Donald DeMarco

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Great expectations

Great expectations

“All who would win joy, must share it; happiness was born a twin.” -- George Gordon Lord Byron Birth, as it is often said, is a miracle. A baby is born, a living, breathing, honest-to-goodness baby that you can hold in your arms. Just prior to delivery, it was something parents were expecting, but whose reality was still concealed. It was something that was swelling under its mother’s heart. But it was not ... (Continue reading)

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The home run derby and polygamy

The home run derby and polygamy

I am a baseball fan. I appreciate, therefore, the dramatic home run and the superlative play of those privileged individuals who are dubbed All Stars. Naturally, on the night of July 11, I turned my TV channel to the broadcast of the All Star Home Run Derby. But a strange thing happened. Despite the triadic confluence of baseball, home runs, and All Stars, I soon became bored. And so, by the time Robinson Cano and ... (Continue reading)

A time-traveler’s review of feminism

“The Time Travel Society will hold its annual meeting three years ago.” This chronological bit of humor may be viewed as a tribute to H. G. Wells’ fabled time machine.  Nevertheless, we do possess a technology that has much in common with time travel. It is the modern television set, partnered, as it is, with the handheld remote that can carry us, at the touch of a button, from one age to another. Television has converted time into space, an accomplishment ... (Continue reading)

The advantages of being mistaken

I have, on a few occasions, during my career as a pro-life advocate, been mistaken for one who promotes the other side. A TV talk show host invited me to come on her show to neutralize a previous guest of hers who was, to her chagrin, pro-life. A group of pro-abortionists asked me to host a pro-choice taping for them. I have even had the delightful experience of being a target for conversion by a well-known American pro-lifer. I attribute this ... (Continue reading)

Profiles in self-deception

Profiles in self-deception

Abortion requires obfuscation, cannot survive the Truth Ten days after Remembrance Day (November 21, 2010), the Toronto Star, Canada’s highest-circulation newspaper, ran a massive four-page “Insight” feature explaining how an abortionist can reconcile his strong support for “women’s rights” with his personal life. One might imagine a future Remembrance Day when the unborn are remembered and memorialized. Major John McCrae’s celebrated poem could equally apply to the unborn as to ... (Continue reading)

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Cards for life

Cards for life

I am the proud possessor of a Bob Feller autographed baseball card. On reflection, however, my pride should be tempered for two reasons. According to certain knowledgeable collectors, there are more of his cards around sporting his signature than not. Feller, the former Cleveland Indians ace, has been most obliging at innumerable card shows. At 92 years young he has more post-induction years behind him than any other living Hall of ... (Continue reading)

My Chinese fortune

I usually do not put much stock in the message that falls to the table when I crack open my Chinese Fortune Cookie. I fully expect it to be positive, reassuring, and designed not to interfere with my digestion. Nonetheless, my most recent experience with this confectionary was a deviation from the norm and much more philosophical than usual. It read: “To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.” This was not only ... (Continue reading)

The fall of icons

The fall of icons

A writer who practices his art at home does not want to turn his place of residence into a library warehouse. And so, every so often, in order to maintain a dynamic equilibrium between acquisitions and dispersals, he must sift through his material and separate the transitory from the enduring. It is a practice akin to gardening in which one separates the weeds from the perennials.  Some material remains attached to ... (Continue reading)

A tale of two stories

I attended the Catholic Medical Association Conference in Springfield, Ill. that ran Oct. 22-24, 2009 and presented a paper entitled, “Love and Healing.” It was most encouraging to observe the strong and courageous witness for life expressed by well over 300 participants, including many members of the medical profession. Most came away from the conference, I believe, with renewed energy and a firmer resolve to work harder, in this darkening night, for the cause of life. It is impossible to do ... (Continue reading)

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Is cheating self-defeating?

Is cheating self-defeating?

Tiger Woods and his wife were dining in a fashionable Chinese restaurant. When it was time to crack open the fortune cookies, Elin impulsively tore open her husband’s and read the cryptic fortune aloud: “He who drives well on the fairway may not always fare well on the driveway.” “What do you think this means?” she asked in a trembling voice. Her husband did not utter a word, but a grave ... (Continue reading)

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A ‘fish’ with a future

A ‘fish’ with a future

Our son, Paul, was the first of our five children to marry. He and his wife, Fran, wanted to become parents soon after they had become husband and wife. That is to say, as soon as it was proper and reasonable. But children, of course, are not conceived to order. A couple of childless years passed and the hopeful couple began praying in earnest that their marriage would be specially blessed with new life. Then came the happy news that ... (Continue reading)

We should be chanting, ‘Save our sanity’

Donald DeMarco emphasizes the importance of distinguishing what is real and what is nonsense regarding the politicized issues of the day. (Continue reading)

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Tasha made the right choice

Athlete missed '04 Olympics to have child The Beijing Olympiad has passed and left the world images of glory that will last for many years: Michael Phelps' eight gold medals, Jamaica's Usain Bolt setting records in the 100- and 200-metre dashes, the American basketball team gaining "redemption," the dazzling spectacle and gracious hospitality the Chinese provided.... (Continue reading)

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Ubuntu: something our society needs

On June 17, 2008, the Boston Celtics broke their huddle with the chant “ubuntu,” just as they had before every game in their gruelling 116-game season. Then, they calmly walked out onto the parquet court of the New Boston Garden and won their 17th NBA championship, demolishing the Los Angeles Lakers by the eye-popping score of 131-92. It was, in the words of one sports writer, a “parquet Picasso.” Ubuntu ... (Continue reading)

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Reason should not be jettisoned for ideology

Victor Borge tells the story of a friend whom he had not seen in 50 years who asked him, rather excitedly, “Was it you or your brother who passed away?” The captain of a four-engine plane alerted his passengers that one of the engines had conked out. He assured them forthwith that there was nothing to worry about, although flying ... (Continue reading)

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