Stories of Dan typically end up looking like a resume.

It's amazing how much he accomplished in such a short life. One story to remember with a somewhat lighter tone happened a few days before graduation at Loyola. I'll omit the horrid details and leave out the names of the innocent mostly because I can't remember them.

A few of us were getting together to celebrate a little bit and picked Loyola's senior parking lot as an easy spot to meet before going out. While we were waiting around for whomever to show up someone decided to start cleaning out the trunk of their car. Since exams were over, it was decided that a notebook was no longer needed. That notebook accidently caught on fire. Then another notebook accidently caught on fire, then another and another. Before we knew it, we had a little celebratory bonfire going on in the parking lot. Before too long someone with a flashlight came down from Xavier to investigate. I can't remember if it was the cigarettes, trespassing, adult beverages or open fire that Dan was concerned about, but it was funny to see him turn so serious so quickly. Under normal circumstances, this may have been something to warrant a phone call to the parents or at least a few hours of picking up cigarette butts around campus. Getting into trouble with Dan, however, carried a completely different immunity. Knowing that graduation was only a day or two away and that Dan was scheduled to receive at least half of the awards and speak at the ceremony, we were able to escape the deto and were let off with a warning. It probably wasn't the only time that Dan's accomplishments made life a little easier on us, but one I won't forget.


Jim Stafford
jstafford@fbw.com

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