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Evolving America needs something to celebrate

What are we celebrating this weekend, anyway? The memory of something that occurred in our distant past. The ideas of freedom and liberty so earnestly and dramatically expounded by our founding patriots that seem so distant now. Long ago and far away. We ooh and ahh to the fireworks displays, spend extravagantly on our own fireworks, watch or march in the parade, party and barbeque, fly Old Glory — happily taking a Friday off from work. As long as everything is normal in our own world. But not every American, or hopeful American-to-be, is included in this “normal” America. ...

Beneath our Norway maple – vandals and thieves

It’s garden season. All the trees, bushes and pretty flowers in my backyard look so innocent. But I have learned – the hard way – that they are out to get me. They are a well-organized crime family, with covert agents working behind the scenes. I’m out there constantly, hoping to survive the daily threat. Let’s start with the killer weeds. They hide under the flowers until they are big enough to break through on their own. I have to bend over, like an open safety pin, to tug, twist, and yank at their stubborn roots. Some tap roots are so entrenched, they are embedded among ...

Even loyal Catholics struggle in scandal

A recent commentary in The Buffalo News caught my attention because it summed up the feelings of many Catholics in the Diocese of Buffalo who have endured the sexual abuse scandal and coverup that resulted in more than 900 verified abuse claims against priests of the diocese. During this unsettling period some Catholics like the commentary writer sought alternatives to the Catholic Church. She, and others returned to the Catholic Church only to face the closure or merger of parishes that had been the center of their spiritual lives. Catholics were told the closures were due to the ...

No easy road to U.S. independence

As the year grows closer to July of 2026 and we recognize that we have remained a country of democracy and freedom from the oppression of an intolerant king, we can reflect on the events that led to our declaring independence from England in 1776. For several years prior to our signed affidavit that was taken to England demanding our freedom from the British Empire, the fires grew brighter, and the heat from that flame started a collective anger amongst many in the American colonies. The overtaxation, the seizing of property by the crown and even the enslavement of men on the high ...

Boat Cruise Under The Bridge

They say that about 90% of an iceberg you don’t see - it is underwater. The same thing might be said for a bridge. Most of it is underneath the bridge surface. What you drive on which is visible to the eye, is just its surface...a lot is going on underneath to support the pavement you are driving on. Thus, it was with some interest the other day, that we took a boat ride with some friends under the Chautauqua Lake Bridge to see what was going on. What we found is that you couldn’t see much of the reconstruction work because a huge shroud is now draped over much of the ...

What made the USA great

I loved the Fourth. I mean, as an 11-year-old back in those halcyon days of the ‘50’s, who wouldn’t have? Up in the morn, gobbling down Corn Flakes, running down Skinner to the park, joining the guys and excitedly heading up the street to take in the parade. We settled down on the corner of Main and Mary, reveling at the beauty of the drum majorettes leading the high school band resplendent in purple and white uniforms. Then came amarchin the Military Band in its gray wool “unies” in the 90-degree heat, followed by floats, fire trucks, other marching groups and, our ...