All posts by Fr Tom Tirman

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Zombie Tales…..

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I wish I was able to take a better picture, but tonight’s picture is of Ben and his sister after he tricked her into watching “Toy Story” with him. If they both look like zombies in the picture (taken from my phone) please know that it has nothing to do with the phone or photographer……watching “Toy Story” is actually the number one cause of Zombism in the USA.

But the blessing in all of it is that they had fun. Steph was a good sport, and she enjoys being around Ben. They clearly have missed each other, and although as a parent I would like to believe that this had something to do with me, in fact it does not. Their relationships only find their genesis in us…beyond that it is all them.
I am sure not too many 19 year-olds would find watching a movie with a 3 year old something desirable…..but all our kids are tight with each other and don’t act out of obligation, but love. It is pretty cool to see and a real blessing upon my soul. And fortunately for me I have the entire summer to witness it firsthand!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Of Angels of the coolest kind…….

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I know I have said this before, but three year-olds are weird, especially ours.

Ben is a BIG fan of Transformers, not that he has ever seen the recent movies….just the cartoons, but he is a big fan. In fact, to Ben just about everything can be a Transformer, including him. So it was no surprise for us when I bought him a Blue Angel replica toy when we were on vacation, that he immediately thought is was “Starscream,” yep that’s right, the Transformer.
In time however, Ben began to understand that this plane was a toy of the real thing, and that the real Blue Angels were a group of really cool planes that he actually has watched a couple of times on the TV. SOOOO….., when I saw that the real Blue Angels were coming to Indiana this weekend, I made it a point to sneak him out into the country this afternoon where we parked the car, opened the hatchback, and sat to watch the most amazing group of fliers I have ever seen.
Well, at least I watched it. Despite them flying RIGHT OVER US numerous times, and despite all the tricks and turns and precision, Ben was about as interested as you see him in the picture holding up his model. Apparently most of his excitement and adventure is found within his own brain (sort of like my sport’s career). And we left there with me feeling incredibly let down…..I really thought he would be “out of his mind excited,” but he was not. I thought it was going to be a real special dad and son thing.
But at least I got to enjoy the show. These are some of the most elite pilots in the world, and their appearance at these shows is a big recruiting tool, as well as a really great way to make people proud of their country. There were many older planes too from every era. It brought to mind the many brave pilots serving now and who have served…..and many who gave their lives for us.
We live in the greatest country on earth, and although today it was lost on the boy, it was not lost on me. I will post another important story about this tomorrow, but for now let me say I am so proud to be an American.
And I loved this afternoon…..even though I had no toy. I just watched some of the greatest pilots on earth.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Friday the 13th…..

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Although I am not superstitious, and although I not only frequently wore the number 13 and it is my favorite number, and although Stephanie’s jersey number is 13, Friday the 13th didn’t go all that well for us today. Scotty’s team was CLOCKED by the Carmel Greyhounds, and it was as if not a thing was going right at all.

But it really had nothing to do with the date, and I mean it really didn’t. Superstitions, horoscopes, full moons, reality TV, Legos, and Methodists, as well all the other nonsense that comes with them have no bearing on real life. Teams win games, not by what shoe we tie first, but by playing well, and tonight our team just did not have it. Sadly, that is often the case when I come to watch, but I do not believe that it has anything to do with it (see above).
So anyway, today was a day we just survived and we are all happy about it too. Tomorrow is another day, filled with new adventure and new opportunities.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+
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The pitter-patter of familiar feet……

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No, there is no picture for tonight…..not that I didn’t try. At about 11pm Steph returned home for the summer, and along with her Cassie, who will be living here as well. Cassie is from Missouri and is a Theatre Major. So we had two college girls arrive at 11…….and within seconds three more!

The funny part is that this had been our lives for years. The other girls (Celeste, Alyssa, and Molly) are really family to us, and they spent much of high school traveling between all their houses where the parents there felt and feel the same way we do too. It is always so great to see them, although at 11:30 I was more than willing to confess what an old fogey I was and went to bed. I think some of them spent the night, but I did not check. If I would happen to run into one in the middle of the night when “checking to make sure the house is secure” (what us middle-aged guys say instead of “going to the bathroom” because it sounds more masculine) I would think nothing of it. Our home is there home and it would be like running into Steph or Scott to either of us.
But the best part is how it feels, because it feels like home.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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B B A……..

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Yep, it’s an expression where I come from, and probably quite fitting when you look at this picture. But tonight was Senior Night for the men’s team, and Amanda and I were privileged to be able to walk Scotty out on the field as the Seniors were honored.

It is amazing to think about getting to this point with him, not that we ever doubted he would grow up…..it’s just gone so fast. He then played a tremendous game against a high level team and it was a great night.
Scotty has turned out to be a tremendous athlete and it has been great to watch. He has a gentle heart off the field, but on it he is HIGHLY competitive. It has been a real gift from God that my team’s schedule and his schedule were not all that conflicted this season. I was able to see A LOT of games, and I was very blessed by that.
Scotty will be graduating in a few weeks and hopefully getting a great job to be able to save more for college. He will start in August at St. Louis Christian, just 10 minutes from where Stephanie attends school. They didn’t plan it that way, it’s just the way it worked out. He will study music there, seeing as he is a phenomenal musician.
It’s part of that gentle and creative spirit of his……..just don’t try and take away his piano….
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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The final game……

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Well it has ended. Tonight we were eliminated tonight in the first round of the Regional Tournament 12-6 by Guerin Catholic High School. It was too bad too. We played pretty well and showed periods of brilliance in the second half, but in the end, we did not have it, and our season ended much too soon.

It has been a difficult season too, one riddled with injury and illness. In my fourth year as head coach we placed 15th in the end…..dropping from the top 5 the last two years. We struggled and seemed irritated with each other at times. It often happens when you struggle, but that’s what made the end of it all so amazing…..for unlike any other women’s lacrosse team I have coached, at the end there were a lot of tears.
Sure, it has been a struggle this year, but I really have the privilege of coaching some of the finest young women I know. It has been a real gift to me, and they are important to me. They are always welcome back to help coach and most do when they are home. I miss them all, but they are all worth missing. They are my extended family, and I am thankful for them, because I am blessed.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Where am I……..?

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Yes, the picture is of Stephanie as Albert Einstein…….one of a few old ones that dealt with brilliance.

I was really committed to getting a lot done today, if only my brain would have cooperated. My Communion kit, which I normally carry with me was left on my desk at home AFTER I took the time to load it, and get everything ready. I felt like such a doofus when I was right by the home I was taking it to and realized I didn’t have it. It was a 45 minute drive to convict me of my own stupidity. Thank God I had already been convicted of it before……at least I didn’t bring my shaving kit instead.

But of course it meant I needed to reschedule, which I did for tomorrow. But in all honesty, I might need to move that to Wednesday instead. It will however get done.
I know many people say it is just a middle age thing, but quite clearly it is a big mind-change thing, I know. You have no idea how very dedicated I am to being meticulous about my life. It works well for me too. SO that’s why when I work so hard to do something and to remember it, and then forget it that it is a big deal to me. It no longer crashes me though…..I now just laugh it off and work harder.
Of course I wasn’t laughing until I got home and saw right where I left the kit. I put it there so I wouldn’t forget it. At least I remembered everything else!
So today is now in the past. Not my best day, but one I can improve upon tomorrow. And I do have something to do tomorrow……I only hope I can remember what it is.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+
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Mother’s Day…….

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Well, we are at the end of Mother’s Day, and it has been a pretty great day. Ben got his mom some flowers and had made cards for her at Cindy’s house. He “re-gave” them to her with the flowers and saved us approximately 75 dollars! Steph called from college (she is less than a week from returning home) and Scotty had Amanda on some sort of scavenger hunt with clues scattered all around the house tonight. And since we could not find him, she was certain that he would be popping out of some closet to scare her to death (because they like to do that to each other)…..but alas, it was just a fun way to send her a Mother’s Day note.

The day really started in a way that a finish like this would not have been expected. I had two services this morning only to return to my house with Scotty girlfriend calling in a panic. Someone had texted her that Scotty was being taken to the hospital.
Of course this scared the daylights out of us, and especially since we had not talked to him. He was on a trip with his lacrosse team outside of cell coverage, so my frantic texts and calls were not returned because they went nowhere. So we called the hospital. No, he was not listed as a patient. We were to head to the nursing home to visit my mom and then take off for the 2.5 hour drive to Goshen to see my grandma who was in the hospital last week, but now was home. She just turned 95 and still lives alone. But this was far more important, and we were scared to death, frantically calling anyone we could who was on the trip.
That was when Scotty called. Apparently some kid thought it would be funny to scare the daylights out of Scotty’s girlfriend, but in all honesty it scared everyone. So to make a long story short, Amanda talked to this kid’s dad. The kid called me an apologized personally (I hope he does to everyone else too), and I am dead-dog tired because I started the day thinking my son was in peril and I was completely helpless and ineffective in finding out a thing. It emotionally killed me, and yet after we had answers, though we were relieved, we were now an hour behind for about 9 hours of stuff to do. But we made it and all the moms in my family seemed happy……and even Ben seemed relieved by the end of the day (the picture is from the car ride home)
But as for me, I am just ready for tomorrow. Today has been a rough day!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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The end of Superman……

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If he were not wearing it, I would throw the dang shirt away. Yep, the Marvel COMICS company has decided to go PC and apparently now Superman is going to renounce his American citizenship. I will NEVER buy anything from Marvel again, and I encourage you to do the same.

And it’s a crying shame too. I have been a big fan of Superman all my life. I have worn the shirts and stuff , all way before Shaq, and I even used to wear it under my shirts and let Steph and Scott get all wide-eyed when they would see the big “S” under my clergy shirts….I used to say, “please don’t tell anyone,” and they didn’t….but they grew up thinking their dad was Superman.
But not anymore. Sure, Marvel owns the franchise, but how dare they inject there political nonsense into the minds of children? It disappoints me a great deal, and the shirt will indeed go in the trash tomorrow.
I did however put up a shed/barn with it today, and Amanda was upset when she saw I had torn it. Thank God however that I didn’t tear an old t-shirt. She agrees…..it is going away.
Too bad too, Ben and Scott both love Superman. But we will patronize the kinds of heroes that love America.
Shame on you Marvel Comics. Go ahead, renounce your citizenship. But as for us, we are proud to be Americans, and will do business and raise our children with businesses that are proud of it too.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
And God Bless this great country of ours as well!
Tommy+
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Sixo de Mayo……..

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Okay, I am a little behind the times and I do not speak Spanish but today will go down in recent history as the day it did not storm in Indiana…..okay it did sprinkle a bit. BUT there were no gully-washers to report, and even if there were I couldn’t tell you because I am not quite sure what they are.

But beyond this earth-shattering news, I will say that life is behind as well. There’s nothing like being away for the better part of a week without much cell service or Internet to screw my life totally up. My day was filled with phone calls and emails and apologies. I do love the place where we meet in Arkansas, but its remoteness is difficult to stay in touch. My preference would be a hotel where I can at least keep up with my work when we are done for the day. It would make these days a lot less stressful.
It is good however to be behind amidst all my “own stuff.” I am thankful for that, even if I am a bit overwhelmed.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+