The limbo period between Christmas Day and Jan. 1 is objectively, the most depressing seven days out of the year. I call it the Post-Christmas Blues. How ironic it is that a holiday that is marketed as being a joyous, and beautiful time sometimes brings the most emotional distress. The ...

We were at my brother's residence in San Mateo County, just south of San Francisco -- watching the college football playoffs -- when my sister, who lives in San Francisco's Richmond District, where I was planning on spending the night, texted us to let us know that the power was out in her ...

The Christmas season is a time to reflect on what we have, which includes the kind of society that has made countless blessings possible. The warmth, security and generosity that many Americans experience during the holidays are not accidents or pure gifts of nature. In their tangible sense, ...

The March 2025 ice storm in northeastern Lower Michigan was impactful. Many residents were forced to leave the area until power was restored. Access to properties was hampered for months. Chainsaws and/or generators were started for the first time in years. Past efforts spent in timber or ...

There is a doctrine in Catholicism that not all souls are prepared for heaven at death, and that some must undergo a spiritual purification in a state or location that the Catholic Church calls "Purgatory." There are a number of biblical references that undergird the notion of Purgatory, ...

I was relaxing at a coffee shop recently when up walked Jimmy Knechtel. He grabbed a chair and, frowning, thumped a few things on the table: wallet, keys, vape. “These pants! I just discovered a hole in my pocket. Lost my eyedrops and my pocketknife.” “How was your 2025, Jimmy? I ...