Yesterday’s post generated many personal responses that encourage me to offer a bit of clarification … I am disappointed in society and the direction that dualism has taken us as a race. My disappointment is exacerbated by the abominable condition of politics in America. While every country on the planet faces its own issues, the …
Author Archives: tVM
Who Will Take Care of My Dog
I turned 69-years old last September and find myself asking more frequently, “What have I left to do in this throw-away society where relationships and friendships don’t count as much as they used to?” I am ready to check out. There is nothing left for me to do. I enjoy the sound of the river …
“Thank You for Your Service”
“Thank you for your service” is a popular greeting when people learn that you are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. I do not recall that greeting in the 60’s and 70’s when soldiers returned from Viet Nam. Times change. Attitudes change… sometimes for the better, other times… As a member of the now-defunct …
First Snowfall 2018
Sitting with books and coffee, there is something quite magical about watching the first significant snowfall of the season in River Falls…
Victory for America
I do not look forward to victory for Republicans or victory for Democrats. Partisan politics be damned. Either/or politics is unproductive and counter-productive. During my business travels in Latin America two and three decades ago, a wise Mexican once told me, “I do not have problems. I face situations. If I do not attend to …
Thoughtful Writing
We originally posted this one year ago. I believe it is so important that I am posting it again with the hope that everyone reads it and finds value in it. tvm “In 2015, Public Policy Polling asked a broad sample of Democratic and Republican primary voters whether they would support bombing Agrabah. Nearly a …
At Peace with My Credo
Though some may challenge the label as it applies to me, I am a spiritual man. Unlike the North Star, my faith and spirituality have not been constant, rather, have evolved over seven decades. This is my credo… My Credo I believe there is a Creator that set the universe in motion. I believe Jesus …
September, a Poem
September is my favorite month of the year. I invite you to listen to this poem, September by Helen Hunt Jackson (1830 – 1885), an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the United States government. September as read by Garrison Keillor… September by Helen Hunt …
September on the River
There is no better month than September, the month when green leaves give way to pale yellow, then blush in vibrant red and orange. Black-eyed Susan’s wilt with little thought to their future resurrection. The change has little to do with temperature, rather, because the earth tilts its axis 23.5 degrees to its orbital plane while …
No Value in Complaining
I discovered Etty Hillesum years ago as I researched my Holocaust novel The Hamsa. My cousin Mary Ann from Indiana suggested I read the diary Ms. Hillesum wrote prior to her incarceration and subsequent murder in Auschwitz in November 1943. Titled An Interrupted Life, her complete diary was not published until 1986. In it, she …