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MUSIC THERAPY: PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR STRESSFUL TIMES

Music therapy comes in so many flavors. Listen to calming tones, or listen clanking tones. Find live music, or play your own. The thing with playing music is you need to practice. But how long should you practice? That long.

HOSPITALITY MATTERS WITH THE HOSPITALITY KING

Hospitality matters most when you have high expectations, high hopes. If you saved up to stay someplace nice, you don’t want the memory soiled by anything, but especially something as simple as hospitality. What happens when hospitality royalty shine their own crowns? Share my shock when the Hospitality King out-means the Queen of Mean. Sweet […]

PRACTICING TOLERANCE FOR A TEST YOU DON’T WANT TO FAIL

The idea of practicing tolerance isn’t the same as ignoring the important stuff. Tolerance: the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with. With that definition, you know you’ll need practice. But does tolerance have to be an extreme hardship? It depends […]

STEPPINGSTONE LIFE STAYS ON THE MOVE

Living that steppingstone life keeps everyone busy. First it’s a new address to write over the dried white-out in your address book. White-out? Address book? Who has those? Then it’s the actual move, the packing up and picking up part of the steppingstone life. Don’t forget the fun part, the joy of rewarding experiences and […]

FREEDOM MASK: WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE?

What’s a freedom mask? Is it the expression on a prisoner’s face on the way out of jail? The look married people have after the final decree is signed? Or is it a blue four-ply square with pleats that comes with loops that fit behind your ears? Since I’ve never been to jail overnight, just […]

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE UPDATE: NOW WHAT?

We all understand American Independence from a historical point of view. “Freedom from the tyranny of taxation without representation.” And other tyrannies? What about independence from other tyrannies? Can we get freedom from self-imposed tyrannies? Personal tyranny? If so, how? That’s the question, how? You could read an essay for starters. It’s an Oregon-born essay […]

AMERICAN STEW, A RECIPE OF HOPE AND HEALTH

American stew, in spite of the name, is a delicate dish with a layered flavor profile. The ingredients are common to most every country, but the preparation and cooking temperature are the biggest difference. What American stew is not, is half-baked. It’s also not for diners who eat out of cans with a plastic fork, […]

WORDS: FREEDOM’S JUST ANOTHER WORD? NO, NO IT’S NOT

Words change with age. For a few years I lived next to a quirky neighbor. Sound familiar? Most folks have either had one, or been one. I was already there when he moved in, a ripped muscle-man with a crewcut. ‘Great,’ I thought, I’ve got either a policeman neighbor, or a gym kook. Either way […]

NANNY STATE vs MANLY STATE – IN THE OCTAGON

Nanny state is a term of British origin that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice. The term “nanny state” likens government to the role that a nanny has in child rearing.  That’s the wiki-definition, which seems pretty good. The Manly State, a term I made up after hearing Mr. Trump […]

FREEDOM SINGS: JAILHOUSE ROCK FROM CELL BLOCK D

“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.” Was Kris Kristofferson right? Nothing left to lose is the same as freedom? Ask someone who lost everything in 1969 what they think. It might go like this: “How did you lose everything?” “I got drafted.” “Drafted?” “Yes. Conscripted into the United States Army.” “I […]