Inspirational stories - Five More Minutes With

Girlfriends With Aging Parents

Written by Braiden on June 30, 2010

Something amazing happened to me a few months ago while talking to one of my long-time friends, Norma Rosenthal. When I told I’d just launched about Five More Minutes With and her face kind of dropped and she looked very surprised.

“I am in process of starting a new Web site myself along with my best friend, Toby,” Norma said. “It’s called Our Aging Parents and we invite our readers to share their thoughts, concerns, and fears as their parents get older.”

Since that “eureka” moment, Norma and I have been each others touchstones and sounding boards, comparing notes on the business aspects of starting a new Web site and also the more fun elements of writing and editing for one.

Please check out Norma and Toby’s new site. . .it offers a wealth of information and resources. On a highly personal note, Our Aging Parents hits very close to home right now for me, since my 88-year-old father was recently diagnosed with cancer. Sad, but true.

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Listen to Our FMMW Radio Interview

Written by Braiden on June 28, 2010

It’s always exciting to do publicity such as radio and television interviews, as well as public appearances for my books in my “other” life of food-and-wine writing.

But nothing was as exciting as my first radio interview on “Chat With Women” for Five More Minutes With.

Thanks to Chris Prouty, my brilliant Web designer, you can now listen to the interview directly from the FMMW Web site.

Have a listen and learn more about the inspiration for FMMW!

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Frantic for Only a Few Seconds After an Auto Accident

Written by Braiden on June 23, 2010

A friend of mine who lives in New York City was kind enough to forward a link to a New York Times article entitled, Mandela Attends Relative’s Funeral, on the horrific death of 91-year-old Nelson Mandela’s 13-year-old great-granddaughter.

The accident was especially tragic because a close family friend, who had allegedly been drinking while driving and was just 23 years old, caused it.

Barry Bearak’s article is stark and detailed, somber and perfect in tone. But it’s the last few paragraphs that caught my friend’s attention and caused her to send it to me:

The funeral service followed an earlier private burial and it lasted for several hours. Mr. Mandela left early. Several speakers described Zenani and expressed their deep grief. A message from the girl’s bereft mother, Zoleka Mandela-Seakamela, was read aloud.

“I should have let you sleep longer when you told me you were tired,” the message said, according to the Nelson Mandela Foundation. “I should have let you wear all the makeup in the world.

“I should have given you more money, more hugs, more kisses, and I should have whispered more in your ear ‘I love you.’

“If I did all this would you come back to me, even if it was only for a few seconds? I want to hold you in my arms one last time.”

What would you do or say to a loved one if you had only a few seconds left?

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More Crows!

Written by Braiden on June 10, 2010

Last week I wrote about Mrs. Crow, a female crow that made lots of noisy visits to our downtown Seattle condominium balcony.

We weren’t quite sure what was going on until an interesting article in The Seattle Times recounted the story of an attack crow who divebombed a mother and her child while they were walking in Ballard, a neighborhood just outside of downtown Seattle.

The article went on to explain that this particular time of the year (late May to mid-June) is fledge season, when anxious crows are watching out over their baby chicks, so become very territorial.

Our “Mrs. Crow” still drops by from time to time, sometimes accompanied by her mate, as shown above. She even lets me take their picture and doesn’t fly away. Perhaps she/they sense I mean them no hard and am, instead, fascinated by their antics.

Spencer and I love watching them, and speculate that the exhausted duo needs to take a breather from the young ones every now and then. Our balcony provides a safe and quiet sanctuary.

In today’s harried, hectic world, do you have a quiet sanctuary where you can get away from it all with your mate or significant other, even if for just a few minutes each day?

Do you take quiet time for yourself as well?

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Mrs. Crow Comes to Town

Written by Braiden on June 4, 2010

By now, many of you who read my writing here, or on my other Web site, Northwest Wining and Dining, know that Spencer and I live in a downtown condo a salmon toss from Seattle’s beloved Pike Place Market.

It’s a great place to live, but since our beloved feline companion, Bo-Bo, went to kitty heaven about five years ago, things have been lean on the companion-animal front since we’ve never gotten another cat or dog.

So late last week, when a rather ratty looking crow came a callin’ (literally–she’s VERY loud and caws at the drop of a hat!) along the iron railing that forms the border for our balcony, both SJ and I were intrigued by this unusual show of urban wildlife right outside our living-room and bedroom windows.

Over the Labor Day weekend, we were awakened by Mrs. Crow voicing concerns over an intruder or interloper. These are the best photos I could get of our avian visitor. . .once I drew the shades, she didn’t come back, or stay long enough, for the camera lens to capture her antics.

She’s been back on and off this week, but doesn’t stay long. We are now wondering if her nest is elsewhere and perhaps she uses this bird’s-eye perch from our balcony to watch out over her brood.

If and when we can ever figure out where she is roosting, we may have to install our second remote camera, not unlike the Puget Sound Cam on my other Web site that records the activity along Elliott Bay from dawn until dusk.

Of course, we’d call this new one the “Puget Crow Cam” and position it within the Five More Minutes site.

The point of this post (bet you were beginning to wonder!) is that there can be magic in everything in life if you look at it in the proper way. . .even just the appearance of a raucous crow/raven outside your window.

Have you seen a crow or raven in your life today?

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Announcing our Father’s Day Contest!

Written by Braiden on May 21, 2010

Today marks the arrival of our second exciting contest on Five More Minutes With—a Father’s Day contest to find the most inspiring story about Dad!

This year, Father’s Day falls on Sunday, June 20. And what better way to salute Dad and commemorate Father’s Day than to share his story with the Five More Minutes With community and other interested readers?

Those remembrances shared between today and June 19, 2010, will automatically be entered to win a Chukar Cherry Co. Heart of Seattle Basket shipped to your home with enough treats to share with family and friends while you reminisce about dear old Dad.

Chukar products have regularly been featured as the “Snack of the Day” on the “Rachel Ray Show,” and recently received a rave review in The Nibble, the Magazine About Specialty Foods.

The Heart of Seattle Basket offers four fabulous Chukar creations—a Chocolate Cherry Quartet Box, a jar of Vanilla Peach Preserves, Cherry Apple Slices, and Nuts over Bing Energy Mix—all packaged and ready to roll in a handy metal bucket adorned with a jaunty cluster of plastic cherries.

Many thanks to the good folks at Chukar for providing such an exciting and desirable prize for our Father’s Day contest.

Submittal Guidelines:

As always on Five More Minutes With, you are encouraged to explore the site for inspiration, then submit your own story to share.

Answer the question: What would you say if you had Five More Minutes With. . .Dad?

Stories can be of any length. But remember. . .you have just five minutes!

So I suggest keeping your story to anywhere from two to three sentences and up to 250-300 words (one to one-and-one-half double-spaced typed pages).

Photos are most welcome, and will increase your chances of having your story published and winning the prize.

Now put on your thinking caps, pull out your pens or computers, and start writing a tribute to dear old Dad.

Good luck and happy writing to all!

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The Perfect Song

Written by Braiden on May 21, 2010

I’ve toyed with the idea of adding music to the FMMW Web site as inspiration when contributors are writing their stories.

But my savvy Web designer has cautioned me against it. He told me that if people are looking at this site at work, the music is a telltale sign to the boss and co-workers that they aren’t actually working!

And even if a button is added so that people can turn music on if they desire it, most people never go to the trouble.

But after I received a recent Five More Minutes With Google alert, I followed an interesting-sounding link and discovered a recording of a “Frank Sinatra – Five Minutes More 78 rpm 1946 factory sample” that is simply incredible, the PERFECT song to match this site.

The first 40 seconds or so aren’t nearly as compelling or to the point as the final two minutes, but the entire thing is a nostalgic romp through simpler times and softer days.

The words go something like this:

Give me five minutes more, only five minutes more,

Let me stay, let me stay, in your arms.

Here am I, begging for, only five minutes more,

Only five more minutes of your charms. . .

Give me five minutes more, only five minutes more.

Let me stay, let me stay, in your arms.

Awww, come on!

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Old “Smart” Phone

Written by Braiden on May 19, 2010

I have a very old “smart” phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or whatever you want to call it.

My Palm Treo has been kicking around since 2004. Spencer says the poor thing is getting so old (not to mention woefully outdated by more-modern smart-phone standards) that one day it will just give up the cause and begin spitting little metal chips at me and die a slow and gruesome death.

In the meantime, I know I “should” get a sleek new iPhone (since I am a long-time Macintosh computer user and lover). But I have a hard time making the keys work, and it is so frustrating when I hit the wrong link and the darn thing takes me to Web sites I don’t want. Perhaps worse (and most embarrassing), I can never figure out how to get back.

I’ve recently ordered a new iPad as a possible solution. . .a conduit between giving up the Palm but advancing my technology. But they are currently out of stock of each and every model. So even when I try my best to modernize and join the “real” world, my best attempts, at least so far, have been thwarted.

All of this is a long preamble to what I really wanted to say today. One of the features I like best on my trusty, old Palm Treo is that it allows me to schedule ongoing appointments or obligations. So I have set myself a recurring reminder every day at 8 a.m. that serves as my back-up wake-up call in case my regular alarm clock malfunctions.

The wake-up call on my Palm first buzzes at 7:55, then again at 8:00, and at 8:05.

By now you get the gist. . .I receive a gentle reminder that it’s time to wake up every five minutes until I rouse enough to turn off the alarm.

Often, as I lie in bed between the alarm bells, I am reminded that the entire concept for this Web site rests on this five-more-minutes concept.

I especially treasure those extra five minutes, not only because I feel like I’m getting away with something, but because this dreamy state of mind. . .somewhere between half awake and partially asleep. . .is the perfect time to create and go over what’s happening in the upcoming day and to visualize how I want my day to turn out.

It’s also a very special time for Spencer and me, when I turn over and he snuggles me for five or 10 minutes, then he turns over and I return the favor for him.

How do you spend the first five minutes when you first awake? How could you spend them better?

What if you had just five more minutes of waking time left in your life? How would you spend them then?

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FMMW Updates

Written by Braiden on May 16, 2010

My editor’s notes were shorter than usual and fewer in number this past week, as deadlines in “other life” (as a Northwest food-and-wine columnist) took over the bulk of my working and late-night hours.

But I wanted to report that some exciting developments happened during that seven-day span.

°We got a fabulous partner (and prize!) for our Father’s Day contest, so I will be announcing that early next week. (Father’s Day is on June 20.)

°Our Web site is now recognized by the search engines! So that if you Google either of the phrases, “Five More Minutes” or “Five More Minutes With,” you can find us (and on page one, nonetheless!).

°I have been outreaching to like-minded writers and have discovered many more moving, heart-touching stories for everybody to read and share.

So thanks to all for watching, and waiting, and standing by as I find my way along this new path and journey of discovery.

Happy Sunday, and here’s hoping we all have a great week!

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