{"id":10250,"date":"2026-09-05T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=10250"},"modified":"2026-09-04T22:52:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T22:52:50","slug":"words-and-actions-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/words-and-actions-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Words and Actions Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Charles<\/a>
1920s: good times, until they weren’t.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

My father grew up west of Chicago: first on a farm, then in Rockford, Illinois.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His family moving to Rockford wasn’t so much a matter of seeking a better way of life, as bad weather and worse economics forcing them off their farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then they experienced what we call the Great Depression. And that’s another topic. Topics, actually.1<\/a><\/sup> (You might enjoy reading what I said in footnote 1<\/a>. Then again, maybe not. \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>‘You Can Do So Much More’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the years leading up to World War II, my father was just another Irish kid in Rockford’s schools. That’s when an English teacher asked him about his plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He hadn’t given the matter much thought, but he did have a plan. He figured he’d graduate from high school. Then he’d get a job in the watch factory.2<\/a><\/sup> After that, he’d work until he died or retired, whichever came first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It strikes me as a good plan, given his circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The English teacher wasn’t so sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Oh, Bernard’, she said, ‘you can do so much more’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I see her point. My father’s smart, articulate, observant, and intensely interested in everything.<\/em><\/strong> So am I, and I’m drifting off-topic again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many decades later, he told me that his English teacher’s words got him thinking about a future that didn’t include working in the watch factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Either way, he’d probably have included ROTC in his high school experience.3<\/a><\/sup> As I said, he’s smart and observant. It’d been obvious that a major war was brewing, so getting prepped as an officer made sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But including college in his plans \u2014 that’s an idea he said wouldn’t have occurred to him, if an English teacher hadn’t seen more than just another Irish kid in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn’t entirely turn his back on watches, by the way. The top of a dresser in his basement study was nearly covered by pocket watches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Actions and Outcomes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My father would probably have had a good life, if he’d followed through with his watch factory plan. But then he wouldn’t have met my mother. And I wouldn’t be here, writing about what his English teacher said. So I’m glad that conversation happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point of all this, if there is one, is that what we say and do matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes it’s pretty obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I heave a rock toward someone’s window, for example, broken glass and an irate homeowner are a near-certain result. Telling the homeowner it was an accident probably won’t help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we can’t know what will happen. Not clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My father’s English teacher almost certainly didn’t see that he’d have a short career as a teacher, and a much longer one as a librarian. And I don’t think anyone saw me coming. Other than God, of course, and that’s yet another topic or three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since what we do and say matters, I figure that saying and doing what makes sense is a good idea. That’s obvious, but it’s still a good idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve talked about my father, responsibility, and vaguely-related stuff, before:<\/p>\n\n\n\n