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“Find the good and praise it.”
Hello again and happy spring!
I hope you’re having a great week so far, and that your St. Patrick’s Day weekend was a good one!
Thank you to all the new subscribers who’ve joined the Positive Vibes community in the last week! See below for some links to the highlights you may have missed over the past year.
Please note that this newsletter will be “on vacation” next week, but will resume the first week of April. See you again then!
Cheers,
Yasmine
For New Subscribers
Here are some links to prior issues you may have missed—some of the best ones 😉 :
Why Positive Vibes? (How this newsletter got its start)
A Very Good Year (Contains many of the highlights of the journey for Walk through Fire: The Train Disaster that Changed America in the year of its release, 2023)
May the Road Rise Up to Meet You (St. Patrick’s Day 2024, with an excerpt from my upcoming novel, The View from the Cliffs)
You can find all the archived issues of Positive Vibes here. (Scroll down on that page after clicking on the link.)
What I’m Feeling Good About
You’re a reader of this newsletter, and you know that the theme of it is “Keep on the Sunny Side,” so you’ll also know why I was so tickled to sit down at the Big Bad Breakfast restaurant in South Pittsburg, TN, recently and see this mural in front of me:
If you’ve never been, the Big Bad Breakfast restaurant (which has delicious food with healthy options) is adjacent to the Lodge Cast Iron Factory Store and Museum of Cast Iron in South Pittsburg, TN. I toured the museum while I was there, and learned a lot!
The opening display wall at the Lodge Museum of Cast Iron in South Pittsburg, TN
The world’s largest cast iron skillet
The museum features many interesting multimedia exhibits, including a video explainer on how the world’s largest cast iron skillet was made—and then transported to the museum.
What You’re Feeling Good About
Patti Damesworth and Pam Gunn sent in these photos; they are carrying the torch on improving the exhibits at the Waverly Train Disaster Memorial Museum, and are preserving many more memories of the disaster. Last week, a member of Wilbur York’s family brought in a treasure trove of stories, photos, and articles concerning the train explosion. (If you’ve read Walk through Fire, you know that Wilbur York was Waverly’s Fire Chief and was killed in the devastating explosion of 1978.)
Pam Gunn sorts through documents and primary source materials related to the Waverly Train Disaster of 1978.
If you have any memories of the disaster you’d like to share—you do not have to be from Waverly to do so—please email Pam and Patti at [email protected] .
You can also follow the Facebook page they have set up for the museum and related events: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093715839076 (or search for “1978 Waverly Train Disaster Caboose Museum and Memorial Site” on Facebook).
Dozens of newspapers being sorted by Pam and Patti at Waverly City Hall last week
(This section is where I’ll be featuring good news 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.)
Birthday Vibes
If you have a March birthday, you’re in grand company! Albert Einstein, Harry Belafonte, Frederic Chopin, and Ron Howard are just a few of the well-known people born in March:
More Good News
The countdown is on to the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8!
Be prepared to view the eclipse safely. One way to do so is with eclipse glasses—but you need to be sure they meet certain ISO standards. Here’s where I got mine (I have no affiliation with EarthSky, but this is where I purchased mine after doing some research):
For more info on viewing a solar eclipse safely:
And while we’re on the topic of celestial happenings:
Finally, for the Formula One aficionados …
Keeping on the Sunny Side
I’ve mentioned this before, and it’s one of the reasons I started “Positive Vibes”: optimists live longer. According to the article below (which is a good read), they live an average of 11% to 15% longer than pessimists, and “have an excellent chance of achieving ‘exceptional longevity.’”
Pawsitive Vibes
This picture was sent in by Positive Vibes member and dog trainer Jacqui Foster, of Ren’s Pups, LLC. Jacqui has helped me train my own dogs, and she is marvelous. Here she is with Schumi, her Miniature American Shepherd:
Got a pet pic you’d like to share? Please feel free to reply to this email!
Riddle Me This
Where is the only place that tomorrow occurs before yesterday?
Answer below, at the end of this newsletter.
For Your Playlist
Because the first day of Spring was this week …
Here’s the link if you’re on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6dGnYIeXmHdcikdzNNDMm2?si=l9hMtysuQTyC7w96iHVcnw&nd=1&dlsi=cf3ade72ad64452b
Last Word
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Tell a Friend!
Know anyone who would enjoy this newsletter? Send them the link to subscribe for free: https://yasmine-ali-author.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Fan Mail Address
How to get a signed bookplate sticker: see the intro to this post.
Answer to the riddle: In the dictionary.