Christmas Eve in our house wasn’t complicated, but it was a sacred family tradition. My brother and I were altar boys, and this was the main event of church services for the year. For my brother and me, Dec. 24 meant putting on freshly laundered red cassocks and starched and ironed ...
Trust in American institutions has been dissipating for over a half a century. Long before we had the COVID-19 arguments over masks, we already had Watergate, Vietnam, and Iran-Contra. Each of those made us wonder if the folks in charge knew what they were doing or were lying to our faces. For ...
It was a different time. In fact, the crazy fun we had in the ’70s was like a spin-off from the fun sitcom “Delta House” or the movie “Animal House.” Every Thursday night, we had a standing invitation from our friend Jim to go to Carl and Ethel’s basement. Jim didn’t live there ...
I want to tell you about a typical summer day for a 10-year-old boy in a suburb of Dickerson Run named East Liberty, Pennsylvania. But first, some geographic clarification. The East Liberty where I grew up, or just “Liberty,” as we locals called it, is not a part of Pittsburgh. It is a ...
Like many of you, I have spent large chunks of life chasing shiny things. In that regard, I have been distracted by a desire to appear successful by having the trappings of “success.” You know, the things that say, “I made it. Applause, please.” It started when I was a tween. ...
They built a golf course all around my grandparents' house. The 18th fairway nearly cut through their backyard, and until we put wire grates over the windows, flying glass and golf balls were a common threat. Dad attempted to play golf a few times. As a little kid, he had fallen off a horse. ...
