motd Tuesday Nov 22, 2011

[Guest guest]

PUMP UP THE

VOLUME!

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Oh, music. I love it and, you know...I've

loved it for years! Music was

always part of my life when I was growing up in New

Orleans. My father kept a radio in the kitchen and he

always had some of his favorite songs playing when he

was preparing our meals.

While thumbing through an

issue of The

Wall Street Journal, I read

an article on the role music plays in a person's

performance.

I'm telling you, I grew up...with the music in me.

When I was a teen, I used to go to this little record

store down on Bourbon Street where I bought all of my

45 RPM records of the latest hit songs. Raise your

hands if you remember what a "45" is! (Or a "record",

for that matter. LOL.) But look at me here in 2011.

Today, I'm in love with iTunes and that's

where I get all of my latest music.

Now get this, I was thumbing through an issue of The Wall

Street Journal and

they had an article about the role music plays in a

person's performance. I'm talking about whether

they're professional athletes or just sweatin' in a

workout class, (like us). The music really makes a

difference in how hard athletes play their sports or

how much we put into our workouts! Yeah, turn

that music up, baby!

Scientists now say that music triggers a beneficial

hormone in our bodies that stimulates the brain's

pleasure center. See, we have an emotional attachment

to our music we and the songs we love put us in a

positive mental state. And speaking of music's

positive influence, I have a truly inspirational story

to share with you.

I'm sure you all know the

story of Congresswoman le Gifford.

I'm sure you all know the story of Congresswoman

le Gifford. She's been in the news a lot

lately. You'll recall, she was the Congresswoman who

was shot, along with several of her supporters, by a

deranged man during an appearance in her Tucson,

Arizona district. The Congresswoman's injuries were

extremely serious and, at first, we were all afraid

that she might not pull through. But pull

through, she did and

her recovery has been nothing short of a miracle.

I watched a special about her recovery last week on

ABC News with Diane Sawyer. The Congresswoman, as you

might imagine, had to endure quite a bit of physical

therapy to overcome her injuries. In some of the

story's scenes, they showed Mrs. Gifford working with

her therapists. I was truly inspired at how hard she

worked. But here's something one of her therapist did

that really grabbed my attention. He sang to her!

His singing to her was part

of her therapy.

That's right, his singing was part of her therapy.

He'd sing the same songs to her over and over. And,

in time, she would join in singing with him.

And I have to tell you, after a while, she wasn't

missing a single note. These little musical sessions

with le actually improved her brain functions

and helped her learn to speak again. Oh, I'm telling

you, I had tears of joy in my eyes as I watched her

get stronger and stronger. It seems the power of

music has no end!

This Thanksgiving, while I'm in the kitchen cooking,

you can bet I'll have some of my favorite songs

playing while I'm preparing the meal. Oh, there'll be

some Lady Gaga, a little Katy and one of my

favorite artists, Pit Bull!

Pump up the volume of the

music in your life.

Hey, I say pump up the volume of the

music in your own life and see how much better you perform!

Love,