Category Archives: Friendship

How Are You?

flower

How Are You?

Dear Friends,

How are you?

Everyone deals with a change to normalcy differently. There’s no right or wrong way to find your footing. Here are a few things that resonated deeply with me while offering a much-needed smile during these super abnormal times.

If you can handle a few well-placed F-bombs and Sh-bombs, I love how author Chuck Wendig explains what he is feeling and thinking during COVID-19 and #stayhome in his blog, “It’s Okay that You’re Not Okay.”  Okay, I just read it for the fifth time. Even if you don’t like F-bombs or Sh-bombs, I hope you’ll still read it.

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I’m In the Doghouse with V. M. Burns

In the Doghouse books by Teri Case and V. M. Burns

I’m In the Doghouse with author, V. M. Burns

Dear Friends,

One of the hardest things to do is choose a title for a book. There are many things to consider, but here are two of the most important:

  • Does it convey, aka “sell”,  the story and genre? A buyer only spends 2 seconds on a title and book cover (2!!!) before deciding if he/she will read the book description.
  • How many other books have the title? The more books that exist with the same title, the harder it is for readers to easily find your book on the internet.
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An Influential Journey

Vitality Stories

carlen-madduxAuthor Carlen Maddux

An Influential Journey

 

A Path Revealed

During my drive across the country, I read an advance reader’s copy of Carlen Maddux’s A Path Revealed: How Hope, Love and Joy Found Us Deep in a Maze Called Alzheimer’s.

Carlen’s wife, Martha, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease when she was only fifty years old. Fifty years old! I’m 45, almost 46, and I always thought Alzheimer’s was for the elderly, not someone turning fifty. Continue reading

The Power of Community

Vitality Stories

Stephen Jon Thompson

Stephen Thompson, photo by Sarah Morey

The Power of Community

A vital network 

Stephen Jon Thompson and I have been friends for over thirty years. I met him at a church function in seventh grade when I still lived on Tiger Drive. Below is a picture of us getting ready for a night of Christmas caroling. Nothing screams early 1980s better than Steve’s layered, turned up collars, or my bi-level haircut: Continue reading

What Makes You Laugh?

Vitality Stories

Teri Case

What Makes You Laugh?

In the light of day

Two weeks ago in the middle of the night, I was lying wide awake in bed. I was too excited–too happy–to sleep. Hours before, unexpected donations for the Tiger Drive Scholarship had started rolling in and the kindness of friends and strangers, and the idea that we might be able to help not one but TWO students, had my head spinning. Continue reading

Don’t Forget To Feed Your Inner Dog

Vitality Stories

Vitality Stories The Positive Dog

Gretchen LeMay Photography

Don’t Forget To Feed Your Inner Dog

Positively grateful

I’ve been sending a Vitality Stories Newsletter to my email subscribers every Thursday morning since last August, and then on Thursday, April 14th, I didn’t. I was obsessing about the right balance between quality and quantity, and I assumed I was the only one who was paying attention to my schedule. Continue reading

An interview with Director, David Wachs – Part Two

Vitality Stories

8 Rounds with Hitler A Film for Life Henry Wermuth

Henry Wermuth, “8 Rounds with Hilter” by A Film for Life

an interview with

Director, David Wachs

Part Two

Use your talent for good

Last week I presented Part One of my discussion with David Wachs, director of Holes In My Shoes. This week I’m thrilled to not only share his answers to the Vitality Stories interview questions, but tell you more about his current projects. Spoiler Alert: You will be inspired to do something for the better of humanity. Continue reading

An Interview with Director, David Wachs – Part One

Vitality Stories

David Wachs and Jack Beers

David Wachs and Jack Beers

an interview with

Director, David Wachs

Part One – Behind the Scenes

 

Who, What, Why

In October, I wrote about Jack Beers and the documentary of his life, Holes In My Shoes. And when I couldn’t get Mr. Beers out of my head, I also mentioned him here.

Vitality Stories captures the life stories of those who have lived and learned, so it’s not a surprise I was drawn to a feature documentary called Holes In My Shoes. 94-year-old Jack’s zeal for life heavily influenced me, and in large part, this is due to the man who met Jack Beers and recognized there was a vitality story to share, someone who had the vision and talent to deliver the documentary in a way that would, indeed, make it ‘An inspirational story for all ages, and that man is Director, David Wachs.

I wanted to better understand the connection between David Wachs and Jack Beers, and as a person on her own creative journey, I was curious how and why Mr. Wachs chooses his projects, which are many and varied, ranging from pilots to children’s series, including We’re Puppeteers! for Nick Jr. He granted me an interview, and after a long conversation with Mr. Wachs, I was rewarded with a life lesson and inspiration as I learned more about his recent endeavors. Continue reading

Holes In My Shoes – The Jack Beers Story

Vitality Stories

holes_promo_photo

Jack Beers, promotional photo provided by Holes In My Shoes

Jack Beers

What are we living for?

Holes In My Shoes

I recently watched Holes In My Shoes, a documentary directed by David Wachs, chronicling the life story of 94 year-old, Jack Beers. As lessons tend to go, Jack’s story drove home something I’ve been hearing and writing about a lot lately: whatever you choose to do, put your heart into it.

Jack Beers was born in 1910 and survived the Great Depression, growing up in Lower East Side New York City. He decided to drop out of school because he wanted to help support his parents and siblings. When he told his father, his dad said, “If you’re going to sweep floors, I want you to be the best floor sweeper. Anything you do, be the best at it.”* And so Jack set out to be the best at everything he did. Continue reading