We first wrote and posted this six years on December 21, 2012. Last night, December 14, 2018, Mrs. tVM and I watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” just as we’ve done every Christmas season for as long as I can remember. It always moves me in ways I can’t say much better than I did – with …
Tag Archives: friendship
Mitakuye Oyasin
Those of you who regularly follow this website know that one of my favorite expressions is “Mitakuye Oyasin.” I learned it many years ago. As a Buddhist or Hindu might greet you with “Namaste,” “I salute the God within you,” the Sioux Indian would say, “Mitakuye Oyasin,” which means “We are all family.” As I walk …
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. …
The Christmas Story
It is my Christmas ritual to share this piece every year. Maybe you can read it to a child… maybe you will just read it to yourself. I hope you read it, enjoy it and find value in it … Most people — certainly those younger than 60 — may only know “Ben-Hur” as a …
Thanksgiving
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, a day which was first declared a federal holiday in 1863 in the midst of the War Between the States by President Abraham Lincoln. It pains me to think that 150 years later, it is more often referred to as the day before black Friday. The year has been a challenging …
David Walsh McGrath, Smiling Hero for All Time
Just last week at Friday Mass, we read all about friends from the Book of Sirach [6:5 – 18]. “A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price…..” I have been blessed with many people I call ‘friend.’ The two funniest men I know …
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“I’ll Stand With You.”
Yesterday, October 16 marks the 44th anniversary of one of the most memorable events at any modern Olympic Games. On October 16, 1968, silver medalist Peter Norman joined American gold medalist Tommie Smith – who had just become the first human to break the 20-second barrier in the 200-meter dash – and bronze medalist John …
Instructions: How to Become a Hero
I do not believe I was ever required to read Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If.” Perhaps better known for his books Kim, Captains Courageous, Gunga Din, The Man Who Would Be King and The Jungle Book among others, Kipling penned “If” in 1895. I first read the poem on a rainy afternoon in the ’60’s sitting …
The Dog
Of all the animals on Earth, I have learned most from the dog. Although my boyhood home was next door to a veterinarian, Doc Dapson in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, I never owned a dog until 1975 when we lived on a farm in Upstate New York. In his epic poetry, Homer tells us of Odysseus’s dog …
Treating our Children with Dignity
Keeping in mind that every post on this blog is intended to make us better, I want to share a piece by C.S. Lewis that I read several months ago that is worth your consideration. “We hear a great deal about the rudeness of the rising generation,” Mr. Lewis wrote in his book The Four …