Book Review: The Gift of Wisdom

The Gift of Wisdom Book Review By Rebekah K. Bohannon Beeler More than chicken soup, The Gift of Wisdom: Lessons for a Lifetime, is the full enchilada. A Living Now Book Award winner, The Gift of Wisdom is chock full of practical, loving advice derived from real life lessons learned by those who have lived them. The Gift of Wisdom is a gentle reminder that all are flawed but that does not determine the life lived. A lifelong reference for everyone from graduates to retirees, The Gift of Wisdom is just that- a gift. Profound yet simple, existential and remarkably accessible, The Gift of Wisdom can ease life’s complications and celebrate life’s successes with its relatable and calming teachings. From work to home, friendships to parenting, finances and proficiency, and marriage to aging, the careful testimonies given will uplift each reader by encouraging a life lived with fortitude. This book will enlighten and engage its readers to further achieving what is most important in life. This is a gift that keeps on giving. Order your copy for only $19.99 by visiting www.thegiftofwisdom.com. Use special coupon code gift4you to receive free shipping in the US.

Easy to Love

Sheryl Crow's latest released single "Easy" begs this question to be answered, "Why is loving my sweetie so easy?" And I'll tell you right now, if I had all the time in the world I wouldn't be able to list every reason why it is so easy to love my husband. But with what time I have I will attempt to convey the most absolute deliciously delirious love I have for my husband and why he has earned it. Our story is not unlike others but with one major catch; ours is a story of success, adoration, respect, sexy love, flirting, playing, growing, and learning. When or if, on the rare occasion there is any fussing, (which we hardly ever do) there's the added bonus of finding each other and sharing one side of the bed. He went through a horrible divorce from an evil selfish force who slept with anyone with chest hair, took his two kids and used his love for them against him. I put an end to that as best I could and we, after four fighting years of half time parenting, got custody. I had two children from a previous relationship and he adopted them in his heart the very day he proposed to me and then through the courts. We had two children together and they are definitely our kids, no question about that. Having the his, mine and ours turn successfully into ours, ours and ours shows that we are formidable adversaries and a team with which to reckon. I have his best interest at heart and will fully charge forth in his stead. He knows this. He is my balance, my ying; he is the one person in the world who makes my existence make perfect sense. I have said all this to say I love him because he is easy to love. And if you know what I mean when I say that, then you will have known what I was trying to say the whole time.

Southern Stars to Perform with Nashville Star Pete Huttlinger

Nashville Star, Pete Huttlinger, to Perform with Southern Stars By Rebekah K. Bohannon Beeler There is something about players and their sound. It doesn’t start with the instrument. It starts in the heart and then goes down to the hands. This is an excerpt from Pete Huttlinger’s Blah, Blah, Blog posted September 6, 2010, less than two months before he suffered a major stroke and while recuperating subsequently incurred massive heart failure. In light of his unique heart and the medical adversity he has overcome as a result, Huttlinger, the world renowned, award winning fingerpicker who has learned how to play the guitar twice, is an expert on matters of the heart. The battery pack he keeps by his side that powers his heart pump is not the only thing keeping him going; his music does, too. Relearning how to play the guitar, among other things, has made him concentrate on the tone of his instrumentals and working through strained dexterity, he has found that he is “less of a show-off” but he is not in any way less of a musical mastermind and performer. He appreciates things more and that includes his guitar; realizing now that it offers more than it did before. His guitar acts as a voice for the new songs that are in his revitalized heart. A few of Huttlinger’s amiable experiences on his entertainment resume include performing at Carnegie Hall, Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival, touring with John Denver, touring with John Oates (of Hall & Oates), several television appearances, and performs with LeAnn Rimes who often requests him for her acoustic performances. He is adding yet another prestigious performance to his long list of musical accomplishments as the guest artist for the upcoming Southern Stars Symphonic Brass (SSSB) “Strings Attached!" concert at the Central Baptist Church in Crossville on April 20. The SSSB is a professional 30-piece brass ensemble that has wowed crowds by the hundreds since its founding in 2008. “I’m looking forward to performing with the SSSB. It’s not often that you get to hear the acoustic guitar featured with a brass band,” Huttlinger says, jokingly, “ Or should I say it’s not often that you get to hear a brass band featured at an acoustic guitar concert?” Either way, the SSSB concert showcasing Pete Huttlinger’s magical musical abilities will undoubtedly be the musical delight of the season. Huttlinger’s rebirth can be heard in all of his songs and as his heart keeps pumping to its unique rhythm, keeping time for him and his guitar, he will be enjoying the art in all of its facets as the sound starts in his heart and moves to his hands and makes his guitar sing. For more information or tickets to the SSSB concert with headliner Pete Huttlinger contact Dwight Wages at 931-484-6939 or visit the website at www.southernstarssymphonicbrass.com. You can find last year's spring concert of the SSSB and Nashville recording artist Buddy Green at http://crossville-chronicle.com/gladesun/x2089087479/SSSB-concert-features-Green-Taylor

Anne Frank Ballet Review May 2012

The Anne Frank Ballet at CCP Educated and Inspired By Rebekah K. Bohannon-Beeler In a special performance to benefit the Tennessee Holocaust Commission (THC), the Nashville Ballet presented “The Anne Frank Ballet” at the Cumberland County Playhouse on Monday May 7. Based on Anne Frank’s Diary, the cast of five dancers portrayed Peter van Pels, Margot Frank and three dimensions of Anne Frank to better represent the complex internal struggles she endured throughout two years of life in the Annex. Tennessee Holocaust Commission member Felicia Anchor said, “[Anne Frank’s diary] is the entry point, the portal for young people to understand what happened in the Holocaust.” Two performances were scheduled for the one-day event each followed with an open-audience question and answer session with liberators, survivors and performers. The school matinee was prefaced with a narrated video to set the scene for The Anne Frank Ballet. Following the school matinee, the Q&A session was held with Jimmy Gentry, American Armed Forces veteran and a liberator of the Dachau Concentration Camp, and Frances Cutler-Hahn, hidden child Holocaust survivor, as well as the cast of the Nashville Ballet. The students were able to listen to the testimonials of Gentry and Hahn and ask questions about what they had come to understand and ask the dancers for advice on how to achieve goals. As a prelude to the public performance Monday evening, the Cumberland County Playhouse’s Company of Dance performed a modern dance entitled “Loss of Innocence” depicting a group of friends playing together in early Nazi years who then began to distrust and exclude other members of the group until they were no longer able to play together. “Castle in the Cloud,” “Our Children” and “Will There Really Be a Morning” performed by Playhouse Music Education students and “Children of Terezin” performed by Playhouse Theater Education students set the audience to view the Holocaust from a child’s perspective who saw and felt what was happening without understanding why. The public performance was succeeded with a Q&A with Tennessee Holocaust Commission member, Felicia Anchor, born in Bergen-Belson concentration camp while her mother was a prisoner, also Art Pais, a Lithuanian Jew forced to live in the Kovno Ghetto and prisoner at the Dachau Concentration Camp, and was again joined by Frances Cutler-Hahn, hidden child survivor, and the dancers of The Nashville Ballet. “I have seen ‘The Anne Frank Ballet’ three times,” said Hahn to the performers with tears in her eyes, “and each time is powerful and more so.” The courage and fortitude shown by those who shared their touching stories and unique perspectives enriched the performance allowing for a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Holocaust through the eyes of a survivor, through the eyes of a liberator and through the eyes of a child. An exhibit from THC entitled “Living On: Portraits of Tennessee Survivors and Liberators” was displayed for the audience to see the faces and read the stories of Tennessee residents who experienced the horrors of the Holocaust. For more information about the Tennessee Holocaust Commission and its endeavor to educate Tennesseans about the Holocaust visit HYPERLINK "http://www.tennesseeholocaustcommission.org" www.tennesseeholocaustcommission.org. Also, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.ccplayhouse.com" www.ccplayhouse.com and HYPERLINK "http://www.nashvilleballet.com" www.nashvilleballet.com for current listings and events to support the arts. Picture caption: The Playhouse Music Education students singing “Our Children” in The Anne Frank Ballet performance performed at the Cumberland County Playhouse presented by The Nashville Ballet and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission on Monday May 7. Photo by Rebekah K. Bohannon-Beeler

Supertwang

It was “Supertwang or bust”. Then it turned into Supertwang was a bust. As far as the line up goes, festival promoter Hal Royce apparently had some strings to pull and was able to reel in a lot of talent to the Bonnaroo-like festival held on private farmland in Speedwell, Tennessee, he just couldn’t pay them. Nor could he pay the Campbell County Sheriff’s Department or the event staff among others. There were rumors circulating through the crowd of people, some of which had been camping since Wednesday, but we all knew something was going on when the Coors Beer vendors packed up early Saturday afternoon after the talents of Jesse Watson, who wrote the Supertwang them song, and an exceptional performance from up-and-coming Southern Rock band Bush Hawg. One event staffer commented that there was a problem with the beer license. It was strange though that one of the prohibitions of the concert was no outside alcohol as they would have their sponsor Coors Beer and other beverages to sell. Many decided since they weren’t going to sell it the deal was off and went on their own B-double E- double R-U-N. Our suspicions were confirmed as we saw singer Matt Stillwell’s bus drive right on through. One thing was for certain, though, Supertwang was abandoned and was up for adoption. The festival was foster parented by Matt Dylan & Most Wanted and Kathy Ross as well as local bands 1 Foot Down and The Parrot Brothers. We heard patrons and security alike saying that Confederate Railroad and Rhett Akins also wouldn’t be performing. Supertwang needed a forever family. We saw a man at the mercantile tent and he was selling Van Zant t-shirts and merchandise and had a Lynyrd Skynyrd tattoo on his forearm and backstage passes hanging on his neck that said ‘family’. I asked him if Jimmy would be playing because we had heard otherwise. “Bull [explicit]. We’re on at 6:30,” he told me and sold me a shirt. At that, our hopes were restored. The first thing Supertwang’s official adoptive dad, Lynyrd Skynyrd original, and Southern Rock legend Jimmy Van Zant said onstage was, “They told me I have ‘til 7:30, but I’ll see if I can push it ‘til 8.” With his signature bare feet, Van Zant gave the growing crowd the show we came to see. And, yes, it is true what they say, if you chant, “Free Bird,” Van Zant will sing it. “[Van Zant] made it all worthwhile,” said one patron, though, understandably, many patrons were very upset. Local law enforcement and Tennessee Highway Patrol joined forces with neighboring counties and beefed up security in anticipation of an uproar at the turn of events. They held a little powwow to inform them what exactly had happened and make sure everyone was up to, um, ‘Speedwell’. They also discussed the best course of action which according to one officer, “I told them to let you all camp until [Sunday]. We just couldn’t justify making everyone leave, especially those of whom who have been drinking. It’s better to wait until [Sunday] when everyone was planning on going anyway.” The officer also commented on how they were actually surprised at the simply calm reaction, aside from a few interviewees getting their faces on the local news about getting their money back, that even they loosened their gun belts a bit and enjoyed the entertainment by Van Zant. He and his band members milked it as long as they could before the crews blew the whistle and absolutely had to take down the stage. After “Free Bird” Jimmie went to the back of the stage and came back up and said he was given the go ahead for one more song. He asked if we were having a good time to which we all screamed and yelled and he said, “There it is. I just got paid.” He then started “Sweet Home Alabama” and turned it into “Sweet Home Supertwang.” As if it weren’t enough that Jimmie became Supertwang’s Big Poppa, he and the band members stuck around, came back out and signed our shirts and pictures and even the rear ends of some britches. Even when it was finished, it wasn’t finished. The only uproar there was on Saturday night was that we could have our own Supertwang and didn’t need a stage to do it. What had happened didn’t steal our joy but rather inspired us to do a little of our own twang thang. So there it was and there we were, breaking out the tiki torches and old guitars. The students had become the masters as the Twangees became the Twangers.

Coffee Mate Free Flavor Friday February 2011 French Bistro Party

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Recently, I was invited by Coffee Mate to host a party to try their newest flavors (or any flavors) of creamer. The event was called Free Flavor Friday. I was so excited to have put in an application to host and was actually having a little technical difficulty and was unable to log in to set up my party page and the invitation expired. I was very disappointed but to my delight they emailed a week later saying that there were a few openings and I could set up my party page and the Bistro Baking kit had already been shipped to me. They had several party themes such as game night, bistro, ect. Because I bake a lot I chose the one that would get the most use and better suited my personality. I set out to antique shops and found a few linens that went with the French cafe and bistro theme and put out silk roses in wine bottles, teddy bears and chocolate and a few other Valentine touches. I served homemade chicken salad on French bread, heart shaped blueberry muffins, gingersnaps (to dip in the coffee), pimiento cheese and crackers and of course coffee. The creamers that I chose for the party: Creme Brulee (of course, since it was supposed to be a French Bistro), Vanilla Caramel, White Chocolate Latte, and Coconut Cream. There was a whole bunch of yummy going on!!! Because there was no real holiday and no better excuse to get some friends and family together (and, not to mention, sugar up my kids before my mother-in-law took them with her) I counted myself unusually blessed that Coffee Mate would choose to allow me to throw a party. If for no other reason, it was really nice to have a French Cafe in my home for one night and give us a reason to get together, enjoy each other's company, and sip on a good cup of coffee made great by Coffee Mate.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

I was thinking about what to write for my next post and all of a sudden it dawned on me…parents stop lying to your kids. Now, I understand the logic behind most lies but the fact of the matter is you are still lying even if you are doing it with the best intentions. For instance, let’s say you are one of the millions of parents out there who tells your kids that there is a jolly fat m.f.’er who squeezes his big toosh down the chimney to give them presents for being good all year or that the Easter Bunny crapped out a butt load of chocolate eggs for them or that the Tooth Fairy who should get a day job steals the teeth from them and sells them on the black market for cash. I'm positive that you don't say that ver batem but I still don’t agree with any of that mess and I was one of those children whose parents insured their existence. I have to say when I figured it out about Santa and the like it kind of stole the magic and joy from the holiday for me. Basically, this is my take on the whole of legendary lies: there is enough magic in the world, about how it works and came to be that I don’t have to embellish it through holiday characters. I tell my children the truth that the man we call Santa was a real guy who was trying to show God’s love to people and we still honor his memory by dressing up and making songs about him but he isn’t supposed to be the focus. And instead of indulging them in the fantasies of the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny we study the legends behind the characters and how the ideas and stories came to be. My kids have something better…me. I am Mama Claus, the Easter Mommy and the Tooth Witch. I mean, heck, should I do all the work for my kids and let some fat dead guy or an egg laying rabbit or a scantaly clad pixie take the credit? Uh, let me think about that one…No! I am real so I want them to believe in me and the magic that is wasted on those bozos isn’t wasted at all in my house… we have the magic of unconditional love of an honest mama for her truth seeking darlings.
Another instance I must discuss is the fact that parents lie to their kids all the time about how wonderful and perfect they are especially when they aren’t. Don’t get me wrong I compliment and praise my children for their talents in every way. However, I refuse to tell them there isn’t room for improvement because there is no thing as perfect and I am a prime example of that. My kids know that I will praise them for their effort and be honest about it at the same time. I don’t want to tell them they are fantastic when they weren’t and take a risk on them making a fool of themselves. Just take a glance at American Idol and you will see what I am talking about. There are many who try out and don’t make it because the sounds they make actually could make someone’s ears bleed. Somewhere along the line they were lied to and someone influential told them they were singers and then they got on national television and made an absolute fool of themselves. And all because no one had the guts to tell them the truth, no one had the balls to say they had room to improve, so they send them to Simon the Butcher of Dreams and then it becomes his fault all of a sudden because they suck. There is such a thing as constructive criticism and all in the world it means is to be honest and sincere and gentle and praise talent where praise is due and be honest about improvements that could be made based on lessons you may have learned. I am not a total B that never compliments her children. In point of fact, I couldn’t say enough about how incredible my kids are. But I also know enough to tell them they may not be able to do everything perfectly but they can try and I can help.
The last instance in this sermon about not lying to your kids I want to talk about not lying about yourself. Your kids will naturally put you on a pedestal whether you deserve it or not and what you do when you are on that pedestal will decide whether your kids hide stuff from you like you do to them. Of course age appropriate information is also a condition of the honesty between an adult and a child but there is no sense in hiding your humanity. You make mistakes so don’t let your pride get in the way of your honesty. I tell my kids that I am sorry when I drop an f-bomb around the house or if I blame one of them for something they didn’t do. I tell them I made a mistake and ask if they forgive me because I am not perfect no matter how high the pedestal may be. And, really, the higher the pedestal the further there is to fall and since pride comes before the fall it is almost a mathematical certainty that if you are not honest about your own condition to your kids you will most likely fall more often and harder. I tell my kids about my past and the mentally deprived mistakes I have made in hopes that they will hear me and realize that they don’t have to make the same ones. They will be less likely to keep things from me because I open the door to honesty myself and invite them in to share some of my worste moments and less than admirable times. And maybe, just maybe, I will succeed in my deep died plot to ruin the surprise of adolescence for them so they won’t be as awful and miserable as I was. I talk to them about the awkwardness of teenage sex because it is just remarkably bad and I know that from personal experience but I also tell them that God can take all of our carnal crap and slap some grace on it and turn it into what I have now. I tell them the truth about myself so they can not only learn from my mistakes but they can tell me about the new mistakes they are making.
Fact is lying is lying whether magical or protective or prideful. Just don’t bake the honest to goodness truth in a cake that won’t rise…