I Want to Know What Love Is #MusicalMonday #Reblogs #Inspiration

Today, I dug through my archives and found a gem from two years ago. I still can’t hear the song I’m featuring in this post without thinking of my late husband and shedding a few tears. Want to know more? Read My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds. Meanwhile, check this out.

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This past weekend, while participating in ACB Community Karaoke, I heard someone sing the song I’m featuring today. I heard this song many times during my younger years, but at that moment, something occurred to me.

 

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Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

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by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

I Want to Know What Love Is #MusicalMonday #Inspiration

 

This past weekend, while participating in ACB Community Karaoke, I heard someone sing the song I’m featuring today. I heard this song many times during my younger years, but at that moment, something occurred to me.

After my late husband Bill proposed to me in 2005, I learned that he was in a couple of relationships before meeting me, and upon proposing to these other women, he was rejected. That, on top of losing his vision and ability to walk at an early age due to rheumatoid arthritis, having various surgeries in childhood and adulthood to correct physical issues, contracting West Nile virus as an adult, and finally, the two paralyzing strokes he suffered after marrying me, created a lot of pain and heartache in his life. Despite the good things that happened, by the time he proposed to me, he’d come so far and wanted to end his loneliness.

Here I was, never having been in a relationship, not having any idea of what romantic love was like. After his proposal, Bill gave me a cassette of love songs he downloaded from the Internet. If he’d included this song, I might have more clearly understood him. I want to believe now that during our seven years of marriage, I showed him what love is, though I didn’t really know. He definitely showed me. You can read more of our story in My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds.

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

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Lunchtime Livestream Performance #MusicalMonday

Here’s a special treat for all of you. If you missed my gig a few weeks ago at our local senior center, The Hub on Smith, simply click the Play button below. The video lasts about half an hour, and in it, I play the piano and sing, while many audience members enjoy macaroni and cheese with ham and other delights. Please feel free to share.

Also, on August 4^th, I will again be performing at The Hub, this time with my group, Just Harmony. We’re a bunch of women who sing mostly barbershop but also other styles of choral music. Now that things are opening up around here, we’re getting more engagements. As soon as I find a link to that event on Facebook, I’ll post it here. So, please stay tuned.

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And now, I’m pleased to announce that throughout the month of July, My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress are available from Smashwords ABSOLUTELY FREE as part of its annual summer/winter sale. You can visit my Smashwords author page to download these books. Happy reading!

By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.

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New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

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Smile #Musical Monday

A few weeks after my late husband’s first stroke in 2006, he reached a plateau in his rehabilitation, and most of his therapists at the nursing home gave up on him. Meanwhile, my singing group was learning the song I’m featuring today. It was all I could do to keep from crying, as I sang, along with the others, about smiling with an aching heart. How could I smile when our future was so uncertain? Would Bill ever walk again? For the answer to my second question, you can read My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds.

According to Wikipedia, “Smile” was written by Charlie Chaplin in 1936. It was used as an instrumental theme for his film, Modern Times. Puccini’s opera, Tosca, inspired him to write the song. John Turner and Jeffrey Parsons added the lyrics in 1954 when the song was published. It has become a popular standard, recorded by numerous artists. I hope you enjoy Nat King Cole’s rendition.

By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

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Books  

My Amazon Author Page

Facebook  

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It’s Raining on Prom Night #Musical Monday #Reblog

Last year when I featured this song, there would be no senior prom because of the pandemic. Now, things have changed. I recently read in our local newspaper that one of our high schools will have a senior prom this year. Hopefully, for many young people attending, this will be a memorable night, and I certainly hope that COVID numbers don’t go up as a result. Enjoy!

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It recently occurred to me that because of the pandemic, there may not be a senior prom for many high school students. This came to mind while I was listening to the sound track from Grease, a movie that was popular in the 70’s when I was in high school. One of the songs on this album is the one I’m featuring today.

Read more.

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By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

Books  

My Amazon Author Page

Facebook  

Website