Category: Essay
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Outdoor Mass in Honor of Fr. Kapaun
Please see my latest freelance assignment! https://www.cathstan.org/local/mass-at-st-jude-church-in-rockville-honors-memory-of-father-emil-kapaun
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Nothing Gold Can Stay
Yesterday, September 24, 2025, my last aunt passed away. I only had three to start with and the last one living, my dad’s baby sister, died yesterday at the age of 88. She was seven years younger than my dad, and she grew up in my hometown. She graduated from high school the year I…
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Not An Anniversary To Look Forward To
How are you feeling right now? Sad. Nostalgic. Brokenhearted. That’s how I feel right now. Today is the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall near my hometown of Port Sulphur, Louisiana. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina lifted my parents’ home off of its foundation and deposited it, broken in half, across the back…
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Jettison Me Back
What TV shows did you watch as a kid? Growing up in the 50s and 60s, we were a one-tv household, which was housed in a large piece of furniture. There was no remote and because we were 60 miles southeast of New Orleans, we only got three channels, the three main networks NBC, CBS,…
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Food of the Gods
What’s your favorite recipe? You might as well ask me who’s my favorite child! Seriously, I cook every day, and of course I have my favorites. My favorites depend on the season. There are things I love making when it is cold out like Carbonnade Flamande, which is the famous Flemish beef stew we ate…
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Michelle, Ma Belle
Where did your name come from? Michelle, ma belleThese are words that go together well (ooh)My Michelle Yeah, I haven’t heard that one, lol. For a while I heard this every time I was introduced to someone whether at work or a social activity. As the old saying goes, if I only had a dollar…
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Teachers: Those Who Can’t Teach? Not On Your Life!
What profession do you admire most and why? Full disclosure, I am a teacher. I taught full time from 2007 to 2020, middle school English and literature. Then covid hit and I sat out (per doctor’s orders) the 2020-2021 school year since I wasn’t old enough for the vaccine yet. A shift in administration created…
Michelle Blanchard Ardillo 