"I'm grateful for the smiles and the times I hit the dirt"

Blazing Reader,

"I'm grateful for the smiles and the times I hit the dirt."

That's one of my favourite lines from "Grateful" — a song by the English-singing two-man Dutch indie band, The Wanderers. Since 2014, singer-songwriters Nikos Frangiskatos and Victor Driest have been wandering the Netherlands performing in living rooms, churches and theatres so packed you'd think they were handing out free Dutch cheese.

Their website's bio says the power of their music "lies in its simplicity and the emptiness that emerges between the notes. The sounds and lyrics accompany the listener on an inner journey. A concert with a folky, dreamy, and meditative character, tailor-made for the heart and soul and all about relaxation and unwinding. A moment to find peace amidst all the hustle and leave behind the daily worries."

In my native land of Canada, this is Thanksgiving weekend, so I thought I'd share with you this song of gratitude from my new home in the Netherlands. You can watch the official "Grateful" music video on The Wanderer's YouTube channel while I go try my Dutch wife's vegan pumpkin pie.

John C.A. Manley

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.