Among the movies we were allowed and encouraged to watch growing up, were the BBC dramatizations of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia from the late 80s. I loved them then; I do now, for old time’s sake, in spite of their limitations. I love them even though they took out the most bizarre and numinous parts of Prince Caspian; I love them even though they leave out The Magician’s Nephew which is my favorite book out of the... Read more
I saw something today that made me sad. At first I thought it must be a hoax– I just saw it in a photo on Twitter and thought it might be photoshopped. But it’s apparently real. A woman by the name of Kathleen Dehmlo, nee Schunk, passed away on May 31, and her family published an obituary in the local paper which ended with these two paragraphs: “In 1962 she became pregnant by her husband’s brother Lyle Dehmlow and moved... Read more
I’ve been meaning to write about the immigrant children, but I don’t know what to say. I don’t know anything unique I can add to this conversation. But I can’t just say nothing, not when children are being tortured. Most everyone knows by now, that migrants at the southern border of the United States are having their children seized from them and kept in separate facilities– not only illegal migrants, but also asylum-seekers. We were all assured they’d be well... Read more
It has not been a good weekend. Rosie came down with a fever and the worst case of conjunctivitis I’ve ever seen. I used to get sties on my eyes, growing up, but this was a thousand times worse than that. Her eyes were swollen shut and gummed with mucus; I had to wash her eyelids with warm water before they could open. And then the real torment began: the doctor prescribed eye drops. Have you ever tried to give... Read more
I received an apology early this afternoon. Well, something made to look like an apology. The person who made it claimed he was repenting of something. I thought it best to address it publicly, because he expected it to be made public and because it’s part of a pattern I’ve observed of late. I’ve had readers explaining to me in recent days that ‘traditionalist” Latin Catholic circles don’t tend to have a misogyny problem and that feminism– the... Read more
Apparently it’s time to talk etiquette with the Marchioness of Manners, Mary Pezzulo, once again. I don’t know how stating the fact that women and girls have the right to say “no” to would-be romantic partners and defend themselves if their “no” is not respected makes me a relationship expert, but here I am. Now that I’ve gone out there and stated the terrible truth that women are humans and ought to be allowed to say “no,” I’m being asked... Read more
We’ve been waiting around for over a year. A year ago I thought we were moving– quickly, within a few months, sometime in the fall, surely before Christmas. Somewhere in West Virginia, hopefully near our church. We’d have a car, too, and everything would get easier. And the miracle we’d expected fell through. This year, it stands a better chance of happening– someday, within several months, maybe in the fall, maybe by Christmas, probably not to West Virginia, maybe somewhere... Read more
I saw one of those ads for a kit, to help you survive the End Times. I think this one was being put out by Jim Baker. Every televised preacher seems to have one. It’s non-perishable food in a special sealed bucket that will float when submerged in flood water, in case that becomes an issue. This all puzzles me, because I thought that that particular stripe of Protestant thinks they’re going to be raptured when the End Times... Read more
There was a knock at the door. I’d just gotten home from a long walk on a day that was much hotter than expected. I was drenched in sweat. There were pitch-black stormclouds gathering on the horizon. This was the worst possible time for company. But I didn’t like to leave anyone out there on the porch with the darkness gathering. I peeked out the window in my front door, and saw no one. I remembered that old superstition... Read more
The new trend, I’m told, is to post ridiculous free stock photos of your job and say witty things about them. I went to pixabay and typed in “blog,” and I don’t know what everyone’s complaining about. These stock photos aren’t silly; they provide a poignant and informative mirror into my day-to-day affairs. It’s a little slice of the fast-paced and glamorous life of an up-and-coming Catholic blogger. Here, I’ll give you a tour. I usually wake up at... Read more
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