get conversation going in Chicago with a tableful of strangers? I played the easy card by asking if the family rooted for the Cubs or White Sox. It turned out that almost everyone in this family of 4 rooted for the White Sox--one of the two sons had switched loyalties.

Uncle Larry said that his family were South Siders from 'way back. Which led me to a question:

"You know, our former Nebraska football coach (Bill Callahan) came from the South Side."

And Uncle Larry replied, "Sure--I know Billy." He went on to say that he (Larry) was a former high school football coach--and had been coaching in high school during Callahan's days at the University of Illinois. "Billy really knows his football," said Larry. "I sent several of my guys to Illinois because they wanted to play for Bill Callahan."

Uncle Larry was also very aware of everything that had gone on in the past year. "You know, I think it was just bad timing," he said.

We called it a day on the subject at that point. The DJ was getting ready to bring in the wedding party.

But--what a small world. And how far does the shadow extend regarding what we're trying to work out from under anyway?

Okay--that's the only specific Bill Callahan story that I have--and I wanted to toss it out before practice starts. I'm barely beating the deadline.