Charlie has not left. I’ve never had a cat in my life before. My father had a bad allergy and didn’t like pets anyway, and then I married a man who was allergic. But cats keep dropping into our lives. Charlie is the first one who’s stayed– on the porch, where she can’t make Michael miserable. All I did was put a blanket in a box, and put out some food and water until she felt like going home to... Read more
A man came to us for help. He came to all of us: you and me. America is a republic, which is a type of democracy, and that’s how democracy works. A democracy is a government of, by, and for the people. What the government does, it does in the people’s name. So, a man came to you and me for help. His name was Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Kilmar was a citizen of the country of El Salvador. He fled... Read more
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them Jesus addressed this parable: “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his... Read more
The Dow fell another thousand points today. I don’t own any stock. I don’t have any money. I don’t usually pay attention to the stock market, but nobody can look away from the financial world just now. It’s not as though this mess is only going to hurt rich people. Last week, talking heads were saying that everybody should stock up on toothbrushes and other disposable goods before the tariffs hit and prices soar, and I just blinked at... Read more
Again, I opened my door at the end of the world. I shouldn’t have wasted time sitting outside. It was too chilly to get any gardening done, and I was supposed to be researching Pearl Harbor and World War Two to give a presentation to the children at the church outreach. But I didn’t want to be near a computer. The news on social media was all bad. The case of the innocent men deported to a gulag in... Read more
You know by now that I’ll be painfully honest with you if there’s something cruel or suspicious going on in the Diocese of Steubenville. And, you know by now that I’m merciless with making fun of bad Christian proselytizing art. So, with that in mind, can we all take a moment to enjoy some excellent Christian clip art? And to admire a charity that put up this poster? I saw this picture in the back of a church in... Read more
I haven’t been called a baby killer or a fake Catholic in the past few weeks. It’s the kind of lull you don’t notice until it’s pointed out. My friend, the Catholic author Mark Shea, mentioned it a bit ago, and that’s when I realized it was true. Maybe we’ve both just blocked the right people. But I feel the wool has been pulled off quite a few sets of eyes. I have summarized my falling out with the... Read more
“I think your cat hurt herself!” said Jimmy. “She’s holding up one leg.” He’d just come to the porch to borrow the key again. I don’t even know what’s wrong with his geriatric Dodge this week. He thinks we’re doing him a huge favor by lending him Sacre Bleu, and I think he’s been doing us a huge favor by topping off the gas every time he borrows her. Charlie the cat, who isn’t exactly mine, was trying to... Read more
On Friday, in the rain, I went out to to Jefferson Lake, to see how the Spring was coming along. The lake was noisy with spring peepers, peeping so loudly it didn’t even seem real. Surely nothing that really exists could sound so much like a cartoon. I was noisy as a cartoon myself, squashing and squelching with every muddy step. The rain pelted, dotting the surface of the lake. All that I could see was wet and cold and... Read more
Charlie the cat belongs to the Artful Dodgers, but I pretend not to know this. The Artful Dodgers, as you recall, are the family that live down the alley on the other side, in the worst rental on the block. They’re the poorest family around and I pretend not to notice. At some point, the gaggle of skinny children bonded with two stray gray and white kittens and put collars on them, but I don’t think they can afford... Read more
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