May 11, 2014 (Mother’s Day!): Preserving Cherished Memories (Kat Gonzales); “The Kinkster” (Kinky Friedman); Tandems for Troops; The Brew; Meditation for Mental Health

Missed the show?  It was an AWESOME Mother’s Day Special!!  It was so good, that we ran over the 2 hours!!  You can hear it right here:

 

We were joined by singer, songwriter, humorist, novelist, founder of the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, candidate for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, and celebrity, The Kinkster, himself, Kinky Friedman, who spoke about his candidacy for Agriculture Commissioner.  This interview was the one that took us over the 2 hour mark!  It was so good that we didn’t want to cut him off!! The run-off in the primary is May 27.  You can find out more about his platform, about the election, and about how to help with his candidacy by going to: www.TexasForKinky.com.  You can find out where Kinky is performing by going to: www.KinkyFriedman.com.  

 

Kathryn Gonzales, owner of Live-Oak Legacies, which is committed to preserving family memories, joined us to talk about the various ways she can do that for YOUR family.  As I mentioned on the show, after Kat was on my show last fall, I decided to have her put together a website of some of MY family’s memories.  I can’t say enough about how special this website is!  You can learn more about the various services that she can provide by going to: www.LiveOakLegacies.com.  For a free consultation with Kat, you can call her or e-mail her directly at:  512-296-8752 and [email protected].  Check out the beautiful Mother’s Day video Kat created with some of Austin’s icons: Austin Icons Share Stories About Their Mothers.  For more of these fun videos, check out Live Oak’s Facebook page: Facebook.com/LiveOakLegacies.

 

Combat veteran and tandem skydive instructor, Eric Normandin, literally floated out of the sky for this interview the moment after he touched the ground!!  Eric spoke about the special event coming up on Memorial Day weekend, called Tandems for Troops, which will take 10 disabled veterans on tandem skydives in beautiful New Paltz, New York, free of charge!  This event will raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and will also raise money for the Women’s world Record 201-Way Formation Skydive in Perris, California, which my former guest, skydiver, Montana Miller, will be participating in.  To find out more and to donate to the Wounded Warrior Project through Tandems for Troops, go to: Facebook: Tandems for Troops or you can send a check, made out to Tandems for Troops, to: Skydive The Ranch, 55 Sandhill Rd. Gardiner, NY 12525.  Find out more about Eric’s tandem skydive lessons and about Skydive the Ranch by going to: www.SkydiveTheRanch.com.  

 

Michael Rodriguez, of Austin’s favorite (and my favorite) salsa band, The Brew, joined us just before The Brew took the stage at The Oasis on Lake Travis for a special Mom’s Day show.  He spoke about their musical history, where they’re playing these days, and we played some of their original music.  You can find out where The Brew will be performing and you can hire them for private events, by going to: www.BrewMusic.com.  Their CD’s are available at www.CDBaby.com.

 

And, since May is National Mental Health Month AND National Meditation Month, I spoke about Meditation for Mental Health.  I busted some myths about meditation, I spoke about the different forms of meditation, and I spoke about the benefits of meditation for physical and emotional well-being and maintaining cognitive sharpness as we age.  Here’s a quick ‘mindfulness’ meditation, borrowed from Thich Nat Han:  Focus your attention on your breathing, wherever you are, right now.  Say to yourself:  “Breathing in, I calm my body.  Breathing out, I smile.  Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment.”  Then….listen to the podcast of the show….

                                                                                                                                                   RIGHT HERE!

After the show…we headed over to the enjoy the music of The Brew and the scenery of The Oasis on Lake Travis.  (The Brew performs there EVERY Sunday evening from 7pm to 10pm.)