Tag: BrainHealth

Margerumalia – Gratitude

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – December 5, 2025

That’s me pushing my snow blower down the length of the driveway—the longest driveway in the neighborhood, thanks Dad—for the second time in one day. The photo credit goes to Debbie who had the good sense to stay inside and take pictures from a warm cozy room.

I heard a podcast recently where the author of a book about mental health was discussing the value of gratitude. It was a fitting discussion for the Thanksgiving Weekend and I got to hear about the science behind brain health and gratitude.

Most of us have heard about endorphins that our body generates in response to exercise and healthy eating, but they’re produced in response to gratitude as well. And a practice of journaling or making mental notes of things we’re thankful for results in us discovering even more reasons to be thankful every day.

I got to discover one such moment.

As I blew snow off the driveway I noticed my neighbor and his son trying to push a car that was spinning its wheels but never finding traction. The end of our cul-de-sac slopes down toward that gray house over my shoulder and the wet snow had accumulated about five inches, leaving the car helpless at the bottom of the street.

I offered to push my snow blower down the street and create two tracks of bare pavement for the women in the car to drive up the hill.

Everyone was happy for the suggestion and I plowed one track down the hill, turned around and positioned the blower to plow another track back up. “Now let’s see if I can get the right distance between the wheels,” I said.

It worked!

As I returned to plowing our driveway I felt a warm glow. Not just because they thanked me for the assistance, but because it made me feel good to be helpful. 

They say it’s better to give than to receive and I think there’s a lot of truth to that old adage. Like the author on the podcast said, I became aware of my gratitude. The opportunity to be of service is always its own reward.

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This holiday season, I want to recommend a Christmas album that was recorded by my friend Judy Norton.

If you think you recognize her name, you probably remember her from the TV series “The Waltons” which ran for nine years. She played the oldest daughter, Mary Ellen Walton.

Judy has done plenty more as well, including directing and performing in several musicals. In fact, we met while working together on an original musical. 

When I saw she had recorded a Christmas album I told her that I thought her voice was perfect for this kind of music. I was right. It’s warm, expressive and is accompanied by wonderful arrangements.

It’s available as a download on Amazon and Apple Music, and probably several more venues as well.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

TTFN

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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – A New Year’s Resolution, Part 1

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – January 3, 2025

As I said last week, I don’t usually make resolutions. But this year I have a specific goal: retraining myself to speak. 

Me—actor, singer, director, teacher, public speaker—with a speech impediment? What gives?

Over the past few years I’ve noticed that my ability to say certain phrases has left me tongue-tied, and it got worse in 2024. Of course, this escalated during the period when I was scheduling multiple book signings, but I soldiered on through, and people patiently waited for me as I corrected my words. Bless them. But I wasn’t satisfied. 

I got new insight into how it feels to have a disability. Suddenly I required people’s tolerance as I saw weariness creep across their faces, maybe they even had the urge to complete my sentences for me. I’ve been told by several people that they didn’t notice, so it could have been my projection. My own impatience with myself, however, made me want to avoid lengthy conversations, and I became a little bit reclusive. I also found myself tiring more easily while directing plays.

I’d had enough. 

Over the summer, my wife and I made an appointment with a Doctor of Functional Medicine, each for different reasons. We had blood drawn at a lab where it was analyzed according to the instructions of the doctor. She then reviewed the entire blood panel with each of us, identifying levels of everything from glucose to magnesium, uric acid, iron, and much more. She also drew comparisons between certain items and discussed the implications of their levels.

Near the end of my appointment she said that certain indicators told her I was fighting off an infection. Nonsense, I thought, I never get sick and my only bout with COVID was over a year earlier. I had no idea what kind of infection she might be referring to. She prescribed a few different supplements to help my body fight off this unknown infection.

Two or three weeks into taking those supplements I had a revelation. My tooth! 

Remember a few weeks ago I described my tooth extraction experience in the dentist’s office? (November 29, 2024 – Christmas Lights and Dental Blights) My previous dentist had been “watching” that tooth for about two years, poking around at the pustule in my gums. That was the infection! And because the pustule hadn’t opened and leaked into my mouth, that meant I had a constant flow of infection going into my bloodstream. 

There had also been a previous tooth on the bottom row that we had “watched” for a couple of years before that. It had the same kind of pustule that was also draining into my bloodstream for a couple of years before it started hurting and had to be extracted.

These infections were all near my tools for articulation, and close to my brain, the control center for speaking. 

I admit to being complicit in the decision to “watch” each tooth. Shall we put off for tomorrow what I don’t want to experience today? Sure, let’s do that!

When I added up the timeline of those two teeth, one after the other, it matched the time period in which my speech had started to change.

I know the expression that correlation is not causation, but with a lack of any other known infection in my body it makes for pretty strong circumstantial evidence. (Yes, I do watch The Lincoln Lawyer AND read the books, why do you ask?)

I have another blood draw in a couple of days followed by another analysis and consultation. I have high hopes for closure on this issue. 

I’d estimate that my speech is about 50% better than it was a few months ago, but that’s not good enough for me. Next week I’ll tell you about my personal speech therapy using poetry.

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PSA: Part of the reason I’ve described this situation in detail is to prompt you or your loved ones to seek medical treatment when you need it. A former student of mine just posted a similar PSA about his recent surgery for skin cancer. Early detection and treatment is so much less expensive than what may develop. Please take care of yourselves.

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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles