I’m back

Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”

I’ve taken a couple of months off from writing my blog. I don’t know whether the reason is thatI’ve been busy with visa and citizenship applications, the weather, writer’s block or a combination of the three. But now I’m back.

The 17th of this month is St. Patrick’s Day and I wanted to recognize the countless Irish immigrants who came to America. They were discriminated upon, but they persevered and many of them and their descendants made important contributions to this Country. Probably the most outstanding example isJohn F. Kennedy the 35th President of the United States and first Catholic President.

My wife Mary tells the story of her mother Catherine and how excited she was about his candidacy.They were Lutherans and Lutherans because of religious doctrine were suspicious of Catholicism.One Sunday prior to election day, her mother, brother and she were in church and the minister admonished the congregation to not vote for Kennedy because he was Catholic. Catherine motioned to the kids to get up and she marched them out of the church. Catherine, a daughter of Swedish immigrants, could not tolerate religious or any other kind of discrimination. We need more people like her in this world we live in today.

P.S. I loved Jack Nicholson in “The Shining”