Occasionally in life there are memorable events. Sunday morning at Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis was one of these, for me, and probably for many. Today’s newsletter at Basilica of St. Mary had an attention grabbing headline “The Idolatry of Guns and the Scourge of Gun Violence in America” by Pastor Fr. Daniel Griffith. […]
Have a great Father’s Day, whatever your personal role and experience might be. I ask you also to check out my post for June 12. It includes some learning recommendations on a critical issue facing all of us. Onward: A short while ago my friend, Kathy, shared a small box of memorabilia kept by her […]
If you have any interest in the future of our society if the alternative to Joe Biden and the leadership of state and national political leadership prevails on Nov. 5, don’t say, after the fact, that you weren’t warned. In the last couple of days I’ve watched the first installments of two new programs that […]
Late this week the local high school signboard noted the last day of school for 2023-24. This morning I found myself humming pieces of the tune “Schools out for summer…“. I remembered the tune, but not performer Alice Cooper, nor that the song was released in 1972 – the year I left Junior High teaching […]
This morning on my walk, an old guy (my age) asked his walking companion, another old guy, about the flag at half-staff outside the building. His friend wasn’t sure. I was passing them by and chimed in “D-Day”. Ohhhhh. Not that I’m a wise man. I asked the guy at the desk when I had […]
This is post number 2002, and the first I’d encourage you to bookmark and come back to once in awhile this summer. (Yes, June 1 isn’t quite “Summer”, and not quite “school’s out” in most places, but it’s after Memorial Day…and June 1 is easy to remember.) I hope you at least scroll through this, […]
Annual Twin Cities Veterans for Peace gathering 10:30 a.m. Memorial Day near the Vietnam Memorial Wall on the south lawn of the State Capitol mall. This observance is a longstanding tradition. POSTNOTE MEMORIAL DAY 8:37 a.m.: Last night we watched the annual PBS special for Memorial Day at the U.S. Capitol Mall. For some reason […]
This post is dedicated to my friend, Marion Brady, whose commentary on public education is below. Marion, who just turned 97, wrote this a few months ago, reflecting on 73 years in and around public education. Were my wish to come true, you’d pass this along to every person you know who has an interest […]
Anyone who visits this page with any regularity knows that I am and have always been Catholic. Enter search word “Basilica” and you’ll find 146 (of 1997) posts at this space since 2009. The current Basilica magazine (cover at left), leads me to a different kind of reflection about organized Religion, of which I’ve been […]
Everyone has a mother and a father, and this Mother’s Day I choose a daughter: Marie-Josephine Collette. This Mother’s Day, much more than most I remember, is filled with demonstrations that by no means is everything easy for women, for men, or for families, however constituted, or when. This post is offered for reflection, and […]