By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Science says the moon causes only the tides, but legend and lore blame it for werewolf howling, vampire activity, and various other forms of earthly madness.…
Posts published by “mobrien@joneswaldo.com”
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– The Trappist monks from Utah’s Our Lady of the Holy Trinity Abbey had a remarkable ability to find common ground with others. They did with their…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– “I drink beer whenever I can lay my hands on any. I love beer, and, by that very fact, the world.” (Thomas Merton, “Is The World…
By Gary Topping– Sometimes I think I’ve learned almost as much about the historian’s craft from simply imitating historians I admire as from formal academic coursework. This “monkey see, monkey…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– I am learning, somewhat reluctantly, that there is tremendous value in the next best thing, especially if it helps me live in the now moment. As…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– The most wonderful thing happens about once a month during Mass at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. A medium-sized black dog stands…
By Gary Topping– Last week a historian friend told me of a girl who wanted to major in history at his college, but who did not like to read, and…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– I trained, before my 2018 trip to France, about how not to be just another ugly American in Paris. For example, I tried to learn more…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– I have a love/hate relationship with the name Kevin. My father was called Kevin. I knew little about him, and understood even less. He skipped out…
By Michael Patrick O’Brien– You’ll have a deep, and maybe unwanted, insight into the odd workings of my mind knowing that the two most vivid memories of my boyhood home…