David Leonhardt – Page 10

Yawn… time to get out of debt

October 18, 2013 by David Leonhardt 1 Comment

Think getting out of debt is boring? Find out why some really creative people disagree

When you’re dealing with debt, it’s normal to feel like you’re alone – the only person facing this struggle. However, even though it’s not something most people talk about, a significant percentage of Americans have their own problems with debt. For example, 24% of Americans have more debt than they have savings with an average of over $15,000 in credit card debt per family. Meanwhile, Canadians are saddled with record debt, hitting $500 billion last month.

While pundits may have a point when they say widespread change needs to occur, the one good thing about credit card debt being a prevalent problem is that plenty of people have already gone through the process of eliminating theirs. And from others’ experiences, there are a lot of things you can learn about getting rid of your own debt. Best of all, some of those lessons show how creativity can be used to make this process interesting and not overly unpleasant:

Don’t Be a Lone Wolf

A common reason people get depressed by their battle with debt is because they try to tackle it all on their own. Instead of going solo, you should involve your significant other in the process. Even if the two of you aren’t married, the support you get can make all the difference.

If you’re not in a relationship, does that mean you’re out of luck? Absolutely not! There’s a good chance you have a close friend who also has debt they want to eliminate. By opening up to each other, you can get support whenever you need it. You can also turn this process into a fun challenge by creating a friendly competition between the two of you.

Turn an Interest Into a Part-Time Job

One of the most effective ways to get rid of debt is to make more money. But since most people can’t get a raise just by asking for it, this may seem impossible. However, a great way to generate more cash is to start charging money for something you enjoy doing. Whether it’s writing, building things or editing videos, for less than $30 you can get a website and a stack of business cards, and start promoting your services to everyone you know. Here is a list of 10 hobbies that pay well.

What if you don’t really have an interest that makes sense to turn into a part-time gig? Another option to consider is to think back to all the jobs you’ve had and identify any that you really enjoyed. For example, maybe you were a waiter during college and really liked the work. Even though you’re probably not going to make as much as you do at your full-time job, picking up a few evening shifts each week can be a fairly enjoyable way to get extra cash flowing in.

Or you can see what jobs people are looking for at Freelancer.com .

Focus on Alternatives Instead of Deprivation

There are plenty of personal finance gurus who will say that if you want to get out of debt, you basically need to put your life on hold and only spend money on absolute essentials. While cutting frivolous spending is definitely a smart idea, that doesn’t mean you have to make every day a miserable experience. From enjoying free events in your area to borrowing DVDs from the library instead of paying to rent them, there’s no shortage of ways to enjoy life without constantly needing to spend money.

Here are some tips to save money on protein and on food in general, on laundry and on recreation.

The One Thing About Debt Elimination You Don’t Want to Forget

As you can see from this list, the process of getting rid of debt can really be molded into just about anything you want. Although it definitely takes work to succeed, that doesn’t mean you have to be miserable for the duration of this process. Instead, you just need to unleash your creativity and find solutions that work.

In addition to using creativity to your advantage, the most important thing to remember about debt elimination is you always want to have a backup plan. For example, even though you may be making a point of spending as little as possible, there’s always the possibility that a significant unexpected expense may come up.

If that occurs, one approach to having a backup plan is getting an auto title loan from TitleMax.com. There are several benefits to taking this approach. Not only can you get a loan for up to $10,000 without a credit check, but you’ll be able to continue driving your car while making payments that work within your debt elimination budget.

Want to start chipping away at your debt? Then the best thing you can do is take action. Even if you don’t have a perfect plan, doing something is going to be much more productive than not taking any action at all!

Filed Under: Frugal Tagged With: debt

Work is where the WIFI is (with LogMeIn)

October 15, 2013 by David Leonhardt 11 Comments

Once upon a time, nobody had much flexibility. But with mobile technology, suddenly our lives have opened up to numerous possibilities. I used LogMeIn to work remotely for a week, but this is not quite a “review” in the traditional sense.

Last week I was working remotely. But I was in fact working at home. How could this be?

Did you see the movie Avatar? Jake Sully walked among the Na’vi, but his blue body was only an avatar. His real body was back at the station.

Did you see The Matrix? Neo walked about in what he thought was the real world, but in fact was a simulation of the real world – the Matrix.

As it turns out, my wife had to go out of town on business for a week. That left me to drive my daughter to school in Ottawa, and back home again after school, since she normally commutes with my wife. No problem, I can drive her into the city and pull an Avatar. Technology makes me and my life mobile, flexible.

Me, the Avatar

I spent the week at a library in Ottawa. That’s where my physical body was. But whatever I typed onto my laptop was being replicated 40 miles away at my main desktop PC. I had complete control of my PC from a remote location through LogMeIn.com. And all I needed was WIFI.

Tweet this quote: “Technology makes me and my life mobile, flexible.”

Early morning, I did not have access to WIFI. But I did have access to an Internet-connected computer.

Yes, it does look like a duct-tape office, and yes it was excruciatingly slow, for four reasons:

Old computer, perhaps
Not the highest speed connectivity, I suspect.
I was forced to use Internet Explorer
There is actually some lag time when working remotely.

Fortunately, by mid-morning I was able to enter the library….

Then I could use:

My own laptop
WIFI.
Firefox
There was still some lag time when working remotely.

Lag time does get frustrating, especially when scrolling. It’s not just the impatience – although there is that – it’s also the clicking on something, only to have the page scroll out of under the cursor and you end up clicking on the wrong thing.

Aside from the lag time, there were a couple other inconveniences working remotely. Because I have a nice sized screen on my desktop, the screen resolution did not render perfectly. Periods and commas tended to disappear, and the slightly fuzzy text did mean I had to give my eyes more frequent breaks than usual.

One additional inconvenience is that if either computer, my laptop or my desktop, loses Internet connectivity even for a moment, the connection is broken and I need to log in again. This did happen once or twice each day. Not a big deal, I suppose.

Big deal! Technology means flexibility

What was a big deal, however, was that my wife was out of town, so my daughter could not commute to her school in the city with her. What was a big deal was that I was able to drive her to the city and still get a reasonably productive work day in.

All in all, I would give my LogMeIn experience B+. I have no way of measuring it compared to other computer remote control services. I don’t think the issues I have mentioned are within any service to control. So this is not so much a review of LogMeIn, as it is my rating of playing the role of avatar.

Yes, there are some inconveniences. But when your business is sole proprietorship and there is nobody back at the “office” holding down the fort, it makes life a whole lot more flexible.

And there are worse places to work out of than the public library.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Three Tips for Moving Past Bachelor Status

October 4, 2013 by David Leonhardt Leave a Comment

Ready for a committed relationship? The time to prepare is before you find the woman you want for a wife. Here are some quick tips to start you preparing to make that leap from bachelorhood.

Of course there are some perks for remaining a bachelor all your life, but there are also several perks that come with commitment or marriage. One of the top reasons why many men choose not to get married or never progress toward marriage, even though they may want to, is because they are afraid of commitment.

Although it may be nice to be able to do what you want to do whenever you want without any kind of strings attached, going through life as a single male without any kind of serious commitment to someone else can be a very lonely road, and once you find the woman you’re looking for, it may be difficult to drop some of your old habits. If you are hoping to move past singlehood or if you and now your future by following the simple tips listed below:

Tip #1: Treat Women with Respect

If you have found a woman with which you can experience a truly committed relationship, you need to start by treating her with respect. Not only should you treat potential partners with respect by complementing them, opening doors for them, genuinely caring about them, and doing other things to show them that you value them as an individual, consider buying that special someone a promise ring to show you truly cherish the relationship. Take a look via http://www.shaneco.com/promiserings/default.htmx to get more ideas.

Tip #2: Clean Up Your Act to get more ideas.

Some men believe that they can continue doing what they have been doing for the last 10 years as a bachelor and that they will suddenly find a woman who will come running into their arms. Although this may be the case in some situations, it is important to examine yourself and see what you can do to become a better future husband and father.

Are you furthering your education or progressing toward a successful career?
Do you keep your living space clean and organized?
Do you strive to stay healthy by exercising, eating nutritious foods, not smoking, and avoiding excessive alcohol consumption?

By cleaning up your act, you are more likely to find someone who wants to be your lifelong partner.

Tip #3: Be Willing to Expose Your Vulnerable Side

Another large barrier that many bachelors struggle to overcome is the inability to expose their vulnerable side to others. Many men prefer to be perceived by others as macho and without weakness. One of the surest ways to make an emotional connection with others is by allowing them to see that you are capable of truly loving them, even if it means getting hurt sometimes.

Once you feel comfortable with someone that you see marriage potential with, be sure to break down any walls that you have built around yourself so that they can see your soft side. You will find that lasting relationships are built when you and your partner are able to give freely of yourselves without holding anything back.

After you have entered a committed relationship with your partner, you can work to move your relationship to the next level by showing your dedication with a marriage proposal. A bridal ring symbolizes your commitment to your partner. Whether the ring comes with dozens of diamonds or it is a simple band, it will show your partner that you are committed to leaving your past life of singlehood and forming a new life together.

Filed Under: Happiness, Uncategorized Tagged With: bachelors, love, marriage, relationships

What are you made of?

September 5, 2013 by David Leonhardt 1 Comment

Have you ever wondered what you are made of? I was recently watching the movie Elysium, and cringing at the non-stop beating that Max (Matt Damon) takes. I mean, he takes one brutal punishment after another…and all I could think of is that I would never last.

Or would I?

Heineken®, who is a sponsor of this blog post, means to find out. No, they won’t be breaking any of my body parts or drowning me in radiation. But they are out of their daily lives and dropped into the great unknown. As part of its latest global campaign ‘Voyage’, they are asking us to imagine this situation:

You are a highly social character, out-going and confident. You get chosen to go on a legendary adventure – something you have never done before – a new experience that will test your resourcefulness. But then you find yourself in the freezing wilderness of Alaska – alone on a glacier, with nothing but a giant life-ring, a tuxedo and a plane ticket to get you home – and the airport is hundreds of miles away.

To say that I would be lost – utterly and totally lost – would be an understatement. I love hiking in the mountains, and I was excited last year to battle the tail end of a hurricane as I climbed down from one of New York State’s High Peaks. But that was short work. All I lost in the effort was my Blackberry (drowned in the downpour). The biggest risk was getting blown off the summit, but easily enough solved by crouching low as we scrambled for the path down.

This ‘Voyage’ of Heineken®’s takes different men from across the world and drops them in remote areas far from home. There is nothing to go to just a few hours down a mountain trail. And with nothing but the most basic of supplies and directions, they will be sorely tested.

The end result, which we can view from the comfort of our warm and cozy living rooms, is ‘Dropped’ – a series of episodic adventures following these brave or foolish explorers through their legendary travel experience. To be frank, it is at the dropping part that I would be a gonner (you did watch the video above, right?)

‘Voyage’ is the fifth installment of premium beer brand Heineken®’s ‘Legends’ platform. Their integrated campaign can be found on a variety of platforms across broadcast, digital and mobile. It will be pure entertainment, providing us with a truly immersive experience right at the Heineken® Dropped YouTube channel. You and I will be able to follow each ‘Dropped’ voyage, access documentary-style reports of their progress and thank our lucky starts that we are only watching it. But if you feel ambitious – and this is really cool – you can contribute your own video entries to the ‘casting couch’ – with the ultimate chance of partaking in your own legendary travel adventure. If you do, I want to be the first to hear from you!

Each ‘Dropped’ travel adventure is custom tailored based on the character of its main protagonist – forcing them to discover their own unique limits and conquer their own personal fears. Across four continents they’ll face a multitude of challenges – tough terrain, curious locals and unusual modes of transport. All these elements make for great entertainment, something that was perfected already in the early days of the James Bond movies. (Sorry, no word on the street about any Bond girls – but I will update you if that changes.)

As the ‘Dropped’ episodes unfold, so the social experiment will come to life, with viewers of each voyage able to follow how each traveler fares through a series of diary entries and journey updates.

And their final destination is…? Home sweet home. Where they will surely put up their feet to watch it all play out on YouTube. And where they will plan their next adventure…or lock themselves in the basement, safe from having to face such odds again.

Will they make it? We won’t have to wait long to find out.

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: adventure, men

Wild Rosemary Ledum Palustre and Homeopathy

August 23, 2013 by David Leonhardt Leave a Comment

This is a post sponsored by The Vitamin Shoppe and written by our friend Debby Bruck.

The homeopathic remedy of wild rosemary or marsh tea, called Ledum palustre in the Ericaceae family, has been used to deter disease transmission, act as a relief agent or a protective spray in the garden or as a pet flea repellent for hundreds of years. The Vitamin Shoppe carries the form of Ledum, which has gone through a dilution and potentization process transforming it to a powerful immune stimulant.

Wobbley Picklet reminds us not to confuse Ledum with our common garden rosemary plant, as Ledum palustre falls into a species of rhododendron and John Henry Clarke tells us the proper part of plant to make the mother stock comes from “tincture of dried small twigs and leaves collected after flowering begins or tincture of whole fresh plant.” Homeopathic Ledum has been documented to heal puncture wounds, sores from dental injections, vaccine site inflammation, skin injuries, surgical sutures, splinters, punctures from stepping on a nail, infections from scratches and other trauma to the skin.

Documentation reveals that Ledum has been given to protect against tetanus when toxins enter the skin through a puncture wound and get trapped in a warm moist environment. Consider Ledum for spider bites and even scorpion sting.

Animals easily accept a spritz of Ledum out of a spray bottle, giving some relief from itchy fleabites and sensitive skin; an application to bedding areas and carpet might be helpful.

Mosquito and other insect bites resemble a toxic puncture wound. For persons living in the northeast and upper Midwest region of the United States, the vector borne Lyme disease may seriously cause havoc with a person’s ability to function.

Dressing with proper attire to cover areas to protect against insect exposure, checking the body and hair thoroughly, and carefully removing ticks will lessen the likelihood for Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other tick borne infections. Don’t forget to check pets and yard for infestation, as well.

Potentially, a blood titer level can be checked before and after giving Ledum to show efficacy against Lyme disease.

As Lyme disease progresses through its stages, from inflammation, arthritic stiffness, neurological headaches, heart and breathing difficulty, we can see a more complete picture of symptoms that Ledum may cover. Other treatments or homeopathic remedies may be required after infection. Please check with your physician.

For acute issues, The Vitamin Shoppe carries a few brands of Ledum palustre. When a person has a chronic or hereditary condition, like arthritis, a person needs to contact a professional homeopath experienced in finding an appropriate matching energy remedy based upon the founding principles. The homeopath will provide instructions and education on posology to understand the “minimum” dose. The homeopath will take a full case, including family propensity to organ weakness and disease. Just a small stimulus from the correct homeopathic remedy will last a longtime for self-healing to begin. A person will notice symptoms coming out either in more intensity for a short period of time, or possibly a return of symptoms from previous trauma points in life.

If you find that after a puncture wound, there is little bleeding, but noticeable pain, puffiness and the area feels cold, turns pale in color think of ledum. Coldness in general is a good clue; coldness to touch, cold feeling in the body, and cold extremities with a hot head. We might see throbbing similar to belladonna. Even though a pale color may present, with the infection, comes bloating, edema, and purple color running down the legs. Strangely, even though feeling cold the only relief comes from plunging limbs into icy cold water. Compare the symptom picture of ledum to Hypericum, which includes nerve damage, to arnica for tissue bruising, to calendula for laceration wounds, to Pulsatilla that also gets relief from icy water, and to Formica rufa for gouty knees. Surprisingly, Ledum has claims to relieve the effects of alcoholism with a desire for whiskey. Therefore, you may see the broad coverage of this homeopathic remedy, Ledum palustre.

Debby Bruck, homeopath, educator and founder of HomeopathyWorldCommunity.com social network for homeopaths envisions the day when everyone will have knowledge about homeopathy. She hosts weekly BlogTalkRadio shows and the Health Inn live interview video internet show with alternative health experts. Everyone is welcome to join FaceBook Homeopathy World Community to learn more. This is a post sponsored by BlogDash.

Filed Under: Fitness

Happiness book in large print

August 7, 2013 by David Leonhardt Leave a Comment

Good news for those who require large print to read comfortably. My happiness book is now available in large print through DoctorZed Publishing. You can get your copy of 9 Habits of Happiness (Large Print) here.

The regular edition of Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: The 9 habits of maximum happiness can still be purchased on Amazon. Here is the description posted there…

Its a manual: Yes, this is a manual for making your life happier. It offers step-by-step instructions for building a happier life through nine important habits.Its a science class: Here you’ll find all the science of happiness you can use and more.Its a story book: Chock full of entertaining stories, you’ll actually enjoy reading this book. In fact, you may get so lost in the stories that you don’t realize how much you learn.Its a fortune cookie: Its a very BIG fortune cookie, sprinkled with tidbits of wisdom handed down through the ages and some invented just for the occasion. It’s Super Book: Where else can you find such a blend of self-improvement, psychological science, and entertainment, all wrapped up in a giant fortune cookie?

Or you can pick up an autographed copy through me directly (not the large print version, though). Here’s the page.

Montreal Review of Books loves this book:

"His nine habits are achievable. All this is delivered with pop quizzes, stories and quotable quotes. A great spring pick-me-up."

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: book, happiness, large print

Hotel California – how The Eagles defined innovation

August 6, 2013 by David Leonhardt 3 Comments

Hotel California was a watershed album, not just because it was immensely popular or because the title track was controversial. Here we look at how this album was one of the most innovative ever released by a mainstream band.

I recall a few years back, an online friend whose opinion I usually respect and who has a fondness for nostalgia, referred to Hotel California as the least innovative album ever (I think he used stronger words). This totally shocked me at the time.

Just recently the Eagles came to town with their latest show, and of course all the radio stations played Eagles music for several days and there were reviews of the concert on the airwaves for a couple days after (and in the newspapers, too). The reports were that Joe Walsh stole the show, and you’ll find out in a moment why that’s relevant to this blog post. I missed the show due to prior commitments, but…

You might still be able to catch the Eagles
as they visit your town:
http://www.ticketstub.com/events/the-eagles/

After hearing so many of their songs played over the past few weeks, I thought it was high time I published a rebuttal to my respected (but incorrect) friend. In fact, of all the albums I know recorded by mainstream bands, Hotel California is the most innovative, and here is why:

Very rarely does a mainstream, popular band have the guts to change its colors midstream. But the Eagles did just that. Take a look at their 1976 Greatest Hits album, which is essentially all their popular stuff before Hotel California, and you’ll see that it’s all country music: “Lyin’ Eyes”, “Best of My Love”, “Take it Easy”, “Desperado”, “Tequila Sunrise”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, etc. Only “Witchy Woman” could be considered to be more rocky.

But along comes Hotel California, a rock album. Featuring a new band member, Joe Walsh (“I live in hotels, tear up the walls. I have accountants pay for it all.”) with his electric rock guitar. One could compare Joe Walsh more with George Thoroughgood or Ted Nugent than with Willy Nelson or Alan Jackson.

So that alone makes Hotel California an incredibly innovative album. Now let’s look at what’s on the album. Of the eight songs, five are neither sappy love songs nor heartbreak songs, unlike 90 percent of popular songs.

The title track was one of the most talked-about hits of all time. It is a ghost story of sorts, where the weary traveler checks into an alluring hotel only to find that he cannot leave. The song is an allegory of hedonism, of modern materialism – and anything but conventional.

But what really makes “Hotel California” stand out as a unique song is the music. Not only does it follow the most unconventional structure of:

instrumental verse
verse
refrain
verse
refrain
verse
instrumental verse

…but the first instrumental verse is acoustic, representing the bands country roots, and the final instrumental verse is electric, representing where the band is heading. So the transition from acoustic to electric guitars in the song “Hotel California” is a metaphor for the change from country to rock that the album Hotel California brings to the band. Brilliant!

The other really interesting song on the album is “The Last Resort”, which is the one I could talk about all day. Epic in both music and lyrics, it tells the story of how the west was “won”…and how it was lost – how we destroy the very things we call paradise. The song turns that also into an allegory for the hereafter, how we long for Heaven while destroying our chances of getting there. The song explores our destructive nature and our hypocritical nature, and is a thinly veiled environmental theme song. Here is what Glen Frey had to say about the song.

“I have to give all the credit for “The Last Resort” to (Don) Henley. It was the first time that Don, on his own, took it upon himself to write an epic story. We were very much at that time, concerned about the environment and doing anti-nuclear benefit (concerts). It seemed the perfect way to wrap up all of the different topics we had explored on the Hotel California album. Don found himself as a lyricist with that song, kind of outdid himself…We’re constantly screwing up paradise and that was the point of the song and that at some point there is going to be no more new frontiers. I mean we’re putting junk, er, garbage into space now. There’s enough crap floating around the planet that we can’t even use so it just seems to be our way. It’s unfortunate but that is sort of what happens”.

“Life in the Fast Lane” is a hard-rock, Joe Walsh style song that caries on the theme of the pitfalls of materialism and hedonism. That three songs on the album explore meaningful life issues, not just affairs of the heart, speaks volumes about the relevance and innovation of the album.

The other single, besides “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane”, was “New Kid in Town”, a dreamy tune that explores the passing fashions and whims of people in this materialistic world. Popularity comes and popularity goes:

“You’re walking away and they’re talking behind you.

They will never forget you ’til somebody new comes along.”

And so the theme continues.

But feel free to see for yourself. There is no music like live music, and the Eagles were not shy to improvise at their recent show. In “Life’s been Good”, Joe Walsh sings “They send me emails”…and of course emails did not exist when he first wrote the song.

Filed Under: Fun

Why to NOT change insurance companies

July 3, 2013 by David Leonhardt 6 Comments

One of the standard tenets of living frugally – almost like a secret handshake – is to always shop around, to always seek a better deal and to never be afraid to switch suppliers for a cheaper source. But sometimes loyalty pays. This report is from my most recent experience.

Bigfoot paid a visit to our backyard.

It’s true. He left his footprint right in back of our house. Right where the upper corner of our air conditioning unit used to be.

OK, so it wasn’t quite Bigfoot’s footprint, at least not so as we could make out any toes or anything. But what else could have crushed such a deep dent into the top of our air conditioner?

Most likely ice falling from the roof. It was, after all, the craziest winter I can recall. Three times the Heavens opened up and dumped snow in quantities greater than all the entire previous winter. And three times a deep, deep thaw followed the incredible snowfalls. And three times the thaw ended in flash freezing. That is a recipe for ice build-ups on roofs, and apparently there have never been as many eavestroughings destroyed across the region as there were this winter. So chances are that ice, not Bigfoot, is the true culprit.

But this is not just some eavestroughing that can be replaced with a few dollars, a ladder and a prayer (for those of us afraid of heights). This is a $4000 air conditioner. And me with my pockets empty, still trying to pay down the solar power system.

The guys who installed the air conditioner told me that it would probably not be covered by most insurance policies. But now that I think of it, these are the same guys who installed the unit under an exposed section of roof, when they could have installed it three feet away, where there would be no risk.

We called our insurance broker

It turned out that maybe we are covered and maybe we are not. In over 20 years, our broker had never come across a similar claim. What a time to suddenly discover that we are cruising the road less traveled, blazing a trail through the insurance claim wilderness.

If the claim is accepted, there would be a $1000 deductible and our insurance would increase by 15 percent per year. That increase would be reduced by ten percent (to just a five percent increase) after three years. So maybe worth making the claim? Maybe not?

But wait – and here comes the good part – we’ve been with the same insurer for over a decade and never made a claim. Because of that loyalty, we qualify as “Achievers” and the deductible is waived. And no increase in premiums for us either. Yay!

In this case, it paid nicely that we stuck with the same insurance company for the long haul. And, yes, it turns out they would accept a claim for a bizarre ice attack on our air conditioner.

Or maybe they still think it’s Bigfoot that attacked. Can anybody prove that it wasn’t?

Filed Under: Frugal

Chantalyne sings at the Preston Street Farmer’s Market [video]

June 25, 2013 by David Leonhardt Leave a Comment

Chantalyne “practiced” a few songs at the new Preston Farmer’s Market. She was one of five students of vocal coach Annabelle Séguin to perform on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Chantalyne sang seven songs:

Time to say goodbye (which had previously earned her the title of Vars Idol)
Holding out for a hero (duet)
Blown away (below)
The cup song (the five girls together)
Don’t cry out loud (below)
Jar of hearts (duet)
Hallelujah

There was no rehearsal for this show; it was just a practice in public, and a chance for some of the girls to jam together, too. Thanks to Annabelle for setting this up and to the Preston Farmer’s Market for hosting us.

Here are two of the songs Chantalyne sang..

Lyrics for Blown Away, by Carrie Underwood

Dry lightning cracks across the skies
Those storm clouds gather in her eyes
Her daddy was a mean old mister
Mama was an angel in the ground
The weather man called for a twister
She prayed blow it down

There’s not enough rain in Oklahoma
To wash the sins out of that house
There’s not enough wind in Oklahoma
To rip the nails out of the past

[Chorus:]
Shatter every window ’til it’s all blown away,
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away
‘Til there’s nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,
Blown away

She heard those sirens screaming out
Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch
She locked herself in the cellar
Listened to the screaming of the wind
Some people call it taking shelter
She called it sweet revenge

There’s not enough rain in Oklahoma
To wash the sins out of that house
There’s not enough wind in Oklahoma
To rip the nails out of the past

Shatter every window ’til it’s all blown away (blown away)
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away (blown away)
‘Til there’s nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday (blown away)
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,

Blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away

Lyrics for Don’t Cry Out Loud, by Melissa Manchester

Baby cried the day the circus came to town
’cause she didn’t want parades just passin’ by her
So she painted on a smile and took up with some clown
While she danced without a net upon the wire
I know a lot about ‘er ’cause, you see
Baby is an awful lot like me

Don’t cry out loud
Just keep it inside, learn how to hide your feelings
Fly high and proud
And if you should fall, remember you almost had it all

Baby saw that when they pulled that big top down
They left behind her dreams among the litter
The different kind of love she thought she’d found
There was nothin’ left but sawdust and some glitter
But baby can’t be broken ’cause you see
She had the finest teacher-that was me-I told ‘er

Don’t cry out loud
Just keep it inside and learn how to hide your feelings
Fly high and proud
And if you should fall, remember you almost had it all

Don’t cry out loud
Just keep it inside and learn how to hide your feelings
Fly high and proud
And if you should fall, remember you almost made it