Tag: friendship

“Oh, Wow.” A Benediction for Ed McClanahan

Immortality might not last forever. But I contend that Ed will—through his words and through the lives of those he touched with his generosity and his grace. All of which leads, to a simple blessing, a benediction. “Oh, wow.”

Remembered Relationships: A Review of John Berryman and Robert Giroux: A...

As the late historian John Lukacs would insist, all stories as we know them and retell them are remembered. This means they are, inherently, personal. John Berryman and Robert Giroux: A Publishing Friendship is no exception.

Sparking Little Platoons

When I became a Washington, D.C. newsroom intern, Twitter usage was mandatory (primarily so that we could help run the magazine’s Twitter account). I...

The Theological Need for Mediation: Considerations from Alexis de Tocqueville

During a class I was teaching at our parish last fall, a woman pulled me aside afterwards to ask a question. The woman was...

What Aristotle Says about Christmas

My piece at Ethika Politika: Aristotle's Key to Christmas

Living with Former Friends

“Surely he should keep a remembrance of their former intimacy…” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Sometimes it feels like Aristotle foresaw all the vicissitudes of my life....

Auld Lame Side

This is what we all need now: a deep belly-laugh.

Now Let Us Raze Famous Men

He was looking at me with what appeared to be some degree of disbelief.

On Being a Worthy Heir of the Agrarian Contrarians

But, as Shakespeare wrote, we sometimes “by indirections find directions out.”

Dear Friends . . . or Maybe Not!

Several times lately I’ve opened my email and found notices about people who want to friend me, but I don’t think that means they...