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Clouds of Glory
I once saw a man genuflect in front of St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. He looked skyward, crossed himself, then picked up a half-smoked cigarette—still glowing—from the asphalt and put the butt in his mouth. He was still young, though with a drawn, worn-out look that came from the way he was apparently living. His blonde hair was greasy and his clothes looked heavy with dirt. His state could’ve been put down to any number of causes....
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Fear, Courage, and Late-Found Resolve
A touch of irony was impressed upon me at mass today after the priest read the gospel. The passage was from Matthew, where Jesus asks his disciples who the people are saying that he—Jesus—is, and then after they tell him, goes on to ask who they—the disciples—say that he is. Peter, typically garrulous, steps up to opine....
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Best Laid Plans
One time, I read a comment made by a famous writer about how she indulged in a ritual whenever she straightened up her closet, cleaned out her refrigerator, and the like: “I can’t leave one shoe alone in the corner or one carrot in the drawer by itself; I wouldn’t want to hurt its feelings.” That little bit of anthropomorphization struck me as funny. But then again, while I don’t worry too much about the psyche of mateless tennis shoes or the self-esteem of wilted roots, I have an attachment to plans that I once had—still have, for that matter—despite the time ....
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Kudzu Jesus
“You can't spray Jesus with Roundup.” That might be one of the best things I’ve heard in a long, long time. It was said by Kent Hardison of Kinston, North Carolina, who told the local news of a second thought he had about blasting herbicide over a mass of kudzu vine he saw crawling up a utility pole, then out along either side of the electrical wires attached. The image made....
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Sleight of Hand
As the latest political scandal broke over the past weeks, the same explanations and reflections were trotted out. “It’s never the indiscretion,” they always say, “it’s the cover-up. If you just come clean, people will forgive you; it’s lying about it that does you in.” I don’t know about that. I recall many a public figure that ....
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Current Issue
Issue 72
Memoir by Lauren Winner, Poetry by James Harpur, Art by Guy Chase and Adrian Wiszniewski
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