“Spoiler Alert:” at over 1,000 words, this is one of the longer posts we’ve written. “Click” the arrows to open comments. Though disheartened when I learned that Goodyear listed “All Lives Matter” as unacceptable as part of its zero-tolerance policy, I take strength that others do believe that all lives matter and consider it a […]
Category Archives: Spirit
Do Not Be Afraid
“The Lord is my shepherd… though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff give me strength, comfort, and courage… “ If Leonard Cohen is right – and I believe he is – this is the secret chord […]
Your Life Matters
Passing through the great room, I glanced at the HGTV show Mrs. tVM was watching this afternoon and noticed that the ‘star’ of show wore a t-shirt that read, “Let Your Smile Change the World.” Great stuff. Ever since I saw Forrest Gump run cross-country – literally ACROSS the country – I thought Forrest Gump […]
Faith Amid Doubt… Lincoln Still Smiles
The American landscape has changed drastically since I played chip-up baseball with Johnny Senger, Ray “Ping” Connors, the Filio brothers, and a handful of other future big-leaguers from nearby neighborhoods on the vacant lot behind the swamp next to our house on West Housatonic Street. Kids don’t do that anymore. America has been far from […]
The Nameless Giver
I have worked in the homeless community in Tucson ever since I met my friends Carl and Chuck in 2012 in the book store at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Picture Rocks, Arizona. Homeless himself for a while, Carl is the Director of the St. Francis Shelter in Tucson where Chuck is a board member […]
Four Truths
Ten years ago, I completed and published my second novel, The Hamsa. The Hamsa is about human dignity, the fact that every child is born with human dignity, that it has NOTHING to do with race, religion or status in life, that NO ONE can take our human dignity from us. We can give it […]
“My Feets Is Tired”
As a student of history, dates stick in my mind. Throughout my life, I remember ‘things’ by associating them with dates. As an example, my beautiful home in River Falls was located at 1890 Golf View Drive. Easy for me to remember because the massacre at Wounded Knee occurred in 1890 not so far away. […]
Extremists
The lawlessness and chaos of recent days are greatly disturbing. Many years ago, I defined my three greatest heroes as Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. They were extremists and the three men have made the most profound and positive impact on humanity since hominids began to walk upright. Common to each is his […]
How Good People Can Be
Every time someone shows me how bad people can be, someone steps up to show me how good people can be. Years ago, a friend recommended to Mrs. tVM and me the PBS series Call the Midwife. I have been around since the dawn of TV. I remember Howdy Doody and Buffalo Bob Smith. I […]
Lessons from Grackle
We have many birds in our neighborhood and one of the most popular is the Great-tailed Grackle. Like all birds, they rise exactly 30 minutes prior to sunrise, and I hear them throughout the day and see them on the adobe walls in my backyard. Last week, Mrs. tVM saw a nest in our neighbor’s […]