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Pete Garfinkel is a songwriter on the single "I Am Saved" recorded by collaborator Amanda Colleen Williams.
Join me in recognizing all music creators who work #BehindTheRecord, an initiative to #GiveCredit where credit is due! These are the amazing people behind the single I Am Saved, thank you all! Let's celebrate creators who work behind the scenes & bring music credits back. #WeAreMusic @RecordingAcademy
Updated: Nov 28, 2018
When I was a social worker, I used to make home visits to clients receiving home health care and hospice services.
Many of these folks lived in very rural areas.
Most people were elderly and many were trying to get by on a tight fixed budget.
For some, these fixed budgets weren’t adequate to allow for the additional expenses associated with their illnesses.
This led to very hard choices on how to spend the little money they had.
Common issues I saw were:
a lack of transportation
to see the doctor and to pick up prescriptions,
staying current on phone and utility bills,
paying for prescriptions and
buying groceries.
At times, it seemed like my clients’ adult children were not even fully aware of hard choices their parents endured in their stoic silence.
Our song, “Medicine or Food” shares the story of too many Americans who worked hard, payed their taxes, and played by the rules only to find themselves caught in a financial bind later in life.
If you would like to read more on the subject of “food insecurity” here are a few links:
AARP Foundation Food Insecurity Among Older Adults Report [PDF links to site]
AARP Drive To End Senior Hunger [Links to their website]
Updated: Nov 28, 2018
“Hold my hand”, my dad said to me while sitting in his lift chair at the nursing home.
I could see that he was feeling a bit worried at the time. He had reached the point where he had lost much of his previous independence. We held hands and reminisced, finding comfort in each other’s touch.
Up to his last few weeks, my dad played piano from his wheelchair.
He was a man of science. A quiet researcher and gentle soul. He loved his family, his work, and playing classical music on his piano.
Though he had lost much of his finger dexterity there was still an elegant touch on the piano keys. A touch that brought life to complex somber chords that seemed to free him from his body’s confinement and resonated with his inner thoughts.
Touch is powerful. I believe that touch soothes and heals both body and mind.
Click here to listen to our song, "Touch."
Here are a few articles that I think is are interesting reads on the topic of touch:
from the AARP website on the Power of Touch
from Berkeley on Hands on Research
from Psychology Today on Reasons Why We Need Human Touch