WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2023, MENTAL UNDERSTANDING AND THE SPECTRUM

 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2023 MENTAL UNDERSTANDING AND THE SPECTRUM

I don’t understand thinking.  Space has been described as the final frontier, but I think the brain is really the final frontier.  

Humans can be quite rational and also quite irrational.  

I can’t predict what I'm going to do in the future.   Is there rational thought behind my actions?  Can drugs cause a change in thinking?   Can I do random acts?  

“Human psychology is defined as the science of the mind and behavior. It encompasses the scientific study of the mind and behavior and the application of these principles to help prevent, treat, and diagnose mental health conditions. Psychologists explore typical and atypical behavior to fully understand the human experience.”

I wasn’t much of a Star Trek watcher.  The ship got in trouble early in an episode and, by the end of the hour, had solved the problem.  (Just like most serious television shows)

But I remember one segment of one show.  Mr.Spock, the logical man, and one other crew member were stranded on a vast planet.  The Enterprise couldn’t locate them (technical malfunction?). The rational man (Spock)  did something illogical - he shot off a pistol.  Amazingly, somebody on the Enterprise saw the spark from the gun, directed the Enterprise to their location, and rescued them.  (Okay, it was a television show!!). 

Asked why he did such an illogical action, Mr. Spock said it wasn’t logical, but it worked, and thus, a solution that worked - although not logical became logical.

*****

Sometimes, my brain works in a logical progression.  (After all, I was a mathematician and a computer professor.)  And, sometimes, my brain does irrational things.

Some people are considered mentally incompetent but able to function quite well. Some analysts have suggested that Napolean and Hitler were mentally deranged but functioned. 

*****

Okay, off to what I want to talk about today. It is National Coming Out Day.  

National Coming Out Day is “coming out of the closet.”  Some people’s brains have misfired, and men think they are in love with other men; women are in love with other women.  

Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in His image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them."

So, men and women marry and have children to carry on the human race - that is normal.  

My friend BB had three children - twin boys and a girl.  One of the boys was “normal” and married a wife and had children.  One of the boys was “irrational” and has married a man. WHY?

IDK (I don’t know).  That son was raised in the same home as his twin brother, but somehow, he has accepted that he is gay - a “homosexual,” if you will.  

Another friend, KW, had three children - two daughters and a son.  And, somewhere, her thoughts made her a lesbian - a woman loving another woman.  

There are autistic people.  Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 36 children in the United States today. There seems to be a “spectrum” - from mild to severe—some of these people have brains that are “wired” differently. 

WHY?

(And, the same answer - IDK - I don’t know).

And (at least to me), the strangest one - a child born with male gender characteristics considers himself female, and a child born with female gender traits feels herself as male.

Why do some people become homicidal killers? IDK.  Are they on the spectrum?  IDK.

I can’t speak for others.  I say a two-by-four smacked me, and a ton of bricks fell on me.  I KNOW it was genuine - and very scary.  As a seventy-year-old man, how could I think I needed to be a woman?  

Note - I fought it.  I did a program that said I was a sinner for thinking that I was a woman in a Christian context.  I also contemplated suicide.  What weird things were going on in my brain?  I didn’t do drugs.  I didn’t try LSD.  (Okay, like many college students, I did try marijuana about four times).  Was that enough to affect my brain?

Today, people who have experienced trauma are encouraged to step out of the closet and say, “I’m not who you think I am - I’m a complex human being like you who somehow fell in love with someone of my gender.

So, to me, today is more of a day to say “I DON’T KNOW” about mental health.  Years ago, such people were locked up.  Others were subject to electronic shocks.   

So, I applaud those willing to stand up and say, “I’m different.” I’m also willing to say, “I love you.” 

Is Space the final frontier - or is the brain the final frontier?  IDK - but I am still learning a fundamental truth for me - that LOVE WINS.

Let’s consider God as infinite, all-loving, all-knowing, and all-compassionate.  Let’s say, “I don’t understand why John became Jane while Suzy is in love with Sarah or why Albert acts the way that he does. Or that Johnny can’t concentrate in school or on the job, or Renee has relationship trouble. I tend to believe that all of us have some kind of flaw.  Nobody is perfect.  And, so, I need to respect all people. 

I call that LOVE - and I believe that ultimately, LOVE WINS!!!

That LOVE can change a person - if they are willing to step out of their closet and say, “I am different.”  LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, OCTOBER 11, 2023

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2023 - NATIONAL HUG A DRUMMER DAY

 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2023 - NATIONAL HUG A DRUMMER DAY

NATIONAL HUG A DRUMMER DAY - October 10, 2023 - National Today

I’ve been around drummers since I started band in fifth grade.  Most of the early memories are of guys (boys) not paying much attention to the director, banging cymbals, beating on snare drums, and mostly obnoxious!!

In the last few years, I’ve changed my view.  Drummers (aka percussionists) are talented musicians.

In the Bluebonnet Philharmonic Orchestra, there is an excellent group of percussionists.  I think I started to appreciate percussionists when I heard Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony for the first time.  Since then, I wanted to play tympani on the finale.  BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!  The tympani really made the piece come alive.

Another Shostakovich piece - the Seventh Symphony (subtitled “The Leningrad Symphony”), has a masterful percussion part in the first movement.  Shostakovich modeled this symphony on the Nazi siege of Leningrad (now back to St. Petersburg).  The percussion handle the German infantry slowly advancing on Leningrad.  The percussion emphasis grows louder as the German  Luftwaffe bombs the city.  The first comparison is to Tchaikowsky’s 1812 overture - but that isn’t close - the percussion blends with the rest of the orchestra to make the onslaught so realistic.

In the orchestra, the tubas sit in front of the tympani - and I hear the multifunction of the tympani part - not just a tuned bass drum, but with rolls and changes from hitting the mallets in the center or on the edge.  And the percussionists for the BPO are excellent.  

But percussionists handle so many instruments.  I play one instrument - tuba; they play tympani, snare drums, cymbals, marimba, bells (and there are multiple varieties), gongs, bass drums, and even trap sets.  An orchestra percussion section must be multi-talented as it plays so many parts.  In our recent concert, a percussionist played bells, so they sounded like a telephone ringing. 

Back in high school, our music was mainly in 4/4 time (four beats to a measure, with a quarter note getting one beat).  In our recent concert, we had a piece in 5/4 time (challenging).  The solution is in the percussion section if conductors want to speed up or slow down.  

*****

I heard a commentator talking about Ringo Starr (the drummer for the Beatles) and how he made the Beatles superb. Moving from 4/4 to ¾ to using triplets, backbeats, after beats, and so many techniques, he moved rock and roll to a higher level (as did other drummers).  

Consider a typical drum set - the drummer uses one foot to beat the bass drum, then his hands to keep the beat on snare drums.  Throw a tambourine and multiple cymbals; a great drummer must have at least four hands. 

My son was a percussionist in high school and college.  (I wanted him to play a trombone).  In the field marching show, he played tom-toms (a set of four drums carried by one person).  

I talked to his high school director about percussionists, and he said he had picked Steve (my son) because he had piano lessons, could read music, and could play all the various percussion instruments.

So, on this National Hug a Drummer Day, I want to salute those in the back of bands and orchestras who help make the music come alive.  

Maybe some drummers don’t take music seriously, but many recognize their part in making the ensemble excellent.

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, OCTOBER 10, 2023

MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2023 - COLUMBUS DAY???

 MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2023 - COLUMBUS DAY

Today is a multi-focus day:

In the United States, it is Columbus Day

In the United States, it is Indigenous Peoples’ Day

In Canada, it is Thanksgiving Day

And why in the world is this Hemisphere called North and South AMERICA?

*****

First, from a map from 1507 - the only known of supposedly 100 maps made.

“The map grew out of an ambitious project in St. Dié, France, in the early years of the 16th century, to update geographic knowledge flowing from the new discoveries of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Waldseemüller’s large world map was the most exciting product of that research effort. He included on the map data gathered by Vespucci during his voyages of 1501-1502 to the New World. Waldseemüller named the new lands “America” on his 1507 map in recognition of Vespucci’s understanding that a new continent had been uncovered following Columbus’ and subsequent voyages in the late 15th century. An edition of 1,000 copies of the large wood-cut print was reportedly printed and sold, but no other copy is known to have survived. It was the first map, printed or manuscript, to depict clearly a separate Western Hemisphere, with the Pacific as a separate ocean. The map reflected a huge leap forward in knowledge, recognizing the newly found American landmass and forever changing mankind’s understanding and perception of the world itself. (Library of Congress article)

“Like Columbus, Vespucci traveled to the New World (first in 1499 and again in 1502). Unlike Columbus, Vespucci wrote about it. Vespucci’s accounts of his travels were published between 1502 and 1504 and were widely read in Europe.”

Columbus was also hindered because he thought he had discovered another route to Asia; he didn’t realize America was a whole new continent. Vespucci, however, admitted that America was not contiguous with Asia. He was also the first to call it the New World, or Novus Mundus in Latin. (Aha - publicity wins out - Vespucci WROTE about his trips - and Columbus didn’t write as much). And, if you remember, Columbus first traveled in 1492

(Old song:)

In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue,
It was a courageous thing to do
But someone was already here.
Columbus knew the world was round
So he looked for the East while westward bound,
But he didn’t find what he thought he found,
And someone was already here.

So, Columbus - an Italian sailing for Spain, thought he could discover a shortcut to the Indies (“Spice Islands” and all) and found land to the west of Europe - but thought it was part of the Indies.  

And he took gold back to Spain and was, therefore, a hero.  

(Karen adds, “Too bad Columbus - all you got was a city in Ohio named for you.”)

“Originally conceived as a celebration of Italian-American heritage, Columbus Day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1937, primarily due to lobbying by the Knights of Columbus. 

And, if you will, in 1937, when Columbus Day officially began, Columbus was still a hero. Columbus started the immigration of many Europeans to this new and mostly empty land.  

But, of course, this new land wasn’t empty - there were people already here - “Native Americans” we call them now. But, there were many tribes across this large area - from the woods and forests of New England to the vast Great Plains with horse-riding Sioux (and other tribes).  

“In 2021, President Joe Biden proclaimed on Indigenous Peoples’ Day that his administration will continue to uphold its “solemn trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations, strengthening our Nation-to-Nation ties.”

“According to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, approximately 95 percent of the Native American population was wiped out 130 years after Europeans landed in the Americas.

The new settlers (1607 for Jamestown, and 1620 for Plymouth Rock) and earlier for Mexico and Central and South America brought Europeans diseases that wiped out many Native Americans as well as persecuted them (The expression “The only good injun is a dead injun”), moved them, put them on reservations, and mistreated them. 

So, Native Americans took offense at the honoring of the vile “invaders” and worked to establish “Indigenous Peoples Day.” 

So, today, we honor both the invaders, the Italian Americans, and the Native Americans - and maybe throw dirt on Columbus - who didn’t know better, and the courageous people who were already here.  

And, as for Canadians - the fourth Thursday in November is generally past the harvest for the northern land of Canada - so the second Monday in October serves as their Thanksgiving.

All of us should be Canadians today - giving THANKS for our heritage even if some of our ancestors were not the good and Godly people we want to think they were!!!

We all have a heritage. Some families have horse thieves, bank robbers, robber barons, gun-slingers, prostitutes, tax collectors, and other evil people in their heritage.  

Like my ancestors, I could be better. I am judgmental. I don’t love as much as I should. I need to be more loving and forgiving.  

Maybe I am celebrating “America - the great melting pot of humanity” today.  

I’m going to sing God Bless America today:

God bless America, land that I love

Stand beside her and guide her

Through the night, with the light from above

From the mountains to the prairies

To the oceans white with foam

God bless America, my home, sweet home.

LOVE WINS - HELP ME TO BE MORE LOVING

LOVE TRANSFORMS - HELP ME TO BE DIFFERENT TO BE LOVING

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, OCTOBER 9, 2023

SUNDAY FUNDAY - OCTOBER 8, 2023

 SUNDAY FUNDAY- OCTOBER 8, 2023

WARM-UP

Ahh - October (finally)!!!  

Get out your sweaters and jackets!!  The forecast for Saturday, October 7th, is for a high of 79 degrees - and a low of 56 degrees!!!!  (After months with average highs in the 100s and average lows in the lower 80s!!)

That will be great for my orchestra concert today in Pfluger Park, 515 City Park Road, in Pflugerville, TX, at 3 p.m.  Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy a GREAT concert (Seventy-Six Trombones, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Big Band Medley, America Salute, Liberty Overture, Stars and Stripes forever and more.  

Want to see something spectacular?  How about a solar eclipse on Saturday, October 14th - about noon it will be at its max value.  Georgetown is a little off from the center.  It will be best west of here - with Kerrville on the best viewing line.  The best viewing line goes from Oregon to Kerrville and out over the Gulf of Mexico

The full moon for October is October 28th - and is called “The Hunters’ Moon”.

Riddles: 

Answers at bottom

1. Riddle: What has to be broken before you can use it?
2. Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
3. Riddle: What month of the year has 28 days?
4. Riddle: What is full of holes but still holds water?
5. Riddle: What question can you never answer yes to?
6. Riddle: What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
7. Riddle: There’s a one-story house in which everything is yellow. Yellow walls, yellow doors, yellow furniture. What color are the stairs?
8. Riddle. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
9. Riddle: What goes up but never comes down?
10. Riddle: A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn’t get a single hair on his head wet. Why?
11. Riddle: What gets wet while drying?
12. Riddle: What can you keep after giving to someone?

13. Riddle: Why are cows such great dancers?
14. Riddle: Where would you find a cow who's having a really bad day?
15. Riddle: What is a cow's favorite newspaper?
16. Riddle: What did the mommy cow say to the baby cow?
17. Riddle: What would you get if you cross an angry sheep and a grumpy cow?
18. Riddle: Why do cows wear bells around their necks?

Inspiration quotes
"Every man dies. Not every man really lives." — William Wallace

"Life is a song — sing it. Life is a game — play it. Life is a challenge — meet it. Life is a dream — realize it. Life is a sacrifice — offer it. Life is love — enjoy it." — Sathya Sai Baba

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"Growth is the only evidence of life." — John Henry Newman

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"A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life." — Charles Darwin

"The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge." — Bertrand Russell

"We can't plan life. All we can do is be available for it." — Lauryn Hill

"Life is a lot like jazz ... it's best when you improvise." — George Gershwin

"Life is a succession of moments, to live each one is to succeed." — Corita Kent

"I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches." — Alice Roosevelt-Longworth

"We are here to add what we can to life, not to what we can get from life." — William Osler

"My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can." — Cary Grant

WRAP UP

Do you know there are less than three months until Christmas? And, less than three months until the year 2024!!!

The Brushy Creek Brass Band will be playing at the Walburg Restaurant on October 14th, 21st, and 28th.  The music starts at 6:30. 

The Georgetown Fire Ants Granny Basketball team has no games in October (only practices)!!

Riddle Answers:

1. Riddle: What has to be broken before you can use it?
Answer: An egg

2. Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
Answer: A candle

3. Riddle: What month of the year has 28 days?
Answer: All of them

4. Riddle: What is full of holes but still holds water?
Answer: A sponge

5. Riddle: What question can you never answer yes to?
Answer: Are you asleep yet?

6. Riddle: What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
Answer: The future

7. Riddle: There’s a one-story house in which everything is yellow. Yellow walls, yellow doors, yellow furniture. What color are the stairs?
Answer: There aren’t any—it’s a one-story house.

8. Riddle. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
Answer: A promise

9. Riddle: What goes up but never comes down?
Answer: Your age

10. Riddle: A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn’t get a single hair on his head wet. Why?
Answer: He was bald.

11. Riddle: What gets wet while drying?
Answer: A towel

12. Riddle: What can you keep after giving to someone?
Answer: Your word

13. Why are cows such great dancers?
They’ve got great MOOves

14. Where would you find a cow who's having a really bad day?
At McDonald's.

15. What is a cow's favorite newspaper?
The Daily Moos.

16. What did the mommy cow say to the baby cow?
It’s pasture your bedtime

17. What would you get if you cross an angry sheep and a grumpy cow?
An animal in a really baaaaad moooood

18. Why do cows wear bells around their necks?
Their horns don't work.

*****

Have an awesome October!!!

Love Wins!!

Karen White, October 8, 2023