I read a Wendell Berry poem this morning, “They Sit Together on the Porch.” It reminded me of how it should be for people who have shared their lives for decades. Ten years ago when Mrs. tVM and I lived on the edge of the Saguaro National Park with little light pollution, we abandoned the …
Category Archives: Awe and Wonder
Risen
Reflection
Originally posted one year ago in March 2021, I believe this post is worth another reading. tVM. This is the time of the year when many people of many faiths attune themselves to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, what Catholics refer to as the three pillars of Lent. Regardless of your religious and spiritual persuasion, this …
We Are Never Alone
The Lenten season is a special one. By definition, Lent is a period of 40 days when Christians remember the events leading up to the passion and death of Jesus. The 40 days are called Lent after the old English word “lengðu” meaning ‘lengthen’ because Lent occurs as we approach summer when the days start …
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship – fair and generous behavior and treatment of others – has been as important an aspect of my participation in athletic competition as an athlete and as a spectator as any other aspect of the game. In fact, good sportsmanship supersedes every other feature of the game in any sport and at any level. …
Love of Country
Fifty-one years ago – nearly to the day – I read Leon Uris’s novel of Berlin in the aftermath of WWII, Armageddon. I still retain that first edition though the dustcover no longer exists. I read the book over a weekend in the spring of my senior year at the United States Air Force Academy. …
Wildness
Nearly 200 years ago, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “In wildness is the preservation of the world.” In his essay “Walking,” Thoreau encourages people to be ‘wild,’ which he likens to ‘absolute freedom’ in contrast to ‘limited freedom,’ which we all experience 24/7 in civil culture. My longtime and perennial friend Dwight and I experienced ‘wildness’ …
First Day of the Barefoot School
After months of study, research and planning, I am pleased to announce that our friends at the Guepard Boxing Club in Cité Soleil opened the Barefoot School this week. While we still have much work to do, we are very grateful to the families and individuals who have opened their hearts and purses to help …
Unconditional Healthcare
unconditional Jesus and the leper
Time Does Not Stand Still
One year ago as we entered the 11th year publishing this website, I wrote, “In 2021, we hope to corral the pandemic and turn our backs on the cultural and political discord that threatens to destroy the goodness that is inherent in each of us.” Alas, as a race, society, and culture, we failed on …