You have already heard that the fifth of May, cinco de mayo, is not as big a holiday in México as it is here in the United States. You have also heard that it is NOT, contrary to popular opinion, Méxican Independence Day, which is actually September 16th, called el 16 de septiembre strangely enough. So what is this holiday all about? There is more to it than Corona and Cuervo (not the best tequila, I might add), that’s for sure. And while it is not so celebrated in Mexico as it is here, it truly IS an important day to remember, but not for the reasons most people think. And all...

It’s pretty easy to attack religious faith. After all, the stories you read in holy books are pretty far fetched. Those books are full of miracles and wonders and basically shit you don’t see on a day to day basis. When was the last time you saw somebody walking on the water, or talking to a burning bush? What makes things even harder to have faith are the holy rolling idiots who seem to think that the only way you can be saved is if you check your brain at the church door. Moreover, those holy books were all written long after any of those events took place. They have been translated...

I love literature. At one time, I wanted to teach literature. I wanted to be a poet, too. Then I noticed that there was a dearth of jobs for poet listed in the want ads. I might have been a professor of literature, however, had I not become addicted to teaching young children. It’s much easier to subvert young minds as opposed to those already set in their ways. One of the things I learned while in university about literature is that poetry doesn’t, and I repeat here, doesn’t mean whatever you want it to mean. The poet had something in mind when he or she wrote the poem. That’s what the...

Today is Palm Sunday.  This week ushers in what Roman Catholics refer to as Holy Week.  Today is a commemoration of the day Jesus came into Jerusalem, a week which would end with his arrest, crucifixion, and death.  It is a week which Christians believe will ultimately lead to his resurrection and new life.  It is also a week which usually coincides with Spring Break.  So, being a teacher, I am on vacation. Today, all over the world, people will process into churches carrying palms fronds. Both the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Matthew describe the manner in which Jesus entered Jerusalem. ...

I’ve had my share of hard times. I guess we all have. And we get through them. But it sure is hard. I remember back to a time when I was a retail store manager. I like to say that because it sounds more impressive than what I really was. I was a dime store manager. There aren’t any dime stores around anymore and I imagine that a lot of you young folks here don’t even know what a dime store is, or was. Dime stores started a very long time ago. They were stores that sold a little bit of everything and everything they sold was pretty cheap…hence, dime store. Everything was under a dime. Of...

I can remember many years ago, lying in my bed in a great deal of pain. I had hurt my back. I had two herniated discs. Now for those of you who don’t know exactly what that means, it means that the gelatinous material that exists between two of my vertebrae had been punctured and was leaking out and making contact with the nerves that run through the center of the spinal column. Chiropractors refer to these as slipped discs, which calls to mind an image, which is somewhat less than accurate. A “slipped disc” makes you think of discs out of alignment. This is not the case. Imagine...

The Chinese have a wonderful story about a stone cutter who worked everyday, cutting stones from a mountain. Each day he would rise early and go to the mountain and begin his work cutting stones. Each evening, as the sun went down, he would drag himself to his poor and humble home, eat his meager meal, and go to sleep, exhausted, until the next morning, when he would rise again to go up on the mountain to cut stones. So sad was he, at his miserable plight, that he cried out loud, “If only I were rich and powerful! I would not be so miserable.” Well, the spirit of the mountain heard his cry,...

I used to live in the mountains. I didn’t live there for very long, but I did live there for awhile. Back around 1961 or 1962, when I was just a wee lad, my parents bought a mountain cabin up in the little mountain town of Wrightwood, California. They had planned to retire there. I actually have memories of going up there with them when they were looking for property. They ended up buying a tine two-bedroom cabin just across the street from where the town began. The town was only two streets. On the first street was a small mom and pop grocery store. The entire store, butcher shop included,...

There is a point in our lives when we are happy. We feel warm and loved, perfectly comfortable and content. We feel accepted and nurtured. Nobody is stepping on our dreams. Nobody criticizes us. Nobody makes us do anything we don’t want to do. We never feel sorrow or sadness or regret. Everything is wonderful all the time. And then we’re born and it all goes to hell. One of the explanations for the Adam and Eve myth involves the atavistic desire to return to womb. There is a strong similarity to the stories. In Eden, we had everything we wanted. We were loved and accepted. There was no sorrow,...

So today is is Wednesday. That’s ASH Wednesday to all good Catholics in the know. Today, everywhere good little Roman Catholics will attend mass and at the proper moment, have a smudge of ash placed on their forehead while the priest mutters, “Remember you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” How’s that for a wake-up call? And on Thursday I will know who doesn’t wash their face everyday by the little splotches of charcoal still adorning the faces smiling before me. I should point out that Catholics are not required to go to mass on Ash Wednesday. It is only suggested....