Laugh, and Your Prostate Laughs With You - a Journal of Men's Health

 Laugh, and your Prostate Laughs....

The reflections in journal form of the challenges and successes in preparing and completing a 9-week radiation treatment on my prostate gland--and looking at life at 70. A chronicle of the obstacles and overcoming them as I completed my daily dose of The Machine and laser therapy. How I wrestled and overcame finances, personal health, transportation, diet, sleep, exercise, and throughout it all, LAUGHING with thanks and gratitude for the family, friends, social networks, and other supports I had. Being GRATEFUL for my faith and values that made me appreciate the simplest things in life and why they mattered.

Five (5) Tales and Stories for Children and Young Adult Reading Fun

 5 books in one for reading aloud to children

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2ZYBS1J

The Surprised Cow and other business and children's stories

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2ZZS18H

About this book

 WE all have faced those moments when someone says “Give a speech” at a dinner party or function, or even at a special moment in life when you want to cheer up the audience. It could just be that short little tale that brings laughter and smiles. Or maybe it’s a child, precious to you and other loved ones, and you want to create a bond in that special way: “I want to tell you a funny story.”

So here are some creative options from me to you; some of these came from one of my autobiographies in which I cherished the memory of my mother’s mother, Geraldine. In her honor, I add to the collection of possibilities that a grandchild—or a gathering of colleagues and associates in an organized structure of business--could hear from someone special like you, the reader.

Again, there’s nothing finer than making an audience whoop with laughter and being thankful that you had a story in your hands that you could bring forward for some fun.

The best part is that these are true!

Here are 11 little tales. It’s part of the reason to share them. Thanks for being part of the exchange.

Note: Not ALL stories are "just for children"; there are some business-related/"Office party" tales here just for that occasion.

Otherwise, these are for "read me a story before bed!" for a child who's close to you. When they're @11 years old, THEN they can read/hear "The Surprised Cow" and "The Long Island Duckling." (My grandmother would approve. She had the woolly monkey, guinea pigs, and the fish with two tails and no head AND the eel AND the "boy bird who laid an egg after 25 years..." My great-grandmother had the bird who barked and meowed.)

 Table of Contents

1.  The Surprised Cow; p.4

2.  The Fish with Two Tails (and no head); p. 6

3.  The Boy Bird who laid an Egg & The Bird that Meowed; p. 8

4.  The Slippery Eel; p. 10

5.  The Pig’s Tail (and the Goat’s Neck); p. 13

6.  The Long Island Duckling; p. 15

7.  The Chicken Tractor; p. 17

8.  Mr. Dooley (the woolly monkey), the guinea pigs, the duck, and others; p. 19

9.  A Mountain Goat or Horseshoes: take your pick; p. 21

10.              How the Platypus got its…you-name-it parts; p. 22

11.              What do dragons eat? You would be surprised; p. 48

12.              All my books on Amazon.com; p. 56-57

13.              About the Author; p. 58

 

Psychological Astrology for the VISUAL learner

 Now on Amazon: the Powerpoint-color slides that I featured on my other book, but with less text and more visual impact. Especially prepared for neuro-divergent readers. Over 200 slides.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTGYD9NB

Looking for that special birthday/Christmas present? Or just want something to read to children? (or a business meeting?)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2ZYBS1J

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2ZZS18H

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTGYD9NB

Looking for that rare-and-special Christmas or birthday gift to give to someone—and in an age range from 6 to 66 (or older)? Try one of my books available in paperback or kindle format from Amazon.com. 

Children’s stories that range from an autistic-telepathic little girl who makes friends with gemstone-munching dragons in the mountain next to her village; the original story of how the platypus from Australia ended up with so many unusual features; a charming tale of two plants who comfort each other at an overseas university during a scorching summer heat; and a goofy tuxedo cat who conquers his owner’s bed space by personal demand of comfort.

Were you into the music scene during the ‘70s and ahead? Meet with members of The Band, Derek and the Dominos, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Peter Green’s Original Fleetwood Mac, the notorious train ride with the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and Bonnie Bramlett’s vial of Owsley high-octane LSD, and some down-and-dirty blues legends like Buddy Guy. And a nod years ago to the late Monkee Mike Nesmith when he was doing the Texas yodel in his tunes.

For sure: if you were a graduate of the toughest education system in New York (aka the Elwood School District in Long Island), were you there when the VW Bug appeared on the auditorium roof in 1970? I KNOW some confessions came forward when I brought up the topic on the group site—and while you’re reading about ‘Horror Day High School’ (“Holiday High School”), find out what happened to #21’s football jersey from the ’72 championship team. (I’m not confessing who admitted the crime to me--but they ALSO wore football jerseys.)

Drop in for a front-row seat with Paul Newman and Robert Redford as they conspire to ‘sting’ $500,000 from a deadly Robert Shaw--or better yet, have a glimpse of some truth-is-stranger-than-fiction moments with my life, including the swans-as-aliens in my farm pasture in Alabama, and driving a car with no wheels. Well, SOMEONE did it!

More, you ask? Come along with my Guardian Angel, who rescued me from the woman who was grilled by Dr. Phil for her claims to be a reborn avatar just weeks before her death and her cult followers wrapped her body in Christmas lights! And my trip to China as a business professor at an international university (where I played Santa Claus to some kindergarden kids!)

See? You can get an education about used cars, horse racing, and politics from a channeled Groucho Marx in “The Creative Classroom Experience”—and maybe, you’ll find that Wonder Bread is indeed “Manna from Heaven” if you know how to make a sales pitch for dough. I mean the financial kind. 

That and a guideline for raising that Calvin-and-Hobbes little boy if you learn about his birthday gifts and challenges in an astrological-psychology handbook. Thank YOU, Grandma and Grandpa, for helping Mom and Dad to safely handle the task!

Or: If there's a young reader in the family and someone special wants to read stories to them...try the 5:1 collection! For beginning learners with advanced levels right up to high school.

And if there's a welcome adult who wants both a children's book and some great stories for that "make a speech!" moment at a party, try   "The Surprised Cow" and other tales.

     

(Kindle-only)
 

Autobiography: "A Guardian Angel on My Shoulder" - faith-based life lessons

Paperback or Kindle

 

Guard duty with a guardian angel

We’ve all heard about guardian angels. Maybe they’re male or female, or maybe they have wings. Named by my mother for an archangel, I know that my guardian angel has been on assignment through some wild episodes—and I have to thank God Above for the love, persistence, and wisdom of the one assigned to me. This is my story—and Grainger’s. That’s the name I call my Guardian Angel.

These are the memoirs of a lifetime of challenges and struggles with a learning disorder, a love of reading, social and behavioral challenges, and a very toxic and unfriendly family environment. But belief in God has brought me an advanced degree in education, travel to a foreign country where Americans are not readily welcomed, and happiness, enthusiasm, and remarkable connections that extend over an ocean’s distance. Through it all, I have learned to say on a daily basis that I am blessed and thankful—and grateful—for the chances and choices I have made that uplift my spirit. I have found ways to encourage others of all ages through writing, a career in education, and sincere motivation. I credit my Guardian Angel for doing anything needed to keep me remembering that God has plans for me. And in doing so, I am a servant for God’s work—and part of God’s creation in ways that fulfill my life.

Behind every moment of doubt, there is always a reason to believe in the power that God will hear our prayers, our worries, and our thanks when it all becomes clear. This is my story of how my Guardian Angel, “Grainger,” has blessed me and made it clear in my life to give thanks for God’s goodness. And how much it took for me to learn to thank God, our Creator, for all that I am.

 

Rock 'n' Blues Stew II: Classic rock 'n' roll, blues, jazz, and more

On Amazon.com)

 How to make a rock & blues stew

 Mix together with extreme caution and a touch of frenzy: an insatiable passion for the wild and dangerous smokin’ steamy blues and gutsy rock ‘n’ roll; a healthy measure of renegade rebelliousness and rambunctious mischief; full-moon madness driven by the zodiac and other Cosmic capers; a razor-sharp mind that splashes words like a paintball fight; a call for the open road and skies—and you have the ingredients for the music, the people, the backstage presence and the sights and sounds of Rock ‘n’ Blues Stew II.  Follow what my friends call “Mitch-Tripping the Musical Universe” with the heroes, angels, and devils from the onstage and studio days of Derek and the Dominos, George Harrison, The Band, the J. Geils Band, Delaney and Bonnie & Friends with Eric Clapton, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Leo Kottke, Richard Thompson, Rory Block, Buddy Guy, and many others of voice and instrument.

 Here are some of the essays, interviews, and articles that brought me friendship and fun through the world of the music circuit and the artists who make it their life calling.  From Nashville and Memphis to the Ozarks, down in the Mississippi Delta, Gadsden, AL, Macon, GA, Muscle Shoals, AL, or Red Bank and Asbury Park, NJ:  if you play it, shake it, or just let it give you the groove, then drop in these stories and let it flow. It’s a stew of rock and blues for your musical news.  Living and loving large as a freelance editor, travel with me to the homes and life stories, concert backstage rooms and sound studios, and the fame and glory of some famous and upcoming drummers, guitar players, vocalists and songwriters of our time—and the tales they have to tell.