Essays

Lincoln, work and prayer

By |2012-03-09T12:02:23+00:00March 9th, 2012|

"Orare est laborare." That's the motto of the Benedictine order. It means: Working is praying. By most accounts, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t terribly interested in organized religion. But that’s not to [...]

In Austin

By |2012-03-07T11:52:22+00:00March 7th, 2012|

I grew up in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. I am the oldest of 14 children, and one of my jobs, growing up, was to watch [...]

My funeral service

By |2012-02-01T08:50:44+00:00February 1st, 2012|

At 62, I know the creakiness of my body. My knees ache. My back tightens up. Still, I'm in pretty good health. But my baby brother John, who is 57, [...]

Then I became a writer

By |2011-08-18T14:04:22+00:00August 18th, 2011|

It seems now, looking back, that I sleep-walked through much of my time at St. Thomas Aquinas Grade School in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s Far West Side. I know [...]

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