Happy Thanksgiving. Let the celebration begin. You say “What? Wait! A month too early. Wait til the Halloween decorations are down.” But the time to shift into the thanks-giving gear is now. A few experiences in the past weeks were reminders that the season of thanks shouldn’t wait for the arbitrary date selected to mark […]

It seems that there’s been such clamor of words in my ears for the past few weeks that it’s hard to sit down and sort them into quiet thoughts on a keyboard. If you haven’t been battered with the details of two murder trials, in Florida and in Hawaii, you’ve succeeded in being a better […]

How I wish I’d taken notes when the old folks were reminiscing. The stories about hard times and good experiences of the immigrant generation in the new country, milestones as their children grew and separations as family members scattered, they’re now down to just a few surviving anecdotes, somewhat out of context, nothing written by […]

Catholic schools in Hawaii suspended lesson plans and used the past month of historical and dramatic events in Rome as a teaching opportunity. With 21st century fixation on immediate information, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and the selection of his successor reached the level of breaking news around the world for the past month. […]

A funny thing happened on the way to confession. I chickened out. Again. The timing was right. It was that 30-minute window of opportunity on Saturday that a priest in my parish is on tap. I’d talked myself through this. It’s been months. I’m feeling yucky about something going on in my life. I can […]

The battle lines are being drawn. The opposing sides are massing behind the boundaries they have set to separate us versus them. But no, wait. This isn’t a war zone. It’s the legislative body representing We the People. I don’t remember voting for someone to gird their loins to do battle. (Eek, hide your eyes […]