An open letter to Chicago’s archbishop-elect Blase Cupich
Dear Archbishop-elect Cupich: Eat at Burger King. By yourself. In street clothes. If you want to get to know Chicago and those of us who live here, go to the [...]
Books that remain in my heart and head
On Facebook, Andy Bourgeois posted a list of books that had stayed with him, and suggested that several people, including me, do the same. Andy is a real-world friend of [...]
Meditation: The job of living
The prophet Jeremiah got exasperated with God: “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day [...]
Book clubs aren’t about books. They’re about life.
This essay initially appeared in the Chicago Tribune on 7.27.14. When I was a young man, I reveled in my physical strength and intellectual acuity. Today, I’m very aware of [...]
How smart is Derek Jeter? He can do the math.
(Photographer: Keith Allison) The world of Major League Baseball was taken aback in February when New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter announced that he would retire at the end [...]
Jane Jacobs and the New York City Gay Pride Parade, 2014
555 Hudson Street, New York, the former home of Jane Jacobs On a recent trip to New York City, I went looking for Jane Jacobs and found the Gay [...]
Me, myself and Jim Brosnan and Anne Hollander
I suspect that Jim Brosnan and Anne Hollander never met. They moved in different circles. They died eight days apart — Brosnan on June 29 at the age of 84, [...]
The Last Four Miles: Completing Chicago’s Lakefront Parks
Virtually my first freelance job after being laid off by the Chicago Tribune in April, 2009, was to edit (and write portions of) a report for the Friends of the [...]
The departure of a feisty think tank
As of Saturday, May 31, Metropolis Strategies, formerly Metropolis 2020, closes its doors. I’m sorry to see the feisty think tank depart although, when it was founded in 1999 by [...]
My lay-off and the golden age of journalism
Five years ago today, I was laid off by the Chicago Tribune. I had company. More than 50 other editorial employees were let go the same week I was shown [...]