High time

Today’s date isn’t lost on me, and not simply because some of the people I’ve spoken to so far have sounded higher than a kite. (You know who you are.) For those unaware of April 20’s significance – other than our lovely friend Remi’s birthday – “420” in cannabis culture code and pronounced “four-twenty” is slang for marijuana consumption. In particular, smoking it at 4:20 p.m. This reefer respite began in 1971 when five California high school students called “The Waldos” met every day at precisely 4:20 p.m. under a campus statue of Louis Pasteur to smoke pot before searching for an abandoned cannabis crop. They had a map. Because, of course they did.

Fifty-five years later, celebrations of this counter-culture holiday are held all across the United States, Canada and Europe. A global movement, if you will. Half celebration, half activism. Just not too serious.

And it’s still so popular that several fast-food chains from KFC to Jimmy John’s offer special 4/20 promotions for those who get a major case of the munchies. I know what we’re having for dinner.

Honestly, what better way to celebrate spring and nature coming back to life after the dormant winter months than rolling a big fat one? (I’m kidding. But look it up anyway.)

Hope, change, optimism, a time for renewal.

And this gem: “Springtime. An end with a future.”

That line is from a book I finished reading over the weekend, “Theo of Golden.” Written by Allen Levi, the book is a novel about a mysterious, elderly stranger named Theo who arrives in the fictitious Georgia city of Golden and begins a mission of anonymous generosity, buying portraits from a local coffee shop and gifting them to the people depicted, learning their stories in the process.

The book explores themes of kindness, connection and wonder as Theo’s actions transform the lives of the town’s residents, who are left to ponder his identity and purpose. This book is a story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen. It’s also about the power of generosity, the importance of connection and the quiet miracles that can happen every day.

Why do readers love “Theo of Golden”? Many reasons. I did because it’s about getting to know people you never considered talking to before, and taking an interest in their lives. For Rebecca, it’s about appreciating life and friendship and community.

In other words, this heartwarming book about civility, kindness and love has little to do with the America many of us find ourselves in.

Some people like the way things are. How nice for you.

Not so much for the rest of us. That whiff of skunk you’re smelling isn’t marijuana, folks. The stench is coming from a golden office on Pennsylvania Avenue packed with garish furnishings. Early-American swamp.

I may have to go back to church for that one.

But there may be an even less conflicted reason to return to my Roman Catholic roots. The recent news that someone has finally pushed back on the felon-in-chief: Pope Leo XIV.

It took the head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to condemn the leader of the free world. High time. No translation needed, thank you.

Bravo, il Papa, as Italians call him. (Emphasis on the first “pa,” please.)

The two men have entered a public clash over the Iran War, U.S. foreign policy and church doctrine.

The pope has condemned the war in Iran and warned that disciples of Christ should not support leaders who “wield the sword and drop bombs.” This is the same man who has been a priest for nearly 50 of his 70 years, and a missionary and cardinal before being elected pope in May 2025.

The other guy had the audacity to tell the man with the pointy shoes to “get his act together.” He actually told the world’s first American pope — the former Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago — to stay in his lane.

Guess who’s winning? Not the guy in the Florsheims.

He called the pope “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy” and urged him to focus on spiritual matters. Then, he posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure, whom he believed was that of a … doctor?

As if.

There’s a quote from author Anne Lamott’s book about prayer, “Help Thanks Wow,” on the difference between you and God. “God doesn’t think He’s you.”

While I wholeheartedly believe Jesus was a liberal, there’s no need to be self-righteous about Roman Catholics and the Vatican when it comes to elections. Their voting history is nothing to brag about.

In 2024, because of the church’s opposition to abortion, 56% of Catholics voted for the twice-impeached felon. And in 2020, he beat Joe Biden on the Catholic vote, 52% to 47%, respectively. I’ll never understand it. But I still don’t know how bitcoin works.

Bravo, Pope Leo. As a Chicago White Sox baseball fan, you’ve been through worse than this.

And if your selection as the 267th pope was meant to be a thorn in the side of a certain 47th U.S. president, then I’d call that God’s work.

(YouTube audio only: From their 1969 album “Chicago Transit Authority,” Chicago’s “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” highlights the fast-paced, hurried nature of modern urban life, questioning whether people truly appreciate time or merely obsess over the clock. Written by Robert Lamm, the lyrics imply that life is passing by too quickly, urging a pause to appreciate the moment rather than being tied to rigid schedules.)