Thanks to the generosity of our friends Pete and Bonnie, Mrs. tVM and I have been spending more and more hours each day surrounded by the serenity of the natural world. Pete and Bonnie live on a 35-acre hilltop not far from the St. Croix River, and they encourage us to bring Clarence up as …
Category Archives: Mind
Where Have the Cowboys Gone?
I grew up in the ‘50s playing outside. There were a few rainy weekends, which gave us the excuse to attend the Saturday matinee. My morning poem perfectly captures the utopia of those halcyon days in the Berkshires…
There Are No Bad People
After committing over a half-million words to paper and publishing them and all their faults for the whole world to see, I am frequently reminded of the single, most important thing I have learned through the exercise of thousands of hours of reading, writing, and research. There are no bad people. Despite cries of evil …
Upstream with Mary Oliver
Exactly two weeks after I referred to American poet Mary Oliver in my post “Observe with Passion,” she died of lymphoma in her home in Florida. I suspect if you asked, Mary Oliver would tell you she lived 84 good years, most of them spent with her partner, photographer Molly Malone Cook at their home …
Snowshoe
I was an active child spending as many waking hours out of doors as I could. I played with my brother, I played with my friends, I played with kids I didn’t even know. “Chip up” football and baseball games on the field next to our house on West Housatonic Street in Pittsfield where they …
Majority Rule
Acupuncture, Martin Sheen and the Rosary
As I completed my income taxes over the weekend – not convinced that I should have after recently re-reading Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau – I noted that one can claim acupuncture fees as a medical deduction. I reflected on the successful acupuncture sessions I completed with Dr. Liu at Sunshine Acupuncture in River …
Reusable Bags
I recently read an article discussing the benefits of reusable shopping bags, something I see occasionally but have not given much thought to despite seeing pictures of animals desperately trying to escape a plastic bag someone carelessly allowed to meander in the public domain. Reading the article, I also recalled how surprised I was when …
Sunrise
“There is a rumor of total welcome among the frosts of the winter morning.” So writes American poet Mary Oliver in her “Wordsworth’s Mountain” essay that appears in Upstream, Ms. Oliver’s 2016 collection of essays that reflect her willingness to lose herself in the beauties and mysteries of the natural world. I chanced to read …
Books Are Friends
I have read thousands of books throughout my life. If I compare my personal library catalog to my Outlook files, I liken each book to the type of people listed in my address book, some are friends, some, associates and others acquaintances. Nearly 500 volumes grace the shelves of the sealed bookcase downstairs and the …