Importance of a balanced diet for mental health

Asociación RUVID

An international study involving the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Valencia, recently published in The Lancet Psychiatry, highlights the importance of nutrition for maintaining mental health. Lecturer of Psychiatry Vicent Balanzá has participated in this study.

Lecturer of Psychiatry Vicent Balanzá, also a psychiatrist at La Fe University Hospital, participated in the scientific review made by members of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR) on the importance, research and future of nutritional medicine, as "it has been proven that the quality of diet and the deficiencies in certain essential nutrients are determining factors for physical and mental health."

In fact, nutrition "has become a key factor for the high prevalence and incidence of very frequent mental diseases, such as depression. A balanced diet is as important in psychiatry as it is in other medical specialties such as cardiology or endocrinology," says Balanzá.

ISNPR is a scientific society founded in 2013, the purpose of which is to promote high-quality scientific research on the prevention and treatment of psychiatric disorders by means of nutritional interventions. Balanzá is a member of its executive committee and he claims that in order to supply optimum performance, the human brain "needs an adequate intake of key nutrients, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids Omega-3, essential amino acids, B-group vitamins (B12 and folate), vitamin D and minerals like zinc, magnesium and iron. A balanced and high-quality diet, such as the Mediterranean, provides all of these, but in cases of deficiencies, nutritional supplements are advisable."

A broad approach to Psychiatry

With this publication in 'The Lancet Psychiatry', the world's experts in nutritional psychiatry propose a debate on the growing role of diet in psychiatry and mental health. "At the population level, we had scientific evidence that Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cognitive impairment. Now we also know that it reduces the risk of depression. These are strong arguments to preserve a cultural -and wholesome- treasure that has been transmitted over time," stresses Vicent Balanzá.

Moreover, the aetiology of mental illnesses is extremely complex and, therefore, so is their treatment. "Expecting that anyone with mental health problems would recover only with medicines is a very limited view of reality. In our article we argue that the future of psychiatry requires a broader approach in which nutritional factors are essential in order to provide better health outcomes, functioning and quality of life," concludes the researcher.

Vicent Balanzá Martínez is an adjunct lecturer of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Valencia since 2005 and is accredited as a lecturer. Since 2002 he has been working as a psychiatrist in the Mental Health Unit in Catarroja, which he coordinates. He is also researcher at the Centre for Biomedical Research in Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM).

His research lines focus on neurocognitive functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as on interventions aimed at improving cognitive deficits. More recently, he has been concerned with the staging models in bipolar disorder and with nutritional interventions (nutritional psychiatry). He has published over 50 scientific articles in international journals that have received more than a thousand citations and his Hirsch index is 19.

Balanzá has participated in numerous research projects and national and international conferences on psychiatry. He is part of the board of directors of the International Society for Nutritional Research Psychiatry (ISNPR) and of the working group on staging of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD).

On writers and writing

There is no luck in literary reputation. They who make up the final verdict upon every book are not the partial and noisy readers of the hour when it appears; but a court as of angels a public not to be bribed not to be entreated and not to be overawed decides upon every man's title to fame.

The Old Liberators

By  Robert Hedin

Of all the people in the mornings at the mall,

it’s the old liberators I like best,

those veterans of the Bulge, Anzio, or Monte Cassino

I see lost in Automotive or back in Home Repair,

bored among the paints and power tools.

Or the really old ones, the ones who are going fast,

who keep dozing off in the little orchards

of shade under the distant skylights.

All around, from one bright rack to another,

their wives stride big as generals,

their handbags bulging like ripe fruit.

They are almost all gone now,

and with them they are taking the flak

and fire storms, the names of the old bombing runs.

Each day a little more of their memory goes out,

darkens the way a house darkens,

its rooms quietly filling with evening,

until nothing but the wind lifts the lace curtains,

the wind bearing through the empty rooms

the rich far off scent of gardens

where just now, this morning,

light is falling on the wild philodendrons.

The business of the poet and the novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things. -Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet (2 Jun 1840-1928)

“Happiness is total and complete satisfaction with yourself. This means you realize that nothing and nobody else can make you happy. Happiness is something you get from yourself. If you’re completely satisfied with yourself nobody can take it away from you.” The RZA

“If you make friends with yourself, you will never be alone.”  Maxwell Malz

 “Journeys end in lovers parting.” Hamlet.

“A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.” Helen Keller

Good words to have.......................

Stridulate:  To make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing body parts together.From Latin stridere

Love descends upon our souls by the will of God and not by the demand or the plea of the individual.”Kahlil Gibran

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.”

THE BOOK OF FUNNY, ODD AND INTERESTING THINGS THAT PEOPLE SAY

Compiled by

John William Tuohy

Church Bulletins

"Say 'hell' to someone who doesn't like you."

"Mr. Smith is also a close relative of his brother Wilbur in the church."

"Thursday night - Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow."

"Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community."

"O come all ye faithful, sin in exultation."

"After today's service, coffee and donuts will be served in the basement. Please come down and say hell to the pastor."

"Don't let worry kill you -- let the church help."

"For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs."

"The rosebud on the altar this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer."

"Children will be led in sinning and Bible study."

"This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends."

"This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar."

"There will be a baked bean supper next Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Music to follow."

"At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice."

"Life groups meet on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM for food, fun, and fellowwhipping."

"Marriage: An Institution To Be Endured." -- The subject of a sermon that should have read, "An Institution To Endure."

"Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa."

"The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals."

"The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'"

"Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands."

"The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict."

"Miss Charlene Mason sang "I Will Not Pass This Way Again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation."

"The Rector will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing: 'Break Forth Into Joy.'"

"Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones."

"Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children."

"The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment, and gracious hostility."

"The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon."

"The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday."

"Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch."

"Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered."

"He came down and saved my soup."

Don't let worry kill you - let the church help.

Thursday night - Potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.

Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.

For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

The rosebud on the alter this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.

This afternoon there will be a meeting in the South and North ends of the church. Children will be baptized at both ends.

Tuesday at 4:00 pm there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come early.

Wednesday the ladies liturgy will meet. Mrs. Johnson will sing "Put me in my little bed accompanied by the pastor."

Thursday at 5:00 pm there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All ladies wishing to be "Little Mothers" will meet with the Pastor in his study.

This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.

The service will close with "Little Drops of Water." One of the ladies will start quietly and the rest of the congregation will join in.

Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of the new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the new carpet will come forward and do so.

The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They can be seen in the church basement Saturday.

A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

The Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.

The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. Please use the back door.

The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."

A songfest was hell at the Methodist church Wednesday.

The eighth graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7p.m. The Congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 pm at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

Mrs. Johnson will be entering the hospital this week for testes.

Please join us as we show our support for Amy and Alan who are preparing for the girth of their first child.

The Lutheran Men's group will meet at 6 PM. Steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread and dessert will be served for a nominal feel.

The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."

Our next song is "Angels We Have Heard Get High."

Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

The senior choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.

The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.

Evening massage - 6 p.m.

The audience is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession.

Ushers will eat latecomers.

The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.

The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.

During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.

Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It's a Terrible Experience."

Due to the Rector's illness, Wednesday's healing services will be discontinued until further notice.

Stewardship Offertory: "Jesus Paid It All"

The music for today's service was all composed by George Friedrich Handel in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth.

The concert held in Fellowship Hall was a great success. Special thanks are due to the minister's daughter, who labored the whole evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.

22 members were present at the church meeting held at the home of Mrs. Marsha Crutchfield last evening. Mrs. Crutchfield and Mrs. Rankin sang a duet, The Lord Knows Why.

Today's Sermon: HOW MUCH CAN A MAN DRINK? with hymns from a full choir.

Hymn 43: "Great God, what do I see here?"

Preacher: The Rev. Horace Blodgett

Hymn 47: "Hark! an awful voice is sounding"

(During the minister's illness) GOD IS GOOD. Dr. Hargreaves is better.

The 1997 Spring Council Retreat will be hell May 10 and 11.

Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to church secretary.

Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church in Racine. Come tonight and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.

The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.

The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals.

The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water. The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

Youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 pm in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

Miss Charlene Mason sang "I Will Not Pass This Way Again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.

This evening at 7 pm there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

The senior choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir

Join us tonight for prayers, coffee and fresh beagles

Keep calm and carry on, for the sake of your long-term health

Penn State

Reacting positively to stressful situations may play a key role in long-term health, according to researchers.

In a study measuring adults' reactions to stress and how it affects their bodies, researchers found that adults who fail to maintain positive moods such as cheerfulness or calm when faced with the minor stressors of everyday life appear to have elevated levels of inflammation. Furthermore, women can be at heightened risk.

Inflammatory responses are part of the body's ability to protect itself via the immune system. However, chronic -- long-term -- inflammation can undermine health, and appears to play a role in obesity, heart disease and cancer.

These findings add to growing body of evidence regarding the health implications of affective reactivity -- emotional response -- to daily stressors. The researchers report their results in a recent edition of Health Psychology.

Nancy Sin, postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Healthy Aging and Department of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State and her colleagues showed that the frequency of daily stressors, in and of itself, was less consequential for inflammation than how an individual reacted to those stressors.

"A person's frequency of stress may be less related to inflammation than responses to stress," said Sin. "It is how a person reacts to stress that is important."

Sin's findings also highlight the important -- but often discounted -- contributions of positive affect in naturalistic stress processes.

"Positive emotions, and how they can help people in the event of stress, have really been overlooked," Sin said.

In the short-term, with illness or exercise, the body experiences a high immune response to help repair itself. However, in the long term, heightened inflammatory immune responses may not be healthy. Individuals who have trouble regulating their responses may be at risk for certain age-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, frailty and cognitive decline, Sin said.

"To our knowledge, this paper is the first to link biomarkers of inflammation with positive mood responses to stressors in everyday life," said Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland, associate professor of biobehavioral health, Penn State.

A cross-sectional sample of 872 adults from the National Study of Daily Experiences reported daily stressors and emotional reactions for eight consecutive days. Blood samples of participants were obtained during a separate clinic visit and assayed for inflammatory markers.

Subjects were interviewed by phone every day for eight consecutive days. They were asked to rate their positive and negative emotions, as well as whether or not they encountered stressors. This enabled researchers to evaluate a person's emotional response on days when they experience stressors, and compare it to days when they do not.

"We calculated reactivity scores to see how participants generally reacted to stressors," Sin said. "Then we used it to predict two markers of inflammation."

The researchers used several different types of stressors, among them were arguments and avoiding arguments at work, school or home; being discriminated against; a network stressor, i.e., a stressful event that happens to someone close to the subject; and other stressors.

"We examined both positive and negative affective reactions to stress and compared the effects of stress exposure with responses to stressors," Graham-Engeland said. "Little is known about the potential role of daily stress processes on inflammation. Much of the relevant past research with humans has focused on either chronic stress or acute laboratory-based stress -- methods that do not fully capture how people respond to naturalistic stressors in the context of daily life."

Data came from the second wave of the Midlife in the United States Study, a national survey designed to investigate health and well-being in midlife and older adulthood. Its goal is to expand understanding of how daily mood and stressful events may relate to inflammation and health.

________________________________________

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Penn State. The original article was written by Marjorie S. Miller. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

On Travel

I am not much an advocate for traveling and I observe that men run away to other countries because they are not good in their own and run back to their own because they pass for nothing in the new places. For the most part Only the light characters travel. Who are you that have no task to keep you at home?

Traveling is a fool's paradise. Our first journeys discover to us the indifference of places.

Travel is a fool’s paradise.

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful we must carry it with us or we find it not.

No man should travel until he has learned the language of the country he visits. Otherwise he voluntarily makes himself a great baby-so helpless and so ridiculous.

As Befits a Man

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

I don't mind dying —

But I'd hate to die all alone!

I want a dozen pretty women

To holler, cry, and moan.

I don't mind dying

But I want my funeral to be fine:

A row of long tall mamas

Fainting, Fanning, and crying.

I want a fish-tail hearse

And sixteen fish-tail cars,

A big brass band

And a whole truck load of flowers.

When they let me down,

Down into the clay,

I want the women to holler:

Please don't take him away!

Ow-ooo-oo-o!

Don't take daddy away!

“Nothing, not love, not greed, not passion or hatred, is stronger than a writer’s need to change another writer’s copy.”Arthur Evans

“It’s so beautiful at this hour. The sun is low, the shadows are long, the air is cold and clean. You won’t be awake for another five hours, but I can’t help feeling that we’re sharing this clear and beautiful morning.” Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

“Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand—relax. If you relax, it comes. If you relax, it is there. If you relax, you start vibrating with it.” Osho

In time we hate that which we often fear.”William Shakespeare

 

“Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving” Kahlil Gibran

“It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.”Helen Keller

Mala fide: In bad faith.From Latin mala fide, from malus (bad) + fides (faith). Earliest documented use: 1561.

  

“Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.”

THE BOOK OF FUNNY, ODD AND INTERESTING THINGS THAT PEOPLE SAY

Animal Excuses

My cat unplugged my alarm clock.

A buffalo escaped from the game reserve and kept charging the employee every time she tried to go to

her car from her house.

A skunk got into the employee's house and sprayed all of his uniforms.

"My cow bit me."

"I tripped over my dog and was knocked unconscious."

I totaled my wife's jeep in a collision with a cow.

  

I hit my arm against the hopper, and got flea bites.

  

This is for the cut on my hand, but I took the stitches out myself. However, I am filing on account of the watchdog biting me and on account of a hurt I got in a fall in the paint shop.

 "My boyfriend's snake got loose and I'm afraid to leave the bedroom until he gets home."

  

My monkey died.

The benefits of staying positive

By Carol Gooch / Healthy Living columnist

When you are starting a healthy diet, beginning an exercise program, stopping an unhealthy habit or working on a relationship, one of the main elements for success is staying positive.

The power of remaining positive, whatever the situation, can never be underestimated. We are all here for a limited period of time, is it worth it to spend any of that time in a depressed, negative mood?

The true test of an individual to remain positive is when challenges become difficult. Remaining positive keeps one’s mind in the right state of balance and often opens resolutions to the problems at hand.

Negativity is contagious and it spreads to anyone you interact with. Eliminating negativity, or rather, being positive is a mindset that can be found at any moment, and turned into a habit. So, what are some ideas to help you shift your mindset to remain positive?

Be conscious of your thoughts. Especially, when life just isn’t going your way. The moment you see that you are diving into frustration, agony, sorrow and low self-esteem – shift your thoughts, by thinking about something completely unrelated. This breaks the pattern of self-pity. What makes us different from other mammals is our ability to control our thoughts and think for ourselves.

There is a lesson to be learned from every situation. You may have made a mistake, but now you can accept it and continue, knowing that you will make a different decision in the future. Understand this and be appreciative for the experience.

You cannot be both angry and grateful at the same time. Start counting the blessings and miracles in your life, start looking for them and you will find more. You are alive and breathing! Realize how lucky you are and all the abundance in your life.

Practice seeing yourself positive and confident. Do this whenever you have a few minutes (examples: Waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting in traffic.) Self-affirmations (list of positive statements about yourself) are another simple and powerful tool to train your subconscious to see yourself in a positive light. This is important, as many of us can be hard on ourselves.

Memories that can immediately make you smile such as occasions where you felt happy, appreciative and cheerful give a balanced perspective to your situation. You realize that what appears negative today will change tomorrow. Nothing stays the same.

See if you can stop criticizing others and situations. Our cultural conditioning teaches us to find flaws and problems at all times. Shift from fault-finding to appreciation-finding. Alter your attitude.

The situation probably won’t change whether you are positive or negative, so you might as well stay positive. The habit of remaining positive takes practice and commitment. You are in control of your thoughts, so begin now and have a positive life. 

Take care of your MENTAL HEALTH.

Carol Gooch, MS, LPC-S, LCDC, LMFT, is a columnist for the Montgomery County Healthy Living Alliance www.healthylivingmc.com and she is the Director of Business Development for Aspire Hospital at 2006 South Loop 336 West, Suite 500, Conroe, TX 77304.

                                                           300 quotes from Emerson

To view more Emerson quotes or read a life background on Emerson please visit the books blog spot. We update the blog bi-monthly

 emersonsaidit.blogspot.com

“Ask yourself this question: ‘Will this matter a year from now?’” Richard Carlson  

 “I want to get you excited about who you are, what you are, what you have, and what can still be for you. I want to inspire you to see that you can go far beyond where you are right now.” Virginia Satir

Anonymous. 17th Cent. 

   

368. Sir Patrick Spens 

  

"Sir Patrick Spens" is one of the most popular of the Child Ballads (No. 58) (Roud 41), and is of Scottish origin. The events of the ballad are similar to, and may chronicle, an actual event: the bringing home of the Scottish queen Margaret, Maid of Norway across the North Sea in 1290 (though there is speculation that it may relate to a voyage by the princess's mother in 1281). The seven-year-old princess died on the crossing, though not in the manner of Sir Patrick in this song. However, many of the ships sent to fetch her are said to have foundered and perished.

 The opening lines do refer to the king who is specifically located in Dunfermline where historically there was a royal residence, Malcolm's Tower.

The name "Patrick Spens" has no historical record, and, like many of the heroes of such ballads, is probably an invention, although some historians believe that he was actually Sir Patrick Vans.

The story as told in the ballad has multiple versions, but they all follow the same basic plot. The King of Scotland has called for the greatest sailor in the land to command a ship for a royal errand. The name "Sir Patrick Spens" is mentioned by a courtier, and the king despatches a letter. Sir Patrick, though honoured to receive a royal commission, is dismayed at being put to sea in the dead of winter, clearly realising this voyage could well be his last.

Versions differ somewhat at this point. Some indicate that a storm sank the ship in the initial crossing, thus ending the ballad at this point, while many have Sir Patrick safely reaching Norway. In Norway tension arises between the Norwegian lords and the Scots, who are accused of being a financial burden on the king. Sir Patrick, taking offence, leaves the following day. Nearly all versions, whether they have the wreck on the outward voyage or the return, relate the bad omen of seeing "the new mune late yestreen, with the auld mune in her airms", and modern science agrees the tides would be at maximum force at

I. The Sailing

THE king sits in Dunfermline town   

  Drinking the blude-red wine;   

'O whare will I get a skeely skipper   

  To sail this new ship o' mine?'   

  

O up and spak an eldern knight,          5 

  Sat at the king's right knee;   

'Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor   

  That ever sail'd the sea.'   

  

Our king has written a braid letter,   

  And seal'd it with his hand,   10 

And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens,   

  Was walking on the strand.   

  

'To Noroway, to Noroway,   

  To Noroway o'er the faem;   

The king's daughter o' Noroway,   15 

  'Tis thou must bring her hame.'   

  

The first word that Sir Patrick read   

  So loud, loud laugh'd he;   

The neist word that Sir Patrick read   

  The tear blinded his e'e.   20 

  

'O wha is this has done this deed   

  And tauld the king o' me,   

To send us out, at this time o' year,   

  To sail upon the sea?   

  

'Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet,   25 

  Our ship must sail the faem;   

The king's daughter o' Noroway,   

  'Tis we must fetch her hame.'   

  

They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn   

  Wi' a' the speed they may;   30 

They hae landed in Noroway   

  Upon a Wodensday.   

  

II. The Return

 'Mak ready, mak ready, my merry men a'!   

  Our gude ship sails the morn.'   

'Now ever alack, my master dear,   35 

  I fear a deadly storm.   

  

'I saw the new moon late yestreen   

  Wi' the auld moon in her arm;   

And if we gang to sea, master,   

  I fear we'll come to harm.'   40 

  

They hadna sail'd a league, a league,   

  A league but barely three,   

When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud,   

  And gurly grew the sea.   

  

The ankers brak, and the topmast lap,   45 

  It was sic a deadly storm:   

And the waves cam owre the broken ship   

  Till a' her sides were torn.   

  

'Go fetch a web o' the silken claith,   

  Another o' the twine,   50 

And wap them into our ship's side,   

  And let nae the sea come in.'   

  

They fetch'd a web o' the silken claith,   

  Another o' the twine,   

And they wapp'd them round that gude ship's side,   55 

  But still the sea came in.   

  

O laith, laith were our gude Scots lords   

  To wet their cork-heel'd shoon;   

But lang or a' the play was play'd   

  They wat their hats aboon.   60 

  

And mony was the feather bed   

  That flatter'd on the faem;   

And mony was the gude lord's son   

  That never mair cam hame.   

  

O lang, lang may the ladies sit,   65 

  Wi' their fans into their hand,   

Before they see Sir Patrick Spens   

  Come sailing to the strand!   

  

And lang, lang may the maidens sit   

  Wi' their gowd kames in their hair,   70 

A-waiting for their ain dear loves!   

  For them they'll see nae mair.   

  

Half-owre, half-owre to Aberdour,   

  'Tis fifty fathoms deep;   

And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens,   75 

  Wi' the Scots lords at his feet! 

 Good Words to Have

Clandestine:  Marked by, held in, or conducted with secrecy : surreptitious.  It comes to us by way of Middle French from Latin clandestinus, which is itself from clam, meaning "secretly."

“But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise on your lips.”     Kahlil Gibran

Theseus 

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V scene i)

“Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,

Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend

More than cool reason ever comprehends.”

In 1962, six year old John Tuohy, his two brothers and two sisters entered Connecticut’s foster care system and were prompltyl spilit apart. Over the next ten years, John would live in more then ten foster homes, group homes and state schools, from his native Waterbury to Ansonia, New Haven, West Haven, Deep River and Hartford. In the end, a decade later, the state returned him to the same home and the same parents they had taken him from. As tragic as is funny complelling story will make you cry and laugh and come to understand the life of a child who gets lost in the system.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John William Tuohy is a writer who lives in Washington DC. He holds an MFA in writing from Lindenwood University. He is the author of numerous non-fiction on the history of organized crime including the ground break biography of bootlegger Roger Tuohy "When Capone's Mob Murdered Touhy" and "Guns and Glamour: A History of Organized Crime in Chicago."

His non-fiction crime short stories have appeared in The New Criminologist, American Mafia and other publications. John won the City of Chicago's Celtic Playfest for his work The Hannigan's of Beverly, and his short story fiction work, Karma Finds Franny Glass, appeared in AdmitTwo Magazine in October of 2008.

His play, Cyberdate.Com, was chosen for a public performance at the Actors Chapel in Manhattan in February of 2007 as part of the groups Reading Series for New York project. In June of 2008, the play won the Virginia Theater of The First Amendment Award for best new play. 

Contact John:

MYWRITERSSITE.BLOGSPOT.COM
JWTUOHY95@GMAIL.COM

REVIEWS FROM AMAZON.COM

A truthful, inspirational and uplifting memoir of life in the US foster care system This book is definitely a must for social workers working with children specifically. This is an excellent memoir which identifies the trails of foster children in the 1960s in the United States. The memoir captures stories of joy as well as nail biting terror, as the family is at times torn apart but finds each other later and finds solace in the experiences of one another. The stories capture the love siblings have for one another as well as the protection they have for one another in even the worst of circumstances. I found the book to be a page turner and at times show how even in the hardest of circumstances there was a need to live and survive and make the best of any moment.

This book is a must-read for anyone who administers to the foster care program in any state.This book is a must-read for anyone who administers to the foster care program in any state. this is not a "fell through the cracks" life story, but rather a memoir of a life guided by strength and faith and a hard determination to survive. it is heartening to know that the "sewer" that life can become to steal our personal peace can be fought and our peace can be restored, scarred, but restored.

A captivating, shocking, and deeply moving memoir, No Time to Say Goodbye is a true page turner.A captivating, shocking, and deeply moving memoir, No Time to Say Goodbye is a true page turner. John shares the story of his childhood, from the struggles of living in poverty to being in the foster care system and simply trying to survive. You will be cheering for him all the way, as he never loses his will to thrive even in the darkest and bleakest of circumstances. This memoir is a very truthful and unapologetic glimpse into the way in which some of our most vulnerable citizens have been treated in the past and are still being treated today. It is truly eye-opening, and hopefully will inspire many people to take action in protection of vulnerable children.

I found myself in tears while reading this book.I found myself in tears while reading this book. John William Tuohy writes quite movingly about the world he grew up in; a world in which I had hoped did not exist within the foster care system. This book is at times funny, raw, compelling, heartbreaking and disturbing. I found myself rooting for John as he tries to escape from an incredibly difficult life. You will too!

A compelling story of life in the Ct foster care system. At times disturbing and at others inspirational. I found this book to be a compelling story of life in the Ct foster care system. at times disturbing and at others inspirational ,The author goes into great detail in this gritty memoir of His early life being abandoned into the states system and his subsequent escape from it. Every once in a while a book or even an article in a newspaper comes along that bears witness to an injustice or even something that's just plain wrong. This chronicle of the foster care system is such a book and should be required reading for any aspiring Social Workers .