Recently, my Human Development class arrived at the logical conclusion of the lifespan: death. Fitting that it comes last and we get to contemplate the finality of existence just before taking the final exam and parting ways forever. I don’t teach any higher-level courses at this school and so our association is ended here. It… Read more »
With modern technology and communication systems, we are bombarded 24/7 with images of tragedies and disasters. Some people I know refuse to watch the news because “real time” footage of natural disasters, wars, and people struggling to survive is too much to “take in.” They believe it is harmful to their immune system. With instant… Read more »
My Memorial Day weekend began with watching Neil de Grasse Tyson gush as he interviewed Richard Dawkins (2015) on Star Talk TV over whether God and Science are compatible or illogical. De Grasse Tyson also had a Jesuit Catholic priest, Father James Martin, who was a scientist by training, and comedian Eugene Mirman on his… Read more »
Agency power withdrawal. Americans are increasingly enraptured with the right to die movement. Kevorkian did his time for assisting suicides, and we overwhelmingly think his actions were righteous. More recently, a brain cancer patient elected suicide after her wedding. That term, no fewer than a dozen of my students did tearful presentations on her case…. Read more »
Last week, my husband’s daughter was forced to face a number of truths she never expected to learn. Her best friend, Chris, was killed tragically when a young driver in an SUV accidentally backed over him while he was riding his wheelchair on the sidewalk near a restaurant. The young driver did not even know… Read more »
Last week a strange thing happened on Facebook. I had a request for a friend to be tagged on an old picture in Facebook. I knew this friend was not on my list of friends, and had not been on Facebook for a long time. I had called but her number was out of order…. Read more »
Autism and small babies were never considered before creating the weekly practice of sitting quietly to pray in church. You can tell today, Palm Sunday, is one of the year’s longest by the volume and activity level of children under the age of five as the time exceeds the one hour mark. I sat in… Read more »
My husband told me a story of a girl he spoke to in a chatroom. He was in Ireland and she was in America. She was 15 and very upset about her parent’s divorce. While chatting, she disclosed she was going to end her life. My husband, being a big-hearted sort of person, did not… Read more »
Listening to the Gospel Sunday was a difficult experience. I had an adolescent girl on hormones. Concentration was made more challenging when my pubescent daughter began crying because her socks did not match her dress. Unlike Jesus, my daughter does not wear white, as it becomes an invitation for her clothes to be used as… Read more »
Just in case you value such things, spoiler alert. Although what I have to say shouldn’t actually come as much of a surprise. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is an end-of-the-world movie in which the world actually ends. There are actually a number of complicated love stories in this romantic comedy… Read more »
