Hey, Greylock Nation, today is Thursday, August 30, and you’re listening to TLC episode #66. I’m your host, Jason Velázquez, and, as always, thanks so much for tuning in. We’ll be talking about bodies, minds, books, and the Blues this show, and hearing some great tunes besides.

A YMCA trainer discusses fitness goals with a participant in LIVESTRONG at the YMCA; photo courtesy LIVESTRONG.

Today’s show feature’s three guests, all doing really great work in the region, in three different fields. We’ll hear from Chris Witruck, Community Wellness Director for the Berkshire Family YMCA, who’ll discuss a new partnership with LIVESTRONG to bring support programs to folks surviving or in treatment for cancer. Susan Pike of the Friends of the David and Joyce Milne Public Library in Williamstown announces the opening of a shop on Spring Street to replace the traditional annual book sale. And vocalist Gina Coleman of Misty Blues talks about her upcoming show at Jiminy to support the bands trip to Memphis, Tennessee where they go up against Blues acts the world over to claim the title of international Blues champion band.

We’ll also hear a track from their brand new release, Call & Response in a bit, but since I’m looking at a copy of their 2015 CD, Dark and Saucy, why not let’s spin a tune to kick off this episode. Here’s Misty Blues with “Junk Yard Man,” right now on the Top Left Corner.

I love that one. If you’re a Blues aficionado, you should definitely add Misty Blues to your collection. They’re awesome, for starters, and supporting local artists is kind of all our jobs, I say. So, Gina told me the other day that the new album, Call & Response is their best yet, and I know you kind of expect that sentiment from any band, but I tell ya, I’ve really got to agree. I feel like the band has synthesized the best of their evolutionary traits.

And while owning the disc is a must, hearing those tunes played live would be the icing on that particular cake. And I just happen to have two tickets to their September 28 show at Jiminy to give away, and I’ll tell you how you might be able to score them toward the end of this show. Or, if you just can’t wait, you can go directly to the end of these shownotes and find out how to enter our #CureForTheBlues contest.

LIVESTRONG at the YMCA

Right now, let’s go to our conversation with Chris Witruck of the Berkshire Family YMCA and hear about LIVESTRONG at the YMCA.

And you can find out more about the program by contacting Chris at the Berkshire Family YMCA.

LIVESTRONG at the YMCA is a 12-week exercise program, offered at little to no cost, to help survivors improve their strength and physical fitness, diminish the severity of therapy side effects, develop supportive relationships and improve their quality of life. The program launched in 2007 as a partnership between the LIVESTRONG Foundation and YMCA of the USA and is available at more than 400 locations, having served more than 29,000 survivors to date.

Chapter Two Books

Switching gears from our bodies to our minds, we find out from Susan Pike about the fate of the much-loved annual book fair hosted by the