Patrick’s Corner

I’ve long been thinking about the characteristics belonging to many of my friends and their families when we were growing up.  Some characteristics were expressions from the “auld country,” such as those used by the neighbors who had roots…

by Sean Patrick Eating out was something one just didn’t do in our world. “Why waste good money on food that you can prepare better yourself?” Mama often complained when she looked at the streams of people going toward Leah’s Home Cooking…

St. Columbkille Church had some pretty impressive artwork in the form of wood carving, thanks to Mr. McNeeley, who had been one of the first parishioners. Mr. McNeeley had put a lot of time into carving decorative scrolls on the…

I don’t think anything could have matched the sweet aroma of the steaming hot dog that day, or the tingling warmth on my fingertips as I held the tissue-wrapped bun. I smeared a good-sized gob of yellow mustard on the hot dog, and the…

Like most of my brothers before me, I was destined to be called on for many of the typical “sponsorship” duties we had in our parishes. St. Columbkille Parish was one of the largest and most Irish of the plethora of Catholic church/school…

Nineteen forty-eight was the year our local baseball team, the Cleveland Indians, won the whole thing — the American League pennant and the coveted World Series. The entire city was giddy with excitement during the last weeks of…

It does not take much for my aging mind to return to those memories stored in that part of me I call my “treasure box.” This causes some of my family to give me that “ho-hum!” look and get ready for me to float back in time again. Anyway,…

For those of us who lived through World War II, the words “victory garden” hold a special meaning. This term, along with catchphrases such as “Kilroy was here” and “loose lips sink ships” represent the turmoil and uncertainty that boiled…

I have often wondered why stickball was never considered a sport with Olympic possibilities. In spite of the variety of organized sports my brothers, friends, and l were involved with, stickball was really the great neighborhood pastime,…

Bloke used to brag that he could take any old motor apart and put it back together so that it would still work. Usually he was right. Once in a while he had to admit that he didn’t do what he bragged about, but those times were few and far…