Fortuitously Serendipitous

Fortuitous and serendipitous.  Two of my favorite words.  The one, happening by chance; the other, occurring by chance in a happy or beneficial way.  Regardless of word choice, I am fortuitously and serendipitously lucky to be living in the home that found me and Mrs. tVM across the street from the Highland Manor Park when …

The Continuing Case for Exercise

The ‘Well-Being’ post from last week was foremost in my mind as Mrs. tVM and I hiked up the Casa Grande Mountain Radio Tower Trail his morning.  A mere 2-mile out-and-back hike, we stopped to catch our breath more than once.  You see, over the 1-mile hike to the summit, one climbs 994 feet.  That …

Another Light in the Heart of Darkness

My new novel, The Faith of Job is now available. I invite you to click the cover and experience the story that has been an intimate part of my life since the first seed was planted over two years ago in the winter of 2018. Set in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in WWII, The Faith of …

Walking with Thoreau

From Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Walking” published in The Atlantic Monthly, June 1862. “I have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of walking, that is, of taking walks…” “He who sits still in a house all the time may be the greatest vagrant of …

Well-Being

Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss equates ‘glow’ with fervor and joy. This morning, I bask in the glow of accomplishment.  Twenty-five months after writing the first sentence, I can call my seventh novel complete… “Until the railroad comes in 1863, Amersfoort claims nothing of particular importance other than, perhaps, the Tower of Our Lady, one of …

Write Your Own Caption

In an age where video screens and consumerism hold our children captive, it’s refreshing to see kids actually outdoors, exercising their muscles, their minds, and their spirits, AND engaged in FACE-TO-FACE relationships with other kids, adults and creatures as well. They remind me of my little buddy Conor and his sister Samantha who lived next …