Brushing shoulders with greatness could happen

I used to believe having the president of the United States speak at my college graduation was a pretty big deal.

Now I’m not so sure.

As it turns out, the first-ever American pope attended Villanova University at the same time my brother was a student there, which means they might have been in the same classes or gone to the same concerts, even eaten at the same dining hall.

It boggles the mind.

There are more than a billion Roman Catholics in the world, and a minuscule percentage of them have brushed shoulders with the man who would be pope, meaning my brother has serious bragging rights when it comes to standing in the shadows of fame.

I sat down with Crystal Gayle for 45 minutes inside her tour bus many years ago; hung out with Yes drummer Alan White; interviewed authors like Tim O’Brien, Tom Wicker and John Feinstein; chatted briefly with Woody Hayes, Greg Pruitt, Jim Brown and Lyle Alzado; and attended lectures by Hunter Thompson, Ken Kesey, Tennessee Williams and William Burroughs, but let’s face it … Pope Leo XIV is in another stratosphere altogether — he’s in a lineage that started with St. Peter.

“Upon this rock,” said Jesus Christ, “I will build my church.”

That St. Peter.

Now I haven’t had a chance to speak with my brother since the new pope was elected, so I don’t actually know if he and Robert Prevost ever crossed paths during their undergraduate days, but it’s in the realm of possibility. Villanova’s a small place, so it wouldn’t have been like they were at Ohio State, with some 50,000 others.

Speaking of OSU and graduations, my wife’s nephew — wait a second, I guess that makes him my nephew too — received his Ph.D last weekend in the Horseshoe, a stellar achievement for the young man and his family. I remember him from his birth through his growing up, and his is a remarkable story, one that’s just begun.

I don’t know if it’s symptomatic of the aging process, but it seems impossible kids grow up so quickly. Time just zips by, and just when you think you’ve come to terms with them learning to drive, they’re starting families of their own, making their way in the world, establishing professional identities, beginning real careers.

Of course, having been away from home for the last 25 years or so, I missed a huge slice of their lives, so it’s only natural to feel a bit disoriented by the accordion-like nature of time itself, like looking through the wrong end of a telescope, everything compacted.

While we were off gallivanting on the Carolina coast, real lives were being lived, vibrant and ever-evolving, much to our obliviousness, so returning has been like a crash course or waking from a Rip Van Winkle slumber, new to the world again.

The worst part is when someone calls me by name and I have no idea who he or she is. When this happens, I feel kind of ashamed.

I’ve found the best way to avoid awkwardness is to say, immediately, “I’m sorry, but you have me at a disadvantage,” and ask them directly to help me out. It’s either that or play-acting a part I’m not prepared to carry off, though I have tried that strategy.

A moment’s embarrassment is better than hiding my own failure.

Reminds me of that old Joe Walsh line, the one that goes something like, “Everybody’s so different … I haven’t changed.”

Permit me a quick Joe Walsh Top 5:

5. “Life’s Been Good” (1978)

4. “Walk Away” (1971)

3. “Turn to Stone” (1972)

2. “Funk 49” (1970)

1. “Rocky Mountain Way” (1973)

I’ve been lucky enough to see him in concert twice, the first time on March 12, 1975 (still have the ticket stub), and again in the early ’90s at Cleveland’s Music Hall, a show highlighted by an unannounced reunion of the original James Gang.

There was a rumor going around the internet a couple of years ago that said he was dead, which was absolutely untrue, a reminder of just how flawed and wretched a place like cyberspace can be.

I’m trying to think of a better American guitarist I ever heard live, but it’s not easy … maybe Dickie Betts, perhaps Phil Keaggy, and I was impressed by both Roy Clark and Glen Campbell at the fair.

It’s a very subjective thing, making lists like that, but it’s a fun diversion, and in this world, God knows we need stuff like that.

We’re in a very strange place these days, everyone digging in, seeking solace in their sheltered silos, no one daring to venture into the demilitarized zone of compromise, the air thick with enmity.

I wonder how the new pontiff is handling his rapid ascension into the ranks of the world’s most influential people, the leader of a billion-plus believers, a guy from the South Side of Chicago, someone who majored in history at Villanova, my brother’s friend.

Well, I’m not sure about that last bit, but once it’s on the internet …

Mike Dewey can be reached atCarolinamiked@aol.com or 1317 Troy Road, Ashland, OH 44805. He invites you to join him on his Facebook page, where no one is judged and everybody’s invited.