David McGrath – Page 13

U.S. soldiers stand Jan. 13 amid damage at a site of Iranian bombing at Ain al-Asad air base, in Anbar, Iraq.

Column: A solution for wrongheaded decision making

January 22, 2020 at 10:42 a.m.

One of my duties as a teacher at Chicago Vocational High School was to help with security at the bus stop at the end of the school day. We'd station...

A scene capturing singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in the 1970s from the documentary "Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story By Martin Scorsese," which columnist David McGrath says was his favorite film of 2019.

McGrath: ‘Hey, Grampy’ and my other favorite parts of quickly-fading year that was

January 10, 2020 at 4:28 p.m.

It was not until I was 6 years old that the abstract concept of a new year sank in, when my brothers Jimmy and Charlie told me the previous year...

If you're a baseball fan, who knows how much time you've wasted watching games when you could have been doing something important, like watching paint dry.

McGrath: If you’re making a resolution for 2020, might I suggest you follow my list and put time back on the clock?

December 30, 2019 at 12:47 p.m.

Are you considering a New Year's resolution to lose weight, exercise more or save money? Don't make me laugh. Life is tough enough as it is. But there is one...

A child takes in the scene while attending the annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Chicago's Millennium Park on Nov. 22, 2019.

Commentary: A teacher’s assignment to write a letter about a memorable Christmas — with poetic license — goes awry

December 18, 2019 at 10:45 a.m.

I had been teaching English II at Chicago Vocational High School for enough years that I could smile in front of my students without losing class control. But not confident...

McGrath: Eradicating the hate is the hardest part when a fight ends and you need to move forward

December 13, 2019 at 3:34 p.m.

"In 2019, violent warfare is ongoing in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico, Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Pakistan, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, Ethiopia, Ukraine." (World Atlas.com, 2019) I...

Chance the Rapper performs at the United Center in Chicago on Sept. 28, 2019.

Commentary: Gratitude in 2019 for Billie Eilish, Chance the Rapper and the guy who invented heated seats

November 26, 2019 at 12:47 p.m.

In addition to the customary gratitude we feel on Thanksgiving for family, friends and good health, it is likewise appropriate to convey thanks, some long overdue, to certain individuals for...

McGrath: A 7-year-old’s mistake and a parent’s need to punish not so different from what lawmakers are facing

October 25, 2019 at 12:01 p.m.

It was a warm autumn day in 1982, and I sat in a recliner adjacent to the picture window in our living room. Head buried in the newspaper, I did...

Stores are reportedly having trouble keeping up with the demand for food items made with Impossible Meat, which replicates the taste and feel of meat but is made with plant products.

McGrath: Taste buds don’t lie — plant-based Impossible Whopper indistinguishable from its meat counterpart

October 7, 2019 at 4:29 p.m.

Results from my taste test of the Impossible Whopper are in, and they contain weighty implications for meat lovers. The IW is the new plant-based hamburger, versions of which Burger...

Some mental health experts suggest that people in their 20s are still impulsive and immature, and that restricting their access to guns until they are older could reduce the some of the shootings the country has been experiencing.

McGrath: Seeing guns on 20-somethings spurs reflections on immaturity, impulsiveness

September 30, 2019 at 5:41 p.m.

"Any firearms?" I had never been asked that question before. I was taking advantage of time off to go fishing off Florida's Gulf coast. Ten minutes after I left the...

A family views television on a black-and-white set in 1954 that broadcast only a handful of stations.

McGrath: The past provides invaluable insights for students

September 21, 2019 at 3:36 p.m.

For the second session of my college English class, I met my students in the computer lab for writing practice. But we also had an impromptu lesson on how much...

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