At my uncle’s memorial service this past weekend, the family gathered around before heading into the chapel. At one point, my aunt leaned forward and asked my cousins: “What would your dad say if he were here?”
This was a tough question in some ways, given the occasion, but also, Mac was a man of many passionate interests. What would he say? Among the many statements that wouldn’t have gone amiss here: something on gun violence, social justice, perhaps some words in Italian (Mac, while an ultimate Irish-American guy, was fluent), an opinion on current events, opera, family, religion, his love for his students, the state of higher education.