It took Betsy Otter Thompson forty years to respect her psychic talent.
by Roger Zotti
Betsy Otter Thompson said she wrote her latest book, Walking Through Illusion (O Books), because she was curious about Jesus and the people who surrounded him. At the same time, she says, “It was the honoring of my psychic gift – which revealed itself when I was five years old. Because of the traumatic circumstances around telling someone in my family I could communicate with spirit, I abandoned the gift until midlife.” It took forty years for Betsy “to respect my particular talent, but I finally did and the books followed.”
Betsy describes her book as “a series of interconnected stories about biblical people who either knew Jesus or knew of him and were influenced by him.” Its technique is Socratic – that is, a question is asked and an answer given. (Note: the questions are as important as the answers.) More, Walking… doesn’t attempt to agree or disagree with the Bible. It is, Betsy says, “an emotional accounting… It’s about people who lived long ago before Christianity began.” Its purpose isn’t to argue about “who is right and who is wrong about what happened then; [its] purpose is to encourage people to live what is right for them now. I believe that when we leave here, we don’t take our beliefs with us anyway – we take the love we found from having them.”
Throughout Betsy’s writing “the principle of action/reaction – or the pulling of energy back to itself – is ever present.” It’s also, she believes, “a force that runs the universe as well as our lives… since I improved my life from using it, I’m trying to help others become aware of the power behind it to improve their own lives.” Early on, she defines reaction/action as “a little like badminton. It isn’t the speed which you swat that wins the game. It is the finesse with which you deliver the shot.” Examples are provided throughout, as in her chapter about Judas: “If Judas betrayed others,” she writes, “he was betrayed by others.” Later, when she writes about Pilate, we learn that “Pilate condemned himself to whatever he condemned others to.”
Betsy’s biggest challenge writing Walking Through Illusion – which is available on Amazon.com and in bookstores – involved the publisher of her earlier book, The Mirror Theory. Initially, her Walking… manuscript was rejected. She edited it and sent it off again, but received no response. She kept editing and emailed it again: Still no reply! Then, she says: “…I heard about a service on the Internet that was helpful in terms of finding publishers and agents and decided to try it: www.publishersandagents.net.”
Later she discovered her previous publisher “was in financial trouble and had been bought out… and probably never even received my emails. Had I not been forced to seek another publisher, I wouldn’t have received the suggestions that made Walking… so much better.” What she learned from the experience “might be helpful to other writers.”
Inspirational and thought-provoking, Walking Through Illusion offers the reader a distinctive way of thinking about life and living it… Learn more by visiting www.betsythompson.com.
This professional shot was taken by Paul Duda, at Duda Studios, New Haven. The photo landed Angela Olsen several gigs in film and television.
by Angela Olsen
As a photojournalist for the Resident, I frequently find myself behind the camera and, I might add, becoming quite the amateur photographer. People kill me with the negative self-talk I listen to while snapping my Residents on the Street! The litanies of “my face is so fat,” “my nose looks too big when I smile,” “I have a weird head.” Are you kidding me?
How would any of us feel if another person said those things to us? It would be crushing, damaging, an outrage! I am not above it, let me be honest, I am the “Queen of Quirks,” and among the many, is the ability to be mean to myself, but I do know how to pose for pictures!
Bravo TV’s Patti Stanger, “The Millionaire Matchmaker” made one thing abundantly clear at Single’s Boot Camp at The Mohegan Sun Casino. If you are interested in finding true love, you better get over your camera hang-ups in a hurry!
Patti strongly suggests a professional photo shoot, not only for online dating sites, but also for a card, which you should carry everywhere. The card looks like a postcard, the front is a professionally shot photo of yourself and the back has a brief bio and contact information. Patti actually brought a woman on stage in the Cabaret Theater, who she randomly met, prior to the Boot Camp, who took this advice. The woman was on a flight seated next to the aunt of a hot, single man. The card enabled matchmaking to happen in an unlikely place.
While I was a student at Fordham University, I attracted the opportunity to begin working as an actress in film and television. The first thing I had to do, was to sit for a professional photo shoot.
I prepared myself by looking at pictures of legends like Marilyn Monroe, and other people with “retrosexual” appeal. Quickly, I learned that it takes a bit of work to communicate the carefree and sensual vibe through the lens of a camera. As far as looking “sexy,” it takes work and can often inadvertently look sleazy.
My first professional photographer was an elderly Russian man, Vladimir. He applied more makeup to my face than I wore on stage, or even Halloween. I was taken aback by his technique, and he assured me, “just relax, you will see the difference.”
He used a light beige Max Factor Pan Stick under my eyes, almost to the top of my cheeks! I thought, “What did I get myself into this time?”
Vladimir also told me not to ever allow anyone to shoot me from the right side of my face… it was my bad side. Accordingly, I took it personally at first and developed a minor complex. Nonetheless, the photos were amazing, and in spite of, or perhaps because of, the makeup, I looked like me!
There are several videos on YouTube, which, I checked out to verify the accuracy of the tips, and they are quite good if you would like to take a free crash course in posing for pictures.
Some simple things I tell everyone I photograph are to stand up straight, suck in your tummy, square off shoulders, and lick your lips to relax your face. Find out which side is your best, because Vladimir was right, my right side is asymmetrical.
Patti suggests teeth whitening to many clients and Botox. I am a huge fan of Crest White Strips, but Botox is not for me. I have facial ticks, called benign essential blepharospasms, and Botox was recommended as a treatment to induce localized, partial paralysis. Saying I didn’t react well to it is an understatement. After several Botox treatments, ten injections at a time, my right side wasn’t the only part of my face that was asymmetrical!
Most importantly, be kind to yourself before your photo shoot, and no negative self-talk! Have fun with it!
Cucumber is another popular fruit (yup, you read that right) that can be seen in most Kitchen Gardens. Because it’s a traveling vine, it doesn’t lend itself to well to raised beds. No matter which variety you grow, it rambles through the garden and sometimes, they hide beneath the leaves.
Like many of our modern fruits and veggies, cucumbers originated in southern Asia some 10,000 years ago. They were brought to Europe and their juices, which are rich in silica, soon became popular as a skin lotion. The early colonists brought them to the America where we continue to enjoy them today.
There are two popular cucumbers grown in this country: slicing, and pickling. While any cucumber may be pickled, the gherkin is the most popular for that and is thought to have been developed from an African variety, which was brought home by ancient Greek mariners, whereupon they spread throughout Europe. There is no known date for when the pickling process was developed, although it is It is known that Roman emperors enjoyed pickles.
I like to grow my cukes on a trellis. There are many advantages to doing this, not the least of which is that deformed cucumbers are a thing of the past. Also, with the vine off the ground, many of the pests usually associated with cucumbers have a hard time getting to them. Other problems can be aphids, and the Western spotted and Western striped cucumber beetle, which chomp on the leaf, stem and root. For small gardens, hand picking for these is the easiest way to control them.
Trellises can be bought for around thirty bucks, but being a Swamp Yankee, I prefer to build my own out of stuff I already have at hand. Mine are made from cattle fencing, the same material used for the string bean trellis, but with one big difference. It’s laid over to about a fifty degree angle so that the cucumbers will fall through the openings in the wire, allowing the gardener, that’s us, to readily see how they are doing. I have an abundance of concrete blocks, so they are pressed into use as the support. Next, some 4X4 posts I had lying around are laid against the stacked cement blocks, which are 5 high. Two 2×6 boards span the three stacks of block, and the cattle wire is laid on top. The wire is stapled to the boards, and there you have it. Black plastic is placed under the wire for weed control, and to warm up the developing crop. There is also the option of planting lettuce under there, which will be shaded by the growing cucumber vines as they crawl there way up the wire.
This trellising method works pretty good for Zucchini squash, too. If you can see the crop developing under the wire, you will never want to go back to growing vining crops the traditional way. I can’t count how many times have I missed a cucumber that was hiding in the garden before using this method to support them.
Gene Henson is a University of Connecticut certified Advanced Master Gardner.
Dave Mason jams at the Work Vessels for Vets benefit concert at the Garde Arts Center, New London, on June 4.
story & photo
by Brendan Casey
On Friday, June 4th, I attended the Dave Mason and Kal David benefit concert for Work Vessels for Veterans (WVFV) at the Garde Arts Center, New London.
The benefit concert opened with Natalie Gelman a singer/songwriter from New York. She stood alone with her guitar on stage and filled the room with her warm voice. Next up was Kal David and the Real Deal with Lauri Bono, whose unique blues/jazz sound was a crowd pleaser.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason, a founding member of the English rock band Traffic and later toured with Fleetwood Mac, was the headliner of the evening. Dave is also on the board of trustees for WVFV and a national advocate for the charity.
Dave finished his set and the crowd went into an uproar begging for more. After much anticipation, Kal David and the Real Deal, Lauri Bono, joined Dave Mason on stage and they all jammed together. Nobody in the audience sat back down, instead the packed crowd began dancing in the aisle. It was a glorious event and I can think of no greater way to kick start the summer.
Work Vessels for Veterans is an all-volunteer organization assisting veterans, who honorably served, transition back to civilian life. WVFV was started in 2008 when a local lobsterman, John Niekrash, CEO and founder of WVFV, donated a boat to Rich Giguere, a marine returning home from Iraq who wanted to make a living off the water.
WVFV contributed over 100 laptops to veterans wishing to pursue further education or start their own business. WVFV also gave eight vehicles, such as boats, vans, tractors and tools. One local veteran used a van to start a chimney sweep business.
Recently WVFV purchased a farm in Jacksonville, FL, and leases the property to Adam Burke, a disabled vet, who desired to start a blueberry farm. Adam is able to focus on the farming and hires other disabled vets, educating them on how to maintain a business and cultivate the land.
Making the transition from military to civilian life for many is difficult and WVFV is helping to bridge the gap for many service men and women. All proceeds from the concert went to this wonderful organization.
I strongly recommend checking out future events form WVFV. On July 18, join us at Operation Lobster Dinner hosted by Grossman Seafood, Groton, with all proceeds going to WVFV and Families of the Groton Subase.
To all those in attendance you made the event a huge success! For more information on Work Vessels for Veterans and upcoming events visit www.workvesselsforveterans.org.
