November 6, 2026 Chautauqua

Beth's Ponderings

   In October, I attended the Stettler Variety Showcase performance of “Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life,” performed by Keith Alessi. If you ever get the chance to see him, I highly recommend you go as he has a very moving story and is a powerful storyteller!

   Keith mentioned that he had 52 banjos in his closets at one time. He collected them because he loved the banjo so much, but had never learnt how to play them. That all changed after he survived surgery to remove cancer.

   What are some things that you really love that you’ve collected and stored in your “closets?” Things that would bring you joy, light up your life, and heal your soul if you took them out I’m going to be spending the next few weeks and months answering that question for myself.

 

   Would you like to sponsor an issue of the Chautauqua? Option A: $500/issue or Option B: $250/issue. Maximum of two sponsors per issue. Details on page A8.

   I have many colourful original artworks for sale ($50 - $100 each) at 4910 47 St. Mirror. Many were featured on the front page of The Chautauqua. 

   There is no charge to submit photos and/or news items: a donation is strongly encouraged. I invite you to please donate a minimum of $24 in honour of the 24 years I’ve been in publication. Thank you for your support.

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RxUY3_urWZu0jdiGetDJ74GOiHUWOxnQ/view?usp=sharing

 Whether you've enjoyed reading The Chautauqua from the first issue 24 years ago, are a brand new reader, or somewhere in between, I sincerely hope that The Chautauqua has enriched your life, as much as it has enriched mine publishing it.  If you would like to help ensure it continues to enrich others like yourself, I ask you to please consider making a donation to The Chautauqua. 

Mail a cheque or money order (made out to Beth Richardson – Chautauqua) to Box 261 Mirror, AB T0B 3C0 

E-transfer/PayPal to thechautauqua@gmail.com 

   Your support and kindness is always greatly appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to bring joy and inspiration to you with each issue. Thank you so much and have a marvellous day!

Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or phone: 403-352-3837       

I have stubbornly refused to give in to the bad stuff in life: failures and defeats, personal losses, loneliness and bitterness, the physical and emotional pains of aging.  That stuff is real, but I have not let it define me.  Because, as I see it, to do that would be to throw the towel in on life itself.  Instead, for the vast majority of my years, I have been in what I can only describe as a full-on bear hug with the experience of living.  Being alive has been doing life – not like a job, but rather like a giant playground...the things that have kept my life joyful and fulfilling are pretty simple: romance, doing what I love, and a whole lot of laughing. 

 - Dick Van Dyke

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837

From Traditional Wisdom: Proverbs for Everyday Life Created by Beth Richardson ©2020 

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837 to purchase 

We sometimes choose the most locked up, dark versions of the story,

 but what a good friend does is turn on the lights, open the window,

 and remind us that there are a whole lot of ways

 to tell the same story.

  - Shauna Niequist

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837

Being in a hurry.  

Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me.  

I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry.  

But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands,

 lie in the wake of all that rushing.  

Through all that haste, I thought I was making up time.  

It turns out I was throwing it away.

  - Mark Buchanan

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837

From Traditional Wisdom: Proverbs for Everyday Life Created by Beth Richardson ©2020 

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837 to purchase 

Saturday Morning Comic 

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or phone: 403-352-3837

Creation is a better means of self-expression than possession.

 It is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed. 

 - Vida D. Scudder

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837

The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times...

the best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is

 stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish 

something difficult and worthwhile. 

 - Mihaly Csikszentmahalyi

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837

From Traditional Wisdom: Proverbs for Everyday Life Created by Beth Richardson ©2020 

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837 to purchase 

October 16, 2026 Chautauqua

Beth's Ponderings

   Recently I was asked how I arrived at the place of total acceptance and trust regarding my chronic/ongoing health challenges.

   Honestly...I haven’t reached that state at all!

   While I do believe EVENTUALLY everything will work out in my life and health, daily I experience lots of frustration and worry when I can’t do what I want to do, and/or feel as good as I want. Even though I experience daily frustration and worry, I still keep taking baby steps to move myself forward, and maybe some day I’ll be able to say that I DO trust and accept fully the situation I am in.

   Did you vote? If not, I urge you to please vote Monday, October 19th.

 

   Would you like to sponsor an issue of the Chautauqua? Option A: $500/issue or     Option B: $250/issue. Maximum of two sponsors per issue. Details on page A8.

   Plus, I have many colourful & cheerful original artworks for sale ($50 - $100 each) at 4910 47 St. Mirror. Many have been featured on the front page of The Chautauqua through the years.

   There is no charge to submit photos and/or news items: a donation is strongly encouraged. I invite you to please donate a minimum of $24 in honour of the 24 years I’ve been in publication. Thank you for your support.

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QhCszzaf7t6oi2L7Xx9UeJQQobiG86Zq/view?usp=sharing

 Whether you've enjoyed reading The Chautauqua from the first issue 24 years ago, are a brand new reader, or somewhere in between, I sincerely hope that The Chautauqua has enriched your life, as much as it has enriched mine publishing it.  If you would like to help ensure it continues to enrich others like yourself, I ask you to please consider making a donation to The Chautauqua. 

Mail a cheque or money order (made out to Beth Richardson – Chautauqua) to Box 261 Mirror, AB T0B 3C0 

E-transfer/PayPal to thechautauqua@gmail.com 

   Your support and kindness is always greatly appreciated, and I look forward to continuing to bring joy and inspiration to you with each issue. Thank you so much and have a marvellous day!

Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or phone: 403-352-3837      

What if imagination and art are not frosting at all, 

but the fountainhead of human experience? 

 - Rollo May

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837

From Traditional Wisdom: Proverbs for Everyday Life Created by Beth Richardson ©2020 

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com 

or phone: 403-352-3837 to purchase 

Saturday Morning Comic 

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or phone: 403-352-3837