Stepinac teacher who was there when I was there – is still there!

I never had Mr. Larkin, but I do remember him. This was his 50th year at Stepinac. Two very nice articles about him, especially the second one, which includes a video. A church-bombing in Birmingham, Ala., killed four African-American girls. The Beatles made their first appearance on U.S. television. “My Favorite Martian” premiered on CBS. … Read more

Andrew Greeley

The Catholic priest author. Dead at 85. He'd been ill for awhile – had a fall getting out of a taxi and never fully recovered. A self-described "loud-mouthed Irish priest" ("And may they carve it on my gravestone!" he once quipped), the Rev. Andrew M. Greeley rejected a conventional definition of his vocation. Yes, he … Read more

Tim, on a Javelin Quest the next two days

Tomorrow Tim will be in the Varsity CHSAA (Catholic HS Athletic Association) Intersectional meet, which is all the Catholic high schools in the metropolitan area, including Long Island. Two weeks ago he won the sophomore intersectionals with consecutive PR throws, the last one being 145’7″. He had the three longest throws in the meet. The … Read more

The 80 year old who just climbed Mt. Everest

Pretty amazing. I won't be trying it. The record may not stand long, since an 81 year old is trying to summit. Eighty-year-old Yuichiro Miura became the oldest person to climb Mount Everest on Thursday, reaching the summit just four months after undergoing heart surgery for an arrhythmia. Here's a little bio about Mr. Miura … Read more

Adopt a child and you’re in the IRS crosshairs

69% of families claiming the adoption tax credit in 2011 (2012 tax filing season) were audited. So Congress implemented a tax credit to facilitate adoption – a process that is so extraordinarily expensive that it is out of reach for many middle-class families — and the IRS responded by implementing an audit campaign that delayed … Read more

Not a lion hunter; that’s Tim with his javelin

At the Westchester County Championships, where he came 5th, with a best throw of 142′, the best among county sophomores. He’s now ranked #5 in the state among high school sophomores and #19 overall. The big varsity Catholic HS intersectionals are this Sunday, and Tim would dearly love to go over 150′, which would qualify … Read more

USA Today: IRS approved liberal groups, stonewalled conservatives.

In yesterday's paper. IRS approved liberal groups while Tea Party in limbo In February 2010, the Champaign Tea Party in Illinois received approval of its tax-exempt status from the IRS in 90 days, no questions asked. That was the month before the Internal Revenue Service started singling out Tea Party groups for special treatment. There … Read more