Last week I told you about the heart surgery that was scheduled for Georgette.  Thanks to the prayers from an army of Christians, the surgery was successful and she is slowly recovering.  The surgery was performed at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, by Dr. Hartzell Schaff, a heart surgeon who is considered by many to be the top surgeon in the world for the type of heart surgery Georgette needed to have. We didn’t realize how serious… Read More

On August 4, 1978, I met my wife for the first time.  It was around 5 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and a friend and I had just arrived at a hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana, for a convention that was being sponsored by the Midwest Federation Lebanese Organization.  My friend, Sam Joseph, and I walked into the hotel and Georgette was standing in the lobby visiting with a group of other people.  Sam already knew Georgette and waived to her and walked over… Read More

We’ve covered The Idling Man and The Passion Bridge.  The last critical lesson I believe every Catholic girl must be taught before she is allowed to go out on a date with a boy is: The Two Greatest Desires.  You may have heard of Fr. Clair Bourdereaux.  He was a Franciscan priest who was assigned to Sacred Heart Church in downtown Peoria in 1976.  He remained there for 19 years (until his death in January of 1995). Fr.… Read More

In last week’s article, The Unspoken Invitation, I told you there are 3 lessons I think every Catholic girl must be taught before she is allowed to go out on a date with a boy.  I covered the first lesson last week: The Idling Man.  This week I want to tell you about The Passion Bridge. I met my wife, Georgette, during the summer of 1978 (between my junior and senior year in college).  Even though Georgette was raised in the… Read More

In 1985, I interviewed my grandmother, Cecilia LaHood, for an article I wanted to write about her life.  Her children were planning a big 75th birthday party for her (she was born in 1910), and I wanted to share her life story with everyone who attended the party. While I was interviewing my grandmother, she told me that during the 1930’s when she started having children, most of… Read More