Fr. Rene’ Laurentin, who studied apparitions of Mary, dies at age 99

Apparitions! An interesting & difficult topic. This is from The Washington Post, so no pay wall. Excerpts below the link. The Faranda family guru, the late Fr. Benedict Groeschel, would appreciate this. Father Laurentin, a French theologian who died Sept. 10 at 99, was perhaps Catholicism’s preeminent scholar of contemporary miracles and Marian apparitions. A … Read more

Frightening level of ignorance about our own U.S. Constitution

Today is the 230th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Many Americans are poorly informed about basic constitutional provisions, according to a new national survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.     The annual Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey finds that: More than half of Americans (53 percent) incorrectly think it is accurate to say … Read more

Lohud review of Croton’s Fratelli’s Trattoria

The new place in "downtown" Croton-on-Hudson. Brigid  & I ate there on a Saturday night a couple of days after it opened. Good food but slow service – which I expect they'll fix, if they haven't already. Here's LoHud's take – Fratelli's Trattoria offers northern Italian cuisine in Croton-on-Hudson The eatery, which he said specializes … Read more

9/11: My friend Tom Knox

I hate today. Below is a posting I first put up in 2006. Tommy should be 46. I knew seven people killed on 9/11. But I only knew one of them real well. I knew Tom Knox ("Tommy") because I coached him for five years at the North Jersey Rugby Club. He was a great … Read more

New Appalachian Trail speed record; crushing the old one(s)

Wow an unsupported "hike" that wiped out both the supported and unsupported records. McConaughy is a former Boston College cross country and track runner. he's in his mid-20's now and averaged 48 miles a day. Joe ‘Stringbean’ McConaughy, a well-known speed hiker, set a new record on the Appalachian Trail today. He hiked the 2,190-mile … Read more