There is no holiday equal to the Thanksgiving of my youth. It was a grand affair when women wore dresses and men wore suits and ties. As the New England weather cooled and the last brown, dry leaves fell from the maple trees, Halloween a pleasant memory, I looked forward to Thanksgiving at Babcie’s with …
Author Archives: tVM
Raising Decent Human Beings
Mrs. tVM and I have raised four children, three sons and one daughter. They are good people, and each makes the world a better place in his or her own way. Recently, middle son Brad participated in a podcast on Mathew Blades’ website “Learn from People Who Lived It.” According to the website, Learn From …
A Life Well-Lived
Stephen King is one of my favorite authors although I’ve only read 25 or so of the 75 books and a handful of the hundreds of short stories he’s written. I recently started his massive [800+ pages] 2011 novel 11.22.63. Like most of Mr. King’s work, 11.22.63 is an easy and exciting read. Like his …
Toyland
Fifteen years ago, I began work on my second novel which was published in 2010 as The Hamsa. I still refer to it as ‘my holocaust story’ although it covers 26 years from 1918 to 1944 and the protagonist is a Polish gentile, Bronisław Czech, the 349th person incarcerated in Auschwitz. I pride myself in …
Candles and Hummingbirds
From 2010 through 2016, I started every day at 0500 or sunrise – whichever occurred first – at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Picture Rocks, Arizona. Those were special years. My first act of every day was to kneel silently before the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help illuminated in the winter months by …
History and Space Exploration
My two favorite areas of knowledge to study are history and space exploration. I think it is not coincidental that I live in the open desert with minimal light and noise pollution less than 20 miles south of the Casa Grande National Monument, a group of Hohokam structures dating back to the 12th century. Twenty …
Hank Eichin Enters God’s Hall of Fame
I was schooled in sportsmanship by my father and a series of great coaches that started with Tom Farley at Pomeroy Elementary School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts during the 50s, then Rudy Benedetti at Pittsfield High School in the 60s, and culminated with Hank Eichin at the Air Force Academy in the late 60s and early …
SpaceX
Reliable Internet has become as crucial as landline telephones were 70 years ago. Our Internet option for living in a rural town in the Sonoran Desert has been limited to a single provider. Our receiver is located on our roof and – fortunately – we have a line of sight to a transmitting antenna about …
Dealing with Cancer, #8 Post-Chemo
Lesson #8, the 2 to 1 thumb rule One month of chemo treatment requires two months of recovery. I am pleased that readers have found value in the series of articles we’ve posted regarding the cancer journey. Because of that positive feedback, I’m sharing a new experience with post-chemotherapy. In lesson #7 – 5 weeks …
Chosen
I learned of a potential physical challenge a year ago in August 2022. From the beginning, I have prayed the leper’s prayer, which he pleaded to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” From the beginning, I believe I was chosen to be made clean. That conviction was validated yesterday morning when I …