Author Archives: Jim Fair

“For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and … Continue reading →

I’m one of the 100 million or so Americans who watched the presidential debate last night. Like other students of history, I had no illusion that I was watching the Lincoln-Douglas debates.  It was more like two kids on a … Continue reading →

Despite the old joke I tell my kids, I really didn’t walk 25 miles to school in the school, uphill both ways.  I either lived with a mile of school – or took the school bus. Taking the bus wasn’t … Continue reading →

She was one of those little old ladies you see often in our parish:  kneeling, praying the rosary, lace head covering, a look of quiet piety.  Ah, what a devout Catholic. Mass had started, but I was still in the … Continue reading →

I will always stand for the national anthem. Once I didn’t and it was a foolish moment I regret.  Let me explain. College was a chaotic time for me (and our country).  It was the early 1970s, and the protests … Continue reading →

Stories of the sacrifices, holiness and determination of Mother Teresa fill the media this week. People who were blessed to know her and work with her are recounting how she influenced their lives.  We can read the poignant and sometimes … Continue reading →

Long as I remember the rain been comin’ down Clouds of mystery pourin’ confusion on the ground. Good men through the ages tryin’ to find the sun. And I wonder still I wonder who’ll stop the rain. I went down … Continue reading →

We share the same biology, regardless of ideology. Believe me when I say to you, I hope the Russians love their children too — Sting The Cold War threatened the destruction of humanity.  A musician wrote of his love for … Continue reading →

Millions of women have had abortion – some more than one. This isn’t a happy fact.  It is sad, horrible, sinful.  But rather than condemn these women (and the men who were part of their story), we are called to … Continue reading →

Pope Francis hit a raw nerve among transgender advocates this week by suggesting that children should not be taught that they can select their gender. I expect some readers will read that opening sentence a couple times; I don’t know … Continue reading →