Bruce J. Johnson

March Madness is upon us. The NCAA Division One men’s and women’s basketball championships await the frenzy of their respective Final Fours this weekend. All the broken brackets and bad bets hang in the balance and the excitement and unpredictability of the tournament are charged with the competitive spirit of a nation obsessed with the … Read more

Our son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Brianna, are truly kind and generous at sending us videos of Cole and allowing for almost daily periods of facetime with him. If I had a nickel for every time Lois replays a video and remarks, “He makes me laugh,” I would be a rich man, During advent, we … Read more

I was not entirely satisfied with how I ended my Ash Wednesday Lenten blog post. You may recall, I closed with a quote from the Reverend William Sloane Coffin: When you see uncaring people in high places, everybody should be mad as hell. If you lessen your anger at the structures of power, he said, … Read more

Today is March 5, 2025, Ash Wednesday, a holy day that marks the beginning of Lent for most Christians. Ashes symbolize repentance, humility, death and sacrifice, core themes for the forty-day and forty-night Lenten period of preparation for Easter. Forty days is no brief period, especially when they are the days spent by Jesus in … Read more

Last year I celebrated my nineteenth ‘real’ birthday on February twenty-ninth. Yes, I am a leap year baby. In fact, I am a leap year twin, and I have in my office at home in Connecticut a New Haven Register account and a photo of that happy event. My mother often repeated the story about … Read more

Lois and I enjoy watching many of the series on television. They stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney +. Our favorites include a few from PBS, such as Downton Abbey, Poldark, Bridgerton, All Creatures Great and Small; another one is the eighty-nine episodes of Everwood on Amazon Prime, or more recently, the six … Read more

Valentine’s Day: “Ordo Amoris” Statements made by the President at the National Prayer Breakfast are like the proverbial gift that keeps on giving! Trump announced proudly that he had issued an order mandating the establishment of a White House Faith Office. Odd name, White House Faith Office, a misnomer maybe? Who has faith in this … Read more

The Book of Proverbs is traditionally attributed to King Solomon and his students, but in fact, it was a collaborative effort over an extended period, written by some pretty wise folks. In recent weeks, I have shared thoughts about my feeling overwhelmed by our shared ‘metaphorical and existential wilderness.’ However, I have found both solace … Read more

President Donald J. Trump attended the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, February 6, 2025. Some reports and social media post said that he was pretending to be Christian. His address to the dutifully assembled was described by The Daily Beast as “careening.” No surprise! That is what he does best. And one of the leading … Read more

During the Christmas holiday, I received a gift from Trip, my college roommate and best friend. The arrival was a newly minted copy of John Feinstein’s book, The Ancient Eight: College Football’s Ivy League and the Game They Play Today. The book is an enjoyable read. Its pages gave me the opportunity to reminisce about … Read more