I saw one of those scary comments about “witchcraft” today. If you were raised in the Charismatic Renewal, you know the kind of comments I’m talking about. This one was a priest who was trying to do something good, to tell people that it’s okay for Catholics to read fantasy novels and play role-playing games. I’m glad he got that much right. But then he said “Real witchcraft calls upon the preternatural power of demons to make concrete change... Read more
I went out to the secret garden, to check on my tomatoes. The tomatoes badly needed pruning, which I’d never done before, so I’d tried. I was afraid I’d kill them by mistake. This is my first year growing tomatoes. Michael is allergic to the vines, so I can’t have them in my own yard. Now that I’ve got a Secret Garden, I can grow whatever I like. It turns out that you are supposed to cut off the “suckers,”... Read more
There was a boy in my neighborhood, whose name was Corey. Corey was a brat. He was the kind of boy who ran around making mischief and annoying people, anything to get people to look at him and yell. He would stand across the alley from us in old Mrs. Winner’s yard at the edge of the block as I played outside, taunting, teasing, name-calling, and when that didn’t work he would resort to more extreme tactics for attention. “Look, a... Read more
It was one of those exhausting mid-July days where the whole world slows to a trickle. Too hot to go outside. Too hot to have any fun inside. Nobody reads blogs in the summer, so there’s nothing in the checking account to go shopping with, no cash left in the purse for an afternoon at the pool, only half a tank of gas so not enough to get away to Pittsburgh for an afternoon. Bills threatening to go to... Read more
I took Adrienne swimming yesterday. Adrienne is Rosie, my daughter whom I’ve introduced you to many times. We named her Adrienne Rose when she was born, intending to call her Adrienne. But at about six weeks old, we started calling her Rosie Toesie Pudding and Pie, and then Rosie Toes, and then Rosie. Everyone knew her as Rosie for the longest time. A few months ago she said she felt like more of an Adrienne and not a Rosie, so... Read more
It was one of those mornings that starts with a nightmare. It’s a nightmare I’ve had a lot, the one where I’m playing a point-and-click adventure game akin to Myst or Obduction, and find myself standing in the world of the game instead of sitting at a computer clicking the mouse. Sometimes this dream is atmospheric and beautiful, but yesterday morning it was grim: not an uncanny island or a weird desert landscape but an abandoned city, all rusted sagging... Read more
A little less than two weeks ago, you might have heard that a ten-year-old girl had been raped. I can’t think of anything worse than a child being raped. I can’t think of anything in the world more deplorable than a child being raped. But we know that it happens. I could quote you historic examples of child rape and examples of children fighting off rape. Child sexual assault is a thing that happens. It’s one of the worst... Read more
I was picking up a friend from an early morning doctor’s appointment when the air conditioning began to blow hot. It had been getting less cool as the summer progressed. The Neighborhood Trolley has a black interior; it gets warm easily. But this wasn’t just a hot car– the air from the vents was far hotter than the air outside. A sensor that looked like a thermometer lit up red on the dashboard. I turned off the whole car and... Read more
We were hurrying to the car, and we were already late. I remembered with annoyance that we’d parallel parked far down the other end of the block. I darted down the narrow one-way street, irritated, Rosie sprinting ahead with her martial arts dobok in her arms. We passed houses already decked out for the Fourth of July: porches arrayed in red, white and blue bunting; flags fluttering from windows; tri-colored pinwheels sunk in the mud of gardens. It was... Read more
I went to Mass today. It’s hard going back to Mass at home after being away for awhile. I was in Columbus at a lovely welcoming place two weeks ago. Last week we went to Pittsburgh to the conservatory and the museum with our memberships, and then went to the Cathedral which was a nice change. Today we tried to go to a new parish across the river in West Virginia, but we mistook the schedule and got there an... Read more
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