Archive | Life Outside of Work

The Last Thing Said to a Loved One

As our family and friends know, both of David’s parents passed away recently, within a few months of one another. And, as almost everyone who knows David and me is aware, I adored both of David’s parents. I will go as far as saying that both David’s mother, Carole, and father, Herman, were nicer and […]

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It has been a rough year for me, my brothers, and Melissa with the loss of my parents, 106 days apart.  Their decline was long and difficult.  Collectively, we did many things to manage their care and quality of life.  That fact that they had made similar efforts to care for their parents or other […]

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Do You Still Need to Practice?

Recently, I remarked to my bass guitar teacher, Phill Fest, that many of my friends question my need to take bass lessons, due to the fact I have been playing the bass guitar for over 20 years. (This was the subject of a previous post, in which I mentioned that, although I have been playing […]

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I took piano lessons as a child, but fishing seemed much more fun than piano, so I didn’t play piano long!  But, call it what you want, practice, playing, fishing, getting better, and staying strong at anything takes time and effort.  I’ve written about Dr. Fran Kinne before. She started playing piano at age 3 […]

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Thou shalt not smoke

Just when you think you’ve experienced it all…well, then, something new happens. Magnus moved into our current office a few months ago. We were in the old one for over 24 years and the new one is definitely an improvement over the prior office, in most ways. The new office is in a 2 story, […]

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Magnus’ former office building offered few opportunities for interaction with the other occupants of the building, which is a small, 1 story structure with 4 individual office suites.  Although the on site property manager smokes cigarettes, he is always polite enough to smoke outside.  For the entire time Magnus has been in business, we never […]

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The Middle of Everywhere

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 15, 2021

Category: Business Travel, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, RoadWarrior, Travel, Work-Life

David and I recently visited Solomon’s Castle, a quirky structure built entirely of junk. It is located near, but not in, Ona, Florida, which is near Wauchula, which is near Bradenton, which is near Tampa. (I placed as many points of reference as necessary to orient those who are unfamiliar with small towns in Southwest […]

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I’ll tell you what, driving to Solomon’s Castle did seem like the middle of nowhere in that we ended up on some roads which, though paved, were very narrow and if not “nowhere,” certainly they were out in the country.  That doesn’t mean they are bad roads, or the country wasn’t pretty – it was, […]

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Thanks Mindi!

Melissa and I had the pleasure to watch a live stream concert recently – a full band concert of Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers. They played Mindi’s new CD, “The Best of Mindi Abair.” We’ve had the pleasure of seeing Mindi in concert a few times. She puts on a great show! Mindi is a […]

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I share David’s sentiment: Thanks, Mindi!  And, thanks, Eric!  David and I have spent countless hours during the pandemic watching Mind Abair’s live streamed concerts.  Most of them involve her, solo, but others have included some of her famous and talented friends and band mates.  In these times when many musicians and other performers are […]

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Teresa

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 20, 2021

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Work-Life

Teresa is one of the few people I’ve ever met who became one of my best friends the first time I saw her. I’m not usually outgoing or particularly friendly when I am in the presence of strangers, but for some reason, I was really drawn to Teresa. Our story goes like this: In the […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 20, 2021

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Work-Life

It is interesting in life that we cross paths with many people, strangers, some of whom a connection happens.  Often these connections happen without any effort as they are random occurrences.  The Melissa – Teresa connection is one of those.  It occurred at a time in life when both of them were venturing into new […]

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Don’t greet guests in pajamas

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 13, 2021

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology, Travel

Many years ago, I learned a valuable life lesson from my friend, the late Dr. Linda Foley. Linda lived in Jacksonville, David’s hometown and the city where his parents lived, such that we rarely stayed in her home overnight. She repeatedly invited us to stay with her and her partner, Roger, and finally David and […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 13, 2021

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology, Travel

I never know what topic Melissa will come up with next, but she doesn’t know where I’ll be going next either.  Linda was the epitome of class in many ways.  Pre-dinner “snacks” was cocktail hour, for example, with unique serving dishes and glassware.  I guess I don’t have to worry about showing up in a […]

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Why ignorance and intolerance go hand in hand

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 6, 2021

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology

Considerable social psychological research has demonstrated a link among ignorance, intolerance, and prejudice. Recent events have brought to light many examples of so called “average people” displaying overt signs of racism and prejudice. It seems that, at least in our country, the positive strides we have made in achieving racial equality have suffered a setback; […]

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Melissa asks “Why would anyone presume I, of all people, would ever agree with any statement that conveys prejudice and/or hatred of someone merely because of sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, etc.?”  Well, because they are ignorant, they think their level of (in)tolerance for others is “normal” and that others must think the same way.  […]

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Dr. Jack Snell

There are some amazing people in the world who, if we are lucky, we get to meet along the journey of life. I was thinking about one of them recently when I went to my family’s church of 60+ years in Jacksonville for Mom’s funeral. Mom worked at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church (HABC) for about […]

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Thanks to David, I, too, have met 2 people who were self actualizers, Dr. Jack Snell and Dr. Fran Kinne.  Although most people have heard the term, “self actualization,” which is defined as the highest level of psychological development, in which a person’s full potential is achieved, few people have been fortunate enough to meet […]

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Choose not to decide

“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” This is a line from the RUSH song Freewill (on 1980’s Permanent Waves album). That line has stuck with me since I first heard it. Perhaps, in keeping with a few recent posts on ghosting, different directions, etc., but first, in my career […]

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Indecision is something that is not part of my personality.  I like to get it done, move forward, press on, and go onward and upward.  People who stare, seemingly endlessly, at a restaurant menu because they can’t decide what to eat are near the top of my pet peeves list.  It’s really not that important: […]

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