Vaboomer -- Baby Boomer Views & News

Helping www.Thimbleberrypress.com Grow & Connect to the Larger Blogosphere

Our Mission

I am the co-founder of a publishing company, Thimbleberry Press.

Our mission is two fold. One is to bring beautiful and affordable books on culture, history, language and art to the broadest possible audience.

The second is that as our young company grows we will help bring some economic life back to our company HQ/hometown Copper City, Mich in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Copper City is now home to a garden shed sized Post Office and a bar, the Drift Inn and about 190 full-time residents.

Thimbleberry Press, partner, Laura Smyth chronicles the growth of our young publishing company, www.thimbleberrypress.com in her two new blogs http://walksjack.blogspot.com/ and
http://www.thimbleberrypress.blogspot.com/.

We would really appreciate your adding these blogs to your blog rolls and bookmarking them as well. See TBP on facebook also and we love you to become a fan of the TBP page. Laura  has set up a twitter account, but I haven't even got my account yet, so I've not got a clue about that one.

We have a wonderful line up of books to develop and publish over the next few months. So we will appreciate any support you can give us in accomplishing our mission. I'll write about our upcoming lineup of books soon.

Love(ing) Forward and Positive Aging

Shakspeare on Love and Longevity

William Shakespeare wrote often about love, aging and death.

And in this annual National Poetry Month, I want to think about what he has to tell us about love and long life.

Below is Sonnet 116 which begins, Let me not to the marriage of true minds (a)Admit impediments.  You read on to the end.

SONNET 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments.

Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
 Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
 If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Editor Eric found some humor in the sonnets.      (more...)

Singing for Joy: Celebration #17

A LIfe Renewed

Last summer, a former neighbor called to ask if I would take her mom to UMDNJ in Newark where she was to receive a liver transplant. My friend was too far away at her job to get her Mom to the hospital in the time that she had been given. Of course, was my answer. My friend said , "Mom is afraid and is not sure she wants to go." I was in a focused mode and said, "I can't convince her, if she wants to go, I'm happy to take her. " In a few minutes I called Malvonia and heard the indecision in her voice. I said to her, "Malvonia, I have two questions for you. Do you want to sing? Or do you want to die?" Without hesitation she replied, "I want to sing." I'll be there to get you in five minutes, I told her.

Off we went to the hospital and several days later I heard that she had emerged from anesthesia singing. The nurses and doctors were amazed and she said "I am reborn."

Expunging the Inner Naysayers

In the weeks that followed I visited Malvonia often and heard her childhood story. It is one that many of us have heard. A dad that controlled and criticized and tore her down: You're ugly, no count, can't sing, no talent, never amount to anything. She was in exaulted music circles in Detroit where they lived, in the company of Dizzy Gillispe and Nat King Cole. At one time she sang back up for Natalie Cole, but Dad cut her feet from under her. But she could not bring her own voice out clearly.

Then came financial difficulties /and a bad marriage and children to support alone. And finally in the month before her 59th birthday, a liver transplant. Many health philosophies hold that the liver is the seat of anger and if that is so, Malvionia's anger was killing her. We do certainly know that the liver is one of the body's basic filters and when it is full of toxins, you clean it, replace it or you die.

Malvonia was lucky, that she was able to replace hers; even tho she was cleaning it as well, but not soon enough. In her case, it took cutting out the anger, sorrow, insults, bad feelings for her to reclaim her angel voice and begin anew.

www.BoomerMade.com

Gives singer a second chance

Malvonia is a gifted singer. She can bee bop, scat, croon, doo wop, rock and roll with the best of them. So far we have one of her originals for you to hear on boomermade. Enjoy. And just wait, just wait for more: she is a major talent.

                     Listen to Malvonia sing: