Have you ever considered how frequently you complain?  If you are like most people, hardly a day passes without the utterance of some form of complaint.  For some people, conversation would virtually cease, but for the expression of any of a litany of their personal complaints.

Very early in life, humans learn to complain in order [...]

An “elephant in the middle of a room” is an English idiom for a subject on the minds of those at a gathering which remains unspoken, usually out of consideration or for the convenience of one or more of those present.  The phrase implies that the subject is one that should be addressed, but is [...]

In December of 1995, my brother Anthony and his fiancé Palma asked me to be the best man at their wedding.  As Anthony had lost his first wife in July of the previous year, this was to be his second marriage.

A meeting was arranged for Palma’s family and ours, at the home of Robert, Anthony’s son; [...]

Up in the Air, the latest George Clooney film currently showing in theaters, is contemporary, deeply introspective, and at its bottom-most line, highly disturbing.  If you don’t like a mirror being held up to your life, I’d suggest you skip this flick as well as this article — which is not a review of the [...]

Why is one of the first words we learn to say after “Mama” and “Dada.”   The very essence of the word is the core of the human existence.  As flawed human beings, we seek reasons for the flaws as well as everything else that colors our world, both personal and in the greater scheme of things.  Why? [...]

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’” (Gospel of Saint Matthew)
  
We have all, during [...]

Marked by a somewhat dysfunctional childhood, my father was a pretty stoic fellow.  As the son of an alcoholic who died in an accident, and one of the oldest in a large family, my dad was compelled to look after his younger siblings. This responsibility left him little time to pursue his own career aspirations.  When [...]

“Great oaks from little acorns grow” is an adage that has been used by many writers and is traced to the time of ancient Rome.  It represents a universal truth that is both clear and useful if applied to life.
 
Great people, quite obviously, begin as small children.  Likewise, great successes often develop from small enterprises.  [...]

“The everyday kindnesses of the back roads make up for the acts of greed in the headlines.”  (Charles Kuralt)
 
Because the world has become so hectic and self-absorbed, small acts of kindness can have monumental impact.  Unexpected and asking no reward, the acts themselves are their own compensation, for they leave the recipients feeling valued and [...]

December 26th.  The Feast of the 7 Fishes is a memory, Santa has returned to the North Pole, and you are feeling as if you just finished ten rounds with the heavyweight champion of the world.  Do you feel at a loss when someone asks, “What did you get for Christmas?”  “Was it something you [...]