Jesus and the people of Judea lived under the heel of the Roman army and of Tiberius, the emperor, which is a fancy name for dictator.  The Zealots were the political movement of the time, working to foment a rebellion against the occupying army — a revolution that ultimately got Jerusalem pretty much leveled. There’s…

Back in the ‘80s, during a holiday get-together, one of the family elders, who was known for sweeping declarations, made a sweeping declaration: “You can’t be a Republican,” she said, “and be a good Catholic.” From couch to couch, we looked at each other and smiled gently.  This woman in her 70s was upset with…

    It makes a lot of sense to establish June 19 — Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of the final group of black slaves in 1865 — as a national holiday. Maybe the most important reason is that it commemorates an event in which the entire nation, black and white, took part.  Enslaved Americans won freedom,…

    I’ve started to think of it as The After.  I mean that time when it will be safe for me and the rest of the world to do all the stuff we used to do before Covid-19 showed up and ruined the party. The time after we’ve lived through this pandemic, those of us who do…

  A conversation with a writer is, almost always, interesting and insightful. During a long career as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, I was paid to talk with many, including Robert Caro, Sandra Cisneros, Richard Russo, Haki Madhubuti, Jane Smiley and Gay Talese. Someone I wish I could include on that list is George R. Stewart,…

  I just finished one of those challenges on Facebook, this one wanting me on consecutive days to post an image of an album that influenced my musical taste, without comment. Here, in alphabetical order, is the full list, with a tiny comment for each: Hourglass, James Taylor --- mature, introspective folk music. John Wesley Harding,…

  Cathy gave me a haircut today on the back porch. In our 37 years of marriage, that hasn’t happened before, but we’re not leaving the house for haircuts or much anything else, and I was getting pretty shaggy, and, well, we made do. (I hope it doesn’t come to the point that I have to cut…