Ten years ago, I volunteered to create a small garden in one of our neighborhood’s public parks. In hindsight, I made one bad assumption and one strategic mistake. Both seem like cautionary tales when I think about our current politics and governance. The garden was to be carved out of …
Forty percent of our nation’s young people—those born between 1997 and 2012; Gen Z— believe that the founders of the United States are better described as villains than heroes.1 Clearly, they haven’t attended a production of the musical, Hamilton. I am being only somewhat facetious. I think this 40% statistic …
Last summer the Chicago Tribune reported on a bakery that was harassed and vandalized after scheduling a “family-friendly” drag show at their shop. The owner was quoted as saying, “…people who haven’t been exposed to this need to learn about it and be more accepting.” (emphasis mine) Must I? For …
For 35 years, I’ve puzzled over why the act of confession is not part of the regular order of Sunday worship at my church. To be sure, in the Protestant tradition it is perfectly acceptable for me to confess my mistakes on my own time. There is no doctrine requiring …
The lyrics captured my imagination the first time I heard the song. 1 “Who knocks tonight so late?” the weary porter said. Three kings stood at the gate, each with a crown on head. The serving man bowed down, the inn was full, he knew. Said he, “In all …
To amuse myself, I counted the ornaments as I took them off the Christmas tree on New Year’s Day. One hundred sixty-five. Five weeks earlier, I had carefully hung the same one hundred sixty-five. Having quantified a vaguely uneasy sense of hours lost to unwrapping tissue, climbing up and down …
Waiting for an event to begin, our group was making small talk. One woman mentioned that recently her niece, while traveling, had broken her ankle. It was set by an unfamiliar orthopedic surgeon in an unfamiliar town. “Six thousand dollars!” the woman exclaimed. “Six thousand dollars to set those bones! …
My mother passed away this spring at the age of 86. She had lived her life exactly as she wanted, with few, if any regrets. It was hard to begrudge her departure. Her world was shrinking due to failing eyesight, nerve pain, and cancer. But it wasn’t shrinking only in …
The passing of Queen Elizabeth II brought to mind the final scene in the movie, Twelve Angry Men. The 1957 film stars Henry Fonda as one of twelve jurors debating the guilt or innocence of a defendant who has been charged with murdering his father. With two brief exceptions—the opening …
I have season tickets for Notre Dame football games. (This is surprising for a few reasons, but true, nonetheless.) Anyway, on a beautiful October evening, I had a perfect view as Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams took the handoff and lunged right, as the play had been drawn up. …
