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Walking and Talking
The weather was supposed to be nice for the 14th Annual Kids Helping Kids Fun Walk. For the past week, the forecast called for a sunny day with a high temperature in the low 80s. Instead, we got a brief thunderstorm as the walkers circled the campus of Knoxville Catholic High School and All Saints Catholic Church.
For the third year, I was honorary chair of the Fun Walk. Since I am also president of the FBI Knoxville Citizens Academy Alumni Association, I arranged for the group to have a table at the event. Two volunteers handed out cards with a QR code for the FBI Child ID App for iPhones.
Like last year, we gave away a green bicycle from Regions Bank. My wife and I aren’t sure what exactly I said that made Fr. Ragan Schriver put his hand to his mouth. It might have been my joke about the green helmet protecting the regions of the brain.
The Kids Helping Kids Fun Walk has evolved from just a walk to a mini-festival with food, games and prizes. I collected extra donations for Columbus Home by making shout-outs over the P.A. When I saw Heather Tang and her family, I offered to make the shout-outs in the same French accent I had used the day before when Heather’s daughters were dancing as Wild Ducks in a scene from “The Ugly Duckling.”
When we started, I intended to go on the entire walk with Fr. Ragan, who was pushing his niece’s wheelchair. After one lap around the track, concerns about the weather kept me and the microphone near the public address system. It rained a little bit during the Walk. Most of the participants had returned to the stadium when we first heard thunder and I had to send everyone to their cars. As it turned out, the severe storm missed the campus but it was better to be safe than sorry.
The photos shot by Kim McCready help illustrate the large turnout. Kim’s camera also captured WVLT sports director Rick Russo supporting the cause by walking.
Ten, I See
March 27, 2002 was Wednesday of Holy Week. It was also the first day of my on-air audition in Knoxville. Over the weekend, I was reminded of my ten-year anniversary by the program director who hired me. My wife and I happened to run into Shane Cox and his wife at the store on Sunday and he congratulated me on ten years in Knoxville. I’m glad he recognized me, since I don’t look the same as I did back then.
On the night before my audition, I walked from my hotel on Summit Hill to Manhattan’s in the Old City. Before I left Burbank, I had searched online for any improv groups in Knoxville and discovered Einstein Simplified. I couldn’t have predicted that I would be performing with them on that same stage three months later.
I was on the air with Phil Williams on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. I remember two of the segments distinctly. There were three celebrity deaths that week, which is probably why we called Death Pool Dave to get his reaction. I found out later that the interview helped them decide to hire me. On Holy Thursday, Phil picked me up at the hotel and we went to a 24-hour supermarket. We bought Marshmallow Peeps so I could see how many fit in my mouth. We repeated the bit a year later and I surpassed my personal best.
I flew back to Burbank in time to attend the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at St. Finbar Church. I was one of the parishioners who had their feet washed during the ceremony. In the days that followed, my friend Pam Baker suggested that I wear my new sweatshirt in front of Hollywood landmarks and pose for pictures for the station’s website.
By the end of April, I had moved to Knoxville. I had a week or two to get acclimated before my first broadcast, which was a remote from West Town Mall during the station’s “Hands on a Harley” contest. I was thrilled that “Survivor” winner Tina Wesson came to the mall for an interview.
Working for the Weekend
Somewhere in my consciousness is the memory of a “seven-day weather pattern.” I don’t recall which TV weatherman talked about it or where I was living at the time. Regardless of the details, I want for the pattern to be real this week. The weather in Knoxville was great yesterday. I hope and pray that it’s just as good on Sunday, April 1st for the Kids Helping Kids Fun Walk.
We had a site meeting yesterday at Knoxville Catholic High School. As we enjoyed the sunshine and comfortable temperature, I thought how nobody would have wanted to schedule the Walk for March 25. In fact, we were worried that April 1 was too early when we had to pick a date. The date for the Walk varies each year because of Easter and because of the Spring break schedules of both the public and parochial schools. Last year we moved the Walk from May to April in order to get on the Star 102.1 promotional calendar.
Earlier in the day, I spoke at the end of the 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Masses at St. John Neumann parish. Monsignor Garrity allowed me to promote the Kids Walk and announce that I would be outside after Mass to distribute brochures. One parishioner introduced herself to me. I recognized her name as a local advertising executive. She thanked me for supporting Columbus Home and said that she had seen the Kids Walk PSA on WBIR.
Shared Celebration
Fr. Michael Woods thought that celebrating my wife’s birthday at Friday’s Lenten Supper was a great idea. When I first asked him about it, I mentioned that our fellow parishioners at All Saints are like family to my wife and me. My wife sings in the choir and is on the liturgy committee. Fr. Michael also liked that my kids and I wanted to surprise her again.
It was important to me that the birthday party would complement the Lenten Supper, not overshadow it. I also wanted to make sure that everyone felt welcome whether they knew my wife or not. Fr. Michael and Deacon Tim Elliott told me to inform the Hispanic Community that there might be a few extra people at the supper. Fr. Miguel Vélez assured me that there would be plenty of food for the guests. Chris Kite, who makes cakes for many parish functions, offered to make a sheet cake big enough to feed over 100 people.
My daughter created a private event listing on Facebook. She and I invited as many of my wife’s friends as we could. I am definitely not impressed with Facebook as a tool to plan parties. 73% of the invitees never responded. I think most of them never even looked at the event listing. Nevertheless, we had a decent turnout, including some non-Catholic friends and some friends from other parishes.
A few weeks ago, my daughter asked me to send her some pictures of my wife. I emailed pictures that I had saved from different vacations and family events. In addition, my daughter found some old snapshots at my mother-in-law’s house and scanned the images. She had a coupon for some free prints at CVS but instead of having the prints made where she lives in Virginia, she arranged for them to be printed at a CVS in Knoxville. All I had to do was pick them up. She also twisted some wire to make a spiral on one end and a ribbon shape on the other. The spirals would serve as picture holders and the other end would go into a bud vase with some flowers.
On Thursday night, my son and daughter surprised my wife by arriving just as we were about to order dinner at Chesapeake’s. On Friday, they planned to decorate the tables in the parish hall while my wife was still at work. We had to rush things along when my wife announced that she got permission to come home a little early so she could spend more time with the kids. I made arrangements to carpool to a speaking engagement at St. Mary’s in Oak Ridge so the kids could use my car.
When I got home from Oak Ridge, my wife and kids were using her new mixer to make bread, cookies and banana muffins. They asked if I wanted to go to Stations and the Lenten Supper. I said I would see how I felt after my nap. I set an alarm for 90 minutes later, which gave me enough time to get ready and even stop for coffee on the way to church.
Each week, a different group at All Saints takes responsibility for the Stations of the Cross and the Lenten Supper. On Friday night, it was the Hispanic Ministry’s turn, which meant that the prayer service was bilingual. The odd-numbered stations were done in Spanish while the even-numbered stations were in English. The Men’s Ministry will lead the prayers and provide a fish dinner on March 23. The Singles Group will lead the prayers and provide an Italian dinner on March 30.
After the Stations, I knew to delay my wife a few minutes so Fr. Michael and Fr. Miguel would have time to make bilingual announcements about the upcoming surprise. The crowd walked from the church to the parish hall ahead of us. When my family and I walked in, Fr. Michael used a wireless microphone to lead everyone in singing “Happy Birthday.”
In addition to the initial shock, my wife was surprised to see the tables decorated with her favorite flowers and an assortment of photos from her life. She was surprised again each time she saw an unexpected face and when she saw her birthday cake.The first cake was finished quickly. There was a little bit of a second cake left over. We put it in the freezer at home with the intention of using it as my birthday cake in June.
Undercover Ossuary
The next Jefferson Bass novel, “The Inquisitor’s Key” will be released on May 8, 2012. Authors Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass have two book-signing events that day, one in the morning and one at night. They start the day at the Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce Speaker Breakfast Series.
The official book release event will be held at 6:00 p.m. on May 8 at the New Hope Center in Oak Ridge. Tickets go on sale on April 2, with proceeds benefiting United Way of Anderson County, Friends of Literacy and the William M. Bass Forensic Anthropology Building. Jennifer Alexander and I are co-emcees for the evening. The exact details about ticket sales are almost finalized and will be listed on BoneZones.com and elsewhere.
Jon Jefferson started a blog last month to “to share behind-the-scenes stories with readers between now and when the book comes out on May 8.” In the U.K., the book’s title will be “The Bones of Avignon,” which reveals a little more about the novel’s plot: “Could the ancient skeleton found hidden in the Palace of the Popes actually be the bones of Jesus?” Christians believe that Jesus ascended into heaven, without leaving a corpse behind. With a sacrilegious slugline to stir things up, I’m sure Jon is hoping for some of the success enjoyed by “The DaVinci Code.”
Contributive Justice
The 14th Annual Kids Helping Kids Fun Walk benefiting Columbus Home will be held on Sunday, April 1 at Knoxville Catholic High School. For the third year in a row, I’ve been asked to serve as honorary chair of the event. After we recorded a radio interview to promote it, Fr. Ragan Schriver joked that I could end up becoming the Jerry Lewis of the Fun Walk.
The Walk is more than just a walk. It’s a family festival with t-shirts, games, prizes and food from Domino’s Pizza, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Rita’s Ice. The cost is $15 per person or $30 per family in advance. The prices go up to $20 and $35 on the day of the walk. Participants are encouraged to get pledges to raise extra money. The top fundraiser wins a movie ticket each week for a year from Regal Cinemas.
As Executive Director of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, Fr. Ragan oversees Columbus Home and several other ministries. Because he also teaches classes in the University of Tennessee College of Social Work, I asked him to put on his professor hat and comment on the roles of government and charitable organizations in today’s society. You can listen to the half-hour show by clicking on the play button below.
FrankMurphyInterviewsFrRaganSchriver-KidsHelpingKidsFunWalk-03-11-12.mp3 Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadTalk-tioneer
“Between Ragan and Frank, I’m exhausted!” said Bishop Richard Stika as he opened his remarks last night at the 27th Annual Catholic Charities Dinner. Bishop Stika’s comment followed Fr. Ragan Schriver’s inspirational speech and a live auction, which I conducted again this year.
In his address, Fr. Ragan compared Catholic Charities of East Tennessee to a sports franchise. The owners are the Bishop and the Diocese; the coaches are the members of the board of trustees; the trainers are the local councils; the managers are the staff members; the players are the clients served by the agency; the referee is the Council on Accreditation; the groundskeepers are the priests and sisters of the diocese; and the cheerleaders are “you all.” He talked about picking a name and mascot for the hypothetical team. In typical Fr. Ragan style, there were three options: Braves, because bravery represents the intersection of fear and love; Flutes because they have to empty themselves in order to let beautiful music flow through them; and Volunteers because of their willingness to get involved.
There were three items up for bids: a basket with $2,000 worth of gift cards; a week at a luxury condo in Hilton Head; and dinner for ten people with celebrity guests Fr. Ragan, Dane Bradshaw, Bruce Pearl and Dr. Jerry Punch. The dinner will be held at Connor’s Steak & Seafood, which is slightly ironic since Fr. Ragan is a vegetarian. The date of the soirée is undetermined but I joked that with Fr. Ragan and Bruce Pearl in attendance, it was certain that the dinner would not take place on Good Friday or Yom Kippur. I asked the potential bidders to imagine themselves talking basketball with Bradshaw and Pearl, NASCAR with Dr. Punch and tennis with Fr. Ragan. Then I asked Fr. Ragan if he could name any NASCAR drivers. He knew there was one named Ragan. Or did he mean one named Regan?
The three auction items brought in almost $7,000 for the cause. I was extremely impressed by the generosity of the donors and the bidders. Even though the prices were out of range for most people, we all have something we can give. Pastors often ask parishioners to donate their time, treasure or talent. While the attendees gave some of their treasure, I gave some of my time and talent. In this instance, my talent happens to be the willingness to stand up in front of everyone and risk failure in the hope of getting laughter and applause.
There is something odd about comedians and other performers who are compelled to overcome the fear of public speaking just so they can feel normal. I think of my condition as a “deficiency of Vitamin Applause.” I need approval like a sailor with scurvy needs oranges. Even though I was completely drained after the auction, it was worth it for the money it raised and for the nice compliments I received.
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