amuse - one22

SimplyElegant

a muse

a publication of things i like, love, and want to share with others. i hope you like it too, but if you don't that's okay. jim . . .

a song to sing

The 30A Songwriters Festival is where you have the opportunity to listen to the songs performed by the songwriter. Being one of the photographers of this event it gives me the opportunity to capture the artist’s images while songs are being sung. I love it.

Their website states “Historically, the 30A Songwriters Festival has featured established touring acts in various genres as well as up and coming new singer-songwriters emerging on the national stage. Over 250 artists perform over the four-day weekend in 30+ indoor venues, all located along the 30A resort corridor on the Gulf of Mexico in Northwest Florida. Six acts headline the outdoor amphitheater stage on Saturday and Sunday each year of the Festival. This year, we welcome new headliners Mavis Staples, Chris & Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes), Dawes, Jenny Lewis, and Rickie Lee Jones.”

I hope you enjoy seeing the musicians images in this issue. I look forward to seeing you next year. It’s full of talented songwriters, musicians, and people like us who love it all.

I did get to hear and see these folks: Cat Carter, Cat Ridgeway, Chas Sandford, Jeff Coffey (Chicago), David Berkeley, Mary Bragg, Steve Poltz, Heather Maloney, Kyshona Armstrong, Tommy Womack, James Gilmore, Alice Peacock, Scott Miller, Noel McKay, Rickie Lee Jones, Casey Noel, Jenny Lewis, Dawes, Korby Lenker, Donnie Sundal, Boukou Groove, Tommy Prine, Michelle Malone’s Canyonland, Will Hoge, Kristan Bush, Raelyn Nelson Band, Chuck Prophet, Mavis Staples, Emmylou Harris, Paul McDonald, Abe Partridge, Dan Navarro, Tim Easton, and The Jazz Legacy Project. And I did see but not get to hear play these folks: Casey Kearney, Chris Alvarado, Reed Waddle, and many others.

SHOW YOU CARE. LOOK AT THEM STRAIGHT INTO THEIR EYES WHEN THEY ARE TALKING. FOCUS ON WHAT THEY ARE SAYING. LISTEN.

inmyownwords

by Lucinda Christian Bunn

This is hard for me to say. I don’t want to say it, but it wants to be said and it won’t leave me alone, so I am gonna say it.

My name is Lucinda. I am a recovering human, perfectionist, alcoholic, anorexic, overspender. I am also a survivor of trauma, neglect, and abuse I experienced both directly, and indirectly, growing up and in the subsequent relationships and a couple of life experiences as an adult. I have feigned survival as an adult as best I could with what I had to work with. And in that, developed coping skills that worked until they didn’t in the forms of alcoholism, now nearly 37 years in remission and an eating disorder, also in remission. I have also been a compulsive spender and this too, I have worked hard to keep in remission.

With all of these things, I can proudly say with no shame that I have done the work. I did not do these things alone. But I sure as shit did my part.

In addition to these things, I have suffered for most of my life from significant depression and anxiety. And for these things, I have also done the work and gotten the help like a rockstar

to be healthy. That is all I have ever wanted. To be healthy and happy. That is what life is meant to be.

But the hard thing I need to say here is that the depression and anxiety have flared up again. From the age of 25 to 58, I sought and received much help. Inpatient treatment for the eating disorder. Twice. Hospitalizations to become stable and have meds adjusted many times. And these are the ones about which I use to say terrible things to myself. The hospital stays. Four years ago, I walked out of a hospital after telling the doctors I had to do this on my own. And they were in full agreement. The trauma of the day for that long, and very painful in-patient stay was the surprise ending of my 26-year marriage relationship. That was hard on my hope, heart, and chemistry. And that chemistry was complex due to the lack of nurture in my developmental stages of life.

These last two years have been really tough. I have worn a brave face. And at times, really been in joy. But under it, all have been hypervigilant, chemical, and fear-based anxiety that has recently gotten the best of me. I have been

dealing with issues related to complex PTSD that are hard to sit through at times.

One day at the end of January, after I had just finished writing for my book that I would never darken the doors of another psych ward, a couple of stressors put me over the edge and I checked myself into the local mental health hospital.

And that was the hard thing to say. But the reason I am doing it is that I am home now. The mental health system, while I am grateful for what it is, is also grossly lacking. Many years ago, I would have been in an outpatient program for added support. Today, that is not available to me. I do not have the insurance to cover it.

So I am at home. With my head. Which has had medication adjustments made that will take time to produce the desired results. And I wait. For a one on one therapy appointment Monday. And a weekly peer support group to begin Tuesday. And two more support groups to attend on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. I am tired of the shame I feel when I simply don’t feel well, just because it is my brain that does not feel well.

In my experience over the years, some of the doctors do not help this be any easier. Even though the human head is attached to the body, “mental health history” on the top of my surgery chart for breast cancer and childbirth made those providers only too anxious to dismiss me at the legal six-week limit. Perpetuating the bullshit shame about having mental health issues.

When I am honest, whether from a podium or my keyboard, I always feel naked and vulnerable, but I also feel the evidence of my

own power and capacity to survive and that is what I need right now.

I am writing to give myself a much-needed pep talk while I wait on the support that is lined up because it works for me. When I see my strength in words as I go back to reread my own posts, I am impressed and strengthened to see what God has asked me to expressed and just how much I have done to be well.

I would likely still be in the hospital right now where there is a sense of community, someone making the meals, which, in times like this for me, is stressful, and a peace that comes with being removed from the stressors of home, but due to this pandemic and the number of people in common areas who were either sick, just recovered or perhaps not vaccinated, my stress was off the chart, so I am at home with Atlas the Cat. I am seeing some friends and will try to be kind to me while I wait out the weekend.

Normally, I have a mental health provider in place to do my medication management. But for several months, no one was doing that.

The doctor in the hospital assigned to me was my gift. He was bright, humble, respectful, kind, funny, intuitive, and smart as hell. And I have seen a few shrinks, so I know what a gift it was that I took myself there and got connected with him. I will get to see him on an outpatient basis once he starts his practice.

In the meantime, he has fast-tracked me to the person I was unable to get into on my own for medication management.

By the way, this doctor that God assigned to me diagnosed me with something NOT in the DSM when he said, “Lucinda, I think you have a Rich Cerebral Universe,” after which,

we both laughed.

I had been telling myself that I could not make it in Florida since moving her in late 2020. That I needed to move back to Oklahoma, where it was less expensive and I could make it. “Lucinda, it’s like you have you by the collar saying, ‘C’mon, you gotta go back to Oklahoma, you’re gonna fail here’, to which he added emphatically, “But Lucinda, you ARE making it!” And he is right.

It takes time to establish roots. And I am a year and a half invested in that. I have a creative job opportunity in front of me that could not be so if I was throwing my shit in a truck to go back where, no offense to Oklahoma, my soul never felt at home. I moved HERE with the prayer and meditation guidance of the God that made me

FOR me. My God just wants me to be happy. And as a little girl in New York and a big girl in Florida, I get more of that in the sun and at the beach.

By putting this in writing, I am breaking the stigma I have put on myself. By sharing it with you, it is my hope that the loss of hope and faith and thoughts of loathing and self-hatred I have heaped on me for having tough times will scatter like the cockroaches that they are. And if someone else gets a glimmer of, “I’m not the only one,” or “maybe there’s hope,” then I have not suffered in vain.

This is my evidence. God showing off. The fact that I have survived the fire, many times over is evidence. I am not broken and I am still here. Yay God. Yay Lucinda. Yay life.

I (Jim) was lucky to meet Lucinda Christain Bunn last year at the Cultural Arts Alliance Sidewalk Art Festival. She was in the process of creating her chaulk art on the hot asphalt at Grand Boulevard. I was walking around taking photos and meeting people, two things I enjoy. She said she had recently moved to the area from Oklahoma. We talked about the local

art scene as people were checking out the artist’s work. Anne Hornstein saw me and said hi then Lucinda asked Ann if she knew me. We both laughed and Anne said that I may have known her the longest of most of her friends. This confirmed to me that if Anne is Lucinda’s friend then Lucinda is awesome too. If you get the chance introduce yourself to her too.

To be healthy and happy. That is what life is meant to be.

getting to know

edlaineheidman by edlaine

There are so many new faces on Facebook that I thought I’d share something about myself so we can get to know each other a bit better!⁣

I worked in the financial industry for about 16 years before starting my wellness business.

I started my career in baking when I was 19 years old while still living in Brazil, where I was born

A couple of years after moving to Toronto I joined the International Wealth Management department of one of Canada’s largest banks where I spent a few years. I then worked in compliance where I was part of the team responsible for monitoring the trading desk for another large firm.

Working in the international world was a great experience not only for my career in finance but it also allowed me to hone my language skills.

On a typical workday, we would have interactions in English, Portuguese & Spanish ... talk about improving brain connectivity

I always knew I wanted to have a career where I could help people, and back in the day,

I used to think that helping people manage their finances was in line with my purpose.

Eventually, I realized that my purpose is actually to help people focus on their wellbeing and prioritize their physical & mental health because without these two it becomes very challenging to tend to anything else in life

I was diagnosed with anxiety & depression while still working in the financial industry and quickly learned that your work environment has a major impact on your healing process.

If you are in the right place surrounded by people who care and support you there is a good chance that you will be able to come out of the situation stronger.

However, if your work environment is toxic and you don’t feel supported, that could be one of the reasons nothing you are doing to try to feel better is working and it might be a good time to take some time off and reassess your situation.

And I mean, it might be time to go deeper and understand what you really want and need to live a happy and peaceful life

Edlaine is a Wellness & Mindset Coach and is the founder of The Path To Calm Anxiety program which is how she helps women heal from anxiety naturally so they can feel peaceful, confident, and able to make assertive decisions without anxiety dragging them down. Edlaine can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/edlaineheidman, Instagram @edlaineheidman and you can also download her free guide, Simple Tools To Calm Anxiety here https://edlaineheidman.click/guide

greensgreens

eating clean?

Start saying “YES!”

Change your internal narrative. Instead of focusing on what you feel should be removed from your lifestyle, focus instead on adding more nourishment. Making time to fill your day [and your body] with beneficial practices and whole foods will effectively reduce the less healthy choices.

Be patient with yourself and take a moment to feel gratitude for the amazing things our bodies are capable of when we take care of them.

byJLindseyacqueline Baliles

Plant Based Chef / Artist

“Little by little, one travels far.”

J. R. R. Tolkien

eatyourgreens

by Lind s ey Jacqueline Baliles

Dressing:

2 tbsp Oil [olive, avocado, coconut]

2 tbsp Honey [or alternative sweetener]

2 tbsp Tahini

2 tbsp Parsley

2 tsp Ginger [minced]

1 tsp Garlic [minced]

Salt + Pepper to taste. Juice of ½ a Lime.

Salad: 2 cups Kale

1 cup Spring Mix

1 cup Green Cabbage [thinly sliced]

1 cup Cucumber [thinly sliced]

½ cup Celery [thinly sliced]

½ cup Edamame

½ cup Green Peas

Garnish: ¼ cup Dried Pepitas ¼ cup Green Onion

Recipe: In your favorite large bowl, add kale, squeeze of lime juice, and sprinkle of salt. Gently massage kale and set aside to soften slightly.

In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients together and set aside to let them get acquainted.

After a couple minutes, layer remaining salad ingredients, drizzle dressing, and top with garnish.

Best eaten outdoors with your feet up.

PHOTO BY Lindsey Jacqueline Baliles

THINGS TO DO, PLACES TO GO, AND PEOPLE TO SEE

Today is the perfect day to do something you like. Explore. Take a short or long trip to a place that makes you happy. Visit, go see a person you haven’t seen in a while or introduce yourself to a total stranger and get to know them. Wishing you and yours much love and happiness.

Haylie+Daniel’s Stone Mountain Wedding

Most of you know that when people ask me if I photograph weddings I tell them I don’t. But the issue comes when you are asked by friends whom you would do almost anything for. So with that said, here are some wedding photos from a couple of days on Stone Mountain. Thanks, Penny and Chris, we had a blast working and playing with you guys as always.

I had the pleasure of taking photos of Haylie, Daniel, and Archer while they visited Northwest Florida a few months back. This photoshoot was not going to be “a walk on the beach”. It was going to be a day to remember for the rest of their lives. A beautiful family full of life and a future of fun times together.

The weekend began with a rehearsal dinner to meet everyone who was either attending or in the wedding. Family and friends talk to each other over good food and drinks. On the wedding day, the hotel was crazy with everyone scrambling around getting ready for the big day ahead. I bounced from room to room to capture some candids.

Everyone was ready and we all headed to the venue. The air was full of energy, with smiles on everyone’s faces, and happiness projecting in front of my camera. The ceremony was sweet, the woodlands backdrop was beautiful, and the reception was something else. So much love, laughter, eating, dancing, drinking, selfies, giggles, toasting, funny people, sparklers, wedding cake, kids being kids, kisses, and even a conga line helped make this event a blast. I’m almost ready to shoot another fun wedding again.

Well maybe? I guess I can’t say no because it was an awesome time with awesome people.

memories

to save, share, and remember

One of the many reasons I began to take photos is to share them. My mom shared her interest in taking photos with us as kids. She “Hazel” is the oldest child in her family and began taking photos as soon as they were able to afford a camera and processing. With her taking and sharing our family photos we heard the stories that went along with them. With this in mind, it’s time to do some digging into your family’s past. Find the images in the box tucked away in the closet. Ask about the stories that go with the photos. You may get sad, but you still will be glad you did.

dementia

‘People with dementia have a degenerative disease of the brain for which there is no cure.’

“A condition characterized by progressive or persistent loss of intellectual functioning, especially with impairment of memory and abstract thinking, and often with personality change, resulting from organic disease of the brain.” www.lexico. com/en/definition/dementia

You may be wondering why this word and definition is in this publication. The reason is that my mother has dementia. Dementia is a symptom, and Alzheimer’s disease is the cause of the symptom. I’m sharing a little about it.

I have included this article within the images of mom’s past because these are the images she remembers. They make her smile and her face lights up. She can tell me almost everything that was happening that day the photo was taken. Also the names of the people in the photos. But when it comes to her short-term memory that’s a different story. Ask me about it the next time you see me. And if you notice any of the early signs or symptoms of Alzheimer’s in your loved ones start researching it. I went to a full-day workshop and was taught the reality vs a sugar-coated version of what was to come and how to handle the situation the best we can.

10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs

Memory loss that disrupts daily life

Challenges in planning or solving problems

Difficulty completing familiar tasks

Confusion with time or place

Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships

New problems with words in speaking or writing

Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps

Decreased or poor judgment

Withdrawal from work or social activities

Changes in mood and personality

Red Tide

a common term used for a harmful algal bloom

Have you ever gone to the beach and started coughing or finding it hard to breathe? There may have been a harmful algae bloom close by that you could not see. Your eyes may also be watering by being irritated too. What do you do?

All of this could convince you to make your beach day another day? As the wind blows from the south one morning it has been known to change by the afternoon. Some folks just swim and play wondering what’s going on. It’s your choice.

The images on these pages were from a harmful algal bloom that lasted a few days and the sea creatures could not breathe. They washed up on the sugar white beach sands, dried up, then became lunch for crabs and the birds. This day my eyes were irritated, I could smell dead fish, and I still wanted to take photos. I thought it was a way of showing my respect for nature and the cycle of life. I know it’s sad, kinda of scary, and still beautiful in a way.

Read information online by visiting this site oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/redtide.html

“

But not all algal blooms are harmful. Most blooms, in fact, are beneficial because the tiny plants are food for animals in the ocean. In fact, they are the major source of energy that fuels the ocean food web.”

CaseyNoel

When figuring out my strategy for covering the 30A Songwriters event I usually start here - I read the festival schedule looking for artists that I recognize from my younger years. Then look at where they will be performing and take note of it. I always enjoy seeing and hearing the new artists (maybe just new to me?).

This crazy chilly Saturday morning I started off by arriving early at the Grand Boulevard location to get a good parking space. I checked out the app and noticed an artist performing inside the Hyatt Place Sandestin. I didn’t recognize Casey Noel’s name but wanted to stay warm so I went inside. She was scheduled to perform at 11 am which was 30 minutes from now. Perfect. There were a few hotel guests drinking coffee. Others get ready early finding their preferred seats. I check out the light in the room and where I might get good images. Soundcheck starts and I introduce myself to Casey by telling her that I will be one of the people taking photos of her.

I take a few shots while she was

singer/songwriter

warming up. I meet Olga (Casey’s mom) and know that she is one of Noel’s biggest fans and justifiably so. The show begins right on time and her voice comes out of the speakers, the sound into our ears then the emotion into our hearts.

“Casey Noel’s timeless, captivating music will remind you of the many ways songs can enrich a life. A skilled singer-songwriter crystallizes the grace of a moment, honors and beautifies sadness, gives wings to something tender, something fun – something longing for flight. ...With Casey’s voice and acoustic guitar as focal points, the arrangements percolate with a driving rhythm section, lush harmonies, mandolin and fiddle, and unusual touches like spookily atmospheric bowed bass. Many colors, multiple soundscapes, but one intention: to touch listeners where they live, in their hearts.”... continued on her website bio.

Casey’s music can be heard on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, and more!⁣

listen!

SINGLE: “PAGE 52”

By Casey Noel Featured on Spotify’s: Emerging Americana Playlist

“My favorite music makes me feel things deeply and I want people to be able to feel things from my songs. That’s my goal.”

-Casey Noel caseynoelmusic.com

30A Songwriter Festival

ARE YOU CREATIVE

or only doing “self promotion” with your clients money?

Some of you will read this article and say, “That’s what you are doing with this publication!”. You are half right. This is a self-promotion piece showcasing my photography. I am not using my clients’ money to sell their services or products with it. You may have already seen the bride photo on the Simply Elegant ad (inside cover). I placed it there (free of charge) to show my work in use. There was not an invoice for the placement or layout. I told the owners that they probably won’t get any calls from it locally. Most of the readers are online or already know me.

I am tired of hearing about the “Influencers” who feel (in our little market) they can charge you because they are popular? I may just be

venting but that’s okay too. If you are making money charging folks for advertising posts, email campaigns or reels with your image in it as a testimonial, I hope your clients learn better. Sooner than later they will. I also hope that you don’t just create content that looks good without creative marketing plan behind the idea.

And don’t let me get started talking about billboards. Outdoor with more than nine words on them? Unless my brain has totally quit working or I’m driving way too fast we need to think again before we design them. It’s just a sign! If you can’t read the billboard you are wasting your clients’ money.

Okay, let’s get back to looking at pictures.

me me me

A space to be experienced. follow the QR code for more information

PHOTO BY JAKE MEYER

w h at ch a think?

DID YOU LIKE THIS ISSUE?

This is the first issue of (Covid free?) amuse 2022 and I'm already thinking of new stuff to do, stories to share, and art to include. I hope you enjoyed reading it and let me know what you would change or additions you have in mind.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE IN ONE OF THE NEXT ISSUES?

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE OR LESS OF?

There are a lot of music images in this edition which I love to share. As you can tell I enjoy going to live music concerts with my camera. I’m thinking more people, maybe art, music from Seabreeze Jazz Festival and other fun stuff in the next issue. What about you? Think about it and let us know what you think.

I may be able to make it happen. Ideas include art, food, crazy couple photos, your face here photos, and many ideas that haven't popped up in my head yet. I want to include more writings of other people... short poems or song lyrics, who knows? E-mail me your thoughts or poems and we can consider them. Send it to: info@nwfla. com with the subject title "amuse me".

LET ME KNOW AND THANKS. Yes... I am asking you 'cause I have learned that if you don't ask, nobody does anything. Share some of your thoughts or comments by e-mailing me jim@iamjimclark.com

DID

YOU LEARN ANYTHING OR JUST ENJOYED FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES?

A publication can be fun to create but it does take time to put it together with the way you want it. Creating a flow and incorporating the style that matches your personality and includes things you like as well. What’s going on in your world? Let’s talk about it and we can share it to the world.

CONTACT call 850.357.0088 and leave a message E-MAIL jim@iamjimclark.com

FACEBOOK facebook.com/amusedestin

Sometimes you don’t realize that the moment you captured would be the last. The last time you would have to see your friend perform. Rest in peace Nick Colionne 2022

Call me at 850.357.0088 to discuss your next photo session, a fun portrait or candid event coverage.

[ uh-myooz ]

dictionary.com

verb (used with object), a·mused, a·mus·ing.

1. to hold the attention of (someone) pleasantly; entertain or divert in an enjoyable or cheerful manner: She amused the guests with witty conversation.

2. to cause mirth, laughter, or the like, in: The comedian amused the audience with a steady stream of jokes.

amuse ~ to occupy the attention with something pleasant. That which amuses is usually playful or humorous and pleases the fancy.

words related to amuse tickle, gratify, wow, please, delight, cheer, charm, regale, interest, gladden, divert, panic, grab, crack up, put away, knock dead...

3. Go to page 11 to see the amuse word of this issue. Can you hear what they are saying?