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When it comes to health, I’m big on prevention. I do everything I can to prevent a problem, or at least catch it in its earliest stages, so there isn’t too much to worry about. I keep up on all my cancer screenings, including my annual mammogram, and even upgraded to the 3D version. Every year, without fail, the report said there was no evidence of cancer—however for women with dense breast tissue, like me, it can be difficult to detect. This year, the report said something a little different and I paid attention to the radiologist’s recommendation. To read more visit https://bit.ly/3Ac307E

The first newspaper in America was printed in Boston on September 25, 1690, and then suppressed by the British Colonial Authorities after the first edition, saying it contained “sundry, doubtful, and uncertain reports.” Newspapers were born to keep the people informed about the doings of government, but how could newspapers do their jobs with so much government oversight? The government has tried to control the media since the beginning of time, and sadly, it’s still trying. To read more

When I was young, I remember my parents sitting down with a hot cup of coffee to enjoy the television news or the newspaper. In front of them were the facts about what was happening in our town, state, and nation, along with the rest of the world—all presented without bias so readers could make up their own minds. But that’s all changed. Gone are the times of Walter Cronkite, objectively reading the facts.

News that my publisher had begun editing my second book, Because of Biz, sparked excitement. As I spread the word, some comments I heard revealed that a second book somehow made me seem more credible. Like I was a real author. The funny thing is that there wasn’t supposed to be a sequel. Biz’s Journey Home was supposed to be one book, but publishers prefer novels to be at or under 100,000 words and mine was 155,000. How much was I willing to compromise to get it published?

We didn’t think anyone outside of our house knew but, of course, they did. I knew the jig was up in high school when a friend was supposed to pick me up but never arrived. She said she left a message with my father, but I never received it. And then she said, “I think your father was drinking.” I guess it had been obvious, but our family dysfunction, though foreign to others, was our normal. To read more: https://bit.ly/44YLfUm

It’s a given that being in nature improves your state of mind, but did you know that it goes deeper than that? The physical labor involved when doing things like gardening releases endorphins,. And a bacteria within the soil, mycobacterium vaccae, gets absorbed through our hands and causes our brains to release serotonin—a natural antidepressant. LEARN MORE

Earlier this month, on social media, I posted about a horseback riding injury I sustained 17 years ago that changed my life. The injury was serious. I broke my back. But I don’t regard it as a bad thing because the downtime my mind and body needed to recover became a gift. An opportunity to evaluate my life and make changes. I hadn’t thought about that accident in years, but for some reason, this year, it wouldn’t leave my mind. Why was it on my mind now? Because trauma does that. You never really know when it will rear its ugly head and bite you in the butt.