Dazzling With an Excess of Truth: Finding God In the Abstract
Schopenhauer writes somewhere in The World as Will and Representation that music ought not to represent. It is many years ago that I read this and I do not intend looking it up even if…
Category: Best of F&F Archive
For the Glory of the Marines: The Life and Legacy of Major John Pitcairn
Major John Pitcairn of the British Marines is an historical personage that many of my friends have been acquainted with through my novel-in-the-making, The Third Charge of Crimson, which features him as a main character.…
Love is Not an Accident
Love is not an accident Of chemicals that crossed in space It flows from Everlasting Choice And rushes with a Timeless Grace For out of nothing, nothing comes Yet that which fills can never…
Holiday Season in the Holy Land: Thoughts, Ideas, and Tips on Travel
The arrival once more of the winter holiday season evokes thoughts of snow and cold nights spent with family and friends – of times of cheer, rest, and meaning. There is perhaps no better way…
Our Love Must Make Us Strong: The Music and Mysticism of Loreena McKennitt
It all started one Christmas as I rummaged through the CD racks at the library, in search of seasonal music different than the usual run-of-the-mill jingles blared constantly on the radio from November onward. I…
An Inspiration for My Life: The Story of St. Gianna Molla
In the picture taped above my desk, she’s wearing a flowered dress and white sweater, with her dark hair brushed neatly back from her forehead. She’s looking serenely off into the distance, but I…
I Will Be a Hero
Author's Note: This story is based on an experience that Admiral Nelson allegedly had when in his teens, after being invalided home from the East Indies with what was almost certainly malaria. During the voyage…
Ladies and Gents: An Encounter with the Inklings
I’ve been keeper of the Bird and Baby since the last tender sold the grounds to the university. I was a spry young fellow then, eager to get myself established in the world, so when…
Real, Solid, and Unbending: The Life and Legacy of Sir John Moore
Sir John Moore first leapt out of the pages of British history for me when my friend, Graham Wright, who lives not far from Moore's birthplace in Glasgow, Scotland, bid me look him up…
Bart the Bard
Bart was a bard and was known as Bart the Bard. He wasn’t a very good bard, actually. His rhyming was terrible and his singing so out of tune that his audiences always ran screaming…