I promised you, my faithful readers, that I’d stop posting when I ran out of content. No, I’m not there yet. But I asserted to myself I’d not be too impulsive in posting content that may sound good to me while rambling, either physically or metaphysically, but loses appeal soon after. Energetic beginnings dictated into my phone that not long after sound silly, unauthentic or uninteresting as the words unroll onto my computer.
And so – I share with you recent blogs that never happened, along with a glimmer about WHY I thought the topic might interest someone out there. And, gratefully, a few takeaways.
But if that all bores you, do stay tuned (or scroll before you leave) to the end for some exciting news.
#1. My Ode to the EPA
This dead blog began with “My first permanent job, yes I had several other best jobs, I was hired by the Region 10 EPA in 1987.” As I began that blog, I was irate and upset early in the DT Administration as DOGE cut staff and initiatives that continue to devastate our environmental agenda and mission.
TAKEAWAY – This is too awful and people who read my work know. Find a better way to support and change. You can find bits about my reminiscing about my time at EPA in the blog about my return to Anchorage in A View From Before, Above and Now: Hello Alaska!
#2. My Music Man: Audio Book Supplement
After drafting this blog effort, I quickly realized it should be a new page, not a post (blog). For after all, I wanted folks who listened to the audiobook My Music Man, to have access to the photos from the book. I figured a webpage might be easier to find than a hidden blog.
TAKEAWAY: You can view this webpage with its photos from My Music Man, the book at: Audiobook Supplement.
#3. J.K. Gills, foreclosures, COVID and remote work
Yes, I got a bit carried away talking about the then exciting news about the updated historical J.K. Gills Building, and then – to me – tragic news about the building owner going into foreclosure. While I dropped this blog, I do have many previously posted blogs about J.K. Gill which you can find within this blog category.
TAKEAWAY: If you are interested in the downtown Portland’s Historic J.K. Gill’s Building, there are exciting (and positive) things happening there. Follow Design Portland and learn about “Exciting news about City of Possibility, the JK Gill Building, and our 2026 programming…” I plan to join some of these upcoming events.
#4. Music, Walking and Brains.
Back in 2024 I began listening to music while I walked. A weird revelation then as so many folks have been listening to music for years while exercising, but I had believed before it important to be in tune with the natural sounds around me. Which I sometimes still am. Since then I’ve added audiobooks to my walking listening repertoire. But, in the end, I decided this wasn’t much of a blog.
TAKEAWAYS: There are scientifically proven and valid reasons why music is powerful for our health, including while we walk. While I figured most people knew this and it wasn’t worth a blog, some may like these six reasons I put into my original draft:
- Calming music triggers the release of cortisol (stress relieving hormone) while also decreasing production of stress-inducing hormones.
- Slow tempo music is especially effective, but listening to music can decrease blood pressure and heart rate.
- Music directly impacts the way we feel and our emotional response to situations and circumstances.
- Science has shown the listening to music can lead to increased neural connections in our brain.
- Some find music can help with pain management and calming music before bed can help sleep (this might not be something you get while walking, of course!).
- Energetic music can help increase endurance during intense workouts. The rhythm of music during exercise routines can help us enjoy it more but also enhance coordination.
#5. Recipe for Success: Integrating Well-Being and Safety Within Your Workplace
I began this draft feeling increasingly frustrated that throughout the U.S., too many folks were trying to reinvent the wheel, but not moving on proven strategies to improve work. I suspect after my first draft I felt like – why waste my time and energy on this on my own private blog? Put my spirit and time into my books, other writing. And then, it rose up again and morphed into a different and quite popular blog one month later.
TAKEAWAY: Sometimes a good idea needs space, acceptance and less reactivity. If you’re interested in the topic of wellbeing and work (even though many of our U.S. workplaces have since deteriorated in support of its workforce), check out this blog: Enhancing Workplace Well-Being: Essential Strategies
Okay but what IS NEW?
Yes – I do have news! I’ve been waiting for a “certain” popular platform to join the others in making it live. But what the heck?! How about instead “walk my talk” and share links to those OTHER platforms that have already released the audiobook From First Breath to Last: A Story About Love, Womanhood, and Aging. In a recent blog, you may have read me proudly crowing over having both narrated and produced this entirely on my own. You can now purchase and download it from: Libro.fm, Chirp, Kobo, Spotify, among others. Check out my trailer below which includes my narration of “About This Book”!
And? Speak up, take care of yourself and others. The environment too, while you’re at it.
Dede's Books and blog 
This list was interesting, Dede. I have some of those too. Some I keep in my drafts, just in case I decide to go through with it after all. I began one a year ago titled, “My First Time Living In a Fascist Regime,” and it is still being held by WP, but there is too much to say, so it continues to sit there. Interesting, because a year later, there is even more to say, ha ha! There is another I may yet write, about the little girl in India I have sponsored for 13 years. I am disappointed about the program in India right now (there are apparently problems with what Children International can do now), and I won’t write it while I’m irritated and frustrated because mostly I just want to highlight what a strong, beautiful young woman she has become. I can so easily relate to your examples of why not to write something. As for the EPA one, I wonder if sometimes writing out a scathing essay is cathartic enough to make the need for posting it publicly to become less compelling?
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Thanks for responding Crystal and I think we’re very similar here. Yes I do think the blogs that stay draft are similar to the days when I simply journaled. And I appreciate your pointing it out because that’s really important for me to remember. Rather than just disregarding because I don’t want to share it publicly. I appreciate you!
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