To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called it “as much an experience we live through as a film we watch on screen.” He was referring to Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg’s 1998 epic re-creation of the D-Day invasion of the Normandy coast and the costly days that followed. Spielberg was… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here When the boogeyman goes to sleep at night, he checks under his bed for Chuck Norris. That’s one of hundreds of so-called Chuck Norris “facts” that for the past 20 years have fed a logic-defying cultural phenomenon and Internet craze. In 2005, talk show host Conan O’Brien began to tell jokes… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here A few years ago, two first class passengers on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Seattle made arrangements to travel with a pet. Their “therapeutic companion animal” turned out to be a full-grown pig. Others passengers described the 300-pound hog as “enormous, brown, angry, and honking.” At first he was… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Many of life’s most memorable spiritual moments seem to come out of nowhere. They aren’t planned. They aren’t expected. They catch us off guard. It’s as if a curtain is suddenly pulled back, and we catch a glimpse, for just a fleeting moment, of the reality of the invisible world. And… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Generally the passing of a retired chemical engineer wouldn’t make a dent in the national news cycle. But Harrison Ruffin Tyler, who died May 25, was no ordinary citizen. He was the last surviving grandson of John Tyler. Yes, that John Tyler – the man who became America’s 10th president 184… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here New York City has always been a harrowing place to live. During the 1850s – a long time before the arrival of subways and skyscrapers – the city was deeply unsettled. As depicted in Martin Scorsese’s 2002 feature film Gangs of New York, the streets roiled with conflicts between rich and… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Tom Toro draws cartoons for The New Yorker magazine, long considered the ultimate cartoonists’ showcase. His work springs from his humorous observations concerning the challenges of everyday life, as evidenced by the panel above. But it took a while before he hit the big time. The New Yorker accepted his… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Winston Churchill loved dinner parties. The World War II-era British Prime Minister savored hearty entrees, tasty desserts, endless rounds of brandy and champagne, and imported Cuban cigars. What Churchill most enjoyed, however, was the chance to sit for extended periods with friends and foes alike. In her book Dinner with Churchill,… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Some people just have a way with words. That includes Muhammad Ali, whose wit, wisdom, and sheer audacity place him near the top of any list of the most “quotable people” in the English language. There wasn’t much in his childhood to presage such fame. Ali, who was born Cassius Clay,… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here It’s hard to overstate the eagerness of many underage men to join America’s armed forces in World War II. Calvin Graham was one of them. In August 1942 he walked into a recruiting station in Fort Worth, Texas. The recruiting officer had a pretty good idea Calvin was too young to… Read more »
