Family

January 28, 2012

A Punk Kid & The Student Teacher

When I graduated from a Catholic grade school in 1971, I was determined to never look back.  I got off to a bad start in first grade and every year after that got worse.  I was more than ready to move on.  I looked forward to starting high school with a blank slate and an entire new group of teachers who had never heard of me.

January 21, 2012

Rebellion & Ruination

Imagine you’re 20 years old and you recently had to drop out of college because you ran out of money.  Until a couple of months ago, your parents were providing you with financial assistance, but that ended when the company your dad was working for closed down and laid off all of its employees.

October 1, 2011

The Tavern Owners Club

Did you know that at one time Peoria was known as the “Whiskey Capital” of Illinois?  According to a PeoriaMagazines.com article written by Jerry Klein, between 1837 and 1919, there were 24 breweries and 73 distilleries in Peoria.  In another publication, “A Brief History of Peoria,” published by C.A. Cockle in 1896, it was noted that out of all of the breweries in Peoria, three of them had the lions’ share of the beer market: Gipps Brewing Co., Leisy Brewing Co. and Union Brewing Co.

August 27, 2011

The True “Reality” of Television

Dad, Mom & the "Beaver" in Leave It To Beaver

May 14, 2011

A Tipping Point

During the past few weeks there’s been an increase in the amount of calls to my law office from people who are in financial distress.  There’s a certain segment of the population that’s up against the ropes financially – people who are looking for a simple solution to their complex problems.

May 7, 2011

A Beautiful Model

My son Harry recently turned 30 years old.  He’s the oldest of my seven children.  When Harry was a young boy, one of his favorite shows was Sesame Street.  You remember Sesame Street don’t you?  It was a children’s show that had a cast of characters with names like Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie.

April 9, 2011

A Catholic Family – 1951-2011

Last Saturday (April 2nd) my parents, Carl and Kathryn Williams, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  My sister and her husband, Colleen and Bill Brannon, organized a Mass and party for them.  The people in attendance at the party were my parents, their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and some of their friends and relatives.

November 13, 2010

The Critic & The EXTREME Parent

On a Friday night about eight years ago, I got myself into an argument with one of my college age children (“the college student”).  The argument centered around a certain movie that I thought was morally objectionable.  At one point, the college student blurted out: “Dad, most Catholics would not agree with you about this movie.  You’re too extreme when comes to things like this.  I can only think of two other people who would agree with you: grandmother (my mom) and Aunt Patty.”

October 30, 2010

Religion On A Sleeve

A Son and His Father