As Autumn ushers in colder winds from Canada, friends and acquaintances ask me – as I continue my sabbatical in a 10×16 shed with best friend Clarence – “What will you do when it’s cold?” I appreciate their concern and curiosity. Construction on the house is progressing so slowly that I will consider myself fortunate […]
Category Archives: Spirit
Family
I suspected but did not realize the strength and uniqueness of my family until my 70th birthday. I have never been a fan of birthdays, and would just as soon see them pass unnoticed as just another day. This year, the year of my 70th birthday is different. Living minimally and hermit-like and off the […]
Reinvention
In 2002, I left corporate America for the first time, returned in 2004 and walked away with finality in 2012. Although I enjoyed the many trips I made to Latin America with my friend Dwight, I gained little satisfaction from the corporate world, only money. I left in 2002 with the desire and commitment to […]
Medicine Wheel
In 2010, Ash Wednesday occurred on February 17th. Mrs. tVM and I attended the early morning service at the Redemptorist Renewal Center (RRC) in Picture Rocks, Arizona, 3.5 miles from our home on the edge of the Saguaro National Park to the northwest of Tucson. It was the first Ash Wednesday service I had attended […]
Lessons from the Forest
Three months ago, I wrote about the lessons the Kinnickinnic River taught me when I kayaked in high, rapid water with my friend Adam. Nature continues to teach me, and once more, the hard, humbling way, but that approach is certain to capture one’s attention… Since moving up to the hill with Clarence, I have […]
Mail Order Annie
I acquired my first Harry Chapin album in the fall of 1972 when I arrived in Anchorage. Heads & Tails it was titled. It was the first of 11 albums Harry would produce over his too-short career that ended tragically in a car accident in May 1981, the same month and year my best friend […]
Happy Birthday, Dad
My father would have celebrated his 97th birthday today. As it is, he passed peacefully in his sleep in his own bed on June 3, 2015. My father was a good man, worked hard, cared for his family and was honest. Earlier this year, I posted his ‘obituary’ on my other website. It is a […]
Beyond Politics
I saw a bee on a flower this morning and recalled these words from Celtic thinker John O’Donohue… “Animals know nothing of Freud, Jesus, Buddha, Wall Street, the Pentagon or the Vatican. They live outside the politics of human intention… they already inhabit the eternal… the dignity, beauty, and wisdom of the animal world [is] […]
Not To Be Taken for Granted
One of the great pleasures in life during our time in the desert was monsoon season. Mrs. tVM and I enjoyed sitting on our covered decks and watching the lightning flash and the rain pour from the sky in bucketsful. It was wondrous and awe-inspiring. Since moving to the hobbit house a week ago, Clarence […]
Two Nights on the Hill
While I fiercely miss the daily companionship of Mrs. tVM, I have found peace in my two nights on the hill since we became ‘homeless’ on Friday. Mrs. tVM will reside with our daughter and her family across the St. Croix River in Minnesota. I have chosen to live with Clarence on the hill in […]