Tommy’s Window on the World

Tommy’s Window on the World

Stories, Reflections, and Glimpses of Life

From one still paying attention to the world around him

Welcome to my corner of the web, where I share memories, observations, and the occasional voice from family and friends.

My Current WoWs

WoW is my Window on the World — a place where the world feels a little closer and a lot more wonderful.

The Storms of Life

                           …by Tommy Hale When Walt agrees to watch over ...
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The Quiet Cost of Worry

Worry has a way of threading itself quietly through our ...
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Chance or Happenstance

After over 31,000 days on this earth, I've found, to ...
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Love After The Last Goodbye

March 21, 1988, was a bright, bitterly wintry day. I ...
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I Come From Somewhere

Genealogy buffs chase their roots like treasure hunters with a ...
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Where Time Gathers Light

For many years, I have believed that lifestyle has more ...
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Guest Missives

Family gathering with festive decorations

Celebrating Family… by Chelsea

I’m updating you today from my office. Even though it is dark and ...
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Number pattern with fives and sevens

What’s In A Number?… by JoAnn

Lately, I have been noticing the recurrence of sequences of numbers in my ...
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Colorful city skyline illustration

Sounds Of My Town… by JoAnn

It’s early morning, the sun is just starting to rise, and I am ...
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Yellow flowers in soft focus

Covered In Yellow… by JoAnn

Today, I looked out my front window, admiring the massive pine tree in ...
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Classic flip phone keypad visible

My Fave Gadget… by JoAnn

When cell phones first hit the market, I had no intention of purchasing ...
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Cartoon faces expressing various emotions

This Is Who I Am… by Taylor

If I had to describe myself, using only three words… they would be ...
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The Language of Waves ...by Stephanie Kay Sugioka

 I sit with my morning coffee

and watch the little waves

break near the shore.

And each one seems to murmur your name

over and over and over

in a chorus of voices singing

my love for you back to me.

 

Look—there's another one—

there and there and there

But it's not enough

because I want you

here and here and here.

 

Author's Note:

You can purchase my book of Poems, "Leavings" on Amazon ($23).

 

My Favorite Quotes

Quotation marks in vibrant green color

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be."

Quotation marks in vibrant green color

Ancient Indian Proverb

"Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart."

Quotation marks in vibrant green color

George Addair

"Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear."

Quotation marks in vibrant green color

Washington Irving

"Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart."

Quotation marks in vibrant green color

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

Quotation marks in vibrant green color

Miguel de Cervantes

"Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn."

Quotation marks in vibrant green color

Alfred Korzybski

"There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking."

Charles Dickens

"I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape."

Antoine de Saint Exupery

"And the fox said to the little prince: men have forgotten this truth, but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." 

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

"One's first step in wisdom is to question everything -- and one's last is to come to terms with everything."

Mary Shelly

"Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful."

Paul McCartney

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian."

Igor Stravinsky

"Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration."

L.M. Montgomery

"It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will."

Albert Einstein

"Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions"

Euripides

"To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter." 

Mary Shelly

"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change."

Lewis Carroll

"It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."

Louisa May Alcott

"I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship"

John Locke

"No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience."

Saul Bellow

"Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door."

Emily Brontë

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same"

William Shakespeare

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"

Thomas Paine

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

Pythagoras

"The oldest, shortest words — "yes" and "no" — are those which require the most thought."

Thomas Hardy

"If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the Inquisition might have let him alone."

Letitia Elizabeth Landon

"A great change in life is like a cold bath in winter — we all hesitate at the first plunge."

Vincent Peale

"Change your thoughts, and you change your world."

Grandma Moses

"Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be."

Walker Percy

"We love those who know the worst of us and don't turn their faces away."

Eleanor Roosevelt

"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Dalai Lama

"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck."

Alexander Pope

"Be thou the first true merit to befriend, his praise is lost who stays till all commend."

Confucius

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop"

Lorraine Hansberry

"The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely"

Sir Claus Moser

"Education costs money. But then so does ignorance."

Farrah Gray

"Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs."

Abigail Van Buren

"If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money."

Vincent van Gogh

"I would rather die of passion than of boredom."

Oprah Winfrey

"You don't become what you want, you become what you believe."

Albert Einstein

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

test

good story

Joy Morris, author

I loved your eight sentences, Tommy. You have an unusual knack for using descriptive language in all of your stories. I see a fantastic book in the near future. See you soon.

Joe Thomas

I enjoyed this article and would like to see more like it.

Tommy

Good Story

Debby

Your missive brought tears to my eyes. I am glad you had this moment with your dad. I know he…

Betty Berry

What a great story! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Thanks for sharing, Jane!

Susan Chappelle

I love the perfect illustration you added for Jane’s story, Tommy!

Tommy

I started my website in February 2017…Tommy

DichaelCoalm

Wow, wonderful blog format! How long have you ever been running a blog for? you made blogging look easy. The…

Betty

You did great. But no I can’t remember mine much less put it into 10 sentences , it all had…

Website 

I am always browsing online for tips that can benefit me. Thx!

  • test

    good story

  • The Hale Family Weekly Update (7/12/26)

    The Hale Family Weekly Update July 6–12, 2026 The week opened under partly cloudy skies and closed the way life usually does—busy, meaningful, and dotted with small victories (plus a few uncooperative gadgets). I’ve attached my latest attempt at a short story — Storms of Life, my fifth so far- and I’m hoping I am…

  • The Storms of Life

    When Walt agrees to watch over his cousin’s farm, a troubled house and a hidden letter lead him into a private sorrow that has been waiting to be spoken aloud.

  • The Quiet Cost of Worry

    Worry has a way of threading itself quietly through our lives…

  • Joy Morris, author

    I loved your eight sentences, Tommy. You have an unusual knack for using descriptive language in all of your stories. I see a fantastic book in the near future. See you soon.

  • Chance or Happenstance

    After over 31,000 days on this earth, I’ve found…

  • Joe Thomas

    I enjoyed this article and would like to see more like it.

  • Hale Family Weekly Update (06/22-07/05/26)

    Tommy’s Two-Week ChronicleJune 22 – July 5, 2026 If the past two weeks had a theme, it would be this: part road trip, part reunion, part heat wave… with a generous helping of good food, good people, and a few technological adventures along the way. Back in Business (and Online!) 6/22The week kicked off on…

  • Love After The Last Goodbye

    March 21, 1988, was a bright, bitterly wintry day…

  • I Come From Somewhere

    Genealogy buffs chase their roots like treasure hunters… but me?