I’m a fervent believer that the eye test and the “I” test should supercede any and all written articles or testimonies on just about any subject. What I’ve experienced personally shapes my opinions first and foremost; short of that, if two or more otherwise disconnected people who have had their own personal experience with someone … Read more
It’s been pretty difficult in recent days for me to find something worth smiling about. I’m sorry, but I simply cannot take anything resembling a victory lap about how things went this past weekend. A few thousand neighborhood pep rallies with absolutely no impact on policy or the targets they creatively derided, or the fact … Read more
Another Father’s Day, which for me is now the tenth that is being observed without my participation. And it’s doubly depressing for me since my father’s last cognizant breaths were taken on the last Father’s Day he was technically alive in 2014. While in a rehab center recovering from a second surgery in two months, … Read more
For those of you who have been fortunate enough to have secured a position in your chosen field within the last five years and change (a list regular readers are probably aware doesn’t include moi), show of hands, please? How many of you will testify and swear on a stack of bibles that the reason … Read more
My dad come home one night when I first started high school in an atypically upbeat mood. Apparently he had had a private moment with his union shop steward who he would occasionally tag along with to bust bars for illegally serving minors alcohol and his colleague told him that they had been in meetings … Read more
For me, ever since 1992 Mother’s Day has been Mourners’ Day. My mom passed a mere three weekends after the last time I was able to speak to her and actually wish her well. Not that she always merited such feelings; in a nutshell, we had a complicated relationship and she had a particularly unsatisfying … Read more
MEMO TO: HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV FR: STEVE LEBLANG, MEDIA CONSULTANT/NERVOUS JEW RE: ONE OF A FEW MILLION REQUESTS FOR HELP Your Holiness, Years ago you served the city of Chicago as a respected Cardinal during a trying era–after all, your tenure began after Michael Jordan played his last game for the Bulls. Now, … Read more
His name is Maurizo Grazzi, and I suppose I owe him a sincere apology. My bad, good sir. It’s the end of a month, and as regular readers of these musings pro’ly know by now, I tend to get a bit surlier than usual ’round these times. Something about when one’s net worth drops to … Read more
I’m hardly the most distraught person on Earth today in the wake of yesterday’s death of Pope Francis. I never saw the man in person; in fact, I’ve never seen any leader of the Church in person to date. When John Paul II embarked on his groundbreaking U.S. tour shortly after he ascended to what … Read more
Passover began last night for those who celebrate with a festive meal of storytelling and imbibing called a Seder. For decades, the list of those celebrated included me. That wasn’t the case last night, nor has it been since this decade began. You see, a Passover Seder is traditionally a ceremony celebrated in a family … Read more