Thursday, January 29, 2026

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

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  Tom Bombadil was one of my favorite characters in The Lord of the Rings . I was sorry when he got left out of the movies, though I underst...
Thursday, January 22, 2026

Saint Tolkien

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As I had noted previously, there is a page on substack devoted to " Saint Tolkien ". It explores various aspects of Tolkien's ...
Thursday, January 15, 2026

A Child of the Snows

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  We have been struck by a snow storm that has closed all the local schools. With that in mind, and because we are just out of the Christmas...
Thursday, January 08, 2026

Read in 2025, Goals for 2026

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Every year, I set reading goals, and then keep a tally of books read. Some of those goals include reading works by Chesterton, Tolkien, Lewi...
Thursday, January 01, 2026

Happy New Year!

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  The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backb...
Thursday, December 25, 2025

A Nativity Sonnet

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I've been posting pieces by the great ones about Christmas. This sonnet is the one I composed this year to go out with my Christmas card...
Friday, December 19, 2025

"The Turn of the Tide" by C. S. Lewis

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The Turn of the Tide By C. S. Lewis Breathless was the air over Bethlehem; black and bare The fields; hard as granite were the clods; Hedges...

"The Nativity" - By C. S. Lewis

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  "The Nativity" by C.S. Lewis Among the oxen (like an ox I’m slow) I see a glory in the stable grow Which, with the ox’s dullness...
Thursday, December 11, 2025

A Remaining Christmas - Belloc

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Since my Tolkien poem is a repeat, here's an original - an Hilaire Belloc essay from 1928.   A Remaining Christmas The world is changing...
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"Noel" by Tolkien (again)

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In 2013 a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien, "Noel", was rediscovered. It was apparently originally published in 1936 in  The Annual of Our...
Thursday, December 04, 2025

Santa Season

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  For the past 20 years, I have been a professional Santa. I used to be a mall Santa, but I left that and now just do a few appearances. My ...
Thursday, November 27, 2025

Happy Thanksgiving 2025

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We can be thankful for Chesterton's appreciation for thankfulness and gratitude!  “The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in...
Thursday, November 20, 2025

A Few Clerihews (Waiting?)

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  I just got the most recent issue of Gilbert . I had submitted some clerihews back in October, but they may have gotten there too late for ...
Thursday, November 13, 2025

o god of earth and altar

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Chesterton's Prayer Life?

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  I was involved with a discussion with a Eastern Rite Catholic about some suggested Rosary mysteries. He said he was uneasy about taking su...
Thursday, November 06, 2025

About Politics and Government

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  I just finished reading  John Adams by David McCullough. I see why he won the Pulitzer for this book. In addition to being a good read an...

A Limerick With a Lewis Twist

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  There once was a blogging progressive who judged conservatives too aggressive. He went on the attack and they fired back - isn't Screw...
Thursday, October 30, 2025

Saints

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With All Saints and All Souls days this weekend, a look at what Chesterton and Lewis has to say about saints. Chesterton It is better to spe...
Thursday, October 23, 2025

Wonder and Pope St. John Paul II

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On September 17, 1978, just before he was elected Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla preached a homily at the shrine of Our Lady of C...
Thursday, October 16, 2025

Irish Eyes Were Crying

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"The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad." - G. K. Che...