Could Music Be a Path to the Fountain of Youth?

We live in a culture that really values youth and youthful faces, bodies, and interests. Every year, people spend thousands of dollars on surgeries, products, physical trainers, and special foods and diets so that they can look younger and cheat old age and even death. Why the obsession with beauty and youth? I believe that as we age, we look back to our youth with longing and wistfulness; we think of things we did and didn't do. We think of our first loves and our unrequited loves. We wish we could go back in time with the benefit of what we know now, but of course, we can't. If ever there were such a thing as a time machine, however, it would be music! You know how you feel when you hear music that you danced to in high school, or the music that was popular when you fell in love for the very first time.
Social scientists have studied the phenomenon of people in their "senior year" who are put into an environment of, say, 40-50 years earlier. They walk straighter, see and hear better, and generally feel better! So what does this say? Well, you can't redecorate your house in the style of 50 years ago, but you can certainly listen to lots of music from that era. I'll include an excerpt of some of my favorite music from high school! Enjoy!

After "Femme Sistina"

Then we went to a fabulous pizza place right across from the Spanish Steps!

Final Photo of Crystal at Femme Sistina

Here's the Lady Crystal with "Ivano" a very nice Italian man!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 6

Beeeaa-uuuuu-ti-ful!!!!!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 5

Oh Boy!!!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 4

Almost there!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 3

Enjoy the progress!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 2

Enjoy the second chapter of this Roman adventure.

Crystal gets her hair done in Rome!

Here's Chapter 1. Sorry you have to get sideways to see it! There are 6 or 8 chapters so just be patient!

Alice

Caribbean Cruise, Day 4

Our fourth day of the cruise was again, a day at sea. Of course Carnival's "Fascination" had so many fun things to do that we were anything but bored! On Thursday morning, several of us went to the very top deck to play putt-putt. This is a picture of me with my oldest daughter, Julia. I do believe we found the Fountain of Youth on this trip because we all looked a little younger and had a little more energy on each succesive day! I highly recommend a tropical cruise.

The two handsome guys are my sons-in-law and we all had such a fun time with snorkeling, swimming, working out in the cruise gym, biking, playing Trivial Pursuit every night in the ship library and bingo on the last night! I highly recommend traveling with your children and their spouses!

Last night I had the fantastic opportunity to go see and hear Julie Andrews in person. I was so excited when I heard she was coming to Louisville because I've been a huge fan of hers ever since I saw Mary Poppins many moons ago. I've followed her career with great interest and found her voice and her songs to be very healing for me. Among classically-trained musicians, Dame Julie seems to be somewhat controversial. I don't have any idea what the downside of her career or style might be but I'm not ashamed to say that I've always love her!

When she walked onstage last night at the KY Center for the Arts, she was just beautiful and breathtaking! I felt like laughing and crying all at once because it seemed like the dream of a lifetime coming true. She could not have been more gracious or more "real" talking about the surgical mishap that took her fantastic four-octave voice away from her. She actually did sing a little both alone and with her "friends" onstage and although it was beautiful, her range is just gone. She seemed to have barely more than an octave and was constantly dropping down an octave in most every thing she sang. Still, it was a thrill to see her looking so beautiful and vibrant and to hear her speak and act and interact. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

9-year-old girl composes song about cancer

Eleanor Bothwell, 9, of Raleigh, and music therapist Elizabeth Fawcett perform a song Eleanor wrote about her experience fighting cancer. Eleanor took part in music therapy offered by Fawcett at the North Carolina Children's Hospital.

Music has the power to heal. That's the theory behind the music therapy program at the North Carolina Children's Hospital. And one 9-year-old cancer patient has proven that true by becoming a budding songwriter.
In April, Eleanor Bothwell, of Raleigh, had surgery for bone cancer in her left arm and has since undergone chemotherapy. Through all that, she spent a lot of time in her room at UNC Hospitals.
And there, one day, inspiration struck.
"I just got bored one day, and I decided to write a song," Eleanor said.
(Click here to hear Eleanor sing her song or read the lyrics.)
The song that poured out of her – entitled "'Cause You Are Yourself" – is about Eleanor's experience battling cancer: "You feel the hurt inside you. It's wanting to come out," she sings.
Eleanor is among the children who work three days a week with UNC music therapist Elizabeth Fawcett.
"She comes down, and it makes me feel better," Eleanor said. "It makes me feel like I am cared about."
Fawcett said her only regret about the program is that there's only enough funding for her to be there 19 hours a week.
"Kids like Eleanor want me here everyday, and, unfortunately, I can't be," Fawcett said.
However, the Rock Against Cancer program has given $20,000 to expand UNC's music therapy program. The organization has helped a handful of similar programs around the country.
Fawcett helps young patients discover their musical talents, such as playing an instrument or banging away on the drums. Or, as in Eleanor's case, songwriting.
"It's an amazing song, and I think it will be great to share with other kids if she's up to it," Fawcett said.
Eleanor said she feels "proud" about her song but doesn't know if it signals the beginning a musical career. For now, she just wants to get home and play with her dog, Eleanor said.
From the N.C. Children's Hospital, she'll take a lesson that she set to song: "You are yourself, and you're gonna be all of your life."

Chantdoc visits Fountain on Youth on 60th Birthday

What a fantastic birthday I have had today! It started out at 7:30 a.m. with a call from my dear 82 y.o. mother singing "Happy Birthday" to me. this was followed by a call and song from a sister and then a call and song from a daughter!! Fantastic. I can't even begin to name each call and hilarious and touching cards I got from all my friends and family. Even when I got to jury duty today, some new friends had tied helium balloons to my chair and put a beautiful white rose on my seat! What fun and dear people we have here in Louisville!

Tonight was my little party and we had such a great time. I've enclosed a little video clip from my party. Thanks to everyone who remembered me today on this very special milestone birthday!

It definitely felt like a trip to the Fountain of Youth!

There really IS a Fountain of Youth!!!

The Fountain of Youth Archeological Park is a 15 acre, Historical attraction in St. Augustine, Florida. Open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We are closed on Christmas day.

When you enter the site at 11 Magnolia Avenue, you will pass beneath the archway of this world famous attraction, you are stepping onto the very property on which U.S. history began.

Seloy was the name of the Timucua Village, before the arrival of the Spanish in 1513, and with Ponce de Leon’s claim of possession for the Spanish King, La Florida was born. No Spanish attempts that came later to colonize were successful…until the arrival of Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles on September 8, 1565. It is within the boundaries of this property that the oldest continuously occupied European settlement within our continental United States was formed – St. Augustine.

Over the next 350 years the property was farmed and citrus orchards grew here until 1901 and with the arrival of Diamond Lil’, Dr. Louella Day McConnell, who traveled here from the Klondike and purchased the estate. Being a bright and enterprising woman of the day, she began to charge an admission price to drink from the waters of the free flowing spring found on the property

Can Love Songs Keep You Young?

What are some of your favorite love songs? There are so many that have been written just over the last hundred years that it's hard to know where to start. Probably decade by decade, or maybe generation by generation. Starting in my early teens, I remember, "Theme from a Summer Place," "Cupid,""Soldier Boy," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and sooooooooo many more. These were over four decades ago but just hearing them take me back to my youth and childhood and for the period that I'm listening, I feel a lot younger! Try looking in the mirror as you listen to some of your favorite lovesongs. Notice how your face and body change! Music is one great tool for accessing the fountain of youth. Take advantage of my special Valentine's offer on my Valentine's ebook "Creating Love and Passion in Your Relationsip with Music."

Click HERE now! Time limited!

Is there music that leads to the Fountain of Youth?

Many,many people will tell you that listening to the music of their "courting years" makes them feel younger. There's just something about listening to the music of your teen years and college years or early adulthood, that brings floods of feelings, emotions and memories. Hopefully they'r good memories for you.

Today it is very easy to use a search engine (like Google) to find the top 40 hit tunes of any year from 1920 forward. For me, just looking at these titles often brings the tune back, and remembering the tune, brings the words back! Give it a try! You'll feel as though you've visited the Fountain of Youth!