By Michael Patrick O’Brien– The old Huntsville Trappist monastery gave the surrounding community a number of unique and special gifts. One gift was the many interesting persons who visited the…

By Gary Topping– Many years ago my son gave me, as a birthday present or something, a copy of Charles Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle, his diary of his five-year…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Spring training is the perfect time to pitch my nominee for best story about George Herman “Babe” Ruth. Almost a century ago, the baseball legend visited…

By Gary Topping– I’ve been a lifelong baseball fan.  As a little kid in the late 1940s I used to listen to the World Series on the radio with my…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– The start of spring training always reminds me that I was not a very good baseball player. In one season as a little league shortstop, balls…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– Although reasonably romantic by nature, I missed what should have been an important landmark in our marriage—our thirty-three and one-third years anniversary. My wife Vicki and…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– The most poignant life moments often are unimaginable or inconceivable until they actually occur. That’s the tagline for one of my favorite college memories—late night Sunday…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– (Editor’s note: In 2023, the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky celebrates its 175th anniversary.) I have many nerdy traits. One is my unusual love for history…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– (Editor’s note: In 2023, the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky celebrates its 175th anniversary.) Like the rest of us, Trappist monks celebrate round number anniversaries with…

By Michael Patrick O’Brien– (Editor’s note: In 2023, the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky celebrates its 175th anniversary.) I understand the concept of being there in person, or in spirit.…