Forrest Haven Street-Allen Sept. 20, 1950 – Jan. 2, 2015 The world lost a shining star – and I lost a dear friend – when Haven Street-Allen passed away.  I first met Haven when she was Director of Human Resources at St. Edward’s University in Austin.  After repeatedly contracting with me  to do conflict resolution and employee training, Haven suggested…

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Today my baby sister Joan turns 60 (yes, I’m that old) and I feel moved to publicly celebrate what she means to me. Let me say right off the bat that this doesn’t mean I love my other siblings any less. Especially my precious older sister Mary whom I love dearly and who really got screwed in the whole birth…

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It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything about the amazing and delightful dementia patients I sing with and to. Every time I visit, I come away smiling and humbled. So let me tell you about a few of them. First of all, there is the lovely Alice, who is always alert and very happy to have me come in and…

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I’ve recently had reason to be reminded of two important life lessons or “theorems” that I learned years ago, but which bear occasional repeating, at least for me. The first is that there are times in life when everything is just swell.  Every part of life – health, relationships, finances, etc. – is working just right and things are great. …

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Last week I got a new contract to sing with dementia patients at a memory care center through my Musical Memories service!  It’s a small contract for now, but this is a large and prestigious facility where there’s definitely opportunity for growth and expansion.  And the best part is, the administrators with whom I met absolutely “get” what I’m trying…

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My newspaper didn’t come today. Or rather, it hasn’t come yet. The delivery guy is late. I’m concerned because yesterday I called to complain that not only was a section missing, but for the past month, I’ve been getting two papers some days. I don’t think they’re charging me for the extra paper, but it’s a nuisance and a waste…

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I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, struggling with my sense of self and self-worth.  Some contributing factors have been the winding down of a long-term mediation training contract which has informed a big part of my identity for 25 years, along with my difficulty getting clients for my Musical Memories singing-with-dementia-patients service.  In both cases, it’s nothing…

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Last night was the Harvest Moon and they said it was going to be spectacular!  I’m a big fan of full moons and I was really looking forward to it.  I’ve been feeling a little blue lately – actually “really depressed” is how I’ve been describing it to anyone who would listen – and I thought that watching this particular…

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In the last couple of weeks, I have lost two of the elder gentlemen I sing with.  One had been my “client” for about a year.  I put “client” in quotes because in fact, this man was so much more than that and became so much more to me. In his day, he was a hotshot engineer at the university…

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The other day a friend was telling me about being in an uncomfortable emotional place in her life.  The specific details about her discomfort were very real, totally accurate and completely understandable.  Most people in her situation would probably have felt the same way.  I know I would have.  But since I wasn’t in her situation but listening from the…

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