Kindness Matters Podcast

As a coach and successful business woman, Debra May has some serious insights as to how gratitude plays a role in healing and moving on to create the life you wanted, even if you didn't know you wanted it at the time.  Join us for this conversation which, I hope, will help you top see more to be grateful for in life and open whole new doors to you.

Debra's links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

In this episode I speak with an extraordinary guy; Chris DT Gordon.  Chris had every reason to be mad at the world, but instead of becoming bitter, he chose gratitude.  Hear his amazing story and wonder to yourself, "how could my life be better by choosing gratitude?"

Chris' links.
Website
TAG One Sheet
Instagram
Scar Bearers Podcast

In this Episode (and all the episodes in November) we're going to be talking about gratitude and how it can help you mentally.  I'm not talking about be thankful for gravy without lumps or that the turkey isn't dry.  I am talking about the little things that we can be grateful for each and every day.  The things that focusing on can change your perspective and have a profoundly positive impact on your mental health.

My first guest is Deborah Hawkins.  She is a certified life coach and has had some truly horrible breaks during her life, but has not let them define her.  I think you will enjoy her story and, if you are interested in her Zoom seminars there is a link below to register. 

Helium For Your Heart.

Deborah's Blog

In the Final Episode of my Anoka series, we finish out in true Halloween fashion with four more Haunted places.  I know I have missed a few, so if you would like to take the Anoka County Historical Society's Haunted Tour, I have included a link to the Eventbrite page.  

 

What good is it to claim that you are the Halloween Capital of the World if you don't have the spooky stuff to back it up?   Anoka has the spooky stuff, folks. 
This week we will look at two of the most haunted places in Anoka; Colonial Hall (now known as The Big White House) and the Jackson Hotel (now known as Billy's Bar and Grill).

Sources.

https://www.northstarpress.com/store/p56/_History_and_Hauntings_of_the_Halloween_Capital.html
As always many, many thanks to Rebecca Desens and the staff at the Anoka County Historical Society for their assistance with this project.

In this episode I take a look at how Anoka, Minnesota became the Halloween Capital of the World.  From the very beginning as a way to keep Children from tipping over outhouses to today, 101 years later, this is the premier event of the Autumn for people everywhere.

Most of the information for this episode was taken from the book "History and Hauntings of the Halloween Capital of the World" by local write Roxy Orcutt.  

My first episode back after a brief mental health break.  No more talking about idiots that oppose mask mandates and those who spew garbage information about the number of deaths from the COVID vaccine.  No more talking about Christians who cry about being oppressed but have never once had to secretly attend a service in someone's basement because to do so in public would have gotten them arrested and jailed.  No more.  Not here.

Instead I am going to be doing episodes that are fun; hopefully uplifting, perhaps inspirational, quite possibly just plain silly.

This week I begin a series about Anoka, Minnesota.  Today we talk about it's founding and growth throughout the 19th Century from a log cabin built as a trading post on the banks of the Rum River to it's established reputation as a city of commerce and importance in Minnesota.

In following episodes we will talk about how Anoka became the Halloween Capital of The World, and just how haunted this amazing city is.  I hope you enjoy the change and, if you are a subscriber, continue to listen, and if you are new here, become a subscriber. 

Sources:
https://www.anokaminnesota.com/352/History
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anoka,_Minnesota
https://anokacountyhistory.org/anoka
https://books.google.com/books/about/History_and_Hauntings_of_the_Halloween_C.html?id=11_-ngEACAAJ
https://www.discoveranoka.com/about-us/about-anoka/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_River
https://www.nps.gov/miss/riverfacts.htm

In this episode I talk about why I am stepping away temporarily.  I like politics.  I like discussing it.  I like arguing about it.  But if you are going to do those things, you need to have a common truth to start from and we lack that these days.  This has made it difficult for me and has become a hazard to my mental health. 
To quote the Terminator, "Ah'll be bach."  I need to find a theme, or subject that will allow me to  continue to bring you stories and conversations without the need for me to research by watching the news, or social media to gather facts.  Above all of that, I need to deal with the issues that brought me to this point.  I thank you all for the time you've spent listening to me and to all the folks I have had on as guests.  I will be back and better than ever.  XOXO Mike.

Sources:
Texas COVID and Kids.
Misinformation
Rep. Clyde
Vancouver School Lockdown
School Board Threats

In this episode I go into the Voting Rights Issue, from the "For the People Act", which I talked about in a previous show, to the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.  I look at how far we have come in voting rights, from 1787 when only white, Anglo-Saxon, male, Protestant land owners could vote to the Supreme Court Case Shelby County v Holder.  I also look at claims of fraud or fake news or rigged elections which some in this country are using to stir up violence.

America should absolutely have free and fair elections.  I am 1,000% behind that idea.  But they have to be fair for everyone.  What does that look like?  It doesn't look like closing several polling stations in a particular county where the majority of the population is Black or Latin. 

Thank you for listening.  Let's talk about it, shall we?

Sources:
https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/Briefing_Memo_Debunking_Voter_Fraud_Myth.pdf

https://ballotpedia.org/Arguments_for_and_against_voter_identification_laws

https://www.dosomething.org/us/articles/7-signs-voter-suppression-could-be-happening-near-you

https://shass.mit.edu/news/news-2020-pandemic-voting-mail-safe-honest-and-fair-stewart

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_voting_rights_in_the_United_States

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/kris-kobach-and-search-mythical-voter-fraud/617069/

https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud

Four separate cancer diagnoses since the age of 17.  A career in Mental Health Counseling.  Four fantasy books written to help tweens with different Mental Health issues (Depression, Grief, etc.).  A Life Coach, helping Moms who also happen to be entrepreneurs channel their anxiety into action.  My guest this week is almost TOO qualified to speak about mental health, anxiety and surviving the global pandemic.  But here we are.  I hope you enjoy this episode and get some coping tools to help yourself if you need it.  Such a great episode and fantastic guest,  Sarah Falk.

Her books:
Amazon.com

Sources;
Suicide Rates
Childhood Depression