A Remarkable Life

Hello again! Happy Fall!

September seems to be a month for remembrances. Last year, I dedicated one of the September issues of Positive Vibes to remembering Jimmy Buffett (and you’ll find another tribute to him in today’s issue, in the “For Your Playlist” section below). This time, I want to pay tribute to a few more, beginning with Mr. Elton “Toad” Smith.

As I mentioned three weeks ago in Episode 7 of my “Positive Vibes: On the Sunny Side” podcast (which featured an interview with Positive Vibes member Dylan Crowell), Mr. Toad Smith passed away peacefully on the last day of August, less than 3 weeks shy of his 92nd birthday.

If you’ve been following this newsletter, at some point you’ve read about Toad Smith, and if you’ve read my first book, Walk through Fire: The Train Disaster that Changed America, then you may even feel as though you know Mr. Smith personally, since his story is an integral part of that book. In fact, it was his story—and his remarkable telling of it to me—that inspired me to write that book in the first place.

Everyone—everyone—who knew Toad Smith felt fortunate to know him. I can honestly say I’ve never known anyone else like him, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet a great many people by this point. There was simply no one else like Toad, and he lived his life to the fullest, even cutting hair (as you know from the book, he considered barbering to be his master trade) in his own home in the final weeks of his life. And he went back to cutting hair not long after recovering from the train disaster in 1978—not long after a Nashville doctor told him he might never cut hair again.

He was a wonderful example of what it means to beat the odds and make the most of one’s life, staying active and remaining a force for good in his community. A true paragon of Positive Vibes.

I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to call him my friend. May he rest in peace, and may we all aspire to lead such remarkable lives to the very end.

Thank you again for being part of the Positive Vibes community!

Every best wish,

Yasmine

P.S. I hope you’re enjoying the Positive Vibes: On the Sunny Side podcast! Would you please do me a favor? If you haven’t already, please go to any podcast platform (Apple, Spotify, etc.) or to my YouTube channel, and hit “Subscribe” or “Follow,” if you have a chance. That helps my podcast gain visibility on the platform and will help it be discovered by others. Thank you so much!

What I’m Feeling Good About

When I first envisioned the Positive Vibes newsletter, I wanted it to have the look and feel of an e-magazine, and I believe we’ve finally gotten there. So I’ll be referring to it as the Positive Vibes e-magazine going forward, and due to its various sections and length, if you use Gmail as your email provider, you may find that the last sections of the magazine are clipped. Don’t worry! Gmail gives you the option to “read more” or “expand message” (or similar language). Just click on that option at the end, and you’ll be able to view the entire magazine.

You can also view the full monthly magazine online in your web browser, as a web page, by clicking on the “Read online” option at the upper right corner of this email message (beside today’s date and to the upper right above the Positive Vibes sunshine logo).

In other news, I’m very excited to be putting the finishing touches on the 2026 calendars! This year, there will be a “12 Months of Christmas” calendar AND a “Legendary Lines: Calendar for Book Lovers”! The calendars should be available for purchase in mid- to late October, so be on the lookout for a special announcement in your email and on the podcast!

These 8.5” x 11” wall calendars are designed completely and only by me, making them one-of-a-kind collector’s items, and have proven quite popular in the past (they sold out the last 2 years). They also make great gifts, and are made in the USA, so they won’t be affected by tariffs. So stay tuned for that announcement!

What You’re Feeling Good About

I want to give a shout-out to the Arab American Women’s Society of Georgia, whose lovely members hosted a book club discussion of my novel, The View from the Cliffs, earlier this month. I was delighted to be able to join part of the discussion via Zoom. It was a lively and very fun conversation, and I am grateful to them for selecting my book.

As you learned from Episode 2 of the Positive Vibes podcast, in which I interviewed Positive Vibes member Patti Damesworth, the inaugural Waverly Possadillo Festival (aka, “The South’s Finest Kept Secret”) is coming up next weekend (October 3 & 4):

(This section is where I’ll be featuring good news, tips, and bits of wisdom from readers—so please reply to this email and share some with me! It can be anything, big or small. Whatever you’re feeling good about.)

To Your Health

In case you missed last week’s podcast episode, I went into detail about the new blood pressure guidelines, and how to lower or prevent high blood pressure with basic, natural lifestyle changes:

And in more health info, I found these articles to be both interesting and useful:

More Positive News

In Episode 3 of my podcast, former police officer and current jet pilot John Baynham spoke about how “you can’t let other people determine your destiny.” Jordan Wilmore seems to have taken this to heart:

And continuing with September remembrances:

Pawsitive Vibes

Remembering yet another remarkable life, a “big little life,” as Dean Koontz would say . . . My beautiful, sweet, darling little black cat, Layali:

Riddle Me This

What do you throw out when you want to use it but take in when you don’t want to use it?

Answer at the bottom of this newsletter.

For Your Playlist

Did you know that Jimmy Buffett and Frank Sinatra recorded a duet version of “Mack the Knife”??

Here’s the link if you’re on Spotify.

Last Word

Tell a Friend!

Know anyone who could use more positivity in their lives and would enjoy this e-magazine? Forward this message or send them the link to subscribe for free: https://yasmine-ali-author.beehiiv.com/subscribe

And share the podcast!

Now Open! My Online Bookstore:

Items now on sale (discounts of up to 25% off! Prices good until Oct. 1):

Answer to the riddle: An anchor.