Sean Patrick

You can take the boy out of the neighborhood, but you can’t take the neighborhood out of the boy. After high school, I followed in the footsteps of my brother Tommy and entered the Navy, and my first assignment was on a destroyer headed to…

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…

by Sean Patrick I was looking over Danny’s shoulder into the Fanny Farmer Choice Candies box where Mama kept the tiny items that meant something special to her. There, hard as a rock and with only the barest hint of color on the tip of one…

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…

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,…