May 12, 2023 Ireland is a place to see I just spent 10 days vacationing in Ireland, and I have three words of advice for you. Go. Visit. Ireland. I am a somewhat…
January 19, 2023 Am I a curmudgeon like ‘Otto’ or has the movie experience gotten worse Until a few days ago, I had not been to a movie theater since COVID struck. And based on my recent experience, it may…
December 27, 2022 This glee club teacher hit the right notes Great teachers, it seems, are never forgotten. Last week I posted on Facebook a quick story about John R. Vogel, who taught choir for…
December 19, 2022 Could heaven be an eternal vacation or more complicated than that? You will never confuse me as being the guy who has it all figured out. I do spend a lot of time thinking about…
November 23, 2022 Won’t worry about what I don’t know Every once in a while, I marvel at the miracles that occur daily in the life of a human being. Whether you believe that…
October 28, 2022 Life is everything it seems at 70 I’m learning truth at 70 That life is meant for you and me Not only for those who we can see who just look…
October 7, 2022 The local paper, once a part of the community, is now part of the problem Well, I did it. I cancelled my subscription to the South Bend Tribune. With many apologies to my Tribune buddies, mostly to the ones…
July 9, 2022 HIs $40 trick was still worth the price for me The best part about life, to me, is that stuff comes out of nowhere and just happens to you. Then it is up to…
June 27, 2022 Putting up the tent was for my granddaughter … and maybe for me, too. There are times in every father’s life when he wishes he could push back time and do things a little, or a lot, differently….
June 21, 2022 I may be getting old and cranky, but I’m still standing — with Janice Ian So, I decided to watch a few minutes of the Bonnaroo three-day “music” event in Tennessee live on Hulu last weekend. It was a…
April 9, 2022 On tattered underwear and being just good enough Note: Mark originally wrote this story six years ago. Last night, I stood on the stage at Indiana University beside I.U. President Michael McRobbie and…
February 2, 2022 It’s Time to Go Back to the Purcell Center Not that you need my permission, but here it is: You can go back to the Purcell Center to watch basketball. Men’s basketball, or…
December 24, 2021 One small act of kindness can be a start in making a difference Many years ago, the neighborhood kids in Mishawaka’s Windingbrook Park had this huge area to play right next door to us. We called it…
November 23, 2021 Here’s the rest of the story about the basketball Iveys Fifty years ago, Paul Harvey was on the radio five days a week with a program called, “The Rest of the Story.” He would…
November 5, 2021 Enthusiastic Notre Dame visitor gives pause to grumpy host It is really all about perspective My wife, Wendy, and I run an Airbnb, which is like a bed and breakfast without the breakfast. Instead…
September 24, 2021 Occasionally, you need to be a guy I wore my soft-spike golf shoes to class today. It’s OK. I’m the teacher. The Saint Mary’s College students, who are all female and…
September 20, 2021 Thoughts on the afterlife I don’t see a dead body very often. So when I do, I still react. And think. Driving home from vacation, my wife and…
August 31, 2021 A river documentary you shouldn’t miss For all my life I have assumed that the St. Joseph River is just a river. I grew up driving across the river to…
August 21, 2021 My Dad’s Clock And Its Mysterious Bongs So, physics or psychics? It is a question that has been hanging over my head for more than 20 years and just presented itself…
August 15, 2021 The Pooh Power of Really Good Service T “Winnie the Pooh doesn’t know what to do, got a honey jar stuck on his nose.” This article really should be no…
