David McGrath

Summer Allen and her father, Kevin, kayak through Lake Superior's nooks and crannies in Bayfield, Wis., where the temperatures defied those roasting the rest of the country and stayed in the 70s during the day.

McGrath: Wisconsin trip provides small respite from the heat — and food for thought about climate change

August 7, 2023 at 1:48 a.m.

When the wolf is outside your door day and night, it wears on you physically and mentally. Our son lives in Phoenix, and that's more or less how he characterized...

The ecosystem of sports on television is in a state of flux.

David McGrath: A sports fan turns to technology to get his TV fix

August 4, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

One Sunday morning while taking a breather from raking leaves at my grandma's house in Evergreen Park, I watched my Uncle Eddie, her son, kneeling on their slippery roof in...

David McGrath: On the cusp of turning 13, I learned that America is the land of the free only for some

July 4, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

America, land of the free.* But why the asterisk? I learned the reason at the end of seventh grade. It was a summer evening in Evergreen Park, so I could...

A young David McGrath with his father, Charlie, circa 1955.

David McGrath: A father’s emotional roadblock to ‘I love you’

June 10, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

"I love you, Dad," Janet said. She is the younger of my two daughters, and we were exchanging goodbyes at the end of a phone conversation. "Me, too, honey." "Me,...

Gertrude and Charlie McGrath, back center, stand with their eight children and a few others at a relative's wedding, circa 1959. Author David McGrath is in a black bow tie in the foreground, second from right.

David McGrath: Mom was more of a dive bomber than a helicopter parent

May 13, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

For once, I felt like the "big man on campus." I had just received a letter in the mail saying I had made the dean's list. That evening, I learned...

Author David McGrath's wife, Marianne, with son Mike.

David McGrath: At Easter, I celebrate the godliness I see in many people

April 7, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.

Not till our first child was born did I start thinking seriously about Easter. Michael's was a posterior birth, meaning that he emerged face up, resulting in a lot of...

The McGrath children, including author David McGrath, second from left, with mother, Gertrude, circa 1954.

David McGrath: Defying the Ancestry.com test: Eight authentic ways of knowing you’re Irish

March 16, 2023 at 8:48 p.m.

Though it has taken nearly a year, a resolution is finally within reach after last year's shocking news that my birth family is not Irish. Readers may recall my op-ed...

LeVar Burton starred as "Kunta Kinte" in the miniseries "Roots," which was watched by more than 130 million people when it aired in 1977.

McGrath: DeSantis’ efforts to erase history of slavery fans flames of divisiveness by censoring truth

February 27, 2023 at 11:16 p.m.

If only Florida's governor Ron DeSantis would watch the classic TV series "Roots," he might gain the insight his Ivy League education failed, somehow, to convey. Based on Alex Haley's...

Bobby Hull was a powerhouse on the ice whose athletic prowess created obsessed fans, like columnist David McGrath, but sports legends are also human and their flaws can be disenchanting to those who make them bigger than life.

McGrath: Obsession with Hull’s athletic prowess lasted a lifetime despite learning his hero had flaws

February 14, 2023 at 7:39 p.m.

I may owe my livelihood to Bobby Hull, one of the greatest players in NHL history who died Jan. 30 at age 84. I was 14 when my father followed...

David and Marianne McGrath in a DuPage County forest preserve just south of Willowbrook in 2012.

David McGrath: This Valentine’s Day, I am surprising my wife with ‘the kiss’

February 13, 2023 at 9:22 p.m.

Last Valentine's Day, Marianne told me I am not romantic anymore. "Not true," I said. "I was never romantic." "Ha, ha," she said, rolling her eyes. She got me thinking,...

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