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  Urell Back; W. F. B Fondly Remembered
What ever happened to

By Frank Mickadeit
Orange County Register
March 7, 2008

http://www.ocregister.com/column/urell-buckley-carvelli-1993950-orange-engineer

A day to catch up. It didn't take long for plaintiff's attorney John Manly to react to the return of Monsignor John Urrell.

"The people of Orange County, and most importantly the Catholic community, should remember that Monsignor Urell allowed numerous priests and employees of the Diocese of Orange to have access to children after it was well known they had molested children," Manly blasted in an e-mail.

"If Bishop Brown and the Diocesan hierarchy had any real concern for children, they would have sought Monsignor Urell's retirement long ago. The fact that they honor him clearly shows that nothing has changed in the Diocese of Orange and children remain at risk."

Parishioners at St. Norbert's in Orange were informed this week that Urell has been discharged from the Canadian hospital where he was undergoing psychiatric treatment after having a breakdown while testifying about the diocesan sex scandals.

Urell was a key diocesan official in the 1980s and '90s. He broke down during a deposition last summer when being closely questioned about what he knew and why he didn't tell police. The deposition was halted. Shortly before it was to continue, Bishop Tod Brown sent Urell to Canada. Urell's plight prompted an unusual coalition of local conservative and liberal political figures to show their public support for him.

Of all the talking-head types, the one who truly transfixed me, kept me glued to the set, was William F. Buckley. Last week, John Carvelli and I shared favorite Buckley moments. Carvelli was fortunate to have had an encounter with the man.

Carvelli was a "goofball 23-year-old" aide to Assemblyman Gil Ferguson in 1985 when Ferguson got Buckley to come to Orange County to speak. Ferguson assigned Carvelli to be Buckley's personal assistant for the two days he was here.

Summarizing the experience in an e-mail he sent to Buckley's nephew, Brent Bozell III, last week, Carvelli wrote:

"I picked him up, delivered him to his hotel and completed a couple of small errands for him. At that time, I happened to have read, I believe, all of his Blackford Oakes spy novels and I mentioned what a fan I was this seemed to make him happy and I experienced, first hand, that famous, impish looking smile of his.

"He asked me to take him to the hotel store, and when we walked in he marched over to the magazine rack and picked out Life magazine." He purchased the magazine and found the article he wrote called 'Sailing Free' with the picture of him, his son and friends with gas masks on. He inscribed the picture and handed it to me with thanks for my hospitality."

"He inspired me on many levels and I am in his debt."

In a note to me, Carvelli said Buckley's nonfiction taught him to attempt to understand and respect opposing views, "to accept that I am a conservative who does not necessarily fall in line with all the various factions of the conservative movement. That I may support libertarian, or even perhaps a few so-called Democrat positions."

Uh-oh. Not so-called Democrat positions, John. Now you've really gone too far.

Irvine engineer Paul Carey e-mailed to chide me that the term for a civil engineer licensed by the state is professional engineer (P.E.) or registered civil engineer (R.C.E.). I'd invented the initials L.C.E., for licensed civil engineer.

This is almost as embarrassing as another correction I forgot to make last month. The moment at which "Happy Days" jumped the shark that is, became irrelevant and stupid? It wasn't Fonzie jumping a shark on his motorcycle; it was him jumping it on water skis. I see how that could make a difference in evaluating whether a TV show has become irrelevant and stupid.

Thank you, in particular, to the embarrassing percentage of my siblings who e-mailed me with that fact.

Strange that they got that right but didn't know or think to correct me about using improper professional initials after our father's name. I'm sure he's up there muttering to Mom, as usual, Where did we go wrong?

That doesn't diminishthe glow I felt about winning an award from the Orange County branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. What diminished the glow was that the next day, reporter Teri Sforza came over to my desk lugging two pieces of her own hardware and flaunting them in my face: the journalism awards from the O.C. branch and the national A.S.C.E. award.

Contact: fmickadeit@ocregister.com

 
 

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