Dear Friends,
How do you manage anger? Years ago, I happened upon a strategy while helping a family member clear out a flooded basement. I spotted a sledgehammer near a ruined piece of furniture…and voila! That trusty sledgehammer helped me work out a mess of frustrations and disappointments as I lamented, cried and (probably) shouted while reducing that moldy entertainment center to smithereens.
If you’re like me, there is plenty to be enraged about these days. I hope you use non-harmful ways to physically express your anger so you can find some relief…before stepping up to the plate again.
I love working up cover songs. “I Won’t Back Down” by the late Tom Petty seems like an important song for these times.
“Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.” ~Tom Petty
“The government is a vast, complex system that Americans pay for, rebel against, rely upon, dismiss, and celebrate. It’s also our shared resource for addressing the biggest problems of society. And it’s made up of people, mostly unrecognized and uncelebrated, doing work that can be deeply consequential and beneficial to everyone.
Michael Lewis invited his favorite writers, including Casey Cep, Dave Eggers, John Lanchester, Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Vowell, and W. Kamau Bell, to join him in finding someone doing an interesting job for the government and writing about them. The stories they found are unexpected, riveting, and inspiring, including a former coal miner devoted to making mine roofs less likely to collapse, saving thousands of lives; an IRS agent straight out of a crime thriller; and the manager who made the National Cemetery Administration the best-run organization, public or private, in the entire country. Each essay shines a spotlight on the essential behind-the-scenes work of exemplary federal employees.”
“In 2007, Joe Scaravella, who'd recently lost his parents and grandmother, opened an unlikely restaurant on New York's Staten Island: Enoteca Maria, where dishes were prepared by Italian grandmothers cooking treasured regional dishes. The restaurant has since expanded to feature "Nonnas" from around the world, preparing Greek, Japanese, Spanish and Egyptian dishes as well, and has inspired a new Netflix film, "Nonnas" starring Vince Vaughn.”
Here’s to sledgehammers, brilliant federal workers (like some of my dear friends), and comfort food! Joy
Joy Zimmerman is a touring folk & acoustic roots singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, presenter, and former social worker. Joy's latest album,"Where the Light Lives," debuted at #6 on the Folk Alliance International Folk Chart in August 2023. joyzimmermanmusic.com