Columns

Arbery case: 3 men who decided to play God

Ahmaud Arbery is not here, but he heard the verdicts. He knows, in that place where his restless soul resides, that his death has been avenged.

John-Boy, has Christmas Eve become Groundhog Day?

This may get me on Santa’s naughty list, but I honestly can’t remember whether I watched “The Homecoming: A Christmas Story” when CBS first aired it on Dec. 19, 1971.

Bring your stories, hold the complaints

I received a letter from prison the other day. That’s right. Prison – joint, slammer, big house. It never occurred to me that some of my readers might be incarcerated. It has, however, occurred to me, at least based on the email I receive, that some should be.

Infrastructure fails to build Biden popularity

A desperately needed bounce in public acclaim following President Biden’s signing of the $1 trillion infrastructure proposal has yet to materialize, leaving the president wallowing in the low 40% range in job performance approval from a discontented and dispirited nation helpless in the face of...

In search of a patient joker

I don’t know who Mr. Janin was. All I know about him is that he lived in St. Martin Parish in the 1850s, was a practical joker, and was a very patient man. The evidence is in two newspaper reports.

Treat all instances of hatred and bias equally

About a month ago, I was traveling on the subway in Philadelphia when I was attacked by a young African-American male in a hoodie, who was angry that I was filming him after he’d punched me in the head moments before.

A tradition to be thankful for

I love pumpkin pie — but not just any pumpkin pie. It has to be my mother’s pumpkin pie, made with her unique thick and dry crust, and it has to be enjoyed only on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a Purcell family tradition, after all, and tradition is the reason Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday.

Give thanks for our blessings, big and small

Because life is mostly made up of little experiences, occasionally interrupted by big events, it’s easy to take the little things for granted.

How will you mark the 400th anniversary of Thanksgiving?

Last year the media went into a frenzy over the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s arrival in North America, but the festivities were just beginning.

The other miracle of Grand Coteau?

As the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau began the celebration last month of its 200th year of teaching young ladies of south Louisiana, it caused us to think about the remarkable story of how it has survived war, epidemics, and fire to become the oldest school in America west of the...