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.

My Favorite Teacher

As a young teenager, I struggled to figure out who ...
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Discovering The Art of Being Alone

In 2006, as I looked ahead to my retirement in ...
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Free-Range Child

My younger brother, Jerry, and I grew up in a ...
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Things Change

One thing I have learned as I have gotten older ...
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A Letter to Mom

Mom, I hope this letter somehow finds its way to ...
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Long Hard Look

The Map on My Face Recently, I took a long, ...
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Guest Missives

Autumn walk through wooded pathway

Anatomy of a Fall… by Larry Fields

Three weeks ago, I left the house telling my wife I was going ...
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Happy elderly couple beneath heart tree

Cookie & Brownie… by JoAnn

Today is Valentine’s Day. I woke up feeling rather alone on this holiday. ...
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Knocking gesture on dark wood background

My Favorite Therapy… by JoAnn

A good friend of mine mentioned the other day that she felt blasting ...
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Santa and elf smiling together

Playing Santa Clause… by Larry Fields

I remember tearing across town on my to visit Grandma on the day ...
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Elderly cartoon woman with cane

Visiting Grandma… by JoAnn

My only grandmother was my mother’s mom when I was a young child. ...
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It's a girl card art

Snow Baby… by JoAnn

Yesterday was my granddaughter Taylor’s 18th birthday. I still feel a sense of ...
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Green "As My World Turns" logo with flourish

If My Soul Has Wings... Anonymous

It would seem my soul
has the wings of a bird,

always too seldom gliding
on a kind wind,
meeting randomly with storms
in which holding is a fight.

Or the wings of a cloud —
certainly the steadfastness of it,
always there somewhere,
never constant, never defined;
an occasional rain
giving back a certain balance.
for if my soul indeed has wings,
then love is the very air.

My Favorite Quotes

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Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

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Ancient Indian Proverb

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

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George Addair

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

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Washington Irving

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

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Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

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Miguel de Cervantes

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

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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."

Green floral Visitor Comments header banner

June

The Joy of Holding Hands — Harry and I began holding hands when we first met and continued to do so until his passing. I truly miss his touch and your article brought many tears to my eyes. Thanks so much for writing this heart felt article and sharing with others — the touch of…

Stephenlix

The focused yet complete nature of this article (Living Time Capsule) makes it a fantastic resource. I truly value the systematic approach you took to ensure every single point was covered perfectly.

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.

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!

  • My Favorite Teacher

    As a young teenager, I struggled to figure out who I was. To the adults in my life, I was the oldest son of Preach—my dad’s nickname—and Dolly Hale. To my classmates, I was a skinny boy with an easygoing personality, but not one anyone thought especially bright. Most of my teachers barely noticed me.…

  • Discovering The Art of Being Alone

    In 2006, as I looked ahead to my retirement in October, I found myself wondering what I would do with all the time that had always belonged to someone else. I had worked since graduating from high school in May 1959—forty-seven years of getting up, going to work, meeting responsibilities, and measuring my days by…

  • Free-Range Child

    My younger brother, Jerry, and I grew up in a coal camp where no one told us how far we could roam. The one exception was the creek that ran past our coal camp. After a heavy rain, when the water rose high, we were to stay away from it. Most days, we had no…

  • The Hale Family Weekly Update (9/21 – 9/27/26)

    Monday, September 21 The week began partly sunny and pleasant, with a high near 83. A very capable female worker (April)  came by late in the morning to repair the master-bathroom ceiling damaged by water leakage—always nice when a ceiling looks as though it intends to remain overhead. I completed and published the family newsletter…

  • The Hale Family Weekly Update (9/7 – 9/20/26)

    Monday, September 7 We enjoyed brunch with Jane and Nancy, then took a walk on the Matteson Trail to justify the brunch. A leaky milk carton was exchanged at Kroger, Sally got a bath at the car wash, and we took a nostalgic drive past an old friend’s former home. I also started John Grisham’s…

  • The Giant Pumpkin Roll by Larry Fields

    “Hope that whopper don’t get loose down the valley”…

  • The Hale Family Weekly Update (8/31 – 9/5/26)

    The Hale Family Weekly Update (8/31 – 9/5/26) Daily Journal & Weekly UpdateAugust 31–September 5, 2026 The week brought record heat, appointments, repairs, family plans, music, writing, and a birthday celebration postponed—but certainly not forgotten. Through it all, there were trail walks, dinners with friends, a little humility in chess, and a welcome rainstorm that…

  • June

    The Joy of Holding Hands — Harry and I began holding hands when we first met and continued to do so until his passing. I truly miss his touch and your article brought many tears to my eyes. Thanks so much for writing this heart felt article and sharing with others — the touch of…

  • Stephenlix

    The focused yet complete nature of this article (Living Time Capsule) makes it a fantastic resource. I truly value the systematic approach you took to ensure every single point was covered perfectly.

  • Things Change

    One thing I have learned as I have gotten older is that…

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