My former broadcast partner and Hall of Fame manager, Sparky Anderson, once told me, “The greatest investment of all time is kindness, and it don’t cost a dime.” OK, Sparky’s grammar wasn’t the best, but his heart was. Sparky believed that if you were relentless with kindness and love, that most likely kindness and love would boomerang back to you. Stace and I began our vacation to Spain and France overwhelmed by those two powers. Dear friends, Jeff, Audrey, Kay, and Colin, volunteered to dog sit our Lucca. The day we left, our always generous neighbor, Bill, gave us a ride to the Denver train station (I’ve always wanted to take the train to the airport). We arrived minutes before the 1:45 closed its doors, and while struggling with the kiosk, a gracious conductor stepped forward and we made our ride by seconds. Blessings followed. Due to a plane change, we were upgraded to business class.

After clearing TSA, Stace found someone’s Drivers License on the ground. Instead of returning it to security, I hurried to the escalator and in my best broadcast voice, called out the name on the card. Heads turned, eyes widened, as if some arrest was about to be made…until a woman’s hand rose at the bottom of the stairs.

“I have your Drivers License!” I shouted, and travel calamity was averted.

Our first stop was Paris, with a quick exchange to Seville. As many of you may have experienced, the Paris Airport is huge, with a maze of ups and downs, rights and lefts, confusing twists and turns to your gate. Thankfully, with the help of earnest flight attendants and fellow travelers, we made our flight and landed in Seville by five PM.

Seville is one of the most beautiful cities we’ve ever visited. It has a rich history of many civilizations. The Moors ruled for almost 800 years until the Christians conquered Spain in 1492. Despite a past of conflict, Seville is now a city that honors Muslim, Christian and Jewish cultures, a great example that we can get along. That forgiveness works—not pardoning the past—but seeing the goodness and light in all human beings. Seville displays it in a dramatic blend of Moor, Roman, and Gothic architecture.

We’ve met incredible people the first week of our journey. From our tour guide, Carlos, to a brilliant singer, Nathalia, to jovial tourists atop the stunning Metropol Parasol, the largest wooden architecture in the world.

Stace and I finished our first week with what we call a Holy Encounter. While enjoying a cappuccino and croissant at a local cafe, we turned to a young lady at the next table and asked, “Where are you from?” That simple question led to an absolutely inspirational conversation about life and dreams, self-reflection, introspection, passion, service, and kindness. The choice of kindness. From Evergreen to Paris to Seville we experienced so many acts of kindness. I think Sparky was right. The greatest investment of all time is kindness…and it don’t cost a dime.

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, Catching the Wind, and Beyond This World There is a World I Want, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

I began writing my first novel, The Walls of Lucca, in 2006. It eventually became two books: The Walls of Lucca, which followed a vineyard’s quest to produce a great wine during Italy’s dark days from 1914 to 1930. The sequel, Above the Walls, picked up the vineyard’s plight in 1938 and followed to the end of World War II. That era was filled with trouble: World War 1, the Spanish Flu, the rise of Fascism, The Great Depression, and World War II.

Italy’s leader through much of that time was Benito Mussolini, who launched unprovoked or poorly planned invasions—such as his sudden attack on Greece or the annexation of Albania, primarily to project power, boast domestic standing, and compete with Adolf Hitler’s successes. How did Benito rise to power? He was a dramatic public speaker, using populist demagoguery, grievance, and the myth of a national rebirth to manipulate public sentiment and challenge democratic norms. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, Mussolini failed because of an arrogant economic plan, inexperienced cabinet, and poor military preparation. I wrote about it in Above the Walls, when Pietro Martellino, the son of the vineyard wine-owner, and devout follower and soldier for Mussolini, discovered Italy’s struggles first hand on the front lines of Albania:

For the first time in his life, Pietro began to question the decisions of their leadership, of their generals, even of his hero, il Duce.

“This was supposed to be Mussolini’s ‘lightning drive to Thessalonika,’” Dante said. “We’ve been here over a month and gained no ground. We all heard the rumors that Generals Badoglio and Roatta told Mussolini we needed three months to put this plan in place, but Benito demanded we attack on October twenty-eighth . . . Why?”

“Because that’s the anniversary of when our Fascist empire began,” Pietro mumbled.

Dante’s mouth fell open. “We invaded before we were ready because of Benito’s damn ego? Did he think Greece would just lay down when they saw our mighty Italian Army?”

What was supposed to be a quick two-week victory over Greece turned into a six-month quagmire, crushing the fighting spirit of the Italian Army. Within days, they became bogged down by fierce Greek resistance, muddy terrain, winter’s cold, and terrible Italian leadership. Here’s another example from Above the Walls:

“Will the new generals help us?” Pietro asked.

The sergeant only gave a disgusted look as he placed a tin of soup on the fire.

“We’ve done everything they’ve asked, sir.”

“But gained no ground. Mussolini wants victories.”

“Then he needs to give us support,” Pietro grumbled as he picked at his thin overcoat. “They sent us summer uniforms in the dead of winter.”

The sergeant spit into the fire. “Now the Germans show up looking fat and plucky with their warm uniforms and shiny waterproof boots. They make us look like fucking peasants.”

Pietro adjusted the cardboard soles in the bottoms of his boots before pulling them back on. “Why did the Germans show up now, sir? Why weren’t they fighting with us from the start?”

“Because the British showed up. As soon as the Brits started bombing Hitler’s Romanian oil fields, well, Adolf wasn’t going to let Benito fuck up his energy reserves. Unfortunately for Hitler, it’s taken his mind off his real goal.”

Pietro gave a confused look.

“Taking Russia.”

Pietro looked out at the snow that was falling even heavier now. “I thought I’d be this great warrior for Mussolini.”

“We’re just chattel needed to build his empire.” The sergeant tossed the rest of his soup on the fire. “But an empire can’t grow unless it has a strong military, and a military isn’t strong unless it has energy to drive it. Benito expected us to get that energy from Greece. Unfortunately, he underestimated the competition.”

I believe Mussolini and our current president, Donald Trump share striking parallels in their theatrics and governing. Both framed their countries as humiliated or failing under corrupt establishment, promising a return to a lost golden age achievable only through their specific command. Both relied heavily on dividing society into opposing camps using inflammatory rhetoric—such as framing political rivals as “vermin,” “invaders”, “infection” or “communists” to stoke fear. Both attacked the free press, independent judiciaries, universities, and democratic checks and balances, labeling them as enemies of the people or tools of corruption. Both treated truth as malleable, and politics not as a contest of policy details, but as a direct emotional bond between the supreme leader and the masses, positioning themselves as infallible men of action.

The result? For Italy, the collapse of the fascist regime, Mussolini’s arrest in 1943, a lost war, and Benito’s eventual execution by Italian partisans in April 1945. For America, a down economy, inflation, foolish tariffs, high gas prices, controversial border/ICE policies, and now, a failed war which had no thoughtful entrance and exit strategy. Due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, ships like the USS Abraham Lincoln have been trapped at sea for record durations without access to friendly regional ports for repairs and resupply, causing a deep internal morale crisis. When specifically asked by reporters if the deployment had lasted too long and if he was worried about the troops mental health, Trump stated: “No. No. No—not nearly long enough.”

As my friend and brilliant former ABC correspondent, Greg Dobbs, wrote in his Substack column yesterday: There is, however, some silver lining in all this. His (Trump’s) heartless comments are bound to cost him and his party some votes. Most members of the military typically go with Republicans, but some must now be asking, “If this is all the compassion we get from this president and his party after the sacrifices we and our families make, maybe we need to look again.”

Trump and Mussolini. Both treat the balcony and their country as a one-man-show. We need to get back to We the People…

***

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, Catching the Wind, and Beyond This World There is a World I Want, please go to stevephysioc.com or http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

While I was moved by the cinematic brilliance of Christopher Nolan’s film, I was a bit troubled by man’s fascination with violence. As the audience awaited the start of the movie, we were shown previews of '“Coming Attractions” to the theatre. All five previews were about death and destruction, end of the world, horror movies depicting vampires and zombies, or man’s inhumanity to man. I understand there are algorithms that predict our viewing habits: “If you liked this movie, you’ll probably like this one.” Violence sells. But it also made me think of a line in Homer’s 800 BC poem: “Of all the creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man.” Bred is the key word to me. Have we been bred to be violent, to seek revenge, and demand justice? It reminded me of a Native American parable of the Tale of Two Wolves:

One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other wolf is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.’

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked, ‘Grandpa, which wolf wins?’

The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one that you feed.’

As we go about our lives, we can choose which wolves we want to feed. We can choose peace, love, hope, community, kindness and service, or we can choose grievance, resentment, revenge, anger, and a demand for justice. I truly believe that whatever we think about, we are saying to the universe, “I want more of that.” That’s why it’s so important what we read and watch. Call me Pollyanna, but some of my favorite movies are: An American President, Return to Me, Forrest Gump, and When Harry met Sally. Happy movies that make me smile and laugh. No violence or explosions (okay, a bit with Forrest) no revenge or getting even. Simple stories of hope, resilience, overcoming obstacles, and love.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked The Odyssey. As a matter of fact, I loved some of the metaphors. Like when Odysseus explained to his son why he dressed as a beggar when returning home to meet his enemies: “The clearest view of man is from below.” I believe Odysseus was reflecting on how character is revealed when you have no power or status.

Another powerful quote was when the goddess Calypso told a grieving Odysseus, “You’re a man who needs to control his fate. But you can’t control this. You must give up the storm . . . give up the fight, give up control and live. It’s a leap of faith you haven’t yet made, Odysseus.”

Maybe that’s where most of us are. Needing to be in control of our fate. But are we going to do it by way of ancient thinking—wars, violence and revenge—or are we going to do it by surrendering to love? We have a guidance system within us that wants us to be good. Perhaps it’s time we listen to it and feed the good wolf. Feed it freedom, kindness, peace, self-expression, and love—I believe those are pursuits that should be occupying our minds.

In the meantime, I’m gonna turn on the TV and watch It’s a Wonderful Life for the eighteenth time:)

***

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, Catching the Wind, and Beyond This World There is a World I Want, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

I met Carol while walking my dog in Stilwell Kansas some six years ago. Well, I didn’t literally her, but when I walked, I’d scroll my phone in search of a wise sage explaining an often difficult to decode Course lesson. I stumbled across Carol Howe’s daily reading of an ACIM lesson with commentary and was hooked. Carol’s ability to turn complicated ideas into simple everyday language was impressive. Through a bit of research, I discovered that Carol was not only a master teacher of ACIM, but a close friend of co-scribe Bill Thetford and wrote his biography.

As an author myself, who weaves ACIM principals into the characters of all my books, my wife contacted to Carol. She asked if Carol would be interested in reading my The Walls of Lucca series. Much to my delight, she did! And she liked them. As fate would have it, Stace and I were planning a move to Colorado in 2023, about the same time that Carol was returning from Florida to her Rocky Mountain state. We inquired about having lunch, Carol agreed, and as you might imagine, lunch lasted more than three hours. Carol inspired us with stories about her spiritual journey, what led her to the Course, her friendship with Bill and ACIM Foundation of Inner Peace leaders Judy Skutch, Ken Wapnick, and Gerry Jampolsky.

That lunch sparked a great friendship with Carol. We enjoyed more lunches and dinners, ACIM study groups, and a retreat at our home in Evergreen. We also joined her when she was a featured speaker at the 50^th Anniversary ACIM publishing last October.

Being with Carol was like being by a warm fireplace on a cold winter night. All my doubts and fears seemed to melt away by simply being in her presence and hearing her wisdom. Here are some of my favorite Carol quotes:

-“Don’t try to understand these lessons, just practice. And through time, the lesson will unfold for you.”

-“Your ego may think these lessons are stupid. Do them anyway. Eventually, you’ll understand.”

-“The more you do these lessons, the more you understand you are aligning with the truth, aligning with love. The ego will seem less like you than it used to be.”

-“Who else but me can be the light of the world? Jesus realized his connection to God…what are we waiting for?”

-“The truth is true whether you see it or not, whether you believe it or not. It is there and you will find it.”

-“We are all here for the same purpose. To think the way God thinks. To think with love and extend that love…only God is real…only love is real.”

-“This Course is not for sissys!”

Stace and I were blessed to know Carol Howe these last three years. She was the very definition of ACIM principles. She trusted the Holy Spirit to guide her and was on earth at this time to be truly helpful. As Rumi once said: “In the company of the wise, the mirror of the mind is cleansed of the dust of the ego, allowing you to see the divine reflection within.”

Thank you, Carol, for shining your divine…and even in your passing . . . for continuing to inspire!” We Love You!!

***

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, Catching the Wind, and Beyond This World There is a World I Want, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

I’ve been witness to some amazing comebacks in my five-decade career as a sports broadcaster. The common denominator is always…believe. Believe even when success seems impossible. The 2002 World Series was one example. My Angels were down 5-0 to the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning of game six. The Giants were eight outs away from winning the Championship. But a Scott Spiezio three-run home run gave the Angels hope, a Darin Erstad blast gave them belief, and a Troy Glaus double capped an amazing 6-5 victory. The Angels would win their only World Series the next night ,4-1 on a three-run double by Garret Anderson. As Garret later told me, “I didn’t know how we’d win, but there was a collective belief that we would win.”

Fast forward to 2014. I’m now a broadcaster for the Kansas City Royals. My hometown team hadn’t been to a World Series in 29 years. The Royals trailed the Oakland A’s by four runs in the seventh inning of the American League Wildcard game. Loser goes home. KC chipped away with an aggressive small-ball approach and flurry of stolen bases to tie the game in the 8th and win it in the 12th by a final of 9-8. That crazy win gave the Royals belief that they could beat anyone. KC swept the hottest team that September, the Angels in 3 games, swept the Baltimore Orioles in four in the ALCS, before barely losing to the Giants in a thrilling seven-game series.

That 2014 postseason experience was crucial to the Royals winning it all the next year. But they again had to overcome a late four-run deficit in game 4 of the ALDS against the Houston Astros. Down 6-2 in the 8th, the Royals were given a 97% chance of their season ending that night. But KC didn’t quit. Much like the Knicks last night, they chipped away and chipped away, scoring five in the eighth, two in the ninth, and won the game 9-6. The Royals beat the BlueJays four victories to two in the ALCS, and knocked off the NY Mets four victories to one to win their first World Series since 1985. Eight of those Royals postseason victories were come-from-behind wins. Ya gotta believe.

Belief is an under-appreciated quality. It’s hard to explain, decode, put into words, but you know it when you see it. It’s like a psychological compass, shaping your identity, driving your actions, and determining how you interpret the world. Whether it’s personal goals, team goals, faith, or self-worth, what you believe dictates your capacity for resilience and achievement. How do you get that foundation? Experience. Usually, tough experience. Learning how to lose can teach you how to win. The last eight years, the Knicks went from 17 wins to 21, then 41, 37, 47, 50, 51, and 53 this year. Much like iron being forged into steel, these Knicks learned to bend under heavy stress…and grew together. The comparative ages of the Knicks and Spurs tell that story. The five top players for NY, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Mikal Bridges average 29 years of age. The top five of San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, Julian Champagnie, and Devin Vassell, average 23 years of age. As my mom used to say when I’d make a mistake, “The only cure for twenty is twenty-one. Learn from your mistakes.”

Believing in your potential creates mental toughness, allowing you to bounce back from adversity and overcome difficult times. As Jalen Brunson again said after last night’s game: “Believe in each other, believe in the process, chipping it away, one possession at a time.” New York’s rally began with belief. When you believe something can be done, truly believe, your mind will find the ways to get it done. The Knicks did that last night. To me, that implausible, preposterous, inconceivable comeback was less about what the Spurs did wrong, and more about what the Knicks did right. Believe. Last night’s game was just one more reason why I love sports. Believe it!

***

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, Catching the Wind, and Beyond This World There is a World I Want, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

Who is Carol Howe? She’s a Master Teacher of A Course in Miracles, a book Stace and I have been studying the last thirty years. For those unfamiliar with ACIM, it’s a spiritual self-study that teaches the way to love and inner peace is through forgiveness. I met Carol while walking my dog in Stilwell Kansas some six years ago. Well, I didn’t literally meet her, but when I walked, I’d scroll my phone in search of a wise sage explaining an often difficult to decode Course lesson. I stumbled across Carol Howe’s daily reading of an ACIM lesson with commentary and was hooked. Carol’s ability to turn complicated ideas into simple everyday language was impressive. Through a bit of research, I discovered that Carol was not only a master teacher of ACIM, but a close friend of co-scribe Bill Thetford and wrote his biography.

As an author myself, who weaves ACIM principles into the characters of all my books, my wife contacted Carol. Stace asked if Carol would be interested in reading my The Walls of Lucca series. Much to my delight, she did! And she liked them. As fate would have it, Stace and I were planning a move to Colorado in 2023, about the same time that Carol was returning from Florida to her Rocky Mountain state. We inquired about having lunch, Carol agreed, and as you might imagine, lunch lasted more than three hours. Carol inspired us with stories about her spiritual journey, what led her to the Course, her friendship with Bill and ACIM Foundation of Inner Peace leaders Judy Skutch, Ken Wapnick, and Gerry Jampolsky.

That lunch sparked a great friendship with Carol. We enjoyed more lunches and dinners, ACIM study groups, and a retreat at our home in Evergreen. We also joined her when she was a featured speaker at the 50^th Anniversary ACIM publishing last October.

Being with Carol is like being by a warm fireplace on a cold winter night. All my doubts and fears seem to melt away simply being in her presence and hearing her wisdom. Here are some of my favorite Carol quotes:

-“Don’t try to understand these lessons, just practice. And through time, the lesson will unfold for you.”

-“Your ego may think these lessons are stupid. Do them anyway. Eventually, you’ll understand.”

-“The more you do these lessons, the more you understand you are aligning with the truth, aligning with love. The ego will seem less like you than it used to be.”

-“Who else but me can be the light of the world? Jesus realized his connection to God…what are we waiting for?”

-“The truth is true whether you see it or not, whether you believe it or not. It is there and you will find it.”

-“We are all here for the same purpose. To think the way God thinks. To think with love and extend that love…only God is real…only love is real.”

-“This Course is not for sissys!”

Stace and I have been blessed to know Carol Howe these last three years. She is the very definition of ACIM principles. She trusts Holy Spirit to guide her and is here to be truly helpful. As Rumi once said: “In the company of the wise, the mirror of the mind is cleansed of the dust of the ego, allowing you to see the divine reflection within.”

Thank you, Carol, for shining your divine…and for continuing to inspire!

***

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, Catching the Wind, and Beyond This World There is a World I Want, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

I was blessed to have a great mom. Bette Physioc did a marvelous job raising five children who did pretty well. Not one of us spent a day in jail and we all got jobs. Mom’s theme was love and discipline. If you loved your children enough, you’d know just the amount of discipline to dish out. But mainly, mom was about love.

I was also blessed to witness another great mother. My wife. I’ve never known anyone who wanted children more than Stace. Unfortunately, she suffered seven miscarriages, lost eight babies, so we decided to adopt. All I can tell is that when our daughter Ryan was placed in my wife’s arms on October 27 1986, Stace’s heart was full.

Two and a half years later we adopted our son Kevin and our family was complete. Stace was a wonderful mom, doting on our children with homemade organic meals, kissing ‘ow-ees’ to make them all better, celebrating soccer goals, baseball home runs, going camping, and being goofy in the bathtub.

Being a parent is hard work. Even more so for a mom whose husband was on the road half the year broadcasting sports. Stace had to be both mother and father when I was gone, driving our children to their games or theatre or hosting sleepovers. But what I discovered was that the best moms aren’t the ones who never struggle, but the moms who never give up when struggles arrive. Stace was that and more, guiding them through every stage. From toddler to adolescent, to rebellious teen, to college student, Stace did her very best.

My own mom said that you’ve done a good job as a parent if you prepare your children to leave you. We get eighteen years with these developing humans, then they go off to college, the workforce, marriage and beyond. But never, not for a single minute, were our children not completely and totally loved by Stace. Birth mom? Adoptive mom? She was just mom. Stace didn’t need the title or prefix. Her love is stronger than blood. Now, our children are 39 and 37…living their own lives, making their own path on this crazy journey Stace calls ‘Earth School’. For we all have lessons to learn. Some we taught. Some we learned from our children.

As grandparents we’ve found that our roles are different. We may not be able to have the same impact on our three granddaughters that we had on our two children, but we can always be demonstrations of love…and Stace can still kick their tiny butts at Twister, Yoga, and just being silly.

It’s been said that behind every great child is a mom who is pretty sure she messed up. That’s okay. We’re all doing our best. Our best with love. Happy Mother’s Day to Stace, our daughter Ryan, our heavenly moms, and to all the mothers out there doing their very best…even when they mess up. Have a wonderful, joyful, and peaceful day! Blessings always…

***

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, Catching the Wind, and Beyond This World There is a World I Want, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

I wasn’t the best of students either. C’s, D’s, even a few F’s throughout elementary, junior high and high school in Kansas. But mom believed in me because I loved to read. Her philosophy was, “If you love to read, you love to learn.” Funny Story: when I was ten years old, mom started reading the historical fiction novel Arundel, by Kenneth Roberts. She read me a chapter a night the first week. After seven long chapters, she gave up, and said, “Let me finish it, then you can read it.”

I was absolutely captured by Kenneth Roberts novels. So much so, that for my eleventh birthday I asked for only Roberts books. Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters bought me Arundel, Northwest Passage, Rabble in Arms, Boon Island, Captain Caution, etc. While my math and science grades continued to suffer, I got an A in reading…and Mom encouraged it with gifts of To Kill a Mockingbird, Raintree County, Gone with the Wind, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Thornbirds, Lonesome Dove and Stephen Colbert’s I am America (And So Can You!)

Mom sent me off to college at Kansas State, where I still struggled mightily, dutifully honored with academic probation my first semester. I tried to quit, but mom wouldn’t let me, saying “I don’t care if it takes you ten years and you change majors twenty times, you’ll discover your passion in college.” I finished in five by discovering another kind of storytelling. Play-by-play broadcasting…and made mom proud.

For forty-seven years I broadcast football, basketball, and baseball. High school, college and the pros. It was an absolute joy. Mom even joined me for a Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs broadcast in 1995. What a memory.

Then, in 2006, while vacationing in Italy, I challenged myself again. I was inspired to write. With mom’s encouragement, and sometimes brutal criticism, I began my The Walls of Lucca series. Mom’s first review? “This isn’t very good. Start over.” I did. Ten years later Walls was published and surprisingly won Gold Medals for Historical Fiction from Kirkus, Reader Views and Readers Favorite.

We lost mom before my Walks with the Wind series debuted in 2021 and this year’s release of Beyond This World There is a World I Want. But I truly believe Mom has already read them, because so much of my stories are inspired by her. A lifetime of trust, wisdom, kindness, loss, recovery, forgiveness, resilience, belief, and blessings. My brothers and sisters, family and friends all have similar beautiful memories of mom. In the life she shared, the laughter she made, the lessons she taught, and the love she gave. Six years after her passing, her legacy lives on…reflected in each and every one of us. A mother holds your hand for a while, but your heart forever.

***

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, Catching the Wind, and Beyond This World There is a World I Want, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

I’m delighted to announce the release of my latest novel! Beyond This World There is a World I Want is on Amazon right now for only 99 cents! https://amzn.to/3O4CEv6 I’ll keep it at that discounted price the first month to promote this compelling historical fiction that’s received five-star reviews from Literary Titan, Readers Favorite, and Reader Views. Beyond also garnered this wonderful cover endorsement from acclaimed author of the Outlander series, Diana Gabaldon:

“An emotionally gripping story of love and loss, courage and choice, in the mountains of Italy during WWII.”

What’s my story about? Here’s the back cover copy:

What do you do when you lose everything—your husband, your country, and your dream? When survival itself feels impossible, perhaps the answer lies in forging an unbreakable bond.

In war-torn Italy of 1944, Nina Caruso embarks on a desperate mission to rescue her husband, Paulo, from a Nazi labor camp. Forced into an uneasy alliance with a Carthusian monk, Vincenzo Spinelli, she navigates a treacherous landscape where the lines between allies and enemies blur. Who can they trust—the crumbling Fascist regime or the unpredictable Partisan leadership? As their mission unfolds, Nina and Vincenzo’s growing admiration for one another challenges their faith, their convictions, and the life-and-death choices they must make.

I was moved to write this story during my travels to Italy the last two decades doing research for my award-winning The Walls of Lucca series.

What I found was a country plunged into chaos after they signed the armistice with the Allies in September 1943. Germany seized control of Italy and reinstated ousted leader Benito Mussolini as head of the puppet Italian Social Republic. The German occupation triggered widespread national resistance. For nineteen months, Italy was not only engaged in a world war but also in a civil war. Partisans battled fascists, neighbors turned in neighbors, Italians killed Italians.

As the Allies drew closer, Nazi brutality became more vicious. Hitler’s army massacred entire villages as reprisals for partisan attacks. Thousands of Italian men were sent to slave labor camps to build German defenses. This left the women to take on their husbands, fathers, and brothers’ roles. They did that and more. Women organized strikes, served as couriers, transported weapons, ammunition, and secret messages. Some became leaders and rallied other women to fight the enemy.

My story was inspired by a true event that took place at the Carthusian monastery Certosa di Farneta in 1944 and pays tribute to the courageous women who joined the resistance. It begins with a young woman from the small town of Gallicano in the Serchio Valley.

If you enjoy Beyond This World There is a World I Want, I would be very grateful if you could take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and share on social media. Thank you so much.

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

I wrote about the journey home in my Walks with the Wind series. The story of a young man’s dream to play Major League Baseball. My protagonist, Sam Cloud-Carson suffers loss, tragedies and blackmail on his path to not only play the game he loves, but to become the man he is meant to be. Sam’s vision quest takes him to Afghanistan, working security for a corrupt Private Military Contractor. As Sam goes through his dark night of the soul, baseball helps him heal. He’s introduced to a local mission that uses sports to help Afghan children recover from the horrors they’ve experienced in war. The mission’s minister, Whiplash McCracken, recognizes Sam’s pain and invites him for a game of catch. Here’s that scene from my novel:

Whiplash walked over to a metal box next to the dugout, lifted the lid, and pulled out two gloves and a ball. He flipped a glove to Sam and put the other on his left hand. “How about a catch?” Without another thought, Sam slipped the glove on. It felt familiar, like an old friend he hadn’t seen in years. Soft, worn leather, easy and smooth as his fingers stretched deep into the seasoned cowhide. He stepped back and looked up at Whiplash, who was smiling as he tossed the ball from no further than twenty feet. Sam caught it and looked down at the stitching. Eighty-eight inches of beautiful waxed red thread. Sewn by hand. He knew all 108 double stitches by touch, and as he placed his fingers along the seams, a tremor of excitement went up his arm. Two-seam fastball. His pitch. His dependable ally. He stepped back ten paces and threw the baseball. McCracken had to jerk his glove down to keep it from hitting his knee. “Dang, Sammy, you got some movement.” He tossed the ball back and then moved another ten paces away, to about sixty feet. “Lemme see what ya got, kid?” McCracken crouched down and pounded his fist into his glove. Sam bent at the waist and stared in as if getting the sign from Whiplash. He came set, inhaled a deep breath, exhaled slowly, rocked back, raised his left leg, separated his hands, brought his arm up into an L-position, and let it fly. McCracken didn’t even move his glove as the ball popped solidly into the back of the mitt. Shouts of amazement erupted from the kids on the field, who had stopped to watch. Sam whirled around and grinned at the children, then raised his glove for McCracken to return the baseball. He did. “Be easy on me, Sammy. I need this hand.” Sam chuckled as he threw another perfect strike. It was only about seventy miles an hour, but to the children it was a near superhuman feat. McCracken waved the children over and had one of the boys stand in like he was a batter. Whiplash dropped one finger to signal fastball, and Sam brought it home. The boy jerked back in fear, sure that the ball was going to hit him. The children giggled, and from the corner of one eye, Sam caught a faint glimpse of fascinated envy from the older boys, all watching him intently, mouths slightly open. He winked at the oldest boy and motioned for him to stand in. The kid grabbed a bat and hurried over. He had a look of determination on his face that said no matter how fast that ball came in, he would not back away. Sam motioned to McCracken that he was going to throw a curve and then let go a bender that buckled the boy’s knees. But the kid did not back away. “Ooooo!” the children squealed and clapped, amazed by what this man, who looked like one of them, could do with a baseball. Sam let each child stand in the imaginary batter’s box and have a look. As he continued to throw, it was if he was releasing more than just the baseball from his hand. There was a freedom in playing catch again, a return to his youth, a surrender of all his worries and fears, tossing them out into the endless sky, imagining them floating off with the clouds into the faraway Hindu Kush.

Baseball is spiritual. It’s filled with rites, history and tradition that encourages unity and hope. It teaches patience, acceptance, and how to handle failure. We play it one day at a time. Each day is different. A new experience. A new opportunity. Another chance to swing for the fences or strikeout. Cherish every game, every win, every loss, every moment . . . that is the marvelously divine journey of baseball.

“I think God plays baseball.” Whiplash winked. “He wrote about it in Genesis: In the Big Inning, He made the Heavens and the Earth.”

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

Stace and I begin every day in prayer. Prayer for each other, prayer for our families, for our country, for our world, for gratitude, healing, forgiveness, understanding, and peace. Today’s prayer was from Lesson 81 of A Course in Miracles; a review of lessons 61 and 62.

61-I am the light of the world.

62-Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.

I took those ideas with me on my hike in Dedisse Park this morning. Mother Nature is my church. I find peace in the quiet interconnected beauty of a simple walk in the woods, feeling the healing power of the rocks, trees, streams and critters that I pass along the way.

Lesson 61 I am the light of the world may seem rather arrogant, as if I’m saying I’m better than others, but that’s not what the lesson implies. True humility is accepting my role as a child of God, and that my only purpose is to bring salvation and love to a world that believes it is in darkness. Let me not obscure the light of the world in me. Let the light of the world shine through this appearance. This shadow will vanish before the light.

Who else but me can be the light of the world? I can’t control anyone but myself. Yes, walking in the woods and meditation has indeed helped me find peace in the middle of chaos, but there are times I must get up off my yoga mat and act. That time is now.

I can complain about our Defense Department and energy companies’ rejection of climate change and destruction of our planet, or I can pick up trash while I hike and donate to responsible Conservation caretakers like the Sierra Club and Mountain Area Land Trust.

I can criticize the cruelty of Immigration Enforcement, or I can contribute to the ACLU.

I can grumble about our illegal war with Iran, or I can call on my congressmen and women to choose peace with every decision they make.

I can be horrified by a president’s callous tweets about the death of a decorated veteran, or I can forgive him, and pray and act that we change laws so someone this cruel and reckless never rises to this level of power again.

I can gripe about our current system of government, or I can answer the call that President Barack Obama requested at the DNC convention in 2016:

“Don’t boo…vote!”

62-Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world. All of us are healers and are called to heal. We are learning now that to heal means to love unconditionally and accept being loved because that is who we are. Rays of sunshine in a dark world. Healing first happens in the mind. Getting quiet and allowing spirit to enter. Much like today, there are times to meditate, to walk in the beauty of Colorado forests, become one with nature in silence and solitude…and there are times to act. That time is now. Our world needs us.

Don’t boo…vote!

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

Spring Training is also about making new friends. Fans get closer to the players on the back fields, children scurry for autographs from some Single-A number 99, grandparents and grandchildren play in the outfield berm, and broadcasters introduce listeners to the latest hot-shot prospect from the Dominican.

My favorite Spring Training “new friend” encounter came in 2019. I had recently released the sequel to my The Walls of Lucca series. It follows two families trying to create a great wine in Italy’s dark days of WW1, the rise of fascism, and WW2. I know what you’re thinking. What the heck is a baseball play-by-play guy doing writing Italian historical fiction? That was my passion at the time. I love a good tale, and I wanted to write. But as a rookie writer I needed a mentor. I found one in Diana Gabaldon of Outlander fame. While I had never met Ms. Gabaldon, I fell in love with her writing. Diana’s style, research, storyline, character development, attention to detail, powerful dialogue, were incredibly engaging and captivating. I devoured her Outlander series so much that the books looked like they had been through the Battle of Culloden…and studying Diana’s brilliance led me to write my award-winning Walls of Lucca series.

That takes me back to Spring Training and meeting my hero. It began one February morning sharing coffee with my wife, Stace. I casually mentioned that Diana Gabaldon lived in the Phoenix area and that it would be cool to meet her. My loving wife secretly sent an email to Diana. She wrote that her husband is a big fan and that we’d be in Arizona to broadcast the Kansas City Royals games at the end of the month. Would a meeting be possible? Stace received a reply from Diana’s assistant saying it was unlikely because her boss was currently filming in Scotland, but that she’d pass along the email. My wife told me of her hopeful surprise; I thanked God for such a loving wife, and we went on with our day. The very next morning, during coffee and email browsing, Stace cried out, “I got an email from Diana Gabaldon! She wants to meet us!” Apparently, Diana and her husband Doug loved sports; they had watched me broadcast Pac-10 football and basketball games during the time Diana was a professor at Arizona State. To say the least, I was grateful and thrilled. Grateful for Stace reaching out, and thrilled that I would meet my hero.

We met Diana and Doug at Scottsdale Stadium for the game between the Giants and Royals, then went to dinner at a nearby restaurant. The conversation was amazing. I’ve been an avid reader and play-by-play broadcaster for almost fifty years, so to spend time with someone as talented as Diana felt like being in the company of another hero: Hall of Fame broadcaster, Vin Scully. Both are exceptional storytellers, generous with their time and inspiring when talking about their profession. Stace and I were blessed to continue our friendship with Diana and Doug nearly every spring for more wonderful chats about books and baseball.

Now that I’m retired, we don’t get to Arizona as often, but the harmony remains. I’m about to publish my fifth novel, Beyond This World There is a World I Want, and Diana asked to read my manuscript and write a blurb for the cover. I truly felt honored and greatly appreciate her support and promotion. But that’s why we’re here. To help each other. To learn, to improve, to offer our gifts in a unified quest of becoming the best we can be. Much like Spring Training. Hope springs eternal. That’s what I love about this time of year. Baseball, sunshine, optimism, rookie promise, sitting in outfield berms…and making new friends.

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

One of the prizes for winning the Writer’s Digest award was a trip to New York City to meet with literary agents to pitch my next project. Well, stupid Steve didn’t read the “Pitch Rules and Regulations” which stated that you must pitch a book that hasn’t been released. One month before the NY event I published the sequel to Walks...

Had I waited just one month, I could have pitched Catching the Wind to the NY literary agents. Instead, upon being notified of my huge blunder I had to come up with a new book idea. One week before the Conference I decided to write a story about a time, place, and subject I knew something about. World War II in Tuscany and the Italian resistance. I had plenty of material left from the research I had done for The Walls of Lucca series.

I wrote a quick query letter, presented my idea, and several agents asked for my manuscript. I had to be honest. I told them of my error and that I would begin writing immediately. Three months later, Stace and I were in Tuscany doing research for the book. My first stop was at the Gothic Line Museum in Borgo a Mazzano, ten miles south of where much of my story takes place. The museum guide, Roberto Mori, was incredible. He received permission from the Gothic Line Museum president to explore a historic site off-limits to tourists. Inside the German fortifications and tunnels built by Italian slave-laborers in 1944.

My second blessed encounter was at the Certosa di Farneta charterhouse northwest of Lucca. I must tell you that Carthusian monasteries are known for their strict discipline of silence and solitude. Their monks rarely speak to anyone outside their walls. But, after much knocking and help from the monastery’s gardener, I was surprised when the doors opened and Father Giovanni Maria approved my request. He gave me books of their monastery’s history and talked with me about one of the topics of my story; the Nazi atrocity that took place at Certosa di Farneta in September of 1944. I’m forever grateful for Father Giovanni trusting me with their monastery’s most painful memory, and his belief that I would tell their story with respect and accuracy.

Next, we visited the commune where my protagonist Nina Caruso lived. Gallicano Italy. A beautiful river town on the banks of the Serchio River. I not only explored Nina’s hometown and church, but also the forest and mountains where much of my story takes place.

It took me nearly three years, but my fifth novel is finished. What’s it about? Here’s the synopsis I sent to agents and publishers:

What do you do when you lose everything—your husband, your country, and your dream?

In September 1943, Nina Caruso lives with her husband, Paolo, and her parents in a small village in the Serchio Valley of Northern Italy. Though divided in their views on Mussolini, the family remains hopeful that the recent armistice with the Allies will bring peace. Nina dreams of becoming a teacher, but Fascist laws have blocked her progress, and her new role as a wife threatens to consume her future.

When a Gestapo officer named Major Richter arrives in Gallicano and takes an unnerving interest in Nina, her world fractures. With the Allies closing in, Richter sends Nina’s husband and father to work as slave laborers on the last German defensive line. She faces an agonizing decision: flee to the mountains for her own safety or remain in her hometown to keep the grain mill running and save her starving neighbors. Determined not to abandon her community, Nina stays.

As Richter’s obsession with her grows, Nina crosses paths with Vincenzo Spinelli, a disillusioned Carthusian monk who endured a Nazi brutality for sheltering Jews and refugees in his monastery. In an unlikely alliance, in the face of war and famine, they embark on a dangerous quest to rescue Paolo before the war tears everything apart.

As their journey unfolds, so do their feelings for one another, challenging their faith, convictions, and the life and death choices they must make. Can they trust the crumbling Fascist regime or the unpredictable Partisan leadership, or will betrayal destroy any hope of saving Paolo and their communities?

Beyond This World There is a World I Want started with a mistake. At the time, I thought it was a big mistake. But as brilliant writer, Oscar Wilde once said, “Experience is simply the name we give to our mistakes.” I must agree. Mistakes can turn into miracles when we surrender our disappointments and transform those failures into opportunities, lessons, and blessings. Like writing a book.

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

At first, mama was very protective, and would stare us down when we passed by on a hike. Then one day, as Stace and I were walking our dog on the street, we came across mama standing amongst the rocks with only one baby. Mama was making a clicking noise, as if she was trying to get our attention.

I had never heard a deer make that noise before, but mama continued the clicking and followed us down the road. As we came around a bend, we discovered the trouble. Mama’s other baby was stuck on a fence. Apparently, her child had tried to leap over a horizontal chain on the fence and only made it halfway. The baby’s back legs were high in the air and he was panting from the exhaustion of trying to free himself. I looked over my shoulder at mama some forty feet away, hoping she wouldn’t object to my next move. I handed Stace the leash to our dog, then very carefully lifted the baby deer’s legs over the chain. Once free, the baby darted to his mother, and off they went into the woods. The very next day, while sitting on my porch, I felt a presence nearby, and turned to look down. There was mama staring up at me, with her babies safely some twenty feet behind. It was as if she had come to say thank you.

It may have only been a minute, maybe longer, but we stood staring at each other. I felt a connection in that moment. No threat, no fear, only gratitude. As brilliant author Kim Shotola wrote in her book The Soul Watchers: “Animals are a window to your soul and a doorway to your spiritual destiny. If you let them into your life and allow them to teach you, you will be better for it.”

I think the biggest mistake humans have made is their belief that we are separate. Separate from each other, separate from nature, separate from God. To join with others is to heal. Joining, as defined by A Course in Miracles means understanding our real purpose in the world. It means remembering the One Spirit that lives in all of us. When we are not remembering our Oneness with all of creation it’s easy to fall into the feeling of loneliness, separateness, judgment, and lack. But it’s never too late to learn the lesson of Oneness, and thus, of healing. The other creatures on our path, whether human or mama deers, can be our guides on this journey. Take time today to walk with Mother Nature. Breathe in her serenity. May you find your connection to her beauty, and rest in her peace.

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

The result? Over 400,000 Ethiopians died in Mussolini’s war, ravaging an already desperate nation. During the Italian “Pacification of Libya” in the 1930’s, Libyan deaths ranged from 20,000 to 100,000, including the execution of resistance leader, Omar Mukhtar in 1931.

I wrote about this in my novel, Above the Walls, when one of my Italian protagonists, DeAngelo Martellino, accepted work at a grape and date farm in Libya. DeAngelo befriended a Muslim coworker named Mahdi, who invited him to dine with his family in their modest village on the edge of the Sahara. Here is part of that conversation:

“Family is everything.” Mahdi stared across the desert for a long moment. There was a heaviness in his voice. “Hazar is my second wife. My first wife and two children were killed in the civil war with Italy.”

DeAngelo felt a twist in his gut.

“I fought with Omar Mukhtar to bring independence to Libya. Your country defeated us, and Mukhtar was captured and executed.”

DeAngelo drew a deep breath and braced himself. This was a war he knew little about. Only deserving Roman conquests had been written about in Italian newspapers or taught in Italian schools. Nothing about injustice or the suffering of another.

“I shall always remember Omar’s last words. To Allah I belong and to Him we shall return.”

Mahdi then waited for DeAngelo to look at him. “Please help me understand, my friend. Why did Italy make war with our country? Why did you invade Ethiopia? Why are you now occupying Albania? I feel more violence coming to my country and more of my people will die. What more does Mussolini need?”

DeAngelo stood on top of the hill, staring off into the endless abyss of sand. He didn’t have an answer for his friend.

***

I’m not saying that the US will go to war with Venezuela, but Mr. Trump’s decision to kidnap another country’s president and his wife is a staggering violation of International and American law. Is this the new world order? It’s okay for an American President to kidnap a world leader he doesn’t like, and Congress does nothing about it. What about the War Powers Act and the requirements that call for congressional discussion? Where’s our Congress and Supreme Court at this most important time? Are they truly equal branches of our government or are they simply subordinates of Mr. Trump?

As a man of faith, I truly believe that Jesus would condemn today’s decision. Jesus never condoned aggression or conquering nations. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). He stressed limitless forgiveness (Matthew 18:22’s “seventy times seven”) and linked receiving mercy to extending it, urging followers to “Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). Jesus would be against starting wars without exhausting all peaceful options. Any form of hate/ego-driven aggression went against his core message of love. “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)

As my brilliant friend and former ABC News correspondent, Greg Dobbs wrote in his Substack article today:

“A nation that invades another, based on what we’ve seen so far as flimsy allegations, is not the nation I want us to be. A nation that cozies up to dictators who share this president’s disregard for human rights, a nation that performs extrajudicial executions without a hint of due process on the high seas, a nation whose foreign policy has a predisposition to favor white Christians over anyone of color, that is not the nation I want us to be.

Under Donald Trump though, that is the nation we have become.

Trump is under pressure from many sides: his economy, his corruption, his health, his party’s losses of elections, his personal losses of once-loyal supporters, his presence in the Epstein files. He has resorted to the oldest presidential trick in the books: when you’re in trouble, change the subject. Project power by your country when your own power is waning.

I don’t weep for Maduro. He might be the drug lord some say he is. But I weep for us.” Thank you, Greg.

***

I shall pray for our country tonight. Please pray with me. Peace.

***

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite. You can find his books at http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES and stevephysioc.com

It wasn’t until 1964 when the Catholic Church decided to switch from Latin to English that I started asking my mom questions about our faith. “Why fish on Fridays?” “What’s the cutoff between a venial and mortal sin?” “Why do I have to go to confession when I didn’t do anything wrong?” And the big one, “What is God?”

Mom was always patient answering my many questions. “God is Love,” she would say, “and so are you.” Her idea of a perfect religion was about an active expression of love, compassion, and taking care of others. Simple kindness…Oh…and don’t take yourself too seriously. Phizzie Phamily Christmas Photo from 1967 demonstrates that:

That theme continued my entire life. Right up to when Stace and I became parents in 1986. Here’s our 1995 Christmas photo when we lived in Danville California. Daughter Ryan and son Kevin on our shoulders making monkey faces.

The tradition lives on with our daughter, son-in-law, and three beautiful granddaughters who live in the great state of Michigan. As grandparents, our joy is seeing their faces light up on Christmas morning and when they take silly family pictures for their own future memories.

This takes me back to my original question. What does Christmas mean to me? I interpret the birth of Jesus as a metaphor for my own spiritual awakening. The “Christ consciousness” being born within me, symbolizing my divine potential, my inner light, and my surrendering ego’s hold on me. It’s about finding deep spiritual truth, so that I can be one of the billions of candles that make up the “Light of the World.”

I like what Marianne Williamson said recently about Christmas: “Every element of the Nativity — Mary, Joseph, the Star of Bethlehem, the shepherd, the kings, and even Herod — mirrors an aspect of our inner world. The more deeply we understand the story, the more deeply we understand ourselves. Is Christmas merely symbolic, or is it a portal to your own awakening? Does it belong to history alone, or does it offer a pathway toward mental clarity, emotional healing, and spiritual illumination?”

Ultimately, the best answer is that the search for Christmas is a journey each person must take for themselves. It involves a combination of contemplation, personal experience, and faith. Jesus was born in a manger two thousand years ago, yet He is born again whenever we open our hearts to love. Have a blessed Holy Week this Holiday Season, and don’t forget to simply…be kind.

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

The origin of Thanksgiving was about unity. Fifty pilgrims and ninety members of the Wampanog Tribe met for three days in 1621 to celebrate a successful harvest and to thank the First Nations people who helped the settlers survive their first year in the colonies.

I was lucky to be raised in a family that survived our years together because we didn’t take ourselves seriously. Thanksgiving at the Phizzie phlophouse was a cornucopia of fun, fellowship, laughter, delicious food and goofy people who loved each other.

Thanksgiving is my sisters’ favorite holiday. As Beth told me, “Christmas is exhausting. It’s so commercialized and I constantly worry about getting the perfect gift for family or friends. But Thanksgiving is all about giving and friendship, and being thankful for all that you have.” Beth reminded me of a Thanksgiving we had at her modest home in Olathe Kansas. She invited twenty-four people and wanted them all to sit together. We shoved three tables together that stretched from the kitchen oven to the living room fireplace. Each of us shared a delightful story of what we were grateful for.

These traditions started at our grandparents house in Merriam Kansas. My grandmother was the family matriarch. Ceal was an orphan, raised in New York foster care in the early 1900’s, so family meant everything to her. And like my sisters, Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday. Grandma loved to make stuffing. She thought stuffing was an example of family. Combining different ingredients into a single dish in a shared experience of thanks. Grandma’s stuffing became her daughter’s stuffing, her grandchildren’s stuffing and now her great-grandchildren’s stuffing. Each generation adding a new ingredient as if blending memories of the past with a hopeful outlook for the future, grounded in the gratitude for the present.

To this old sportscaster, stuffing reminds me of team sports. Alone, each player is unique, but mixed together they can win championships. In my five decades covering team sports I was blessed to know many great coaches. None greater than John Wooden. Coach Wooden led his UCLA Bruins to an unprecedented ten National Championships. I had the honor of broadcasting five Wooden Classics, and the game UCLA christened Pauley Pavilion’s floor Nell and John Wooden Court. That’s me in the lower right corner of the picture applauding Coach Wooden’s pregame speech.

As Coach Wooden told me at halftime of that special game, “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.” Ahh…much like a savory Thanksgiving stuffing. The casserole wins, not the individual ingredient.

Which returns me to the theme of this story. The Spirituality of Thanksgiving Stuffing. I love stuffing. I love soup and stews. I love casseroles, tossed salads, pot pies and chili. Melting pots of separate flavors thrown together to make a delicious cuisine. It’s much like America. A country of hundreds of cultures melting together to form our United States. Did you know the term “melting pot” began as a somewhat negative ideology. The term originated from Hector St John Crevecouers 18th century writing that suggested immigrants to America shed their old identities and fuse into a single, new “American” culture. But I don’t think we need to abandon our past cultures and become one single class. There’s plenty of different food on the table. As an example, I know someone who put tiny marshmallows and Twinkies in their stuffing. Gross! My little brother Andy, thinks gravy is a beverage and lathers his turkey and mashed potatoes like he’s inventing some weird soup. No thank you! My taste buds are more in line with my Grandma’s stuffing, but I do respect that others may like stuffing with white sugar blobs or mashed potatoes that swim.

In diversity we find acceptance. Where individuals are encouraged to retain their cultural identities so they may contribute in their own special way to this wonderful melting pot of humanity…or a tasty Thanksgiving stuffing.

So this Thanksgiving let’s celebrate both our similarities and differences—be grateful for the people in our lives. Feeling separate from anyone, anytime never nurtures us. Be like stuffing tomorrow. Blend together to create a single, cohesive and enjoyable whole, just as bread, sausage, onions, celery, and herbs merge together for a most wonderful dish. Just leave out the marshmallows and Twinkies! Please! That’s disgusting!

May your gravy boat runneth over. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

I’ve always believed that simple kindness is one of the most underrated qualities of being human. A kind word, a compliment, a pat on the back can be an incredible lift to a person’s spirit. I was blessed to have a mother who professed that value in me at an early age. “Be kind to kind to everyone,” my mom said. “ If they’re kind back, you have another friend. If they’re not kind back, you probably didn’t want them as a friend anyway. But it’s your responsibility to always be kind.”

That “be kind to everyone” affirmation has been a force throughout my life. I’m drawn to people who extend kindness so easily. I wish I could list the thousands of “kindness extenders” I worked with in my career, but for brevity’s sake I’ll shorten it to three individuals you may have heard of…

MLB Hall of Fame Manager Sparky Anderson was the very definition of kindness and unity. His quote, “The greatest investment of all time is kindness…and it don’t cost a dime” has stayed with me since the first day we worked together in 1996. Marques Johnson was my longest tenured basketball partner at twelve years. MJ was not only a brilliant basketball player and analyst, but he was a humble man of faith who overcame personal challenges to shine his light on everyone he met…including me. When something bad would happen, MJ would simply say, “Bitter or better? What’s it gonna be? The choice is ours. Resentments destroy the soul.” Then, there was my longest tenured broadcast partner, Rex Hudler. For 22-years I shared the booth with this non-stop energizer bunny of enthusiasm. Yet, beyond his “Wonderdog” personality Hud lit up the ball field with kindness. While I was interviewing some ballplayer behind the batting cage, I’d see Hud in the stands signing autographs or encouraging a child in a wheelchair. “Be a fountain, not a drain” was Hud’s mantra and he lived it.

Kindness became the theme of my first novel, The Walls of Lucca. It’s the story of two families struggling to produce a great wine during Italy’s dark days of World War One, the rise of fascism, and World War Two. What do you do when the world is on fire? When even survival seems impossible? My protagonist, Isabella Roselli went through her ‘dark night of the soul’ experience and come through the other side with a relentless conviction to love, serve, and forgive. One of my favorite scenes is when the wine-owner’s wife, Susanna Martellino visits Isabella while she’s working her garden. As Bella pulls up weeds and plants seeds, Susanna lets loose a litany of grievances about the unfairness of her life. Isabella quietly listens to her friend, then drops a seed in the dirt and says… “Our thoughts are like seeds, Susanna. It’s important which seeds we select and where we plant them. Wrong thoughts create the trouble in our lives. We compare, we judge, we condemn, and all that does is hurt us. We need to change the way we think and understand that droughts and floods will come. We must learn from those challenges to grow.”

The Walls of Lucca and its sequel, Above the Walls, won Readers Favorite gold medals in 2018 and 2019 for Historical Fiction. Some critics thought I made Isabella too good to be true, that no one could forgive after all she had been through. My response was, “why is it so easy to believe someone could be so evil as my antagonist in the story, but so difficult to believe in someone as good as Bella? As it says in my spiritual practice, A Course in Miracles, “Each day a thousand treasures come to me with gifts throughout the day, in value far beyond all things of which I can conceive.” What are those gifts? They are mercy, love, forgiveness, and simple kindness. We only have to open our hearts to share those gifts.

I’ve been blessed to know many Isabella’s in my life…people like Sparky Anderson, Marques Johnson, Rex Hudler…and of course, the inspiration for Isabella…my wife, Stace. Take time today to celebrate International Kindness Day with a random act of kindness. As Sparky said, “Kindness is the greatest investment of all time…and it don’t cost a dime.”

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Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES

As I reflect on that road-trip some fourteen years later, I think about what our country is currently going through. Anger. Division. Finger pointing. A country on the brink of breaking. Ahh, 2011 seemed so peaceful. And yet when I look back at history, peace is what we make of it. As an example, 2011 was filled with its share of strife. Japan suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami, a wave of protests spread across the Middle East and North Africa, Muammar Gaddafi and Osama bin Laden were killed, the Iraq War ended, and there were mass shootings in Norway and Arizona. There has never been a year of perfection and complete peace on this earthly plane. But it’s something we can strive for if we have the heart and discipline to search. When Stace and I left on our journey from Southern California we began with a silly competition. We had to do a yoga pose in every state and do some random act of kindness every day.

I’ve heard that as one gets older the things they regret most in life are the things they didn’t do: The chance, the adventure, the challenge to try something new and find the joy in every moment. We didn’t watch TV or read a newspaper our entire journey, so we avoided the chaos and trouble of the outside world. What we did experience was the country we read about in our history books growing up: The Santa Fe Trail, Navajo, Sioux and Shoshone lands, the Lewis and Clark and Sacajawea exploration. We followed their path across the Great Plains and into the Rockies, marveled at the raw beauty of the Dakota ‘badlands’, a place that Theodore Roosevelt said he needed to toughen him up to become president of the United States.

There are so many images that will be etched in our minds forever. From the dazzling blue skies of Santa Fe to the Big Sky country of Montana. From windswept Lake Michigan sand dunes to the Missouri River swollen to the tops of its levees in North Dakota. We reminisced of what the old west looked like after coming across a herd of bison grazing in the Wyoming grasslands and were awed by the overwhelming power of the Yellowstone waterfalls.

We saw grizzly bear and bald eagles hunt for dinner by the Firehole River, enjoyed the magnificent drive between Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. There was the gorgeous hike up Avalanche Creek where we viewed Glaciers perfectly framed by Cedar and Hemlock trees and watched raindrops fall gently across pristine Lake McDonald. We’ll remember our whitewater adventure on the Flathead River with temperatures in the 50s and winds and rain that sent a chill to our bones only to be warmed by our son’s thankful smile for sharing this adventure.

We found only good people on our journey. Helpful American souls pointing us in the right direction when we were lost or sharing a story or two about the land they loved. We were inspired by Greensburg, Kansas; a town wiped out by a tornado in 2007, proudly rebuilt with a ‘green theme for its future. We’ll remember talking with the ‘old soul’ world traveler who sold us art in Santa Fe and the passionate yet gentle man who had little trouble convincing us to buy one of his tasty cherry pies in Traverse City. We smile thinking back of the National Park Rangers who claimed to have the best jobs in the world because they got to work, play, teach, and protect the land they love so much.

We were lifted by our past and future, whether it was stopping at historical sites or visiting with our parents in Kansas City and St Louis as they recalled their own stories of America’s beauty. We also met many young people who put down their I-pads and headphones to explore the parks and create their own stories. We delighted to the shrieks of joy that came from our four-month-old grand-daughter when taking her for walks in Michigan: smiling at the ducks and geese, smelling the purple lupines and her inquisitive touch of a lodgepole pine.

This land, despite news reports that tell us differently, is in good hands with our young people. They understand the importance of this moment and taking care of Mother Nature. They know that we’re a country and planet worth fighting for. Young people care. They love. They want to protect our beautiful lands for generations to come. It’s been said that the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. Let’s accept the responsibility that each of us can do our part. We must protect the forests, rivers and oceans for our children, our grandchildren, and children yet to be born. Stace and I feel blessed to have had that four week, 7,020 miles, eighteen state, seven National Park adventure. On that journey we truly adopted the pace of nature and found what we were always looking for. Unity with humanity and harmony with nature. As Shakespeare said, “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”

Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite. You can find his books at http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLES and stevephysioc.com

Why do I bring this up? Because we are a fractured nation right now. We’re a country pointing fingers rather than pulling together and helping fellow citizens. The Constitution calls us to unite, “in order to form a more perfect union.”

I wrote a book a few years ago titled The Walls of Lucca. It’s a love story/historical fiction, set in the era of the rise of Benito Mussolini and fascism. I started writing the novel in 2006. It wasn’t until after I finished the book that I noticed staggering similarities between Mussolini and our President Donald Trump. Mussolini masterfully used propaganda and cultivated a personality cult, presenting himself as Italy’s savior. His Fascist Blackshirt militias were much like ICE, using intimidation and violence not only against immigrants, but fellow citizens and political opponents. Mussolini created an atmosphere of fear and suppressed all dissent. In a three-year period from 1922-25, Mussolini destroyed Italian democracy, bought off elites, intimidated universities, judges, unions, the press, and pardoned political prisoners.

Sound familiar? Coming from a team sports background, I’ve never seen a team win when the coach pits players against one another. As World Champion manager Dusty Baker once told me, “Leadership is not about being the loudest voice in the room, but the one who inspires and motivates others to do their best and pull everyone together.”

Dusty’s quote reminded me of a story by Claudia Reynaud about the largest tree on earth. The mighty Sequoia. Most grow to 200-300 feet. Yet the Sequoia roots only go 6-12 feet deep. Any engineer would tell you a tree that tall with shallow roots can’t survive. But Sequoia’s don’t survive alone. Their root systems spread 50-80 feet wide and interweave with every other sequoia around them. They share nutrients, water, and structural support. When storms come in, they support each other. The forest is the system: Not the individual trees.

The point of my Substack story is that we’re all in this together. We’re on the same team. If we’re seeking only our personal goals; if we are blaming anyone or living in the past; if we are striving for power instead of collaborating to help, then we are not aligned to bring people together for good. I implore our leaders, both Republican and Democrat, to choose a loving path. Try to enter every situation with only one intention…to be a bringer of peace and unity. I truly believe that if our politicians’ goal were like the above-mentioned coaches, we’d have more peace in the world. Yet if those coaches behaved like our politicians, they wouldn’t win a single game. Not one. To quote Hall of Fame coach John Wooden, “You are not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes.”

Pull us together, Mr. President. We’re on the same team. We are the UNITED States. We have the same goal. TEAM. UNITY. TOGETHERNESS. Like the mighty Sequoia, the only way we’ll win is . . . TOGETHER!!

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Steve Physioc is a 2013 Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and multi-award-winning fiction author. Over a 35-year career in Major League Baseball, he called games for the Royals, Angels, Reds, and Giants, as well as national broadcasts on ESPN and Fox. Now retired from broadcasting, he writes full-time, with novels honored by Writer’s Digest, BookLife, Reader Views, and Readers’ Favorite.

If you would like to read my books, The Walls of Lucca, Above the Walls, Walks with the Wind, and Catching the Wind, please go to http://tinyurl.com/stevephysiocTITLE