17 FEB 2022 · I know how it feels to grow old.The time and the temperature never relate.It's always too cold.And it's always too late.Thank you for reading Tell Me a Story Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

25 JAN 2022 · Laurie Weiss and her husband went to dinner with old friends after a day at a professional conference in Montreal. Their friends picked a Mexican restaurant which was supposed to be quiet and pleasant.Now, Laurie is a highly sensitive person whose body rejects highly spiced food and loud noises, so the evening did not go well. Waiters kept promising food Laurie could eat but delivering food that made her mouth burn and induced violent coughing. As they sat there, several very loud families arrived and the mariachis began to play trumpets! Can you imagine how stressed Laurie felt?Laurie excused herself while her husband paid the bill. She went outside into a beautiful quiet evening to calm herself down. She did some breathing exercises and tapping so she thought she was fine. Then the friend came out and asked her if she was okay. She told him, truthfully, that she was. He asked her to describe what happened, and she did her best to explain how her body had become extremely tense.He asked if she would try something new and had her repeat some words she barely understood. Suddenly she experienced a whole new level of deep relaxation of the remaining tension that she had not even been aware of before. She was stunned! She asked what he had done, and he told her he had used a new European technique called Logosynthesis.Since that encounter in 2010, Laurie's life-long stress reaction to noise simply disappeared. Another change is that after her first training weekend, which she had been reluctant to schedule because of her stress reaction to the intense overstimulation of airplane travel, she flew home and simply forgot to be stressed. She has been able to travel on airplanes without any particular reaction ever since. Sadly, she still can't manage spicy food.After several years of study and supervision Laurie and her husband have become the first and (as of 2016) only certified practitioners and basic trainers of Logosynthesis in the United States.Excerpted from Letting It Go: Relieve Anxiety and Toxic Stress in Just a Few Minutes Using Only Words (Rapid Relief with Logosynthesis®) by Laurie WeissAmazon: http://www.BooksbyLaurie.com/goWebsite: http://www.LaurieWeiss.comTell Me a Story Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

22 JAN 2022 · The following podcast is excerpted from an article written by Steven Schlozman of Storytellers of New Mexico:Stories matter.That's not just an opinion. That's not an axiom or a homily or a saying or even a pithy bumper sticker slogan. That's a genuine biological imperative. There's a reason we've been trading stories with each other since the time when we could trade anything at all. Our stories—those we share over dinner, the narratives we put down on paper, the arcs in movies and plays we scrutinize—these stories literally keep us whole.Stories are our brains' opposable thumbs. Without stories, we could not grasp the importance of an idea. We could not empathize with a friend. We'd even have trouble making plans for our future. If we ignore the importance of stories, then we ignore ourselves.Storytelling is at the very core of our identities. As is often the case with fictional narratives, the truth of what we say comes not from the facts of the stories themselves, but from the feelings that these facts engender. …If all we had were what the historians dryly tell us, can you imagine ever venturing anywhere new? Would we have ever gone to the moon if all we knew were the barest of facts? This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

20 JAN 2022 · Here is a short story that originally appeared in Rhoda Yee's 1975 cookbook, Chinese Village Cookbook.Dinner was eaten early in the village, usually around four-thirty or five, and bedtime was around seven or a little later in summer.Often families would sit out in front of their houses and visit with neighbors. My grandmother was a marvelous storyteller, and we kids used to sit by the hour listening to some of her hair-raising ghost stories.Her stories were made even more scary when the night was dark, the only other sounds were cricket songs and frog mating calls, and the only lights were faint glimmers from dancing fireflies.The women liked to get together and cook, sew, quilt, or embroider. But, best of all, they love to play mah jong, a form of gin rummy using carved ivory tiles instead of cards. The men, too, enjoyed mah jong, but they preferred fan tan, a game similar to dominoes. They'd often get together at the one and only general store in the village for their bull sessions.We kids didn't have any ready-made toys to play with. They all were hand made. For instance, the girls would use two ends of burned incense sticks to make a cross. We'd pretend it was a doll, and we'd cut out scraps from leftover fabrics to make tops and trousers for our dolls.Another popular homemade toy was the swallow, made with three chicken wing feathers tied together. We'd stick the feathers through the centers of small stacks of tissue paper cut into 1-inch round circles. The bottom was weighted with a coin. The idea of the game was to kick the swallow with the inside of one's foot as many times as possible without having it land on the ground. Some kids were so accomplished, they could keep it going 100 times or more! When we became more advanced, we'd try different kinds of kicks or switching kicks between the left and right feet.Many of the games we played were similar to the ones kids play in the U.S. We'd often go into the hills to hunt tigers and pick wild berries, or we'd go to the rice paddies and catch field mice and water snakes. Like kids everywhere, we were mischievous little devils.Thank you for reading Tell Me a Story Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

17 OCT 2021 · Here's a lesson on gratitude, relationships, and love as told by George Strait in his #1 song, I Hate Everything:He was sitting there beside me throwing doubles down.When he ordered up his third one, he looked around.Then he looked at me.Said I do believeI'll have one more.He said I hate this bar and I hate to drink,But on second thought tonight I thinkI hate everything.Then he opened up his billfold and threw a $20 down,And a faded photograph fell out and hit the ground.And I picked it up.He said thank you, bud.I put it in his hand.He said I probably ought to throw this one away'Cause she's the reason I feel this way.I hate everything.I hate my job. And I hate my life.And if it weren't for my two kids, I'd hate my ex-wife.I know I should move on and try to start again,But I just can't get over her leaving me for him.Then he shook his head and looked down at his ringSaid I hate everything.He said that one bedroom apartment where I get my mail,Is really not a home. It's more like a jail.With a swimming poolAnd a parking lot view,Man, that's just great.I hate summer, winter, fall and springRed and yellow, purple, blue and green.I hate everything.I hate my job. And I hate my life.And if it weren't for my two kids, I'd hate my ex-wife.I know I should move on and try to start again,But I just can't get over her leaving me for him.Then he shook his head and looked down at his ringSaid I hate everything.So I pulled out my phoneand I called my house.I said, Babe, I'm comin' home.We're gonna work this out.I paid for his drinks,And I told him thanks.Thanks for everything. Get full access to Tell Me a Story Podcast at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

29 AUG 2021 · Let us pray.Today we pray for all the people who have died and who will die from the violence and terror now taking place in Afghanistan.We pray for the women who have been beaten, raped, disfigured, or killed in Afghanistan.We pray for the American soldiers who have given their lives or limbs in the service of a greater good.We pray for the Afghans who are being killed or terrorized by the Taliban rule.We pray for all the people at the Kabul airport. We pray that they get home safely.We pray for all the stranded Americans who may end up dead or as hostages to a cruel regime.We pray for the American leaders who have made so many mistakes during this time.We pray for the souls and lives of the victims of Taliban terror, killings, and misrule.God bless all of them. Get full access to Tell Me a Story Podcast at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

27 AUG 2021 · Let us pray.Today we pray for the Taliban in Afghanistan. They think they've won a great victory, but that victory is only of this world.They have not won the true victory of life.We pray the Taliban discover the true victory.We pray they discover the true life.We pray that the world is stronger, more beautiful, more true, more peaceful when they do. Get full access to Tell Me a Story Podcast at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

15 AUG 2020 · It's not a dog, if it can fit inside another dog's mouth!It's not a dog, if it can be accidentally vacuumed up.It's not a dog, if it can be killed by a cat.It's not a dog, if it can be carried off by a medium-sized pigeon.It's not a dog, if it can be out-wrestled by a rat. Get full access to Tell Me a Story Podcast at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

14 AUG 2020 · When I walked into our living room, I discovered that our expensive paisley sofa pillow was in shreds.I asked our teenage son whether he knew which of our cats was responsible."It was Sammy," he replied."How do you know?" I asked in return."I watched him," he said.And that was enough. Get full access to Tell Me a Story Podcast at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe

24 JUL 2020 · In the beginning, West Point: A Novel shadows new Cadet John Paul (Jake) Jacobs on his first day of Beast Barracks. Educational perhaps to the reader, but a mind-stunning indoctrination for those that have been chosen to be a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The following excerpt is a precursor of the adventure to unfold."What the hell is this, Lamont?" the table commandant said, staring at the apple pie in disbelief. "Eyes up here. All you, smacks, look at this!"The new cadets reluctantly looked to the head of the table as the old cadet held the pie at an angle for them to see. There may have been ten pieces. But then again, there might have been more, or less. One piece was the size of a full third and others were cut so thin they would not make for a single bite. "I'm not believing this, Lamont! This is pitiful! Fix it!"The pie was shuffled back down the table toward Lamont, handled by the new cadets along the way as though it were a live grenade. Everyone at the table had the same thought. How does one recut an already cut pie? The question was terrifying because it was apparent that the table commandant fully expected the pie to be fixed. The beads of sweat were no longer confined to the back of Lamont's neck. The pressure. His face suddenly glistened as though he had just walked in from a heavy rain."Well, fix it, Lamont!" the demon-possessed old cadet shouted.Following two or three minutes of silence at the table with all three upperclassmen staring at Lamont, as he in turn, helplessly stared at the pie in front of him while praying for a miracle, Cantrell said, "Mister Jacobs!""Yes, sir!" Jake replied, wondering what this God-awful dilemma had to do with him."Since you claim to be the most handsome among your classmates, and since you are from Texas, I'm sure you'll have no problem helping your classmate. Take the pie from Mister Lamont. You fix it!"Jake hesitated. Lamont's fear was contagious. After a moment, he took the pie and placed it next to his plate as ordered. A reasonable solution to the problem seemed to escape him because of the distracting thought of wanting to reach out with both hands and strangle Lamont."Well, Jacobs," Cantrell said. "We're waiting. Surely a Texan can do something as simple as fix a broken pie."Without a moment's hesitation, Jake picked up his spoon, and viciously attacked the pie. He decimated it into a thousand tiny pieces and vented his anger at Cantrell's flippant insults toward the State of Texas. As he slashed at the pie with wild swings, bits and pieces took to the air and splattered both Patrick and Lamont.In less than ten seconds, Jake dropped the spoon with a loud clatter, picked up the pie in both hands, and announced in a military manner, "Sir! Apple cobbler to the head of the table for inspection, please sir!"Silence followed for a full minute. All three of the upperclassmen sat stunned, mouths slightly open, eyes staring at Jake in disbelief as he sat with the recently acquired cobbler extended in front of him.Upperclassmen at adjacent tables had heard the pie problem as it developed and its solution. They now came over to the table with the same unbelieving stare. In that silent minute, the table was surrounded by upperclassmen who came to get a closer look at the bold before June plebe and to see how Cadet Captain Jonathan Scott, the company commander of the 7th New Cadet Company, was going to handle the situation. Or, possibly, to try to prevent the murder of a new cadet in front of so many witnesses.Without moving the pie, or his eyes, Jake was very much aware of the mob gathering. A single bead of sweat slowly rolled down his back, an excruciating sensation adding misery to an already hopeless situation.Find out more about this wonderful novel here: https://jmpattonauthor.com. Get full access to Tell Me a Story Podcast at tellmeastory.substack.com/subscribe