Hello Café Readers,
Hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Here's to a happy, healthy, prosperous 2021.
Here is a great issue to keep you entertained for a bit, and trying something new this time around too, check out the interview with the Curly Girls, it's a recorded interview.
As always, send in submissions to holidaycafe.nicole@gmail.com thank you. Check out our Facebook group page too, if you get a minute.
Stay warm and healthy and I will see you back here in the spring.
Nicole
I took a Jazz history class at the University of Pittsburgh. The class was taught by Dr. Suzuki. You will hear her occasionally on Pittsburgh’s Jazz station WZUM 101.1. Chris has a love for Jazz and he taught me the fundamentals. However, Dr. Suzuki brought Jazz to life and I was able to see and hear the power and meaning behind the genre. I knew Pittsburgh had a big Jazz scene at one time, but after learning everything she taught me, it made me frustrated that I missed out on the initial heyday. The good news is that Jazz scene continues to shine in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Suzuki invited musicians to come and play live for her students. James was one of the guest musicians. I was excited to finally see him play. I was captivated by his performance and I knew I had to interview him.
1) How did you find your love for music?
My love of music was sparked by my parents. I was also constantly surrounded by some very influential musicians that were in and out of my life from the early age of three. These experiences made it easy for me to fall in love with music and had a huge impact on me.
2) If you were trapped on a desert island what five drums or music books would you bring with you?
The books I would like to be stranded with on an island would be...Keith Copeland/ Creative Coordination, Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone & John Riley/The Art Of Bop Drumming
3) What is the best piece of advice you can give to an aspiring musician?
•Find a good teacher •Practice • Go hear live music. Listen, play, and expose yourself to a lot of different styles of music. Know what the risk is when striving to become a full-time artist/musician. Have fun and love it!
4) Describe one of your most memorable gigs?
There are many but, the most recent memorable gig would be the Glenn Zaleski Japan tour in 2018 which lasted ten days. It was my first time there and I had enough downtime to do some exploring which is fun when visiting new places!
5) Do you have any projects in the works that you would like to talk about?
I’m currently just writing a bunch of music and spending a lot of time in the studio. I’m hoping to release something by February of 2021
Find James on Instagram
Natalie Belin is the author of The Many Colors of Natalie, a book of poetry. She holds an associates degree in Specialized Technology Le Cordon Bleu Pastry Arts and in her spare time is an artist and percussionist.
She dreamed of swimming with dolphins. That’s all fifteen-year-old Tamara wanted from her family’s four-week tour of Australia. Her parents kept that promise, but it created a few challenges.
Tam had learned about dolphins in her ninth-grade biology class. She promptly fell in love with these intelligent sea mammals. In her view, swimming with them would be fair compensation for enduring long hours of visits with her parents’ many friends in half a dozen cities across Australia.
Their cross-country journey from Sydney, on the east coast, ended in the western port city of Perth. There the family learned dolphins gathered occasionally in a lagoon near a tiny resort community called Monkey Mia, a two-day trek up the west coast. The downside: there was no guarantee any dolphins would be at the famous marine park when they arrived.
Unfazed, Tam and her family headed off on a grueling 550-mile trip north to Monkey Mia hoping for a much-anticipated but uncertain rendezvous with dolphins. They were accompanied by the family they’d been visiting in Perth. Each family of four travelled in a Toyota Land Cruiser their hosts had affectionately nicknamed “Whoopee’s”. They quickly learned the painful reason for that term of dubious endearment.
The road was little more than two parallel ruts in bare dirt left by the wheels of earlier vehicles. At first glance the ruts appeared shallow. The travelers discovered those ruts were axel-deep in places and filled with powdery red dust that allowed their vehicles to often become high centered without warning. Suffocating clouds of the fine dust infiltrated nose, eyes, mouth, ears and food, and permeated sweat-soaked clothing.
Their hosts reassured Tam’s family the weather would break soon. It did. The next day the leading edge of a weather system caught up with the two-vehicle convoy. It solved the dust problem but created another. Keeping dry took second place to extracting one Land Cruiser and then the other from mud holes in the primitive road.
The travelers arrived at the Monkey Mia wildlife refuge on the second day, all of them mindful they faced a four-hour drive back over a rain-soaked road to the nearest accommodation.
Tam and her family dismounted and ran for the lagoon.
“Wow!” said a wildlife conservation officer who would serve as their host. “Are you in luck! I saw some dorsal fins out there,” the officer added squinting into the sun through binoculars. They were on a slight rise of land overlooking the iridescent water of a lagoon half the size of a football field.
Tam and her family hurriedly donned their swimsuits and rushed to the lagoon. Tam was first into the water; her dream was coming true!
She waded out in the clear water over shimmering white sand until the water was above her waist.
“Look!” her mother said quietly, not wanting to frighten the dolphins she’d spotted swimming into the lagoon.
“Look!” her mother called again, more loudly this time, her voice propelled by the excitement also gripping her daughter.
Tam peered down into the water. Swimming toward her was an adult dolphin. Beside it was a baby, possibly just a few weeks old. It stayed close to the adult, obviously its mother.
The sight propelled shivers of excitement through Tam’s body.
Wow! she though. Oh wow! This is awesome!
She glanced over at her family, smiling and waving with excitement from the edge of the lagoon. Even her pesky 12-year-old brother seemed excited.
This has got to be the best day of my life! she thought.
And then her day got even better. A second adult entered the lagoon and swam up to her. It nudged the hand she was holding out just above the surface of the water. Tam returned the gesture, touching the dolphin’s nose. Expecting it to shy away, she was surprised when the dolphin remained still.
Tam waded around the big marine mammal, cautiously at first, and then moving closer. She gently ran her hand up the top of dolphin’s nose to its head and then stroked the soft skin along its back to the dorsal fin. The dolphin remained still, seeming to enjoy the attention, and the affection towards it Tam was felling. She began swimming alongside, patting and rubbing its back and sides, barely able to believe her good fortune.
Maybe it’s feeling my love, she thought. She had no doubt this was so.
Tam watched as the mother dolphin and her baby swam around the lagoon, approaching other visitors in the water. All three dolphins swam among the legs of their human visitors, circling around, allowing their gray streamlined bodies to be stroked and patted. Tam’s family and the others applauded, expressing the joy she was certain those three magnificent dolphins were sensing and were returning to their human observers.
Tam overheard one of the wildlife officials tell the spectators their tracking program indicated the second dolphin may be the other adult’s sister, thus the baby’s aunt.
Much too soon, Tam heard her father call out that it was time to go. He reminded her they had a long drive ahead of them.
Moments later, as if the dolphins had heard that call, the three made a last tour of the lagoon and headed out to sea.
As Tam and the crowd watched in awe, the two adult dolphins breached, leaping high into the air bidding them farewell.
The best day of Tam’s life had just got even better!
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I have known Matt easily for a good decade. Working together, writing for various blog sites. It was fun work. That is actually how this site started. While life got busy and we don't write together anymore, I am happy to have this chance to interview him on the release of his first novel. It is a huge accomplishment.
1. Tell me a little about yourself?
Matt De Reno is the publisher of Scratch Writing Press, an imprint of Scratch Wring, Inc. Matt is also the author of the Midas Protocol, a sci-fi thriller series, and writes many of the blogs from scratch postings which you can find on his website, ScratchWriting.com.
Author of The Midas Protocol, Matt, has a history degree from Wheeling Jesuit University and has worked at Carnegie Mellon University, IBM, and consulted at other technology companies. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, daughter, and son. If you would like to get in touch with Matt, have coffee with the guy, buy him a beer, or have other inquiries, please make the first contact with him. You can email Matt at matt.dereno@scratchingwriting.com.
2. Tell me a little about the novel you just published?
3. You were working on the book for years. What was the inspiration to start it and to finally put the finishing touches on it?
I don't think I initially had the confidence to finish it, and so while I talked about it for years, I never quite got around to finishing it. And, isn't that true for most aspiring authors? However, a friend asked me to help ghostwrite his novel, and it was during that process that I asked myself, "If I can do this for somebody else, why not do it for myself?" That motivated me to get it finished finally.
The inspiration to start it came from my childhood love of reading Alexander Dumas of the Three Musketeers Fame. In particular, I loved The Count of Monte Cristo, which I loved as a young reader. The Midas Protocol attempts to emulate some of that thriller romanticism in the story.
To tell the full story, I initially imagined the Midas Protocol to be a thriller only story. However, after watching the Twilight vampire movies with my daughter when she was younger, I was flabbergasted about how bad they were. It was then, I thought, heck, why not put a vampire in my story and have at it. So, I converted one of my bad guys to a vampire. Later, as I rewrote the story, he became more of an alien than a vampire, though there are some similarities to vampires as this character eats two human beings in the Midas Protocol. Toward the end, this villain takes on more of a Marvel comic evil guy villain and less vampire.
4. What is your writing process like?
Typically, I try to get up early to maximize my creativity, which seems to be at an all-time high when I am making that first pot of coffee. This schedule usually gives me a good hour or so before anyone else is up, or I start getting bombarded with work emails from professional job and other inquiries.
5. You also write for several blog sites in your spare time; what is the most fun site you ever wrote?
I wrote many blog articles for a guy in Los Angeles way back in the late 2000s. When I was writing for this guy, I loved writing satire, movie reviews, crazy conspiracy, and Haunted Houses' stories. I have since repurposed some of those articles with fresh updates for my blogs today, CoolFilmz and The Funny Newz, which are microblogs on my main website, ScratchWriting.com.
6. Where do you find the inspiration for these stories?
I think other books that I have loved inspire me much, and therefore I look for ways to emulate them with my little wrinkles or unique takes on a subject.
7. What is the essential part of writing the story, in your opinion?
Putting your heart into it and writing the story that you want to write. I am convinced there is a market for the result of any story where you put your blood, sweat, and tears into it.
8. What do you think makes a good story?
There needs to be absolute completeness in terms of logic and attention to the small details. Admittedly, this is not always easy to achieve, and it is more of a journey of self-improvement as a writer. However, if you aspire toward wholeness and attention to story detail, then your book will benefit as a result.
9. I know writing is your hobby, how do you make the time to write?
Sometimes you have to rob Peter to pay Paul. That is to say, finding the time to write is more about prioritizing creativity over time wasters or things that can be done anytime. You can certainly include social media on that list of time wasters. It is a gift to write, and to me, that sometimes takes precedence over something more mundane like painting the garage floor, which I finally got around to doing last month.
10. What advice do you have for our young writing friends out there?
Follow your dreams and don't be afraid to write whatever you want. You can't edit a blank page, and all writers were young once and had the same feelings, fears, and aspirations. Writing is accessible to all. Don't let a mean English teacher tell you otherwise. The most important thing to do is to start writing and writing from the heart. That is it.
11. How can writers connect with you?
Check out my website at www.ScratchWriting.com. There you can sign up for the newsletter and read my blogs, and get updates on my books. Also, fans can connect on Facebook and Twitter.
Nicole Leckenby - Co-founder of the Holiday Cafe, soccer mom, dancer, councilwoman and author of children's books. Enjoys interviewing people and writing stories.
When I turned 40 a few years back, my uterus started rebelling against me. In all honesty, I am not really sure my uterus ever really liked me, since I was a teen, but we tolerated each other. I was getting multiple periods a month and it was awful. I went to my gynecologist and she put me on birth control pills. Something I hadn't been on for almost a decade.
With my history of my aneurysm she thought that this was the best option at the time to control the issues
My doctor suggested I get off the pills and see if that helps to get my blood pressure under control. I wasn't really excited about what I knew was going to happen once I was off the pill and getting monthly visits.
So for a few months each time I got my period, it was a little worse. I was constantly contacting my doctors and saying this CANNOT be normal. Too reminiscent of my aneurysm I ended up going to the emergency room Halloween day. The last place I wanted to go, especially now, is the ER.
I also knew I was going to have to get an IV if I went to the ER and I cannot do needles well at all. Like there are giant tears. I can't help it, I have been poked and prodded too many times that I just can't deal with this anymore.
My hemoglobin was at a 12 when I entered the ER and when I finally left the next day it was an 8 one point away from needing a blood transfusion. So what was wrong with me, you might be asking yourself... I was diagnosed with being pre-menopausal. Oh the joys of being a woman.
Did you know these things were possible? I mean I knew about hot flashes because everyone and there mother talks about the hot flashes but why does no one talk about the bleeding that can happen?
After my brief stint in the emergency room, where I was admitted overnight and completely missed trick-or-treating, I had a follow-up appointment with the gynecologist. I was presented with several options, and I chose to get a hot water ablation.
If I were to get the uterus removed, it would not be as simple of a procedure as it should be, again, thanks to that aneurism. The ablation was no picnic either, but it was the best option for me, I believe.
December 12th I went into the hospital, was given another IV, I was good up until that point. They gave me one heck of a dose of twilight meds because I remember getting rolled into the operating room and that is pretty much it, three hours later I woke up.
Now, the things that could have gone wrong had me scared out of my mind. My uterus could have pierced with the tool, the water solution that they used could have gone out and spread infection, or the hose could have broken and basically burned all my girl parts. And they wondered why my blood pressure was 171/92 when they took it pre-surgery.
My EKG was excellent and I wasn't pregnant (why I was given a pregnancy test is beyond me - that's a whole other post).
I got home and slept almost all day. I sent a few emails and text messages and who knows if I was very coherent in them, again whatever I was given for twilight, I believe there were some miscalculations from my height and weight and the dosage.
The pain was pretty intense that first day, and the over the counter pain medications weren't doing much to ease it. I tried using a weighted blanket and laying scrunched into a ball. But the next day, way less pain and feeling better each day.
I am still anemic from everything that happened in October and hopefully my numbers will be back to normal soon.
Why am I saying all this?? Well, in the off chance that someone who is reading this is going through the same thing and wondering what is wrong or if it is normal. We need to start talking more, discussing the things that are wrong with us so we know if it could be something normal or if something is seriously wrong. Granted, the amount of blood I was loosing, I was going to the hospital regardless if it was normal or not. Also, make sure to talk to your doctors and make sure they actually are listening to your concerns not just fluffing you off.
Nicole Leckenby - Co-founder of the Holiday Cafe, soccer mom, dancer, councilwoman and author of children's books. Enjoys interviewing people and writing stories.
I have written about bullying a few times in MFM but the problems never seem to go away... and if I have
The sad fact is that social media has helped the bully with his or her bullying ways more so today than in the past. I mean you post one little thing on social and it will spread like wildfire. Back in the 80s and 90s when I was in school such things didn't exist. If you wanted to bully someone, you would be using a landline phone to call other people to spread the rumors. Sometimes those phones were rotary dials too... they were the worst. Sure there were bullies in schools and whatnot, but it didn't seem as bad back then.
I digress...
So is the answer keeping kids off of social media? How do you keep say a high schooler off of social media? YOU WILL RUIN THEIR LIFE!!! No, that's not the answer... because they will figure out a way regardless. Teenagers are resourceful that way. My son has a cell phone and he has facebook, but here are the rules that went along with that... I know all the passwords and he can only friend family members. I trust my son won't do something stupid, but I just want to make sure of that and my sure no one else is doing something stupid to him. He mostly wanted to get facebook for the videos because the YouTube ones weren't enough.
Sure the teens are sneaky today, having faux accounts or secret accounts, but if you do a few checks on their phones you will be able to see all their hidden pages. Is it a privacy issue? Probably, but who is paying that cell phone bill?
I am not going to go into all the specifics of bullying we all know it isn't right and those of us that think it is ok, well chances are they are a bully themselves and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...
Just keep an open dialog with your children, make sure they are doing ok. If you notice something isn't right with their behavior, ask them about it. If they won't talk to you, remind them of all the people in their life that they can talk to, not just teachers and school administration, neighbors, other family members, coaches, etc.
For reference, here is the previous article I wrote about bullying - that list the signs if your child is being bullied or IF your child IS the bully ... and there was this one too...
