States

This time of year puts me in the mind of traveling, and I’ll probably do a theme show about traveling again, but this week has me thinking about the states we traveled through. I think I’ve been to all the states in the lower 48 except maybe a couple in the Northeast. Like many of you, we always played the state license plate game where you try to see as many plates as you can. I didn’t know the historical origins or differences in the states other than people having different accents and the land and foliage looking different. We did go to museums as we traveled though, and I gradually learned who established the states, the tribes who lived there before the settlers, and what made each state unique. I don’t travel now to other states as much as I used to, but I’m fascinated with the histories and the directions each state has taken - whether for sectarian or ethnic backgrounds. Of course that is all constantly changing as people migrate around the country. I’ve now lived in four states - Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado. How about you? Join me Thursday for songs about a bunch of these states!

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What have I been up to?

My senior facilities went very well, and we didn’t have any cancellations although there were definitely cases at a couple facilities, and I had to take a rapid test at one facility.

My Thursday online show was definitely a blast with a bunch of really fun summer songs to kick off the season. In fact I was up for more lively songs than the group was requesting - that almost never happens!

My Sunday online show was also a great time although a little more somber with some Memorial Day songs and thoughts. Again we have such a wonderful and supportive group of folks who gather for these rewarding shows.

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What am I up to this week?

I have just 7 senior facilities this week as I’ll be traveling to Nebraska for a show this weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing all the folks at my facilities.

My Thursday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be about states as I mentioned above. Martha Yarusso had this theme idea, and at first I didn’t think I would have enough songs to fill a night with music. Boy, was I wrong! There are a ton of songs about states I already know, and this promises to be a really enjoyable show. Come on out!

Saturday I have two shows for the Good Sam’s RV rally in Hastings, Nebraska. These are technically private shows, but if you’re in the area I may be able to get you in. I’m really looking forward to seeing these folks, and I get to spend a weekend with my sister and niece which I haven’t gotten to do in quite some time!

My Sunday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be recorded from my sister’s house in Nebraska, and I’m looking forward to it. I did an online show from Nebraska several years ago, and it was really fun. Please tune in if you can. We have such and engaging and caring group that will really make your day.

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That’s it for this week. I hope you have a good Memorial Day, and I hope to see you soon.

Best always, 

Tom

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Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of songs about states

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Thursday, June 2, 7-8:30 pm mountain time 

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, June 6, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Summer Excitement

I always get a little bit excited at this time of the year with summer approaching, and I always write about it. There’s just something engaging about seeing the world wake up to a new growing season and the promise of being outdoors in great spaces. It also means a lot more work with yards and property, but somehow the enthusiasm that the earth puts forth sweeps me up and carries me to new heights of energy and awareness. It’s intoxicating! Of course the pandemic is still an issue in many parts of the world and to an extent here. We have to take the good with the bad, and there’s nothing wrong with having a reminder to be vigilant and cautious and caring for others and ourselves. But it’s summer! Let yourself feel the rhythms of the earth, and let yourself rejoice in the new growth and new life. That will be the spirit for my Thursday online show this week.

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What have I been up to?

I had 11 senior facilities last week, and I enjoyed every one! It’s so good to finally be fully back at these places although we are still taking great precautions.

My Thursday online show was doing songs that shaped my audience again, and there were some great tunes. I created a new way for people to make requests independent of the comment thread, and this has really helped people to be able to make requests and for me to not lose them in the comments.

My Sunday online show of favorites and requests went really well too even though I was busy for most of the weekend opening cabins and cleaning up downed branches around our property here after the huge wet snowstorm that blew through and dumped so much snow. Next week I’ll hopefully have more time to learn new requests.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 10 senior facilities this week, and I’m actually getting new facilities calling me so I’m busier than ever. 

My Thursday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be a summer kickoff of fun songs to capture the enthusiasm I wrote about above. Music has always been a big part of this season for me - especially listening while driving to great destinations - sometimes to hear music played! I hope you’ll tune in if you’re free.

My Sunday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always. We have such a wonderful group of folks who attend and support each other and the music. We’ve been having a Zoom conversation 6:30 to 7:00 ahead of the show too which has been a lot of fun. Here’s the link if you’d like to join the Zoom - https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7759127796?pwd=MZ55WfXnEkOSi3_ztfvmMlbe2oCpoN.1

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That’s it for this week. I hope you’re just as excited about the summer.

Best always,

Tom

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Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of songs to kick off summer

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Thursday, May 26, 7-8:30 pm mountain time 

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, May 29, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Chaotic

I’m thinking of how we handle chaos in our lives. If you were on the show last night you saw how crazy it got when the internet went out. For me this chaos was in addition to watching the fires in New Mexico that could possibly threaten our summer cabins and trying to secure those and any keepsakes down there. Plus with summer coming on and my calendar back to full and filling more I’m feeling a lot more chaos. So how do we deal with this. Well, if you don’t find a way to deal with it you actually feel pain in your body and confusion in your mind. For me I have several ways to deal with it. The first way is to take a deep breath and remind myself that all is well even when it doesn’t seem to be. We each have our ways of separating ourselves from the immediate situation whether it be by meditation or prayer or even humor. This is very important. The second is just to assess what I can and can’t do and then make a plan of action. This at least gets me moving and not letting the peripheral stuff interfere. The third is to just reassure myself that the worst won’t happen and that it will all soon be just a memory. I also trust that everyone has enough understanding and compassion for each other that we will look out for each other and accept that we are all doing our best even if we fail. This mutual respect and trust keeps me going even when people aren’t holding up their end of the bargain. It’s not as critical as it sounds. I also have some sort of routine in place that I can fall back on that’s tempered by a lot of experience and thought.  I don’t know if these steps are how you deal with chaos. Sometimes it’s thrilling, and sometimes is chilling. Life is exciting either way!

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What have I been up to?

I had nine senior facilities last week although I did have one that got messed up where I had it on my schedule and they didn’t. That was okay though. The other facilities were all a wonderful time.

My Thursday online show doing songs that shaped the people in my audience went really well - so well in fact that we’re doing a part 2 this week! I have such a great group of folks.

My Saturday online show for Philmont folks went really well too. You wouldn’t think that an online show that reunites a lot folks would be so fulfilling, but music and memory is just that powerful.

My Sunday online show was doing favorites at Matt and Deann Pujol’s house for Deann’s birthday, and it was a blast seeing folks in person and enjoying a meal and the show. As I wrote above it turned into a rollercoaster ride when the internet went out and we had to scramble to get back on. My little laptop doesn’t offer as much flexibility as my desktop does with all my tools around in my office, so I didn’t quite get it back up right - it ended up posting in the Facebook event for that night so it wasn’t shareable directly or possible for me to embed it on my website. Apologies if you missed it and aren’t on Facebook. It was still a lot of fun even through the chaos. I’ll plan better for that kind of failure next time. Happy Birthday, Deann!

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What am I up to this week?

I have 11 senior facilities the week, and I’m looking forward to all of them!

My Thursday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be doing songs that shaped you again with a bunch more really great songs from all over the musical spectrum. We have such diverse tastes in our audience, so this will be a marvelous show. Come on by if you can!

My Sunday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always. I promise it won’t be as chaotic as last week (at least I’ll be more prepared this time.) I’d love to have you share in the camaraderie and music.

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That’s it for this week. I’m taking a deep breath as we speak and trying to multitask. The experts say we can’t really multitask anyway!

Best,

Tom

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Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of songs that shaped you 2

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Thursday, May 19, 7-8:30 pm mountain time 

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, May 22, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Shaping You

A couple weeks ago I wrote about songs that shaped me throughout my life in conjunction with the show I was doing that Thursday. I really enjoyed doing the show and picking the songs, and it spurred the audience into thinking about songs that shaped them. We all have different occasions in our life where a song is in the background or where a song actually sticks in our mind or even acts as a mantra to evince change in our lives. Think about your life and what songs you not only love, but also those songs that may have affected you at a key point in your development or in a relationship. It’s amazing what a song can do, and it’s amazing the memories that it can bring up. I know this for myself, but I also see it in my friends and especially the seniors I work with who have some touch of dementia or memory loss. Music is a powerful thing in this world - part magic and part mystery. So I have a fairly good list of songs from a bunch of people that were posted on the Munch Bunch Facebook Group. I’d love to add more people and songs if you have them. I will probably do this theme more than once since it’s so worthwhile.

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What have I been up to?

I had nine senior facilities last week, and they all went very well with no COVID cancellations. I did still have at least one facility in outbreak status, so we’re still being as careful as can be.

My Thursday online show was songs about mountains, and it was so much fun. I have such a deep connection to the mountains, and I really love to sing about their wildness and wisdom.

My Sunday show hasn’t happened yet as I write this, but I’m sure it will be very sweet as always. I’ve spent a couple days working on getting our sprinkler system and drip system up and running so I haven’t had as much time to devote to requests this week. It is Mother’s Day, so I know I’ll be doing some special songs for moms as well as some very fine requests that I’m working on.

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What am I up to this week?

I have nine senior facilities this week. It’s National Nursing Home Week, so it’s always a really fun time with different themes at each place.

My Thursday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be doing songs that shaped you as I wrote above. Some of the songs we’ve done quite a bit on my shows, but several of them will be new to this audience, I suspect. It’ll be a good time, and you are surely welcome to join in.

On Saturday 7-9 mountain time I’m doing I’m doing another online show for Philmont staff and alumni on my Philmont Songs Facebook Group. This is the time of year when the staff heads for the mountains to start the season, so those of us who were on staff at some point in the past have it on our minds, and this is an opportunity to get a little taste of the excitement and camaraderie. If you’re a member of the Group then come on out!

My Sunday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always. This week will be live from Deann and Matt’s house, so it will be extra-special. Deann has invited any local folks as well, so if you’d like to come please let her know. She has posted details to the Munch Bunch Facebook Group page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/398664345396960

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That’s it for this week. The summer is fast approaching. This is always an exciting and busy time. 

Best always,

Tom

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Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of songs that shaped you

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Thursday, May 12, 7-8:30 pm mountain time 

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, May 15, 7-8:30 pm mountain time

Mountains

It’s getting to the time of year when I start to dream of the mountains again, and I look forward to spending time in them like many of us do in the summer. I’ve always loved the mountains. My family spent time there every summer as a result of my grandparents buying a small amount of land in 1930 so they could get out of the heat in Oklahoma in the summer. They were teachers, and going to the mountains offered cooler weather and summer work and adventures. So I was raised with at least a two-week stint in the mountains every summer where we would explore and learn all about wild places and different cultures and people. When I reached high school I got summer jobs teaching backpacking as a ranger and portraying a cowboy at Philmont Scout Ranch. The wildness filled me up and inspired me to write and to love peaks and streams and big stands of trees and meadows even more. As an adult I’ve lived in several places in the mountains and have traveled all over the Colorado backcountry and many other places in the West. I’ve always loved reading John Muir and seeing the photos of Ansel Adams and cherishing anyone who felt the same pull of the mountains. So Thursday we’ll celebrate the mountains for all they are and have been and will be. Of course nowadays we lament of the wildfires and beetle-killed lodgepole pines in our forests, but we still appreciate the wild spirit of these rugged places.

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What have I been up to?

I had 10 senior facilities last week, and luckily none of them had to cancel for COVID although a couple were in outbreak status still with active cases in the building. I love playing for these folks so much.

The Tuesday online show that was set up by Rick Myers was more than fun. He picked the songs for the night, and they were fantastic! Many folks said it was the best night we’ve had ever had.

My Thursday online show was one hit wonders of the 1970s, and it was also a blast. It’s impossible to sing some of these fun songs without getting into it. 

My Sunday online show doing favorites was also nothing but fun. I picked more of my favorites which I know well, and everyone really enjoyed it.

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What am I up to this week?

I have nine senior facilities this week, and I’m looking forward to every one. I lost a resident and friend at one facility unexpectedly last week, so there’s a measure of sadness in playing for some of these folks who are not long for this world. It’s a privilege to play for them. So long, Robin Hill.

My Thursday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be the above-mentioned mountain songs. There are so many good songs about the mountains, and I know a lot of them. It will be a very good time.

My Sunday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always. It’s Mother’s Day, so I know we’ll do some songs for moms. My mom has been gone for seven years now, and I still think of her almost every day. I wrote a special song for her a couple years ago called “How Did You Know?”, and I’ll be sure to sing that.

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That’s it for this week. I hope you are well and happy. We keep plugging along, don’t we - spreading love and joy where we can.

Best,

Tom

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Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of mountain songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Thursday, May 5, 7-8:30 pm mountain time 

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, May 8, 7-8:30 pm mountain time