Being in the presence of persons of fame or in some way a celebrity can make us feel important or a little kind of celebrity ourselves. Thirty years ago I shook hands with Pope John Paul II and I'd say he felt pretty good ...

Maybe you have heard the statement about the two types of people. One group always finishes what they begin and so forth. We love to categorize others and sometimes ourselves. We can excuse or accuse others because they ...

"Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream." This is the opening line of a little ditty which forms what is called a "Round". I assume we all learned how to sing more loudly than any others who were involved in this ...

In a class this week, speaking with first-year students, I asked a young fellow what an adjective was. He was flustered more than a little bit and replied that it was "an action", but then took that back saying "No, a verb ...

Of all things, the duck's "quack-quack" is, for some reason, the only sound that doesn't echo. We have all probably listened to children listening to their own voices bouncing back to their delight. Doing this persistently ...

There was an elderly gentleman in our neighborhood who possessed a Cadillac. He would polish it, check the brightness of the whitewall tires and pat it like a beloved puppy while circling it with affection. The amazing ...

We tend to be incredulous believers about most things. I counted twenty-four different statements a person can make upon hearing some fact or about some happening. "No way!" "No kidding?" "Incredible!" "Who said?" "For ...

An elderly Jesuit Brother related to me about his arriving from Ireland in New York City. He was met by his sister who gave him a key to her apartment with directions. She told him that dinner was waiting including fresh ...

I have decided to not eat anything today until this Glimpse is finished. No, it is not shortly after midnight. I am hungry and so this might be shorter than usual. I would advise the reader to experience a little not-eating ...

There is the old story about the holy monk who on Ash Wednesday decided to hang a huge sausage from his ceiling above his face for mortification during Lent. Each week he would lower the meaty temptation lower and lower. ...