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Catharsis

By

What’s Going On

Marie and I had a great weekend.

After breakfast at Joe’s Inn on Saturday, we went to the VMFA as is our Saturday morning routine.

This was our third trip through the Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France exhibit.

The exhibit takes up the entire basement of the museum. And as someone who reads every placard the curators post and as someone who does not read quickly this has been a slow haul.

Frequently, I’ve walked back into the exhibit to look at earlier works to better understand the development of these artists.

As with the Tsherin Sherpa exhibit there are museum staff stationed at the end of the exhibit and I told them I’d sit down with them when I had completed the exhibition. I’m looking forward to their questions.

Then, I had lunch with Charles Wax, Board President of Chamberlayne Actors Theatre (CAT). This is the second time they’ve asked be to join their Board of Directors.

Prior to the pandemic I led their Strategic Planning process. I developed a true appreciation for this little community theatre. The last time they asked was at the height of our taking care of Momma, but now that she has transitioned to her reward and I’ve had some time to grieve, I’m open to considering serving.

I was quite transparent in my reasons for considering accepting the role. I want a strategic alliance for The Storytellers Channel with a theatre community. As such, I agreed to attend their Board retreat later in the month and if the Board agreed I would sign on and if not, no foul, no harm.

CAT lost their lease on their theater during the pandemic. Their landlord wasn’t willing to work with them and paying rent for 18 months with no income would have bankrupted the organization. Moving out was the fiscally responsible thing. They had occupied the Northern Henrico Civic Association’s (formerly the North Chamberlayne Civic Association) community center since 1964. The cohort had a deep since of nostalgia for the facility, but the conditions for staying were insupportable, and so they have become gypsies.
Over the last two years they have performed at Dogtown Dance Center, The Gayton Kirk, Atlee High School, and will open a two-week run of Fireflies this weekend at the HATT Theatre in Richmond’s West End. Sadly, Dogtown is another victim of the pandemic. Word is they’re closing their doors; a great blow to the RVA dance community.
This mix of fiscal responsibility and willingness to overcome obstacles to achieve their mission makes them an ideal strategic ally. I’ll keep y’all abreast of the developments.
This past Thursday, Van Payne, our resident cinematographer, rigged lighting in what had been Momma’s suite and is now my studio. I began Zooming content that afternoon. I’m told the new backdrop and lighting were beautiful. I’m excited to start creating new video content. Thank you, Van.
We finished off the weekend with a party celebrating our niece, Samantha McGranahan’s graduation from VCU and her cousin Sage’s high school graduation. Sage will be rooming with Stephanie, Sami’s little sister, at Richard Bland College in the Fall. And Sami, after completing a successful internship with WWBT- Channel 12, (the local NBC affiliate), is how part of their weekend web team. We’re all celebrating her finding a job in her major.

NOTE: My sister-in-law, Pat Bayer, is a nurse anesthetist. She saw the ad for Susan Landers’ book, So Many Babies, and ordered a copy for Marnie Blalock (the daughter of a friend from her med school days) who just graduated from the Medical College of Virginia. Marnie will be moving to Houston to Baylor Medical Center for her residency in Pediatrics. Marie and I just received our copy of So Many Babies and are looking forward to reading it.
These are just a few of the many things Marie and I accomplished over the weekend. I need a vacation.

Featured Storyteller
Shelli Jost Brady

Shelli is a woman of many talents: entrepreneur, designer, facilitator, consultant, coach, leader, storyteller and Mom.

As gifted as she is, Shelli is very humble. Regardless of the recognition and rewards she has received, she continues to struggle with owning her glorious splendor.

Check out her story by clicking here.

Dr. Susan Landers is a neonatologist with thirty-four years of experience practicing in the NICU. 

After attending Auburn University, she graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Then she completed three years of pediatric residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. Next, she completed three years of neonatology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. 

Dr. Landers practiced academic neonatology for fourteen years, serving on faculty of two medical schools, and private practice neonatology for eighteen years. While caring for patients full-time in private practice, she served as a speaker for the Texas Department of State Health Services. 

She was also the Medical Director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin and served on the milk bank’s board of directors. 

Additionally, she served for six years on the Executive Committee of the Section on Breastfeeding for the AAP. 

Together with her husband, Dr. Phillip Berry, she raised three children, one son and two daughters. Her family resides in Austin.

Her book, So Many Babies, details how she balanced her medical career and motherhood. Click here to get your copy.

Catharsis

I had breakfast yesterday morning with Shelli Jost Brady, our COO. I’m the only person solely involved with The Storytellers Channel. Everybody else has other responsibilities. A good thing, because the pandemic totally disrupted our original business model and while I have managed to keep the doors open, there’s no way we could have made payroll. So much of our revenue was dependent on ticket sales from theatrical performances. I’m so very thankful for all the people who have remained faithful to our vision.

Shelli is finishing up a PhD program in Leadership, as well as preparing to take the Realtor’s exam. I cannot tell how honored I am that she finds time for The Storytellers Channel.

I was bringing her up to speed on our cinematographer, Van Payne’s lighting work in the studio and she agreed to design the rest of the space. Shelli was one of the founders of the architectural firm SMBW before she went on to start the consulting firm, Alchemy. Once again, humbled. Then she agreed to work out the specs for The Storytellers Channel’s new studio space. We are coming out of this pandemic with a vengeance.

Before the pandemic, Shelli asked me, “Why The Storytellers Channel?” My answer at the time was, “I need to leave my wife financially secure when I die?” We both agreed this wasn’t a particularly engaging mission or vision to recruit staff, storytellers, or audiences. Candidly, the fact is I was so in over my head taking care of Momma at the time, that all I could think of were my familial responsibilities.

I’ve been wrestling with the question ever since and the pandemic gave me ample time to grapple for an answer.

Since our maiden voyage as the Tin Non-Prophets, I have been fascinated by the power of personal story to transform teller and audience alike. I watched the initial eight tellers grow during the process of discerning, crafting, and delivering their stories. But that paled compared to our original audience’s reaction.

Our original audience was made up of family and friends of the tellers. I remember overhearing a fellow at the bar during the first intermission tell another guy, “I had no idea what this was. My wife said we were going and so here I am. But this is great. I’m having a great time.”

 
Later, during the second intermission, again at the bar, I heard a conversation where two guys explained who they knew among the tellers.

 
After the show, the audience was slow to leave, as if they didn’t want the evening to end. Several audience members came up to tellers who they had not known prior to the event and shared how they either knew the people in that teller’s story or that they had had similar experiences.

 
We later learned of two couples who met that night and became fast friends. They returned as audience members later, not knowing any of the tellers, but remembering what a good time they’d had the last time.

Many of you know before my career in advertising and consulting I had had a very successful career in the theatre. Truthfully, while I reveled in my time is advertising and consulting, I have always missed the community and the work of producing plays. My 17-year sojourn through post-secondary academia resulted in my receiving a BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in Directing. My collegiate education has served me well in all my endeavors. That said, I was always trying to recreate the camaraderie, esprit de corps, and commitment to mission found in theatre companies and so often lacking in other work communities.

I’m an avid reader and several of the books I’ve been reading lately have converged to help me better answer Shelli’s question, “Why The Storytellers Channel?”

First is my need for community. I abhor a vacuum, almost as much as nature. And because I subscribe to Peter Senge’s observation that leaders initiate and sustain change while growing leaders I’m inclined to take action to meet my needs.

Hence, my fellow founders and I, all of whom are leaders in our respective fields, started The Storytellers Channel so we would have a place to play, together. We all appreciate stories and recognize the value of stories in building (initiating) and sustaining communities. In fact, we’re inclined to say stories are one of a leader’s most effective tools.

Second, was our shared belief in the value of creative expression. And that one of the greatest obstacles to creativity is the myth of perfectionism. One of the greatest benefits of theatre/live performances is the inevitable deadline of opening night.

 
We don’t get to delay. Once an opening night is announced, we are compelled to deliver whatever we have developed on that date. There are no excuses. This creates a situation whereby once started; we must deliver. Jon Acuff, in his marvelous book, Finish, explained the toxicity of dreams deferred:

 
   “Goals you refuse to chase don’t disappear – they become Ghosts that haunt you. Do you know why strangers rage at each other online and are so quick to be angry and offended these days? Because their passion has no other outlet. When you refuse to deal in joy, you don’t quit being emotional; you just funnel all that fury someplace else. Many a troll was born from the heartache of a goal he dared not finish. Maybe a troll is just someone who lost to perfectionism so many times that he gave up on his own goals and decided to tear down someone else’s.”

The Storytellers Channel is our vehicle for contributing to the health and welfare of our local community and if we are successful in scaling across the country, we expect to be a force for strengthening communities nationwide.

My mission in life is to enjoy life and to enthuse others to find joy in their lives.

 Which brings me to another book that has contributed to my answer to Shelli’s question. In 2020, Matthew Fox released, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic – and Beyond. Julian was an anchoress during the Middle Ages. She lived her whole life surrounded by the Bubonic Plague. And yet, she never succumbed to the idea that God’s creation was anything but a wonderful gift to humanity.

She invented the word Enjoy.

Considering my mission statement, it’s no wonder her message resonates with me. On top of that she urged people to look for the good in one another. A sentiment echoed by The Gallop Group in their Strengths Finder series and Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Talking with Strangers.

The Gallop folks encourage us to build on our strengths as opposed to shoring up our weaknesses. This supports my opinion there are no well-rounded people only well-rounded teams.

Gladwell explains that while people are lousy judges of whether others are or are not telling the truth; we must default to trusting people or society would grind to halt.
All of this supports my radically optimistic view of the world and is reflective of Julian’s Radically Optimistic Theology. The Storytellers Channel is a place where we can discern and nurture our better natures. A place where we can hear and appreciate the stories of people who may not look like us, but if we listen, we’re bound to discover our shared humanity.

And last, but from my point of view foremost, Catharsis. Storytelling is a form of theatre, and the purpose of theatre is catharsis; defined as the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

Which takes us back to Jon Acuff’s explanation for so much of the malevolence in our world today.

Julian of Norwich’s pandemic lasted her entire life. And yet, her reaction was to look for the best in creation.

 
We at The Storytellers Channel are creating a community dedicated to providing individual, family, community, and business leaders the opportunity to discern their stories and find their voices, so they may have a place to construct their dreams versus striking out in pain and being agents of destruction.

My answer to Shelli’s question is still a work in progress. As I keep ruminating, I have confidence I’ll become more succinct. Thank you for sharing my journey.

 
I don’t know whether reading this has been even remotely cathartic for you, but I feel a sense of release as I get closer to telling this story in a way that draws tellers and audiences alike to The Storytellers Channel to give them relief from strong or repressed emotions.

Thank you, Marie, John, Deborah, Edie, Greg, Van, Shelli and all our tellers for sharing your gifts and your belief in our shared mission and vision.

Remember, you matter. Your stories matter. Tell them well.

Andy Offutt Irwin is Coming Back to RVA

Tuesday, June 21 7:00 PM

Our dear friend will be giving a house concert in Marie’s and my backyard in Richmond’s Lakeside neighborhood. I’m building him a stage.

Reach out to me at [email protected] if you’d like to join us.

 

I’d Love to Hear from You

Stories are humanity’s most powerful tool.

I’d love to hear some of yours.

You can share with me at: [email protected] 

Til next time, 


Gayle Turner
Executive Producer.

Filed Under: Behind the Curtain Tagged With: Catharsis, Storytellers, Storytellers Channel

Memorial Day

By

What’s Going On

Yesterday was Memorial Day. I’ll write more about that later. 

On Saturday, our neighbor, James, hosted a cookout in his back yard. Children, dogs, and puppies ran hither and thither, adults chatted, played cornhole, and ate themselves into a food coma. 

It was delightful!

I sat there in a lawn chair, with my hat low over my eyes and remembered similar events from my childhood. I miss those days with all the cousins running and hollering. The adults sitting around talking about the past. 

The rest of the weekend was spent moving furniture, rolling up rugs, and binge-watching war flicks on Turner Classic Movies.

Last night, Marie and I decided to take an additional mile walk. We’re building up our stamina for our trip to the UK in August.

That’s when we captured this shot of this year’s baby owl. Every spring we’re treated to the hooted call, ”Who cook’s for you?” at all hours of the day. Owls are very vocal day and night. I love it and this was our first sighting of this year’s owlet. 

As we stood below the telephone wire looking at him or her, it kept swiveling its head from one to the other of us. Momma and Daddy owl were nowhere in sight, but I’m sure they had their eyes on the little one.

All-in-all, the end to a perfect holiday weekend.

Covid Note: I continue to be exhausted. I have no idea how long this after effect lasts. I’ll keep you posted. The Richmond community is RED on the state map. At least a half dozen people at church are down with the disease. We’re back to wearing masks inside the church. 

Y’all be safe, this rascal is not done with us yet.

Writing is moment to moment trying to find the truth. – Lin-Manuel Miranda

Featured Storyteller 

Gayle Turner

I’m featuring myself this week. Here I am with my summer face, sans whiskers. I invite you to click on the link and watch my story Pawpaw’s Monkey.

It’s my oldest, and most favorite story. My momma’s daddy told it to my daddy one night while they were waiting for my momma to get dressed and come down stairs. Them my daddy told it for years, as have I.

Pawpaw and Daddy told it to entertain. I tell it, not only to entertain, but to make the point of how important it is to tell or family stories. I hope you enjoy it.

Dr. Susan Landers is a neonatologist with thirty-four years of experience practicing in the NICU. 

After attending Auburn University, she graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Then she completed three years of pediatric residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. Next, she completed three years of neonatology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. 

Dr. Landers practiced academic neonatology for fourteen years, serving on faculty of two medical schools, and private practice neonatology for eighteen years. While caring for patients full-time in private practice, she served as a speaker for the Texas Department of State Health Services. 

She was also the Medical Director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin and served on the milk bank’s board of directors. 

Additionally, she served for six years on the Executive Committee of the Section on Breastfeeding for the AAP. 

Together with her husband, Dr. Phillip Berry, she raised three children, one son and two daughters. Her family resides in Austin.

Her book, So Many Babies, details how she balanced her medical career and motherhood. Click here to get your copy.

Memorial Day

Yesterday morning, Marie and I got up with the sun and drove downtown to the Virginia War Memorial.

 
When we arrived; we were the only ones onsite. But as we strolled the grounds, a fellow started cleaning the reflecting pool around the statue, Memory, and then folks started setting up for the events scheduled for later in the day.

Then a group of runners arrived. For the last ten years, the six of them have run the 3.8 kilometers from the WWI Memorial in Byrd Park, colloquially known as The Carillon. Then after paying their respects, they run back uptown.

Somewhere among my papers, I have a newspaper clipping of my Pawpaw and my Nanny Wine standing with a floral wreath at the base of the statue that dominates the memorial.

She’s named, Memory, and there’s an eternal flame and a metal budvase at her base. Yesterday morning, the vase contained a single red rosebud.

I snapped the few pictures here, making sure to record my uncle’s name etched in the glass. 

He was Momma’s oldest brother; my pawpaw’s namesake. He was killed during the landing at Sicily in 1943. A German artillery shell hit his landing craft. His remains have yet to be identified. Although, the Army reached out to us for Mom’s and my DNA shortly before she died. They are still testing the remains working to bring our boys home. 

Should they succeed, a plot awaits him beside his momma and daddy here in Richmond.

I enjoyed our neighbor’s Memorial Day weekend gathering Saturday, but I missed the family stories. I tell people all the time our children need to hear the stories of their people. But we old people need to hear them, too. I know I find strength in my family’s stories. Stories of overcoming adversity. Stories of joy and sorrow. They remind me that time heals, and that time also flies. They prod me to make hay while the sun shines. They urge me to leave something behind as lasting as the houses my father built.

Last night, on PBS I watched an interview with President Kennedy’s biographer, Fredrik Logevall. 

I was reminded of two events. 

One was that on the day he was assassinated, we were sent home early from school. Being sent home early would have been a cause for celebration, but that was the Friday I was scheduled to read the 23rd Psalm in our weekly assembly. I missed that opportunity, and my name never come up in the rotation again. Reading the psalm was a fourth-grade honor. Losing the President was horrible, but what stuck in my 9-year-old mind was my personal loss.

The second event was his inaugural speech. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” That has been my life-long beacon. 

I’m glad my last thought on that subject wasn’t my immature loss, but his legacy.

Then I ended the evening watching a documentary about the new version of Stephen Sondheim’s play Company. It’s entitled, “Keeping Company with Sondheim.” I encourage you to see both the documentary and the show.

Today’s quote comes from an interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda in the film.

 
Don’t lose your family’s stories. Take time to remember them. Ask the old people to tell you their memories. Ask the young people to tell you their memories. And then make time to share them with one another. 

If we forget our stories, it’s as if they never happened. If we forget our ancestors, it will be as if they were never here.

I’ve shared a piece of my Uncle Oliver’s story here today. May his name be a blessing.

I’d Love to Hear from You

Stories are humanity’s most powerful tool.

I’d love to hear some of yours.

You can share with me at: [email protected] 

Til next time, 


Gayle Turner
Executive Producer.

Filed Under: Behind the Curtain Tagged With: Memorial Day, Storytellers, Storytellers Channel

Thirty Years

By

What’s Going On

I survived Covid-19. I still have the sniffles, but I’m attributing it to allergies. I tested NEGATIVE on Friday and have been out and about: breakfast at Joe’s (more about that in a minute), picking up my meds at Walgreen’s and a visit to the chiropractor has me feeling like I’m back a part of the world.

Like the rest of the country, I’m experiencing sticker shock at the gas pump. The war in Ukraine is having a far-reaching impact. I heard a news report predicting $6.00/gal here in Virginia before the summer is over. This is going to be devastatingly traumatic in some regions.

 
Francis Bacon wrote, “The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good (people) to do nothing.” This war is going to cost everyone. Those who support either side as well as the bystanders.

 
I had really underestimated the impact. It has been brought home to me as we have bought our plane tickets for the UK this summer. The tickets took such a big chunk out of our budget that our anticipated three-week trip has been condensed to two weeks.

Last night, I sat up until 5:00 AM finishing The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier* last night. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Then, I got up at 7:15 for my Toastmasters meeting. 

When I finish writing this newsletter, I think I’m going to do one of my favorite things, nap.

*The pic to the right is du Maurier circa 1930. Striking, wasn’t she?

Featured Storyteller

Bob Fischer

Bob is Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley. A graduate of The United States Military Academy at West Point, Bob is a chess life master and a gifted storyteller. Check out his bio and his story, My Father’s Shoes by clicking here.

Dr. Susan Landers is a neonatologist with thirty-four years of experience practicing in the NICU. 

After attending Auburn University, she graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Then she completed three years of pediatric residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. Next, she completed three years of neonatology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. 

Dr. Landers practiced academic neonatology for fourteen years, serving on faculty of two medical schools, and private practice neonatology for eighteen years. While caring for patients full-time in private practice, she served as a speaker for the Texas Department of State Health Services. 

She was also the Medical Director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin and served on the milk bank’s board of directors. 

Additionally, she served for six years on the Executive Committee of the Section on Breastfeeding for the AAP. 

Together with her husband, Dr. Phillip Berry, she raised three children, one son and two daughters. Her family resides in Austin.

Her book, So Many Babies, details how she balanced her medical career and motherhood. Click here to get your copy.

Thirty Years

I mentioned above that I went to Joe’s Inn for breakfast Saturday morning. Joe’s was opened in 1952. It sits between two alleys on a side street in Richmond’s historic Fan District. The restaurant takes up the first floor of two adjoined townhouses with an apartment above each side.
Originally, Joe’s occupied just the southern townhouse. 

The northern restaurant was The Fan Grill. The Fan Grill was operated by Bernie Cournow, the brother of a friend of my Dad’s. I would eat there every once in a while as teenager, but I wasn’t allowed to eat at Joe’s. I recently discovered that Joe’s had been a gay bar in the 60’s. That might have had something to do with it. 

The Fan was full of corner beer joints. I was allowed to eat at some, but some were just too rough for a child.

Richmond is a foodie town these days, but prior to liquor-by-the-drink, most “restaurants” were just beer joints. My family were tea tootlers, and I stayed away from those places. When the law was changed to allow liquor to be sold in restaurants the quality of food skyrocketed.

In the 70’s Nick Kafantaris, a Greek immigrant who had lived on the streets in post WWII Athens, bought Joe’s. He transformed it into The Heart of The Fan. Eventually, he bought The Fan Grill from Mr. Cournow, and connected the two restaurants.
It became the hangout for local theatre people as you could get food after the show. I started hanging out there in 1976.

The food was simple Italian American fare. The portions were big and the drinks were cheap. Spaghetti a la Joe was huge. A platter of pasta with red sauce and cheese baked on top. It was served with a side salad with thick blue cheese dressing and garlic bread. I’d always say I was going to take half of it home, but invariably, I’d eat the whole thing and walk out in a food coma.

Joe’s became the default for breakfast, lunch and supper. If I was too lazy to cook, I could always grab something a Joe’s.

 
On May 19, 1992, my Dad, Warren Gayle Turner, Sr., died.

I was working as the Marketing Director for a soft drink company at the time and I was gone a lot. In an effort to make sure I made time for my Mom, the following Saturday we started having breakfast at Joe’s. Before Covid they opened at 8:00 AM. Mom and I could grab a quick breakfast and then get on with our weekend.

After a while people became aware that they could rely upon finding us there on Saturdays and we would of course invite people to join us. Our twosome gradually became 6, 7, 8 and some Saturdays as many as a dozen people gather for breakfast. 

My family are suckers for children. So, of course, when parents would bring their children in, we would make a big deal over them. We carried on conversations across the restaurant with one young couple and their beautiful little six-year-old girl so often that eventually we invited them to join our table. A couple of years later, they added another beautiful little girl to the mix. Another husband and wife fell into the same rhythm of talking from table to table and the regulars grew again.

By the way, that little six-year-old is now a rising Junior at William & Mary and her baby sister starts the Governor’s School in the fall. Mom and I got to be surrogate great Grand Mom and Grand Dad. Pre-Covid we would attend their school functions. I hope when things return to “normal” I can fall back into that routine.

Between Mom’s failing hearing and the size of the crowd, we had to find another time and place for our one-on-one tete a tetes.

Mom, Marguerite Wine Turner, passed away last July.

But the breakfast tradition continues.

Even when I’m not there the group still gathers.

 
Since Covid, staffing issues have forced them to delay opening 9:00 AM which puts a crimp in our Saturday morning productivity, but it’s led to a new routine. Most Saturday we leave Joe’s and spend an hour at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts before running by the grocery store and hustling home by noon, so Marie can join her gym buddies for their Saturday Zoom get together.

Last week marked 30 years since Daddy’s death. There’s still a big hole in my heart, but the community that has grown up around our mornings at Joe’s has gone a long way to ease the loss.

We have watched the waitstaff, grow from teenagers working their way through college, to become teachers who pick up an occasional shift to stretch their budgets to moms and dads, who bring their little ones in for breakfast.

Nick, passed away this past spring. In his short 76 years on this earth, he had a huge impact on his adopted city. Joe’s Inn is The Heart of The Fan and The Fan is The Heart of Richmond.

If you ever find yourself here on a Saturday morning, come join us.

You’ll be welcome. You’ll find us standing on the sidewalk waiting for them to open the door.

Nick ruled over Joe’s for 46 years. 

I’m hoping to sit at my Saturday table for at least that long.

I’d Love to Hear from You

Drop me a line about what you like about the newsletter or anything you’d like to to add or subtract.

[email protected] 

Til next time, 


Gayle Turner
Executive Producer.

Filed Under: Behind the Curtain Tagged With: Storytellers, Storytellers Channel, Thirty Years

A Voice from the Covid War

By

What’s Going On

Considering the stories I’ve heard I think I’m getting off lightly. My nose continues to run and I’m still pretty tired, but the greatest difficulty is my eyes are blurry and I’m having a hard time seeing.

I read for a little while and then when I can’t read anymore I watch TV for a little while. o But then my eyes get blurry again and I just take a nap.

I’m not in pain, just frustrated.

I’m not going to share a story today, because it’s just to difficult to type and frankly I’m also having some difficulty focusing.

I did want to share Susan Landers new book with you (see below) and to encourage you to go to Storytellers Channel and watch one or more of our storytellers’ stories.

Dr. Susan Landers is a neonatologist with thirty-four years of experience practicing in the NICU. 

After attending Auburn University, she graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Then she completed three years of pediatric residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. Next, she completed three years of neonatology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. 

Dr. Landers practiced academic neonatology for fourteen years, serving on faculty of two medical schools, and private practice neonatology for eighteen years. While caring for patients full-time in private practice, she served as a speaker for the Texas Department of State Health Services. 

She was also the Medical Director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin and served on the milk bank’s board of directors. 

Additionally, she served for six years on the Executive Committee of the Section on Breastfeeding for the AAP. 

Together with her husband, Dr. Phillip Berry, she raised three children, one son and two daughters. Her family resides in Austin.

Her book, So Many Babies, details how she balanced her medical career and motherhood. Click here to get your copy.

‘veThank You

I appreciate your emails enquiring about my wellbeing.

I tried to respond to all of you, but some of my emails have bounced back as undeliverable.

When reading and typing is less of a hassle I’ll try responding again.

Hoping this will resolve itself soon.

Til next time, 


Gayle Turner
Executive Producer.

Filed Under: Behind the Curtain Tagged With: A Voice from the Covid War, Storytellers, Storytellers Channel

A Short Message

By

What’s Going On

I made a promise at the beginning of the year that i would publish on time this year.

My wife, Marie, and I contracted Covid at my 52nd High School reunion the weekend of April 30th.

We were both vaccinated and boosted, and yet here we are.

The symptoms have been no worse than a bad cold, but my sinuses are so full my eyes won’t stop running.

As a result I can barely see the monitor.

I’m sure I’ll be fine by next week.

Y’all be safe,

g

Filed Under: Behind the Curtain Tagged With: A Short Message, Storytellers, Storytellers Channel

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Catharsis

What's Going On Marie and I had a great weekend. After breakfast at Joe’s Inn on Saturday, we went to the VMFA as is our … [Read More...] about Catharsis

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