Loose Leaf Notes

1. I love THIS paper cutting art that Sandy Kezzela posted last week, and I love the quote by the artist, who said, “Once a cut has been made, there’s no going back.”

2. Funny how flim flam, sham and scam are all related.

3. Buying a car without a roof rack is like buying a house without a chimney.

4. My recent Facebook comment, “I’d like to sue Trump for personal damages loss of sleep and peace and a sense of despondency,” got 56 likes.

5. Sometimes I get my TV remote and my phone mixed up.

6. “Some times we have to rare back in order to swing.” – My Dharmacratic poet friend Will

7. The bubbles in my bath / are a universe of planets / I’m a clumsy cosmic island / making ripples in deep space … Read the rest of my poem The Big Bang of  Bathing HERE.

8. Where have all the flowers gone?  Check out the winter birds at the lunch counter HERE.

9. “When Trump screams “Fake News” at reporters, they should scream back, “Fake election!”  – Andy Borowitz

10. These Facebook days, instead of saying, “I’ll toast to that,” I say, “I’ll “like” that.”

11. To my Facebook “friends,” I want to say, if you have something of substance to add to my updates, feel free, but I’m not interested in rants and old scores.  I’m not interested in hearing about dark conspiracy theories that I can’t prove or disprove or do anything about. There’s enough in the open to speak-up about.  And please don’t add insult to injury; don’t act like Trump by engaging in name-calling, repeating sensationalized fake news headlines or making shallow comments that have no real content … More from my commentary, Why I Won’t Get Over Trump, which was published in the Roanoke Times today HERE. I will post it in its entirety Friday.

12. Studies show that the words you choose to use can literally change your brain.”…”When we use words filled with positivity, like “love” and “peace”, we can alter how our brain functions by increasing cognitive reasoning and strengthening areas in our frontal lobes. On the opposite end of the spectrum, when we use negative words, we are preventing certain neuro-chemicals from being produced which contribute to stress management. Each and every one of us are initially hardwired to worry; it’s how our primal brain protects us from dangerous situations for survival…. Angry words send alarm messages through the brain, and they partially shut down the logic-and-reasoning centers located in the frontal lobes.”  – More HERE.

13. Colleen to Joe:  Why did the chicken cross the Abby Road?  Joe: Because it was a Hard Day’s Night.

_________Thirteen Thursday