A few weeks ago as my friend Ch**k was driving down the road chatting with me on his cell phone (VERY safely I must emphasize [and I have disguised his name so he will not get in trouble for driving and talking at the same time]), he was unable to avoid a small Arizona ground …
Author Archives: tVM
The Most Beautiful Story I Have Ever Read
In 2014, I have read three books by Minnesotan Kent Nerburn. I know him for his stories on Native Americans. Last week as I searched for new books for the bookstore I volunteer at, I found a book written in 1999 by Mr. Nerburn titled Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace, Living in the …
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Jimmy Stewart, Beau and Heaven
Last Sunday, my friend Father Charlie gave a ‘remarkable’ homily about a ‘remarkable fellow.’ His sermon was grounded in the 1927 silent film “7th Heaven.” I did my research and found “7th Heaven” on YouTube. I learned that there is a 1937 remake with Jimmy Stewart. Both versions are available on YouTube. Last night, Mrs. …
Jesus and the Disinherited
I never knew who Howard Thurman was until January 2014. I know it was in January because that is when I posted “A Place for Angels,” a post about Howard Thurman that was well received. I believe in angels just like I believe dog is man’s best friend. That’s reality. I finished Thurman’s book Jesus …
Live As Though You Remember
It occurred to me this morning as I was researching my ‘manuscript in process’ that I have used the idea of “remembering” early in each of my historical novels. “I’ve been tempted to lose count of the years as each comes and goes, but I remember. Remembering is important.” – The Olympian: A Tale of …
Around the World in Seven Years
woke up at 0400 … accomplished two of the four “S’s” … cleared my email and checked book sales, we’re already on the board for 2014 0500 … headed up to the Redemptorist Renewal Center at 0500 …. performed my daily devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help …. contemplated for 30 minutes in the …
The Christmas Story
It is my Christmas ritual to share this piece every year. Maybe you can read it to a child… maybe you will just read it to yourself. I hope you read it, enjoy it and find value in it … Most people — certainly those younger than 60 — may only know “Ben-Hur” as a …
The War Prayer
I may have mentioned I have been reading an excellent volume, The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: Poems for Men. I come upon poem after poem that demands and commands my attention. I so much like this book that I purchased four copies, one for each son and one for my son-in-law. Last …
Thanksgiving
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, a day which was first declared a federal holiday in 1863 in the midst of the War Between the States by President Abraham Lincoln. It pains me to think that 150 years later, it is more often referred to as the day before black Friday. The year has been a challenging …
When You’re Feeling Like George Bailey
“I had the blues ’cause I had no shoes until I met a man on the street who had no feet.” When my kids were growing up, that is how I would teach them to respond to even their legitimate woes: someone is always in a more dire strait. Sometimes, however, a person gets the …