I first heard about the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (TRPL) a year or so ago, when I stumbled upon a post on social media describing the status of the library’s construction in Medora, North Dakota. That post said that the library was scheduled to open on July 4, 2026 (the 250th anniversary of America).
My wife and I had talked about visiting this country’s presidential libraries, and I was looking for ideas as to where to go on our 2026 road trip. I was born and raised in North...
This post is a book review of Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith by JD Vance (2026). I was attracted to the book because 1) I like JD Vance politically, and 2) I am always interested in “Catholic conversion” stories. What leads a person to choose to go through all the work (e.g. the RCIA/OCIA process) to become a Catholic – to convert from what they were? JD Vance, from an evangelical background, was baptized into the Catholic faith in mid-August of 2019.
Note: Throughout this review,...
It tis the season where tomatoes are often ripening in the garden faster than they can be eaten or given away. In such times, I often make my “Smoky Tomato Soup” (which can be frozen and eaten throughout the winter). I also often make a batch or two at the end of the season when the last of the tomatoes are removed to ripen inside.
I will warn you, while the recipe is simple, it is also messy and labor-intensive. I just made a batch yesterday and it took me about three hours from the first...
My Cousins
I just finished tallying up how many cousins I have/had. The number was much larger than I expected – 38, 20 on my mother’s side and 18 on my father’s side. As the oldest child of two oldest children, I was born (1948) before most of my cousins. Cousin Nancy was one of the few exceptions, along with cousins Marilyn, Joanne, and Cara (maybe). Cousin Lee was born a month later than me.
My Senger Cousins
I grew up in North Dakota around the Sengers (my mother’s siblings). Uncle John’s...
This is part two of a two-part book review of Buffalo Bill and the Mormons, by Brent M. Rogers (2024).
In Part 1, I concentrated on Rogers’ depiction of Buffalo Bill. In this part of the review, I will examine Rogers’ depiction of the Mormon church and the anti-Mormonism that was rampant during Buffalo Bill’s early years as an actor and impresario. I will then review how that anti-Mormonism was mollified after the polygamy issues with the federal government were resolved – as Cody’s interest...
This is part one of a two-part book review of Buffalo Bill and the Mormons, by Brent M. Rogers (2024).
Rogers’ book caught my attention as I was wandering through my local library recently because the book’s title included two things that I was interested in, Buffalo Bill and Mormons.
As for “Buffalo Bill,” my wife and I were preparing for our 2026 road trip through buffalo country. We would be spending some time near Medora, North Dakota – where former president Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt...
This post is a review of The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer’s Block, and the Creative Brain, by Alice W. Flaherty (2004). I am not sure how the book arrived in my library queue a week or so ago. When I picked up the book at the library, I assumed that it had been a recent purchase – with a recent copyright date – reserved recently from my library’s list of new purchases (i.e., Wowbrary).
When I was almost through with the book, I noticed that the book had been written way back...
This is a review of American Pontiff: Pope Leo XIV and His Plan to Heal the Church by Paul Kengor, Ph.D. (2026). The book actually covers two popes, with much of the book spent analyzing the pontificate (2013-2025) of Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio).
I first wrote about Pope Francis in my book A Catholic Prays Scripture (Volume 4): concerning God’s “word” and the “future.” In Chapter 6 (Your “Future” Prayer), I wrote about Pope Francis’ love for a book entitled The Betrothed by Alessandro...
This is the third in a series of three posts on Nebraska government and politics. The first post (June 21, 2026) concerned Nebraska’s unicameral legislature. The second post concerned a Nebraska political phenomenon known as the “blue dot.” This post will concern how the blue dot impacted the May 12, 2026, primary election in Nebraska.
My Favorite Primary Ad
The political ad that ultimately prompted this post caught my attention when I pulled it out of my mailbox. I DID see a clear difference...
Nebraska’s “blue dot” has received a lot of attention during recent presidential elections – more than you might expect for one lousy vote. Let’s start with some basics.
The Electoral College
Per the constitution, the electoral college assembles every four years to elect the president of the United States – to translate the popular vote in each state into that state’s vote – and then to accumulate those state votes to pick the president of the union. Each state is given two votes (one per...
Politically speaking, we are between seasons in Nebraska. The May 10th primary election has been held and the November general election is several months away. So, I thought I would spend a little time now writing about Nebraska government and politics. This is the first of three planned posts on these topics.
Nebraska is traditionally a Republican state. The current governor (Jim Pillen), two senators (Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer), and three congressmen (Mike Flood, Don Bacon, and Adam...
This post is the fifth and last post in a series concerning parables. For the most part, these posts contained excerpts from the third chapter (A Parable Prayer) of my book A Catholic Prays Scripture – Volume 4: concerning God’s “word” and the “future.” The first post in this series was posted on May 17, 2026.
Hopefully you learned a few things from the first two posts and found some humor in the parables of sausage and golf.
Most of the chapters in my A Catholic Prays Scripture series start...
This post is the fourth post concerning parables. For the most part, these posts contain excerpts from the third chapter (A Parable Prayer) in my book A Catholic Prays Scripture – Volume 4: concerning God’s “word” and the “future.” The first post in this series was posted on May 17, 2026.
An Observation
Before I get into my parables about golf, I want to note an observation that I made during my study of the New Testament. My observation was that, considering how frequently Jesus used parables...
This post is the third post, in a series of five concerning parables. For the most part, these posts contain excerpts from the third chapter (A Parable Prayer) in my book A Catholic Prays Scripture – Volume 4: concerning God’s “word” and the “future.” The first post in this series was posted on May 17, 2026.
My Assignment
Write a modern-day parable about the Kingdom of God. Begin it simply with the words "The Kingdom of God is like . . . (Before you write, recall what a parable is; why it is...
This post is the second in a series of five, concerning the parables, that I intend to release within the next month. For the most part, these posts are excerpts from the third chapter (A Parable Prayer) in my book A Catholic Prays Scripture – Volume 4: concerning God’s “word” and the “future.” The first post in this series was posted on May 17, 2026.
In my previous post, I noted that parables contain a story element, but I did not address whether the stories are “true” or “fiction.” All of...
This post is the first in a series of five, concerning the parables, that I intend to release during the next month or so. For the most part, these posts will be excerpts from the third chapter (A Parable Prayer) in my book A Catholic Prays Scripture – Volume 4: concerning God’s “word” and the “future.”
Most of the material in the above-mentioned chapter (and this post) came about while I was attending the second year of the Archdiocese of Omaha Catholic Biblical School. During the first year...
This is a review of The Human Brain Book: A Visual Guide to Structure and Function by Rita Carter (2026, fourth American Edition). Carter is a science and medical writer who has twice been awarded the Medical Journalists Association prize for outstanding contribution to medical journalism.
This book review is a bit different for me in that it is a review of a book that might best be categorized as a “coffee-table” book. It weighs 3.2 pounds, which coincidentally is the weight of an average...
This is a book review of Rory Land: The Up-and-Down World of Golf’s Global Icon, by Timothy M. Gay (2025). The book is a biography of golfer Rory McIlroy, with an emphasis on “rounds of golf.”
I reserved this library book months ago, but the waiting list was long, and I didn’t get my first look at the book until the start of the 2026 Masters. In fact, I was only about eighty pages into Gay’s book when this year’s Masters play began on April 9th.
Note: Gay’s 428-page book does not contain an...
This is a book review of Make him a Sandwich: Why Real Women Don’t Need Fake Feminism, by Candace Owens (2025).
I first saw Candace Owens on Fox News, doing segments for Tucker Carlson. One of those segments indirectly led to the title of this book. On March 15, 2021, she was asked by Tucker to comment on a Grammy performance by a rapper named Cardi B. In her comments, Candace stated that Cardi B’s performance was “a lesbian sex scene being simulated on television.” She added, “This is not...
Omaha’s new Central Public Library opens to the public later today. It is conveniently located in the “Crossroads” area of Omaha, at the intersections of 72nd and Dodge Streets. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. The new building at 96,000 to 102,000 square-feet (sources vary) was built at a cost of around $158 million, $20 million from the city, and the rest from the private sector, including Heritage Omaha (the “city fathers,” including some early and fortunate “Warren...