On this day, as we remember the man whose nonviolent activism set a new direction in search of civil rights for all men, women and children, my heart remains heavy when I consider the plight of the people whose land the United States Government stole in the name of greed. They were the stewards of […]
Category Archives: Spirit
December 15, 1890 … a Day to Remember
On this day in 1890, legendary Lakota Indian Chief Sitting Bull was gunned down by Indian Agency Police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. No one remembers. Earlier this year, ‘Standing Rock’ was front page news. Many of you raised your concerned voices. Six months later, most remember few details. I remember, and I remember […]
Dog, the Great Teacher
I believe dog is the perfect creature. The original subtitle for my novella The Sixth Day was “The day God should have quit,” my conviction being that God should have stopped creating after he made the dog. Moving forward, I altered the marketing phrase to “The day God almost quit,” the thought being that the […]
Caesar Joins His Band of Angels
With more good friends in my lifetime than any 10 men deserve, Caesar was my best. This morning, I freed his spirit from his cancer-riddled body. Unwittingly at the time, I cast his memory into future generations by including him in two of my novels. When people ask me which of my books I like […]
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Some things are not meant to be forgotten. Fifty-three years ago on this day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. penned his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The letter is one of those things that must remain an important part of human thought. Five years ago, we first posted a piece that speaks to the heart of […]
Day Five in Haiti: Nicole’s Place
Late in 2003, Gail Rongen’s daughter Nicole Megaloudis’s name appeared on the list of potential women who would represent Greece in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. Her dreams went unrealized when she died in a car accident as she returned to the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) campus late one night for an early […]
The Final Flight
As we buried my father’s ashes next to my mother yesterday, this will be my final post regarding his passing. While there is much I could write, I will limit it to this. My mother and father are at peace …. Together. I am at peace. My spiritual traveler Mary Ann requested the audio of […]
God’s Hall of Fame
My mother passed away in August 2010; she died in the middle of the night in an assisted living facility not far from our home. My father passed away 24 hours ago; he died peacefully in his own bed in this house just like he wanted to. He was two months shy of his 93rd […]
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 […]
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. […]