A weird day away!

Yesterday I didn’t listen to the radio, or watch the television news.There was a tragedy where two brothers from a nearby town were killed an experimental plane.

Apparently, the plane had fuel and people too heavy for it to bear. When the plane went down an eyewitness  called nine-one-one. But it was too late. The 2 men, brothers, in their early to mid- fifties were killed in the plane crash. The coroner’s office detected marijuana in the body of the pilot.

I only found out about it today, and my boss chided me by saying we reported on it on the radio yesterday!

Nevertheless, that did not lessen the shock to me because weirdly, I had been thinking about one of the gentlemen, just a few days ago.

It was actually 15 years earlier I met him once and he told me he worked for a company called Medtronic. I’d been thinking about that company because it dealt in research and products that interested me . It shocked me when  I recognized his name in the paper.

To think of someone 15 years later and then to read their name in the newspaper a couple days later is weird I think.

But isn’t it true, sometimes we think of someone we know or like, or worse someone we don’t like, or we even say their name, and the next thing you know we see them.

Creepy isn’t it? It’s important to keep a positive attitude. Sunshine and flowers! Laughter and positive thoughts! Please!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents 

Stay happy and be good

First of all, let me write I have been pretty amazed at the news stories I’ve read tonight.
The resolution of a smartphone or an HDTV can send you photos, videos, and stories that are all too real, and too close for comfort.

The world is a crazy quilt. There is good and there is bad. Yesterday the news was rotten. However today, the news is so bad that it makes you want to hang your head and cry.

Child rape at a daycare in Ohio, bombings in Baghdad, those are just a couple of stories to grab the headlines.

Wickedness, and evil do not sleep. And the news services?  They don’t sleep either. They keep churning out pictures and words, sharing the world’s sorrows to keep you informed.

I suppose we need to know the truth of what is going on, but one has to be aware of the consequences of knowing. It can be heart-wrenching to know the news.

Tomorrow I’m taking a news detox! 

The news won’t make me crazy! 

I won’t allow it! 

No being a News Junkie tomorrow! 

I go back to work Wednesday, there part of my job as a radio broadcaster involves reading and hearing the news. So it’s back to the world of news on Wednesday.

People are frightened about different things. I think they’re smart to be frightened, but they also should practice being good. Don’t let the news hustlers get you down, and don’t be trapped by evil and wickedness. 

Stay happy and be good!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents 

A loud fan and a good movie

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Please rocket man stay away!

 

It’s begun. The 4th of July fireworks.

I am a pet owner. I have a 12 year old high-strung Poodle, and 13 year old blind, scared Pomeranian.

I have to turn the television on to buffer the sounds of exploding fireworks outside my window.

Every boom, blast and bang upsets the little critters.

If there’s another way to celebrate our independence besides making loud noises, I would gladly subscribe.

The dogs are in the house, by me.

Tonight will have to be one of those nights when it’s early to bed, with a loud fan and a good movie!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents 

Past a certain age

They say some fools never learn.

However, in my experience, people often become wiser as they mature. The passage of years bring with them a certain circumspect about life, and its consequences.

If this, then that.

For example, if I drink too much tonight, it will hurt too much tomorrow!

The pinnacle of mental maturity kicks in when you notice the end of the line.

There it is looming, 30 years away! Time to get into the box. The show is over.

Ok, maybe forty more years, if you are blessed with good genes and good life habits.

Dame Judi Dench just turned 81, and to celebrate she had tattooed on her wrist the words, Carpe Diem.

Seize the Day! 🙂

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

Work hard to work easy

There’s a song that says, life doesn’t have to be so hard. Some people make life much harder than it should be.

Case in point, they collect too much junk so when they move from one place to another they have a headache and a backache.

Also, some people take on responsibilities that are way out of their league. They pile too much on their plate, and with no proper motivation or focus, they fail at everything they do, or else they are unprofessional and mediocre, which  is the same thing.

What I’m trying to do is to simplify my life so I can succeed and make space in my life, and in my mind. It all takes a choice.

When your life is simple you can sit back and laugh at the bad choices others make. Perhaps that’s not very nice, but everybody gets a choice.

So work hard now to make work easier for you later by making good choices. You’ll be glad you did!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

American Flab

Land of the free and the fat!

Oh say can you see all the American Flab?

Many people pledge allegiance to the American flab.

When I was very skinny and went to Holland I told the guys that I was Canadian while l rode on the backs of their bikes.

They warned me that if I stayed in the United States for a long time I would become obese.

Most Americans are fat, they said. They don’t live a very healthy lifestyle like the Dutch do.

I scoffed and I looked down my nose. Thank you, I said. That’s not true about me. It could never happen to me.

Well now that I tip the scales at 195 pounds, when I used to be a hundred and eighteen pounds, I think their prediction came true. I’m doing everything I can to try to lose weight but the temptation of food is much too great.

I guess it must be the American way!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

Guilt buying

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Okay I admit it. I’m a sucker for guilt. Someone tries to sell me something, and I find it hard to resist when it’s a friend. Another caveat is if it’s someone who’s talked to me at a food stand, and they give me a free sample. I sometimes feel sorry for them, and buy the product because of guilt.
I guess I would say at this point in my life my guilt shopping is 50-50. If I don’t really want something, nothing will change my mind. Nevertheless, at least 50% of the time I feel compelled to buy from a person for one reason or another. Usually it’s guilt.
When there are bigger problems looming in the world, I ask myself, why should I feel guilty?
Good question. I have a degree of empathy, and a generous bone or two in my body.
Today I tried something new from the local farmers market.
I felt sorry for the Spanish lady who had to listen to me ask about about why there was no mild salsa left.

I wanted to buy tomato salsa, the mild kind, because some salsas can be upsetting and surprisingly hot when the label says medium.
She was all out of the kind I wanted. I walked away in dismay. But I turned around and came back.

Perhaps the people around here don’t like hot spicy things. But I do!
I decided to buy her medium-strong green tomatillo salsa. I found it rather runny as I poured it over my tortilla chips.

I never had tomatillo salsa before. It is green.
I brought it home and I put it on some nachos covered with cheese. I was in heaven. My taste buds were dancing. So somehow, my guilt from talking to her and denying myself a purchase, and then changing my mind to buy the green tomatillo salsa was a success. Yummy yum!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

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The Malady goes with the Man or Woman

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We often struggle with change. Indeed, change is hard. Often we really wish to change for the better. A temporary change can sometimes fix things, for awhile. But, human nature being what it is, we revert to our real selves.
It may make us angry, or sad that we can’t seem to effect lasting change. Obstacles and excuses stand in the way of our success.
For a time we may choose to accept our weakness as just the way we are. But, sooner or later we feel sorry for ourselves and forget about why we should be self-accepting.
We want the gold, we want the best, we want healthy minds and bodies free of disease.
We want a beautiful home, beautiful skin, a beautiful life.
Up and down we go, enslaved and at war with ourselves.
We are looking for help. We are always judging and always aware of our lack.
Perhaps now is the time to view our imperfect selves as a work in progress. Breathe deeply. Breathe easier. Be patient and in good time you will see it through!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

Went storm shopping tonight!

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Tonight I looked in my fridge. There wasn’t much in there. In fact, the air was humid and I felt hot and sticky from walking outdoors with the two dogs. l needed more fresh fruit, eggs, canola oil, coconut water and yogurt.
What drove me to the store, besides my truck?
I think it was the impending storm.
When I left the parking lot after my grocery run, the sun had set and it was night. I looked up at the sky.
It was a lightening storm, so colourful and fierce, with flashes of orange, white and blue like an old-fashioned camera’s flashbulb.

I felt a little frightened, yet mesmerized.
Storms always get me nervous as a cat!
Storms always get me to the store as well!

Musically yours,

Amy Zents

My Road, My Rules

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Driving home from swimming laps, I had a great urge to smash into the side of a car that failed to stop at the stop sign and pulled out in front of me.
l used to like playing Bumper Cars at the CNE and the Demo Derby is not a thing of the past.
Needless to say, I had the right of way on the main thoroughfare.
What this ignoramus did not take note of was the fact my vehicle is older, and I could certainly use a new truck!
But, not even thinking of who was behind me, I  slowed down to yield to the intrusive driver.
It was like a game of chicken as the stupid driver selfishly cut into my path, and could have caused a pile-up.
Often we must yield to idiot drivers.
I predict that, until we get safe self-driving cars, with more people on the roads, matters will only get worse.
In a perfect world it would be, my road, my rules:
Keep your eyes open, look both ways two or three times to make sure the coast is clear, and then proceed! Oh, and put your phone down and obey the red octagon sign, it’s there for a reason.

Musically yours,

Amy Zents