It occurred to me this morning as I was researching my ‘manuscript in process’ that I have used the idea of “remembering” early in each of my historical novels. “I’ve been tempted to lose count of the years as each comes and goes, but I remember. Remembering is important.” – The Olympian: A Tale of …
Tag Archives: Kalos Kagathos
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 …
The War Prayer
I may have mentioned I have been reading an excellent volume, The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: Poems for Men. I come upon poem after poem that demands and commands my attention. I so much like this book that I purchased four copies, one for each son and one for my son-in-law. Last …
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 …
When You’re Feeling Like George Bailey
“I had the blues ’cause I had no shoes until I met a man on the street who had no feet.” When my kids were growing up, that is how I would teach them to respond to even their legitimate woes: someone is always in a more dire strait. Sometimes, however, a person gets the …
Uncivilized
Galena, Alaska sits on the north bank of the Yukon River on the 64th N parallel, just two parallels shy of the Arctic Circle. Flying out of Galena’s now inactive Air Station in the summer of 1973 in my T-33, I once saw the sun set and rise within a 15-minute stretch. As I climbed …
Martin Sheen: A Hero who Broke Through
Yesterday morning as I waited in the foyer of an assisted living facility, I glanced at a basket filled with old magazines. The magazine on top of the pile was the AARP magazine. I am not an “AARP guy,” but the cover picture was a picture of a smiling Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez, better known …
“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 …
The First Stone
Early in the week, I read an interesting piece on the Spirituality and Practice website entitled, “The First Stone or Hypocrite Stone.” It is an unique practice presented by Tom Cowan. I do not know Tom Cowan, but his suggestion makes perfect sense to me… “… carry a small stone in your pocket or purse …
Chief Joseph
In 1879, Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé Indians traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with President Rutherford B. Hayes and other government leaders to plead his case to return his tribe – displaced from the Northwest to Oklahoma’s Indian Territory – to their original home in Oregon. Chief Joseph was known as a skilled …