Use A Variety Of Verbal Tools To Communicate

by Kevin Burton    In my early studies in journalism I heard or read somewhere that a news reporter should write at a 10th-grade level. I never did that. I wouldn’t.    I was very aware that I was talking to everyone, “broadcasting,” in the print news sense of the word, with the emphasis on …

Ten Questions To Ask At Doctor Appointments

by Angela Haupt TIME Magazine    When you go to the doctor, you’re probably the one answering most of the questions. Yet it’s essential to make sure you’re asking plenty of your own.    “We need to get someone to fund a bazillion-dollar PSA to tell people to be bolder when they talk to their …

Catsongs: Music And Cats, Memories And Love

by Kevin Burton    Had I had the mind to write this while she was still alive, my late sister Pat would have loved this series.     It has been more than five months since she died, and reading that “late sister Pat” line above is still jarring and surreal. This is visceral.    Nothing …

Love To You Who Are Grieving On Christmas

by Kevin Burton    It’s deeply upsetting to me that my mother was in a hospital, alone on Christmas Eve, in what could easily be her last Christmas season.    There isn’t a phone in her room and I don’t believe she grabbed her cell phone for an emergency trip to ER Monday night. So …

Songwriting School, Class In Session

by Kevin Burton    International Songwriters Day was observed yesterday and I’m staying on that theme.     This post is a service to all you songwriters, or really any kind of writers, out there. But who am I kidding, it’s also to keep my head in the game and stoke those musical fires again.    …

Five Ways To Make Your Relationship Last

by Julie Nguyen Verywell Mind    Being in a healthy relationship can be one of the greatest experiences in the world, but staying together requires hard work. The good news is that this sort of effort doesn’t have to be so difficult. In fact, strengthening the connection can feel easy with the right tools.      Whether you’re …

What’s The Big Deal About Small Talk?

by Kevin Burton    What is your stance on small talk? I’m not into it.    “I’m just making conversation.” Ever hear that one? I say real conversation makes itself.    Necessity causes words to come out of my mouth. Information must be shared, I share it, so that action will be taken.    “We …

My ABCs: C Is For Communication

by Kevin Burton    So I had this great idea for a series, my ABCs.    Take the words that letters stand for in kindergarten, A for apple, B for ball, etc., and trade them in for the words that seem more appropriate after years and years of experience in life.    I started this …

Cats’ Purring Says More Than We Think

by Kevin Burton    Apparently the purring our cats do isn’t all good vibrations.      These are cats after all, I should have known. It just had to be more complicated than we thought.    “We think we know what a cat’s purr means,” writes Stephen Dowling of the BBC.  “It is arguably the most recognizable sign …

My Favorite Driver Brightens Work Days

by Kevin Burton    Sometimes my commute to work is stress-free and extra-special on a Friday or a Monday.    Most Page 7 readers know I am legally blind and do not drive. To get to and from work I use a subsidized ride service offered by the county where I live.    Happy is …