Atheism: Arriving the Long Way Takes a Lifetime

Dick McKenna’s had lost his faith. All the guys were talking about it. He’d even been to the rectory to talk to Fr. Jerry. Kids in eighth grade didn’t lose their faith. Not at Sacred Heart Elementary School, where Benedictine nuns taught. Yet Dick had lost his, and at the time, I was sure his…

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Humanism, A Simple Pathway to Follow

Humanists were the bad guys while I was in college. I graduated from St. John’s University in 1961, and throughout my (MN) four years as an undergrad, humanists were the adversary. Godless. Arrogant. Self-centered. A haven for atheists. They were a threat to Christianity. Nobody knew how to be Christian better than Catholics. Nobody knew…

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Catholicism Asks A Lot, Especially When You Are Young

Growing up Catholic was tough. Maybe not so much today, but in the middle of the twentieth century it was. You’re a kid. You don’t know any better. Lots of rules. Lots and lots of stories from the Old Testament and the New. It’s what your parents and other adults believe. It must be real.…

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Regional Premier: “Levittown” Opens Feb. 21.

Levittown by Marc Palmeiri “You won’t stop watching for a second,” Critic Neil Genzlinger. New York Times. Levittown was first presented opening in New York City in 2006 by the Axis Company. It was a New York Times Critic’s Pick. It was also selected by Backstage as a “Critic’s Pick” in 2009 at The Theatre at…

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Survival in an Indifferent Universe

#cancer #grief #disaster #god #tragedy My  mother, my sister-in-law, my best friend, and my ex-wife died of cancer. Universe Cancer is evil. Like anything else, it wants to thrive. Growth, normally, is regarded as a good. Cancer is uncontrolled growth. It thrives by destroying the cells that support life, love, and thought. Nothing continues to…

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Anesthesia Recovery Often Stressful

#anesthesia #oxycodone #overdose Anesthesia for major surgery is awesome stuff. Researchers are not entirely sure how it works. Scientific American had the best article I could find. It is worth a read. One thing is sure, anesthesia for major surgery works. The stuff puts you under big time. It’s not like sleep, Hamlet. There is…

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Poet Robert Lax – Michael N. McGregor’s Powerful Biography

Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax by Michael N. McGregor is a powerful biography of a poet who only recently has been recognized for his contributions to the evolution of contemporary poetry. The book succeeds on several levels. Lax was born to immigrant parents in Olean, New York in 1915. The middle class…

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Coronary Bypass Surgery Commonplace and Life Extending for Many.

#bypasssurgery #coronary #openheart Coronary bypass surgery has been around for more than 50 years. Yet to the patient, most of whom experience the procedure only once, undergoing the operation can give rise to anxiety. The survival rate is actually very high. Less than 5 percent mortality in the first thirty days and less than 8…

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Widow Maker — The Left Main Coronary Artery

I have had high cholesterol all my life – stratospheric – in the mid-300 range. I also can not tolerate statins. Lipitor, Mevacor, Crestor, Zetia, etc. I tried them all. At one point, I signed up with the lipid clinic. Under a doctor’s direction, I started taking massive dosages of statins. My cholesterol totals were…

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