Beliefs

May 14, 2016

A Bug Watch and a Guardian Angel

Bug Watch PackageOn Mother’s Day, my oldest daughter Anna invited our entire family over to her house for dinner. After dinner, we celebrated the birthday of her 6-year-old son, David. Whenever I’m invited to one of my grandchildren’s birthday parties, I go out of my way to find an inexpensive but unique gift that they will remember and enjoy using. I always tease them ahead of time about the gift I have for them.

April 16, 2016

A Decision Not To Be A Victim

victim-mentalityTwo weeks ago, I wrote about some of the abusive teachers that I had at the Catholic grade school that I attended during the 1960s. Last week, I wrote about how the behavior of those teachers wasn’t much different than the behavior of other teachers in the 1960s. I wrote that at that time, there were some parents and teachers who believed that abusing and humiliating boys was a necessary part of transforming them into real men.

April 9, 2016

Changing Beliefs About Hair Color

Miss ClairolThere was an article in Adweek magazine a few years ago that discussed how women weren’t open to using hair-color products when they were first introduced in the 1950s. In 1956, Clairol introduced “Miss Clairol,” a “hair color bath” for women that provided a one-step product for natural-looking results.

February 13, 2016

Reengineering Your Self Image

Self-TalkI can remember wanting to be a lawyer when I was in 8th grade. At that time, I was 13 years old. I remember lying in bed imagining what it would be like to be a trial lawyer. In my mind’s eye, I could see myself in a courtroom questioning witnesses and arguing my case to a jury. Of course, in my imagination, I was a brilliant and relentless lawyer who won all of my cases.

February 6, 2016

Bad Choices = Bad Behavior

ChoicesA couple of years ago, a bankruptcy lawyer I know called to schedule an appointment with me. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “John.”

January 9, 2016

It’s Not My Fault!

FaultThere were two scenes in the second Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back, that I remember very clearly. The movie was released in May 1980, the same month that I finished my first year in law school. In the first scene, Han Solo is in his spaceship, the Millennium Falcon, with his co-pilot Chewbacca (Chewy), and Princess Leia.

December 26, 2015

A Thief in the Church

ThiefDuring the week, I do my best to attend Mass every day. Because Sacred Heart Church is only three blocks from my office, I usually end up walking there for the midday Mass, which starts at 12:05 p.m. Ordinarily there are 30 to 50 people who attend that particular Mass. About half of the people work downtown and the other half are people who are either retired or do not have a job that keeps them from driving downtown to attend the Mass.

December 19, 2015

Would the Mother of God Ever Wear Jeans?

JeansI’ve written before about the first time I went Christmas shopping alone with my mom. It was in 1969, when I was 12 years old. At that time, my parents had 13 children — seven boys and six girls — all of whom were living at home.

November 8, 2015

A Perfect Family

GrandparentsFive years ago, Georgette and I attended a wedding at a local Christian church. The bride was the oldest daughter of a client of mine. My client and her husband have four adult children, all of whom are devout Christians.

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