The Local Barber
I recently visited a barber in my Virginian hometown whom I had not patronized in more than a year (I’d taken to getting my...
Happy 60th, Bill Kauffman
". . . among the keenest minds in contemporary American letters." ---Allan Carlson
Last Rites for Local Parishes: On the Decline of Catholic Chicago
A church that prides itself on its universality—its catholicity—has served as a seedbed for hundreds of parishes divided along ethnic lines.
The Temptation of Minimalism and Excess: A Simple Home in an...
In the discussion of minimalism, I want to suggest it’s less about what’s in your home than what your home is used for. It’s not what you don’t have in your home, but the people you do. It’s not the values you say you believe, but your disposition towards your neighbor and to things.
The Foreign Mystique
If we learn about ourselves and our homes through travel, we don’t just become better “citizens of the world”—we can become more conscious and thoughtful citizens of our own places.
Fore-Deck as Front Porch
Where do the porchers from across the Pond go to escape the entrapment of a modern, concrete, urban sprawl?
Root, Root, Root for the Home Team
While the nationalization of sports media outlets brings games and analysis to every living room in America, fan culture retains a very distinct regional and local flavor.
Haunted by Grace, a little East of Eden: A Literary Apologetic
Like the Macleans, we are listening for those inaudible, but not imperceptible, words underneath the rocks in the river that runs through our own lives.
Florida Man Turns Out to be a Good Neighbor
“Florida man” is the source of many ridiculous headlines. So many that now there is a “game” you can play by typing your birthday...
Still Singin’
That this country boasts something called “The Great American Songbook” is one of the best jokes around. The Great American Songbook? Our songs—let alone...