In 1922, my American-born great-grandmother Anna Motis lost her citizenship when she married John Svagera, a Czech immigrant. Their wedding came mere days before the Cable Act began correcting this injustice, but Anna would wait more than sixteen years to become, legally, what she had always been: an American.
Remembering Charlie Parker on the 106th anniversary of his birth. There are musicians who belong unmistakably to their time. You hear a few measures and immediately know where you are. The clothes change, recording technology changes, and styles change. Eventually the music becomes a kind of beautiful historical document—something we admire partly because it tells … Read more
In June 2005, I traveled to Prague with my Czech professor, Míla Šašková-Pierce, to accept one of the Czech Republic’s Gratias Agit Awards on behalf of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Czech Komenský Club. Only years later did I begin to understand just how many generations were standing in that room with us.
There is a photograph I have known for a long time. I suppose everyone sees something different when they look at it. Some will notice the Soviet soldier first, his uniform, and shaved head, with the crowd pressing in around him. Maybe they imagine the tanks sitting somewhere just beyond the edge of the frame. … Read more
I have started writing this several times. Each time, I find myself staring at the screen, trying to figure out exactly what I want to say about Tony Gowan retiring from the City of Papillion. The problem is that “congratulations on your retirement” doesn’t seem like enough. Neither does “thank you for 33 years of … Read more
There are places that athat are written into your bones. For me, that place is Papillion, Nebraska. It is the place where I was born, and raised. The place where I learned what it meant to belong to a community. Even if I didn’t yet have the words to explain it. And, by the grace … Read more
On Jan Hus Day, the Czech Republic remembers a priest burned for heresy. But was Jan Hus truly a heretic, or did he simply uncover the wound too early?
For the first few years of my life, I did not know what the Fourth of July was really about. I did not know about the signing of the Declaration of Independence or the year 1776. The long and complicated story of America, with all its glory and all its wounds, all its promise and … Read more
This is the first of three reflections I hope to offer in honor of this three-day holiday weekend in the United States, and also in honor of the 250th birthday of the United States of America. On July 4, 2026, our country marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a milestone … Read more
There is something deeply sacred about walking through a cemetery on Memorial Day. Nothing is rushed or distracted.There is no scrolling through headlines, advertisements, or noise. Just rows of stones beneath an open sky. The American flags flutter softly beside military markers. Fresh flowers rest against granite worn smooth by rain, wind, and generations of … Read more
