David McGrath: At Easter, I celebrate the godliness I see in many people
Not till our first child was born did I start thinking seriously about Easter. Michael's was a posterior birth, meaning that he emerged face up, resulting in a lot of...
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David McGrath: Defying the Ancestry.com test: Eight authentic ways of knowing you’re Irish
Though it has taken nearly a year, a resolution is finally within reach after last year's shocking news that my birth family is not Irish. Readers may recall my op-ed...
McGrath: DeSantis’ efforts to erase history of slavery fans flames of divisiveness by censoring truth
If only Florida's governor Ron DeSantis would watch the classic TV series "Roots," he might gain the insight his Ivy League education failed, somehow, to convey. Based on Alex Haley's...
McGrath: Obsession with Hull’s athletic prowess lasted a lifetime despite learning his hero had flaws
I may owe my livelihood to Bobby Hull, one of the greatest players in NHL history who died Jan. 30 at age 84. I was 14 when my father followed...
David McGrath: This Valentine’s Day, I am surprising my wife with ‘the kiss’
Last Valentine's Day, Marianne told me I am not romantic anymore. "Not true," I said. "I was never romantic." "Ha, ha," she said, rolling her eyes. She got me thinking,...
McGrath: My romantic gestures might be few and far between but when I do them, they’re the real thing
Last Valentine's Day, Marianne told me I am not romantic anymore. "Not true," I said. "I was never romantic." "Ha, ha," she said, rolling her eyes. She got me thinking,...
David McGrath: How teachers can defeat ChatGPT-using students
An administrator at the college where I was teaching English called to say a lawsuit had been filed against the school by a student with hearing loss, alleging I violated...
David McGrath: Give me old things for the new year. Bring back paper maps and pay phones.
Unlike many of my boomer brethren, I do not yearn for the good old days. Instead, I embrace change and shed no tears for the disappearance of manual typewriters, four-barrel...
David McGrath: A Gulf Coast Christmas vacation didn’t go quite as planned. But I’ve kept my promise.
Marianne and I had been married 25 years when I had a brainstorm: As a family Christmas gift to ourselves, why not a tropical vacation in Gulf Shores, Alabama? In...
David McGrath: Grateful people are happier. In that spirit, here is my Thanksgiving list.
In his book "Music of Silence," Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast writes: "Look closely and you will find that people are happy because they are grateful. The opposite of gratefulness is...