Everyday Creation

Brenton Wood offered these final words to his fans: "Catch you on the rebound," referencing one of his songs.

Brenton Wood wasn't his given name. In this episode, learn the inspiration behind the stage name, and also the moment that piqued his interest in pursuing a musical career.

In 1967, after a career peak with three hits: "Gimme Little Sign," "The Oogum Boogum Song" and "Baby You Got It," he continued writing, recording and performing nearly until his death.

You can watch Wood sing "The Oogum Boogum Song" a long, long time ago on this restored version of his performance on "American Bandstand."

The thumbnail image of Wood was a promo shot for "The Oogum Boogum Song." Credited to Double Shot Records, it appeared in Billboard on April 29, 1967. The art that frames the photo on two sides was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day also deserves a tribute. The good thing is that the tributes live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

What began as a book about the Vietnam War evolved into a candid memoir about a self-centered life of thrill-seeking adventure transformed into one focused on service and meaning.

"Quest: Risk, Adventure and the Search for Meaning" by John Graham is available in print, on Kindle and as an audio book. To watch a brief video that promotes the book, go here.

In this episode, you'll hear about John's close brushes with death; one long-ago personal failing that still weighs on him; life-changing mystical experiences; and struggles to shift from an adrenaline-fueled life to service-oriented work that includes his involvement with the Giraffe Heroes Project for nearly 45 years. 

Founded by his wife Ann Medlock, the Giraffe Heroes Project highlights individuals who "stick their necks out" for public good. You can learn more on the project's website. 

The black and white photo in the thumbnail is of a young John during a death-defying climb in Alaska. The picture is one of many in his new book, "Denali Diaries," which is available to access for free on John's site.

John's short-form video series "Badass Granddad," on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, is his way to reach a younger demographic. The "Badass" episode about the war in Iran, mentioned in this conversation, was published on March 24. Here's a link. One of my favorite "Badass" episodes is the latest as of today. It's Ep. 70 about taking smart risks vs. stupid ones.

Underlying each of John's projects is this message: Pursue meaning through giving back, use your personal skills to serve, and be willing to take risks for the public good. 

"Quest" is a well-told story about John's remarkable life. I recommend it highly.

Also want to mention that the artwork framing the photos in the thumbnail is by my brother-in-law, Bob Jones, a prolific creator in his own right. 

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Garth Hudson agreed to join the Hawks, a precursor to The Band, on two conditions: that he'd be paid a little extra to be the group's music teacher, and that he'd have a Lowery organ to play. 

This tribute to Hudson includes a reference to The Band's song "Chest Fever." Hudson wasn't a singer or a songwriter, but he contributed mightily to the song's success with an intro based on J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. You can hear "Chest Fever (remastered 2000) here. 

To listen to the Bach piece, head to YouTube where you'll have choices. Here's a link to one cool version and to another. 

The public domain photo of The Band in this episode's thumbnail was taken by Elliott Landy in 1969 for Capitol Records. Pictured from left: Richard Manuel,  Hudson, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko. The photo was used for a trade ad in Billboard for the single "Time To Kill" / "The Shape I'm In." If you want to download your own copy, you can find it on Wikimedia.

In the chapters, there's a photo of Hudson in May 1971 during a performance with The Band in Hamburg. It was taken by Heinrich Klaffs and is available for reuse under the license CC BY-SA 2.0 on Wikimedia.

The artwork framing the top and bottom of the photo was created by Bob Jones.

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

For fans of historical fiction and anyone who loves a great story, here's a recommendation: Maria Tureaud's gothic novel "This House Will Feed." It's set during Ireland's Great Hunger, also known by its Irish name, An Gorta Mór. 

The author was born and raised in a part of Ireland that was devastated by the Great Hunger during the mid-1800s, yet she barely learned anything about the area's tragic history when she was growing up. She says it wasn't taught in school. Then she left Ireland to spend her junior year in college as an exchange student in the United States. She signed up for an Irish history class, expecting it to be an easy A. Instead, her eyes were opened to the atrocities that were committed during that terrible time. 

In this episode, Tureaud talks about why she didn't really want to tackle the subject of the Great Hunger yet felt compelled to write about it. She also discusses why she chose to make it a gothic story; how she developed her main character, Maggie O'Shaughnessy, and how the process affected Tureaud's personal life. Other topics include the urge to someday move back to her home country, as well as her own path to becoming published with some advice for others wanting the same. 

"This House Will Feed" came out at the end of January 2026. Tureaud's next Irish gothic historical novel, "Beneath It Sleeps," will be published in January of 2027. Also, before she entered the realm of adult books, she wrote a middle-grade paranormal novel titled "The Last Hope in Hopetown," which was published in 2022.

You'll hear about all this and much more (for example, the difference between masculine rage and feminine rage, revenge vs. vengeance). Please join us for an illuminating — and fun — conversation.

This is such a good book. Hope you're inspired to read it. 

Also, if you like the thumbnail for this episode, please let me know. The artwork behind the book cover is by my brother-in-law, Bob Jones, a prolific creator in his own right. 

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

For these two calming techniques, all that's involved is breathing in and out and focusing one's mind. They take maybe a minute or so to do both of them. I've found that they help me a lot when I'm feeling stressed, and I really like doing them proactively too — just to get into the right mindset at the beginning of the day or anytime. 

Please try them out to see whether they also help you manage stress and feel more clearheaded, and let me know by using the text link below. 

Credit and gratitude go to Bob Jones of Wyoming who created the artwork in the thumbnail. 

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

I recorded this short video after the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renée Nicole Good, a mother and poet, and before Veterans Administration nurse and U.S. citizen Alex Jeffrey Pretti died, also at the hands of ICE. Each was shot at what has been reported as a peaceful protest.

These are tense times and, more than ever, we need to follow the examples set by Good and Pretti by being more kind, not less so. Kindness is a form of love and, ultimately, love is far stronger and more resilient than the hate of bullies. In honor of all those who have been harmed by hate, let's spread love and lots of it.

The vibrant artwork in the thumbnail is by Wyoming artist Bob Jones. Art is subjective, of course. To me, the angles capture the edginess of the moment.

And, by the way, "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield made VegOut newsletter's list of "8 songs boomers still love because it reminds them who they were before responsibilities." Check out the entire list by searching "vegoutmag.com/lifestyle/k-bt-8-songs-boomers-still-love."

Here's a link to the official Buffalo Springfield video.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Summary: Kate Jones offers two affirmations in this video.The first focuses on letting go, releasing any tense hold we have on people, places, events and things.The second centers on forgiving everything, everyone and all experiences needing forgiveness.

Background: This is Kate. When I was in my 20s, I started doing two amazing affirmations thanks to my first husband. That was a long time ago, so the details of their origins are fuzzy. I think he learned them from a couple of women friends who were involved with the Unity Church. I always thought that there was a connection between these affirmations and Unity, though I've not been able to confirm that by searching online. Recently, however, I Googled the first line of the "letting go" affirmation, and this is what Google's AI came up with: "That is a wonderful mantra focusing on acceptance and releasing attachment to external factors. This perspective can bring about a sense of inner peace and freedom. By letting go of rigid control over people, situations and material possessions, you open yourself up to experiencing life with greater flexibility, resilience and serenity. It's a practice of mindfulness and trusting in the natural flow of life."

So then I Googled the first line of the second affirmation about forgiving, and AI came up with this: “The phrase 'I forgive everything, everyone, every experience from the past or present' is a powerful affirmation for radical forgiveness, a practice to release resentment, find inner peace, and free oneself from past hurts by consciously letting go of anger and choosing love or acceptance, often through repetition in meditation or prayer, recognizing it as a gift to oneself for healing and growth, not necessarily condoning actions but releasing their power over you.” 

I think AI did a great job summing up these affirmations. I incorporated them into my life decades ago and have found them to be great tools for growth and healing. I hope they're useful for you as well. Also want to mention that although the speaker here is a woman (me), just change the wording so that it's right for you.  

One other note: The thumbnail picture of the awe-inspiring interior of the Basílica de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona was taken in 2024 by my husband, Bernie Jones, for whom I'm grateful for our life together and the marvelous places we've visited. Speaking of gratitude, I also thank my former husband for introducing me to life-enhancing spiritual tools including the affirmations in this episode.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

Each one of us can spread a little love in the world with just a smile or a kind word. And when we join together with other like-minded individuals, our positive influence grows exponentially. That's the effect that Impact100 has in communities throughout the U.S. and in England, Australia and New Zealand.

You can learn about Impact100 in this interview with Brooke Potrzeba, who first got involved with the nonprofit organization in Pensacola, Florida, before moving to Ohio in 2024. Brooke is founding president of the Cleveland chapter, the 76th chapter worldwide. 

Impact100 gives $100,000 grants to nonprofits that can make transformative improvements to their communities. For more information, check out impact100cleveland.org or impact100global.org. 

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

"THE LIGHT" is an 18-page illustrated board book designed to empower youngsters with themes of self-connection, self-trust and self-love. Author Scarlett Lam and illustrator Mindy Lee have found that adults also are moved by the book's uplifting message.

This short excerpt is from an interview that Scarlett and I recorded in early 2024 not long after the book was published. I highly recommend "THE LIGHT" and have revisited the interview more than once. So far, I've purchased four copies of the book and have given three of them away. The recipients love it too because it reminds people of their inner light and worth.

To buy your own copy, go to readthelight.com. Scarlett is offering 10% off with the code EVERYDAYCREATION10, good through 2025.

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.

This is the sixth and last excerpt from a longer conversation (Episode 121) with philanthropist and author Iris November and two of her daughters: the Rev. Rachel Hollander, also an author, and Anita Hollander, an actress, singer and songwriter who joined us on Zoom from New York City.

In previous excerpts, we talked about Iris' two books; Anita's long professional career as well as her activism on behalf of performers with disabilities; and Rachel's book about living (and thriving) with depression vs. suffering from it. We also talked about the death of Iris' husband when he was only 48 and how his sudden passing affected the family.

To honor the memory of Bernard (Bud) Hollander, a lawyer, Iris set up an award to be given to a law school student who exemplifies her husband's unwavering commitment to public service. It first was presented in May 2025 and thereafter will be an annual award. 

In this episode, we start off with Iris' knitting group, Yarn Over Beachwood, and then we touch upon the Statue of Liberty Club, which she founded. From there, we move on to the thoughtful practice of leaving a legacy that benefits future generations. The public service award honoring Bud Hollander is an example of that.

The episode ends with Anita singing an original song, "Beyond," inspired by some words that her father had jotted down about the importance of leaving something beneficial behind. You'll find the lyrics to Anita's beautiful song at the end of this episode's transcript.

To hear a professionally recorded version of "Beyond," go here. And go here to learn about Rev. Rachel's online spiritual community, SpiritsHome. By the way, the Beachwood Library mentioned in this episode is in Ohio on Cleveland's East Side. 

Send us Fan Mail

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.