Marriage

March 10, 2012

The Iron Fortress

Every Christmas season, I sit down with my family and watch the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. The movie is available on DVD and is regarded as one of the top 100 movies of all times.

March 3, 2012

The End Game

During the summer of 2010, I met with Brenda, a sales representative for a large company, to talk about leasing some office equipment.  During our conversation, I told her I had 3 daughters who were working for my law firm.  She asked me if I had any other children.  I told her that my wife and I have 7 children – 1 boy and 6 girls.  She responded by telling me that she had a son who was 10-years-old and a daughter who was 6-years-old.  She went on to say that she would love to have more children, but her husband “would never allow it.”

February 25, 2012

Honey Boys

When I was growing up, my oldest brother, Jerry, was everything a mother and father would want in a son: intelligent, gentle, and respectful.  I never saw him argue with my mom or dad.  Never.  Not even once.

February 18, 2012

A Reservoir of Love

It happened on a Friday evening in April of 1977, when I was 19-years-old.  I was home from college for the weekend and after dinner, my mom brought out a cake she had baked for my youngest brother, Tony.  There were 2 candles on the cake and it was time to sing Happy Birthday to the baby of the family.  As usual, the candles were lit and the lights were turned off.  Tony sat in mom’s lap while we sang to him.  After Tony blew out the candles, someone turned on the lights to the dining room.  It was then that we noticed mom was wiping away tears from her eyes.

February 11, 2012

The Unanswered Question

The first time I ever heard the phrase “Academic Freedom” was when I was 22 years old.  It happened in 1979, when I was a student at St. Louis University School of Law.  I had no idea when I started law school that I was going to get a real “education” on how a Catholic university operated. 

February 4, 2012

A Retired Nun Challenges My Manhood

Last Monday I received a telephone call from a retired nun who reads my articles every week.  I’ve known this particular nun for over 20 years.  Even though she’s “retired,” she works harder than most people who are half her age.  She’s a very holy and humble woman who cares greatly about the Catholic Church and the current state of humanity. 

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.

June 25, 2011

A 30 Year Journey

Last week I flew to California with Georgette and my daughters to attend the wedding of someone who is very special to us.  As you may already know, Georgette and I have 7 children – Harry, Anna, Maria, Laura, Mary Rose, Christine, and Teresa.  The wedding was on Saturday, June 18.  The groom was my son, Harry, and his bride was Kathryn Neill.

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