Here's A Thought

Send a text If you pay attention to all the slogans and memes, you should be very worried, or guilty, or ashamed, if you spend even a second in your comfort zone. Slacker! Couch potato! Taker up of valuable space on the planet! I'm calling shenanigans. Here's what I have to say about the comfort zone. This is the final episode of Season Three of Here's A Thought -- have a wonderful,...

Send a text "Second childhood" is a term with unfortunate connotations. But if you look at it a different way, it sounds kind of wonderful. Let' give it a think. Intro Music by Jerome Chauvel from Pixabay Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com...

Send a text When the girls need a new house because their old one's wearing out . . . attention must be paid  So let's talk about the one article of clothing for which I really, truly hate to shop. I bet I'm not the only one. Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at Here...

Send a text The recent news that presidential candidate RFK Jr. has disclosed that doctors discovered a (dead) worm in his brain has me overthinking about . . . things that want to eat our brains. Real things, not zombies. Turns out it's not just worms. Join me for an introduction to some of the beasties that really want to get in your head. Sources: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/rfk-...

Send a text In which I follow another writer's clever writing prompt -- and get in touch with my inner Princess. Want to play along? Check out  Karen Schwartz   and her This or That challenges   on Medium.com! How do you feel about treating yourself, and what's your favorite (decently shareable) way to do it? Text me below -- and if you have an idea for an upcoming episode, please do sha...

Send a text "House-proud" is how my mother's generation used to describe someone (always a woman) who was fussy and vain about how her house looked -- or, somebody whose home someone like my mother might worry was nicer than hers. It's an old-fashioned term. But the feeling is still pervasive? Do you cringe when someone drops by unannounced and you're suddenly aware of the...

Send a text Going to see the movie Civil War, the 2024 release written and directed by Alex Garland , isn't like seeing most movies. You walk out of the theater with a lot to think about -- and maybe you walk out changed. What the experience has done for me is to help me embrace a philosophy proposed by Viktor Frankl , the 20th Century psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust and developed Log...

Send a text In which I witness a semiannual Idaho tradition — when sheep take over a major roadway on their way to greener pastures. It's an Idaho thing. Want to learn more? Helpful links: Andy Little , the “Idaho Sheep King" Idaho sheep ranchers Frank Shirts and Henry Etcheverry Boise's Basque Block -- where you can find funky, cozy Bar Gernika   and enjoy the once-every-five-years...

Send a text This week, we give thought to how much of us is really "us" — turns out it's way less than we thought. You really do contain multitudes. Pardon a few technical glitches this week, thanks to a crabby audio system and a very tight schedule due to travel. Or just pretend I have hiccups. Resource links: First complete human genome sequence " Dr. Martin Blaser on sacred...

Send a text The Jonestown Massacre happened 46 years ago. But to me, it feels way too close — because one of the people who died there was a girl I went to school with.  She was a quiet, shy girl, the daughter of a pastor when I knew her. For years I thought of her as a duped, innocent victim. But it turns out she was one of the leaders, and an architect of the plan to have everyone drink the pois...

Send a text A brief meditation on how my dog and I may walk the same path, yet our journeys differ. Trigger warning: contains haiku Sound Effect from Pixabay Haiku Music by Inner Tune from Pixabay Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com Or, contact me on my we...

Send a text It's spring at last — a season that brings hope, energy, renewal — and for far too many of us the dread of swimsuit season. In this episode, I celebrate reaching the threshold of Summer Body Exemption. Spring Sound Effect from Pixabay Boomerang Sound Effect by Jurij from Pixabay Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overt...

Send a text In which I describe our recent experience with what's politely called a "low-cost carrier" airline. They aren't all this sketchy, thank God. Opening Music by Oleg Kyrylkovv from Pixabay Sound Effect by UNIVERSFIELD from Pixabay Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from yo...

Send a text Sometimes our best intentions have completely unanticipated results. Here's what happened when I signed up for a research study. Resources for Alzheimer's and dementia: Alzheimer's Association Alzheimers.gov Careforth (resources for dementia caregivers) National Institute on Aging Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need som...

Send a text In which your devoted overthinker contemplates the manner and method of her own final exit. Not being negative or nihilistic here -- just stating my preference. I might even have stumbled on a loophole. Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com Or, c...

Send a text Thanks to the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that says frozen embryos in test tubes equal are human beings, yours truly has been listening to the fallout (for example, what this means for IVF treatments) and overthinking what this means. Clearly, the GOP has a real problem with the woman question. Luckily, I have a solution. Content advisory: political satire, mention of abortio...

Send a text For a habitual overthinker like me, the happiest of occasions can cause a spiral. Especially when there's nothing to worry about. IYKYK, and if not, don't tell me to calm down. Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com Or, contact me on my...

Send a text In this episode, Here's A Thought reaches a milestone that a lot of podcasts never achieve — and that is entirely thanks to listeners like you. So I'm enormously appreciative. I'm also thinking deeply -- which is distinct, I hope, from overthinking — about the interview I did for another podcast I'm involved in, and how it was driven home to me by the recent news ab...

Send a text In  this 99th episode of Here's A Thought, we think about Thanksgiving, which is happening in the U.S. this week — what it means, what it's supposed to mean, how it started, and what happens when it doesn't live up to expectations: a meditation partly in rhyming verse for your consideration and (hopefully) amusement. ound Effect by UNIVERSFIELD from Pixabay Support the s...

Send a text I keep the journals I've written over the years — but now, as the recipient of the many private journals and diaries that my mother wrote over the course of decades, I'm rethinking whether I should hang onto mine. Or, hers. What's the right thing to do with my mother's journals? How do I respect her memories, especially when they're at odds with mine? Opening M...

Send a text In this 97th (!) episode of Here's A Thought, I offer the lessons that horses have taught me about adolescent humans (they have a surprising amount in common), and why I write for them — adolescents, that is, not horses.   Sound Effect by UNIVERSFIELD from Pixabay   Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I&apo...

Send a text Here's hoping you and yours enjoyed a lovely Halloween! This episode is going live on November 1, traditionally the Day of the Dead: so I've been overthinking about a news article I read not long ago about a very rich, very determined man who is convinced he's got a plan that will allow him to beat the Grim Reaper — forever. Not only that, but his body — including his ma...

Send a text There's a lot of thought and discussion about the three aspects of the feminine: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. All three have their positive and negative aspects, but in our youth-obsessed culture, a lot of women find it very, very painful to relinquish their youthful allure — and embrace the aspect of the wise but sometimes fearsome Crone. But which has more power, the M...

Send a text For the third installment in our Halloween-ish story series — all written by yours truly — we consider the question: do devils and demons ever take a day off? And if they do, how do they spend it? Episode Music by SPmusic from Pixabay Support the show Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you! Email me a...

Send a text It's the haunting season, which makes this a suitable time for another short, twisted tale written by yours truly — in one of my darker moods. This one is a tale in rhyming verse. That doesn't mean it's nice, but you may find it . . . satisfying.  Settle back and give a listen to "Sweet Boy" by Jan M. Flynn Music for this episode by Alexi Action from Pixabay Su...