My first personal interaction with Josh Turek was when an unknown number with a “712” area code rang my phone back in April. It didn’t say “potential spam,” so I went ahead and answered it. Josh was on the line— he heard the song I wrote about his candidacy and wanted to personally thank me for my efforts and support. He was in the midst of a heated race with Zach Wahls for the Democratic nomination but he made time for me — a single constituent with a simple folk song. We chatted for a spell; the whole experience was quite genuine.

Having grown up in rural Kansas as part of the farm crisis of the ’80s, I can relate to Josh’s upbringing: a family working hard to make ends meet. His father’s exposure to Agent Orange during Vietnam resulting in Josh’s inability to use his legs since birth is a whole different level of hardship—the kind that can, at least for some, forge unignorable resilience. Turek certainly knows how to roll through tough times and ascend to greater successes which is the type of leadership we could use these days in Iowa.

Last weekend, the Polk County Democrats hosted a steak fry fundraiser at which numerous candidates spoke, including Josh. I decided to host a booth in support of his campaign (it also came with a couple of steak dinners that were quite delicious). It took a little time to figure out a direction for the booth, but when Jen suggested a Pop-A-Shot game, I was all in. Given Josh’s impressive basketball career, this felt wonderfully on brand and super fun. We spent our first weekend as empty nesters assembling a classic arcade game that only barely squeezed into our SUV for the crosstown trek to Des Moines Water Works Park.

We enjoyed the day, despite a few weather hiccups. Jen and I contended with rain during morning setup, and in the afternoon a gust of wind took our tent for a 50-foot joyride. Later that day, we heard that Josh was going to make his way to (what was left of) our booth to shoot some hoops after his speech. Word spread quickly, especially to young Liam Mandelbaum who had the high score on the leaderboard with 80 points.

As I looked down the large and long sidewalk, I could see Josh en route, stopping and talking with numerous folks along the way. He was making time for people, which certainly wasn’t a surprise to me.

Since our dearly departed tent was no longer shading the game, it was nearly impossible to see the score. That didn’t stop Josh from having some fun with us. He learned of Liam’s leaderboard status and asked for a demo—encouraging the middle schooler with compliments on his technique and his bag full of swag, complete with a couple Turek 4 Iowa stickers.

He thanked us for our continued support of his campaign, stopped for more pictures with voters, answered more questions, and moved on down the road with his team to their next endeavor. Gracious and genuine—just like every other time I’ve interacted with him.

When Josh Turek wins this fall, so will the people of Iowa. But he cannot do it alone. He will be massively outspent in traditional media, so he needs all the team members he can find to give an assist here or there. So, here’s a request from yours truly to “chip in” and help this good guy get to the United States Senate. Imagine the pride we Iowans will share when Josh Turek’s leadership and resilience is on display nationally, taking on tough issues and offering real solutions because his lived experience gives him powerful perspective. You can also share the rock and pass this QR code along to a friend. Let ’em know you’re on the leaderboard supporting the future of Iowa and think they should “Give Josh a Shot,” too. Pop in $3, or maybe $6 in honor of the number of votes he won his first election by (or the rich history of 6-on-6 basketball in Iowa). You call your shot, player. Just step on the court and join Team Turek.

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To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process—full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here and attend these incredible listening room sessions with some amazing Iowa musicians as part of the retreat.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so I believe it’s an important conversation for friends and families to undertake. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

The jam quickly gained a following with seasoned musicians from around the city gathering for the weekly event, swapping songs and smiles. The joy and overall enthusiasm exceeded Small’s expectations.

As the weekly event picked up steam, new players of all ages joined the circle. From saxophones to ukeleles, all were welcome into the circle. One particular player quickly became a household name with her unbridled enthusiasm and charm.

When then-4-year-old Natalie Brown, granddaughter of local music supporter Kirby Brown (yes, a second Kirby has now entered the story), started to make regular appearances, the already-smiling circle of players found even greater love in the gathering. Natalie quickly became a fan favorite as she watched intently, requested Elvis songs and bounced around in the circle. After a few visits, swell guy and local radio personality Maxwell Schaeffer gave Natalie a ukulele, complete with a carrying case she could wear like a backpack to the jam. Kirby Small then provided her a couple harmonicas and late this summer the “Two Kirbys” went together to build her very own drum kit.

Music is unique in how it brings people together. The Plymouth Jam delivers smiles, hugs and endorphins for participants every week. It’s a case study in the joys of socialization and importance of cross-pollination in our daily lives. Whether there to watch, help set up, play a couple of songs, take pictures, meet someone new, dance, connect with an old friend, sing along, show off with a new solo or just spend some time around other fun-loving humans, it’s special in every way. Young Natalie started kindergarten this week, so she won’t be at the jam when it turns one, but there’s no doubt she’s forever ONE big part of this circle of friends.

LISTEN: AN INTERVIEW WITH KIRBY SMALL

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To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process—full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here and attend these incredible listening room sessions with some amazing Iowa musicians as part of the retreat.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so I believe it’s an important conversation for friends and families to undertake. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

A timeless tragedy first released in 1949, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is experiencing yet another renaissance in America as the idyllic American Dream becomes more and more elusive for the masses. The latest Broadway version starring Nathan Lane as protagonist Willy Loman is experiencing rave reviews for its updated poignant and powerful portrayal of the perils of corporate America.

Since abruptly losing my corporate job in early 2024, I’ve tried hard to find the opportunity in the crisis, embracing intelligent failures as recommended by the celebrated minds of Albert Einstein (“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.”) and Thomas Edison (“I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”) Amidst recent personal and professional exploration, the timing felt appropriate to re-read Miller’s classic, so I popped over to the Franklin Avenue Library and checked out a copy.

The pacing of the play and its ability to dovetail the past and future into a very present stream of consciousness makes it a brilliant work of art. It creates confusion while unraveling the frustrations and psyches of the main characters trapped in unfulfilling lives, falling short of dreams that were perhaps never really their own. “What does it mean to live in a society that promises a lot but guarantees nothing?” asks a Kennedy Center commentary, “Miller wrote Death of a Salesman with that question in mind. It’s a play about the struggle for success and disappointment of the American Dream.”

The Kennedy Center piece continues: “What exactly is The American Dream? It’s the promise that life can be better for every person if he or she has the opportunity and willingness to work hard— regardless of their background or social class. During his life, Miller saw that some people would never be able to realize that dream, no matter how hard they worked. He knew that not everyone had equal opportunities to succeed.” Miller’s commentary on the incompleteness of the dream continues to ring true today.

To me, both the American Dream and my own personal journey are very much unfinished. Since venturing into the world of independent employment, new worlds of opportunity and failure have presented themselves. I’ve played for audiences from two to two hundred or more. More than anything, I embrace the malleability and adjudication of success. After all, as the great singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen once said, “Success is survival.” So here I am a few years into it all, continuing to survive and adapt.

ACT TWO: Metamorphosis

Despite plenty of challenges, learning to live independently provides new perspectives. One certainty is that the Iowa music scene is robust despite being under-resourced across the board. Alex Rodriquez and Mark Lore became part of the Minnesota Timberwolves ownership group when I was a Vice President with the Iowa Wolves. In an early speech to the staff and press, Lore pointed out that when “Vision. Talent. Capital.” were all present, greatness would occur. He guaranteed the T-Wolves would never be short on the latter.

This formula certainly applies to an Iowa music scene rich in talent and vision but without adequate capital flowing into the system, especially for original work. Each time I host the 3-hour Iowa Homegrown on KFMG Community Radio (you can access all the Spotify playlists here on my profile page at the bottom under Artists Playlists), I discover new artists, new releases, new hooky tracks, beautiful harmonies, clever songwriting, you-name-the-accolade, and rarely is anyone under a fancy label paying for the production. Iowa artists are creating in droves. They support each other in unique ways and there’s enormous passion and talent pushing the scene forward across genres. Most great local shows are full of wickedly talented artists in the audience, bolstering their fellow musicians through attendance, applause and amplification. It’s a gorgeous cross-pollination of people, sharing kindness and supporting each other.

As I often say at shows, I believe songs are empathetic vignettes. They allow us to see the world through the eyes of another. That’s a thing of beauty. Numerous times I’ve had someone want to chat me up after a set about my song “Up on Chorito Ridge” because the story of my grandpa’s WWII experiences catalyzed a memory for them. When meaningful connection between storyteller and listener involves this level of interaction, it drives me. I believe more in the inherent good of my efforts, despite how financially and physically challenging sharing original and independent music can sometimes be.

The balancing act of putting good into the world while helping your family chase the aforementioned American Dream is tricky to say the least. I learned early on in the local music scene that the vast majority of participants are working several side gigs to make ends meet. From bartending to venue work, music lessons to education — there are many irons in the fire fueled by the passion of Iowa artists. They are absolutely one of the hardest-working groups of people I’ve ever encountered.

Awhile back I learned that the call letters for the Grand Ol’ Opry on WSM Radio stood for “We Shield Millions,” the primary component of a 1925 advertising campaign from the now-defunct National Life and Accident Insurance Company. Marc Lore’s quote sprang to mind as I realized that insurance advertising dollars were the original capital source for the 100+ year-old institution that built country music. I picked up that little nugget of trivia from a Patsy Cline biography and was approached soon thereafter by someone who heard me talk about my experience as a caregiver during an opening set at xBk Live in Des Moines. He told me about a caregiver insurance policy his insurance agency represented and suggested that it could become a much-needed revenue stream for an independent musician such as myself, as well as a chance to help others prepare for the future. After learning more about the policy and realizing how beneficial it would have been for us during our caregiver years, I studied for and passed the insurance examination to become licensed in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

From sharing my songs inside memory care units to coordinating fundraising events for non-profits, hosting a monthly live music series for other Iowa artists at the Unity Center, writing a weekly column as part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, performing live, volunteer hosting local community radio, writing songs for what I believe to be are good causes and working as a consulting strategist, I often feel like I’m burning my candle at both ends, and possibly in the middle, to boot. I’m also feeling the love from these fires in unexpected and inspiring ways. I know I’m helping people because I’ve already seen the caregiver policy do wonders, helping good people like my musician friend Kirby Small and my wife’s Uncle Pete get back on their feet (physically and financially) after medical issues. The near-inevitability of needing care is a conversation that the vast majority of people would prefer to avoid, so I’m extremely grateful for every engaging conversation I have. Sixty-three million Americans were caregivers for an adult in their lives in 2025—that’s one in four American adults. It’s truly an epidemic and an arena in which I can help improve the quality of life for many people. The AARP refers to caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the health care system and I couldn’t agree more. I go much more into depth on this topic in my essay, Prepare to Care.

Earlier this summer, I attended Iowa singer-songwriter Kenni Falls’s show at Board and Batten in Dallas Center in their beautiful Basement Speakeasy. It was her last performance before the birth of her son, Townes. Local musician Shannon Bryan accompanied Kenni. In between sets, we chatted about transplanting milkweed and whether it was already too warm to do so. He thought that was probably the case. However, the next day he called me and said that he had several juvenile milkweed specimens I could try to transplant from his prairie if I was interested. I jumped at the chance and the next thing I knew I was looking out over a gorgeously restored native prairie on a beautiful day that flowed like a gentle dream.

While we transplanted the milkweed, I mentioned to him that I have my insurance license and represent a product I think makes a ton of sense for people based on my personal experience. I asked if I could share the details with him sometime and he kindly agreed to a future conversation. After a thorough explanation and cost-benefit analysis, we were able to get him signed up and approved. As I was leaving his place, I noticed an older guitar in his collection—a beat-up sunburst without any strings. It was an older Gibson, which definitely made my eyes twinkle. I inquired as to its story, and he said that it was a gift 40+ years ago from his in-laws who had acquired it in Georgia at a garage sale. I asked if I could take it to my good friend and luthier, Norm Hoffman, to find out a little more about it. He said sure. Norm immediately had a vision for its restoration. Two days ago, I surprised Shannon with his fully repaired Gibson LG1. It’s like butter in his hands and I’m excited for the future of that mended guitar. Healed guitars make beautiful music. There’s just something serendipitous and symbiotic to their sound when they have the chance to sing again.

A Hymn for the Healing

Embracing healing and change is a life hack. The fluidity of this life makes it hard for someone like Willy Loman to ever be happy. He’s so stuck on a flawed and static vision of success (and mostly through the gilded and hollow paradigm of wealth accumulation) that he never allows himself to experience a real metamorphosis. Poor Willy reflects upon his life and says, “After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.” What an unnecessary shame for anyone to feel that way about their precious life because of a broken system.

In John Prine’s “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow),” a song I absolutely love to cover because of its powerful use of metaphor and overall encouragement to fellow humans, Prine pens, “I’ve been brought down to zero, pulled out and put back there” perfectly encapsulating the catastrophic hurt so many of us experience in life but then goes on in the chorus to encourage healing and forgiving, “For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter. You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there. Wrapped up in a trap of your very own chain of sorrow.” Too bad Willy Loman never had the chance to listen to Prine’s hymn for the healing to break free from his own chain of sorrow. Perhaps he could have realized that it’s never too late to change, to seek beauty, to experience something magical and become a believer.

“What’s Next, Chip?”

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here and attend these incredible listening room sessions with some amazing Iowa musicians as part of the retreat.

Please visit www.chipalbrightmusic.com for a full listing of shows.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens?

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so I believe it’s an important conversation for friends and families to undertake. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Share Chip Happens

For the third year in a row, we had the joy of taking the stage at noon on the first Friday of the Iowa State Fair during the Old Fiddlers Association’s annual contest. We play our original tunes as the judges and contestants take a lunch break. This year we recorded the festivities, too, thanks to the efforts of our wonderful bandmate, Michael Patrick Irwin.

Playing our songs inside those hallowed walls brings me tremendous joy. They just feel right up on that hill in front of wooden pews filled with fairgoers. This year’s trip to the Iowa State Fair also included an opportunity for me to share my song, “If It’s Turek, That’s Terrific!” at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox stage across from the Grandstand on the main concourse. The timing was tight but I was able to play it in support of ’s campaign to become the next senator from the great state of Iowa.

It was a wonderful day at the great Iowa State Fair and I hope you enjoy the recording.

“What’s Next, Chip?”

Please tune in to the Des Moines Community Radio Foundation’s KFMG located at 98.9 FM in Des Moines or online from anywhere in the world from 2-5pm tomorrow August 16th to hear me host Iowa Homegrown where we share three hours of music with Iowa origins and artists. My next show is this Thursday at 3pm at the Iowa State Fair back inside the iconic Pioneer Hall. Please visit www.chipalbrightmusic.com for a full listing of shows.

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens?

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so I believe it’s an important conversation for friends and families to undertake. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

She kindly obliged and I’m pleased to share her story in this latest episode. We chat about neuroplasticity, breakthroughs with patients from ages 21 to 103, how music transcends time, why it’s never too late to learn an instrument, the “cadence” in life that neurologic music therapy unlocks, and so much more.

Thank you, Bailey, for sharing your time and the meaningful work you are doing with our veterans. Keep it rocking!

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“What’s Next, Chip?”

My next show is this Friday at noon at the Iowa State Fair inside the iconic Pioneer Hall. Please visit www.chipalbrightmusic.com for a full listing of shows.

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens?

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so I believe it’s an important conversation for friends and families to undertake. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

I remained intrigued, however, especially after Eugene Suarez-Thomas interviewed me for his article, “Sitting on that Hill,” that was published here by The Independent. When I heard KFMG’s Ron Sorenson announce that the station had 2-day GA passes available for a lucky caller, I picked up the phone, thinking perhaps my daughters would want to attend. Lo and behold, I won! W00t!

My eldest daughter’s work and moving-back-to-school schedule was problematic, so my youngest daughter and I made the trek to St. Charles on Thursday for a night of female-led pop music that was highly energetic. Hinterland’s footprint has expanded considerably in the last decade—it covers much more ground than in years past and its amenities are vast.

We rolled in and walked around, scoping out a spot at the top of the hill. Eugene and I stayed in touch after his article, so we met up for a quick selfie. His enthusiasm for the line-up and festival was palpable. He interviewed Porch Light earlier in the day and was stoked.

In a wonderful twist of fate, my longtime Hinterland companion and college buddy Quinton Shaw from KC was scheduled to stay with us in Des Moines on Saturday with his adorable family. They were on their way back from visiting his wife’s parents in Indiana. Quinton wouldn’t arrive until early evening, but Mumford & Sons weren’t scheduled to play until 9:45pm and St. Charles is a quick drive down I-35.

We camped out the first year and attended several Hinterlands together—kicking it with the likes of Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price, Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell. So, we bounced down to the show after dinner with our families and had a terrific evening admiring the growth of the festival, walking down memory lane and rocking out.

One of the many reasons I love live music is because it’s always a new experience. The days of camping out at a festival for a few nights are likely behind me, but walking around a show with a good friend is something I hope will always be part of my life.

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“What’s Next, Chip?”

My next show is a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. I invite you to join Terri Leedom, author of Play the Game, and me Thursday, August 6 at 5pm in the Iowa chapter’s West Des Moines headquarters. On Sunday, August 9, I’ll be in Des Moines Water Works Park’s Biergarten from 1-4pm.

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens?

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so I believe it’s an important conversation for friends and families to undertake. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Born as a response to COVID-19 pandemic distancing, the retreat created a much-needed environment for authors, journalists and aspiring writers to come together, share their stories and bring ideas to life. Each OWSR has been bigger and better than the last, welcoming wordsmiths from across the country to attend workshops, share experiences, and explore new creative pathways together. This is where memories (and memoirs) are made. According to Julie, word of mouth is the number one driver of increased OWSR attendance. These enthusiastic testimonials keep her motivated to push the envelope—expanding the retreat’s offerings each year.

Three years ago, Julie added songwriting to the curriculum, an exciting development for those of us in the music space. I attended OWSR for the first time last year; it was a joy to interface with so many creative forces of various disciplines. From songwriters to entertainment attorneys, publishers to public relations pros, authors, poets, documentarians, Hall of Fame musicians—you name it, I probably hobbed knobs with them. This collected group of individuals is robust, accomplished and shares a mantra of “meeting others where they are” in the process. While the majority of attendees are from the Midwest, the retreat now attracts people from across the country (at last report there were at least 17 coming from California addresses).

In addition to the numerous avenues of education, there will also be a series of intimate concerts woven throughout the retreat. An array of incredible musicians and storytellers such as Dartanyan Brown, Chad Elliott, Kathryn Severing Fox, Johnny Lipford, Carol Montag, Dave Moore, David G Smith, Jason Walsmith and others will share beautiful voices and life experiences in listening room settings that bring artist and audience together in a profound and meaningful way.

Julie often quotes her father, beloved Iowa writer Gordon Gammack, saying “there’s a story in everyone.” I very much believe this, too. I appreciate the wisdom and tools that come from being a part of OWSR. Last year I attended a session on podcasting and now the medium has a critical role in the stories and voice here at Chip Happens, playing an integral role in my survival as an artist and independent professional. If there’s a story in you that could use a little lift to come to life or you’re just interested in a new experience built around socialization, stories and humanity, I hope to see you in Okoboji the last weekend of September. Details and sign-up information are available at www.okobojiretreat.com or just click here to get started.

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“What’s Next, Chip?”

My next show is a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. I invite you to join Terri Leedom, author of “Play the Game,” and me Thursday, August 6 at 5 PM in the Iowa chapter’s West Des Moines headquarters. (Please visit www.chipalbrightmusic.com for a full listing of shows.)

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens?

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so I believe it’s an important conversation for friends and families to undertake. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

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I’m headed to Storm Lake to chat with Art Cullen and I’m geeking out a little bit about it. Art is the first Pulitzer Prize winner to join the podcast, and his voice is wise, witty and well-timed. His latest book, Dear Marty, We Crapped in Our Nest: Notes from the Edge of the World, is a must read for anyone that cares about the quality of life in Iowa and the greater Midwest. Often called a “modern-day Mark Twain,” Art shines his literary light on a litany of issues that many power brokers of the status quo would prefer remain unnoticed. I plan to ask him to autograph my book.

Luckily for RAGBRAI riders, the recent heat wave eased its chokehold when a powerful cool front descended from the north earlier this week. Less luckily, the storm knocked out power for thousands, leaving more than seven inches of rain in its wake in some places faster than anyone could ask “another thousand-year rain already this summer?”

The corn is now somewhere near the mesosphere. How it gets this tall is astounding. It tickles the clouds with its tassels, leaving little room between the rigid rows of stalks. The precision of the planters and scientific intelligence that maximize profits through greater yields is unignorable. This is big business. These growers are good— they’d better be in commodity markets like these.

As I head west on Highway 20, I admire these verdant and luscious fields that farmers work hard to grow—Grant Wood would need a larger canvas to paint these modern fields. I’m also mindful of the downstream effects of all this capitalized science. Water quality concerns rightfully weigh on the minds of all Iowans these days, considering the state’s soaring cancer rates.

These are just some of the public health topics illuminated by the insightful and rhythmic writings of Art Cullen. He regularly makes the rounds on cable news, reporting straight from the heartland and protecting his rural neighbors with pen and punch.

I roll into the Times building and Art hops up to welcome me, donning a pair of iconic striped KEY overalls with the sleeves of a white-collared shirt rolled up halfway. (KEY Clothing originated in my hometown of Fort Scott, Kansas; I love seeing them in the wild.) I feel instantly at home inside the hallowed walls of this small-town newspaper that chooses truth over opulence by serving its people.

According to Art, we are amidst “an existential crisis” here in Iowa. This kind of truth can be scary, but that doesn’t slow down the truth train departing on the regular from “Times Square,” just north of the tracks in Storm Lake. Mark Twain once quipped, “If ignorance is bliss, why isn’t the world happier?” Well, if we pay close enough attention to the poetic wax originating from the big brain and fiery-fast fingers of Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen, we’ll certainly get closer to the answer.

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This Sunday, July 26, I will join several artists for Musicians Fighting Hunger, a fundraiser for a local food pantry. The show will be at Lucky Horse in the Drake Neighborhood from 5 to 7pm. Next month is going to be busy shows inside the storied Pioneer Hall at the Iowa State Fair, an afternoon in the Des Moines Biergarten and a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. Go to www.chipalbrightmusic.com for a full listing.

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens?

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to expensive traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so it’s an important conversation for friends and family to have. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system and reach out with any questions.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Theresa recently channeled her love of nature into literary form, creating a children’s book that celebrates the legacy of her father-in-law, Tom Brady. Tom planted thousands and thousands of trees on a three-hundred-acre wood at Toad Valley Golf Course, collecting seeds from all over the continent with his wife, Fred. In The Wondering Woodsman, “readers are invited into a gentle, whimsical world where curiosity leads the way. As the woodsman sets out to plant a forest, small moments of wonder unfold—through nature, through questions, and through the quiet beauty of growing something meaningful”.

To learn more about the Master Gardener program through Iowa State University Extension, please click here. Thank you, Theresa, for joining the podcast and I’m looking forward to your new book this fall!

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I’ll be at Beaverdale Books Tuesday, July 21, for a show with poet and musician David Wolf. We’re getting started at 6:30pm. The remodel at Beaverdale Books is terrific and it’s wonderful to be a part of their 20th Anniversary celebration with this listening room show. This Sunday, July 26, I am joining several musicians for Musicians Fighting Hunger, a fundraiser for a local food pantry at Lucky Horse in the Drake Neighborhood from 5 to 7pm.

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens?

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to expensive traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so it’s an important conversation for friends and family to have. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system and reach out with any questions.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs and an autograph if you request it. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

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Our visit was terrific. The four of us went in separate directions, eventually coming back together with a nice stack of books and a few random DVDs, some shared smiles amongst our whispers, and other meandering memories. As we walked through the stacks, I was reminded of what a beautiful and integral role the public library plays in community cohesion. From the moment I walked in, I was surrounded by other curious minds—neighbors enjoying their exploration and enhancing their imaginations.

As I watched little ones quietly and gleefully gallop into the children’s section, I felt grateful to be part of a society that has historically valued assets such as these. I then reflected on the ugly budget crisis the City of Des Moines is facing that will likely slash budget from this community pillar. As reported here by Hola America, “Des Moines public libraries could see reduced hours and services as part of the options under review to address an anticipated $12 million city budget shortfall for fiscal year 2028, which begins July 1, 2027. The Des Moines Public Library Board of Trustees said the library accounts for approximately 4% of the city’s General Fund. Based on that share, its portion of the shortfall would be $480,000.”

Given the known budget crisis and joy of my recent visit, I reached out to Dan Chibnall for his thoughts about this piece and the importance of the library. I met Dan awhile back at a First Wednesday Brother Trucker show at Maggie’s Rumble Room. Brother Trucker rocks and so does Dan. When Dan isn’t supporting the live music scene, he’s a STEM Librarian and Professor at Drake University. Dan also volunteers for the Des Moines Public Library Foundation that will gladly accept your donation to help mitigate this crisis.

“Public libraries are a fundamental cornerstone of great American communities, and it’s not just because they promote literacy and lifelong learning. Libraries are a community hub, connecting people in local politics with farmers market groups with knitting clubs and children’s story time. They serve as a third space, neither home nor work, where we can wander in, gather, discuss, or be alone, all while never being asked to purchase something or pay for a service. In the Des Moines metro it is more important than ever for us to visit and use our libraries since they are under the threat of budget cuts. They say we should vote with our dollars. I say we vote with our visits to the library.” Dan Chibnall, STEM Librarian and Drake Professor.

“Where we can wander in, gather, discuss, or be alone” — of his many eloquent and accurate words these really landed with me especially with the qualifier of “all while never being asked to purchase something or pay for a service.” How wonderful is that for people with so many enduring financial hardships these days. There is already a growing “fun shortage” in America for way too many of us, so let’s not make it harder by decreasing access to our libraries.

As I looked into the budget cuts, I realized that closing the library on Sunday afternoons is one of the primary strategies on the table to save money. That’s when we had just visited, along with dozens of other people from around the city. It’d be a shame to close during a time when working families are more likely to visit together on a weekend. I’m going to take Dan’s advice to heart and get back to the Franklin Avenue Library today. They are open from noon to 4pm. I’ll probably bring a propagated plant to trade, too. Maybe I’ll see you there.

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I’m volunteer hosting KFMG’s “Iowa Homegrown” this afternoon from 2-5pm. It’s a service of the Des Moines Community Radio Foundation that supports the Iowa music scene in extraordinary ways and you can stream or support the station here. I’m one of several volunteer hosts that share stories and songs from across the Iowa music scene every Sunday afternoon. I’ll be at Beaverdale Books this Tuesday, July 21st for a show with poet and musician David Wolf. We’re getting started at 6:30pm. The remodel at Beaverdale Books is terrific and it’s wonderful to be a part of their 20th Anniversary celebration.

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here.

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens!

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my writing and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to expensive traditional long-term care based on my personal experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so it’s an important conversation for friends and family to have. Please read and share my article Prepare to Care with your network to better understand the role of caregivers as the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our boutique strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Forty years ago, the 1986 All-Star game featured a starting pitching match-up made in baseball heaven of Roger Clemens vs. Dwight “Doc” Gooden. The “Rocket” vs. “Dr. K". Pure gold. My beloved Royals were even coming off their incredible World Series championship from 1985, so Dick Howser was managing the American League squad with Frank White and George Brettt by his side.

It’s unlikely I’ll tune into the game this year. When the Royals aren’t competitive, baseball is barely on my radar. If KC somehow gets in the race, I’m sure one of my group chats with my back homies will give me plenty of notice to get caught up on Salvy and the fellas. Plus, my personal pastimes have changed. Watching live sports used to play a larger role in my life but these days I find myself gardening, working on a song, writing, reading a book, thumbing through old pictures — as I age, I have a much harder time just passively watching sports, especially if my family is uninterested. There’s just too much else to try.

Gardening has provided some much-needed natural joy and trust to my world over the last several years. Sowing small seeds that welcome prancing pollinators gives me a delightful boost of endorphins and a greater sense of purpose in an enormous universe that often feels incapable of feeling positive influence from a single human being. Growing things is an antidote of sorts to those feelings of helplessness for me and I’m rewarded for the efforts with produce and pomp.

Nature heals. Its beauty and uniqueness bring us into the moment, which is where our minds desperately need to be for restorative respite from our 24/7 TikTok of the modern world that incessantly pings us with emails, texts and low-interest offers to keep us punching that clock and paying those bills. It’s really quite unfortunate how little time we’re allowed to celebrate the beauty that surrounds us because of the capitalistic demands of our day-to-day grind.

The good news is more Americans are finding time with nature through gardening. An estimated 71.5 million U.S. households tend gardens these days, representing 185.9 million people fueled by younger enthusiasts seeking stress relief and fresh produce. Gen Z gardeners increased time spent by 65% in 2024, and millennials now comprise 29% of gardeners. In a society where technology is ubiquitous, more of us are discovering that time and life with the land is good for the soul.

Like life, gardening is a series of trials and errors. Embrace the potential for failure, get your hands dirty, learn from your mistakes and keep planting away with good intentions. Not every seed will grow but you’ll get better and better the more you try. And no life or garden is too small to give it a go. Live in an apartment, find a window for a houseplant or a community garden plot near you. Live on an acreage, maybe it’s time to forgo all that mowing for a natural prairie project. Live in the city with a backyard, a raised bed of dirt with rich Iowa soil can sure produce quite the salsa summer garden. Or just till up the sunniest part of your yard for more native grasses to help water runoff. Many municipalities will even reimburse you for some of these efforts helping conserve water. Bottom line, it’s your adventure. Soil, seeds, sun, water and you.

Growing zinnias has become an absolute treat for me. My Dad is a zinnia master and encouraged me to get started a few years back. Now every year we have a dazzling display of color murmuring in the wind as bees, birds and butterflies blissfully bounce from bloom to bloom. These are my All Stars in 2026, and they don’t have to spend years in the minors developing.

Zinnias are super easy to sow and grow. They love to shine and just need a friendly hand, some sun and water to bring the magic of nature to you all summer long. You can even save the seed in the fall by harvesting the flower heads to plant the following spring. If the soil is turned over enough for the new seeds, a greater power will mostly do the rest.

As I was reading and enjoying the nostalgia about the 1986 All-Star Game, I relearned it was the last game Dick Howser ever managed. He felt ill before the game and broadcasters noticed he was having trouble sending in signals to the players. He was later diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away at the tender age of 51. I’ll be 51 this year. I had no idea how young he was when I was ten.

The AL won the 1986 All-Star Game game 3–2. In the 7th inning, Royals Hall of Famer Frank White hit a pinch-hit home run to give the AL the lead in what would become Dick Howser’s final career victory. What a tragic turn of events for Howser to go from winning the World Series, to managing the All-Star Game to losing his life to brain cancer in what must have felt like seconds flat. Tragedy sure can distort time. All the more reason to have habits like gardening that can ground you during tough times.

As I was writing this story and rediscovering this Royals lore, I remembered that my good friend Brent McClure sent me a few Royals bobbleheads earlier this year as he was doing a bit of spring cleaning. I decided to open those boxes to grab a few pics for this story. As I carefully removed each bobblehead from its home of two decades, I was ten years old again—back on the farm, poring over my baseball cards and in love with the game. I tapped their heads and they all nodded back at me with enthusiasm. Instead of relegating Dick, Frank and George back to their cases, I arranged the agreeable boys of summer on a bookshelf for my continued enjoyment. I also asked my wife for a quick “going yard” photo shoot for this story. She obliged with expertise and a darling smile. It was fun to be ten again (if but for a moment).

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To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. Many of us will be at the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat this fall and we’d love to have you come join us. It’s for writers and learners at all stages in the creative process and full of wonderful people connecting in new and meaningful ways. You can learn more here.

Share Chip Happens

Other Ways to Support Chip Happens!

Did you know I carry my health insurance license and help folks navigate the caregiver journey in addition to my Substack writings and music? Please learn about my personal experience and licensed services at www.chiphappens.life. I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to expensive traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses. More than 63 million Americans were caregivers in 2025 so it’s an important conversation for friends and family to have. Please read my article Prepare to Care to better understand the “invisible backbone” of the American health care system.

NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Beautiful in concept, these words have required a relentless push by the people to overcome the aristocratic tendencies of power and capital. Given it would take another 80 plus years before Lincoln would give the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 freeing slaves and another 57 years before the 19th Amendment would be ratified giving women the right to vote in 1920 and another 40 plus years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would address many clear injustices to people of color, the great democracy experiment has often been much too slow to find its footing but the political will and power of the people eventually fall on the right side of history.

Resilience, forgiveness and an unquenchable thirst in the “pursuit of happiness” are the very essence of American democracy. The Founding Fathers were at the beginning of this great American adventure, but the citizens of today are being called on to move the country forward. We The People stand on the shoulders of previous generations. I think of my grandfathers—their stories, their kindness, and the generosity of their time and teachings.

I was blessed as a child to spend enormous amounts of time with both of my grandfathers. I’ve written extensively about my Grandpa Buddy, Richard D. Hixon, in my song and essay “Up on Chorito Ridge.” A Marine war hero with a colorful vocabulary, he loved his Corvette and his country. He survived the Dust Bowl, a ride with Pretty Boy Floyd, mixing booze with his pain pills and God only knows what else. He earned three Purple Hearts and a Gold Star. The VA gave him mountains of those pain pills. He’d let us grandkids run our hands over the divots in his back from the bullets. There were seven of them. I close my eyes now and I can feel his leathery skin with a Royals game on the AM radio and a pack of KOOL menthols on the table. He’d give us some of those cigarettes in lieu of punks for our fireworks when we were blowing up their neighborhood to celebrate Independence Day as kids. When I think of him, I feel his big smile. I’d be honored if you spun his song today.

Grandpa Frank Albright was a devout Christian, retired principal, nature enthusiast and lover of all things history. He didn’t smoke and he certainly didn’t drink. He began every meal with the same prayer that encouraged nourishment of our bodies and blessed those who prepared it. We spent an enormous amount of time together in my childhood. I can hear him clearing his throat now and saying, “Oh P-shaw.”

We’d go rock hunting and we’d almost always start by finding the proper walking stick. Sometimes we’d find fruit wood from a cherry tree that made the hike even more aromatic. He loved teaching me things—I really wish I had retained more of it. When I think of him, I can smell the small room off of his garage where we’d put together the geology collections for the county fair. We’d get out the hammer and chisel so we could organize them nicely into our custom display case. He loved rocks and I loved looking at them with him. One of his favorite tricks was throwing a lava rock in someone’s general direction. Comprised of volcanic ash, it was light and harmless but people would jump as it was hurled their way. Thinking of him this way is bringing the gentlest tear to my eyes. He cried, too. Tough but tender. My favorite kind of human.

He loved books, too. His basement was full of them. Westerns, history, American Indian, religious, science — he was particularly proud of his Zane Grey collection. The accessibility to intelligence in that musty basement air full of books, rocks and pictures is something I hope always remains a part of me. I now have many of these rocks and books in my home in some of the same bookshelves.

Now that I’m 50 years old, I have been slowly acquiring more mementos from my childhood from my parents as I help them downsize. When we cleared out their attic, we found a box addressed to me from Grandpa Frank from 1998. It was rather large and generally untouched. Upon further examination, it was full of black and white framed pictures protected perfectly in Arizona Republic newspaper pages. Grandpa had learned I liked Ansel Adam prints, so he created a collection of black and whites for me. A sweet gesture that my 22-year-old college and party-going self didn’t fully appreciate. Along with that box of framed pictures, I also found a homemade scrapbook from 1982 of a 20-day trip I took with Grandpa Frank and Grandma Dee from Fort Scott, KS, to the Black Hills of South Dakota when I was 6 years old.

The trip is an amalgamation of all things Frank Albright. We attended church services and pow-wows. Saw Mount Rushmore. Went to Bear Country. We stopped at all the now-entering-state signs for a pic of me and my ill-fitting socks. I saw the Denver Broncos at training camp and rode a tortoise at the Reptile Gardens. I remember the trip, although not in the detail of nearly 40-page scrapbook. It was the first of many road trips I was privileged to experience with them as a child.

It’s been comforting to recall these good times. To feel like I’m walking with Grandpa Frank up the side of a mountain again. Listening to the birds. Looking for interesting rocks. Smelling the natural pine scent as the needles crunch beneath our feet. Exploring. Posing for pictures. Moving forward with the playful exuberance of a life in its infancy and being the center of attention from adoring loved ones. I was blessed.

I guess that’s how I feel about America today, too. I want to remember the good times, like the profound signing of the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago. Those times when we healed through collective enlightenment and the will of the people to be better. When visionary leaders like Abraham Lincoln made bold moves on behalf of the greater good. Today is just one day in our semiquincentennial scrapbook in this great democracy experiment pursuing our unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I, for one, will continue to believe in this experiment by participating at a greater level, calling out greed and believing in the power of the people.

As I recently thumbed through a copy of Grandpa Frank’s Twentieth Century Speaker, a hardbound, patriotic and still-colorful book published in 1899, I found a handwritten note calling out the poem, “Grind Your Axe in the Morning,” by George Lansing Taylor. The poem ends with the following lines: “And he who dawdles and plays the fool, nor longs for virtue and knowledge; Whose soul no noble ambition fires—No hero-purpose employs—He must hoe life’s fence-row among the briers, or hack the brush with the boys.” Thanks for all the wisdom and love, Grandpa Frank! I sure think you’d be proud of the songs and compositions I’m sharing with the world these days, hoping to make America a better place to live by increasing our empathy and decreasing our lust for wealth. I’m publishing this at 6AM in your honor on the 250th anniversary of the greatest experiment in democracy and I’m excited about the future because We The People have noble ambitions and aren’t afraid to get up early in the morning to make them a reality.

Thank you for your support!

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark. You can also learn about my other professional services at www.chiphappens.life where I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses.

Mary, Mary, Quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells,
Pretty maids all in a row.

Last week I had the privilege to share many of my original songs during GardenFest at xBk Live in Des Moines and also on the Roots Stage at the Des Moines Arts Festival. Both events were colorful cross-pollinations of Iowa artists in which audiences could experience and explore new music while also likely enjoying some familiar tunes. While the Arts Festival is a well-established event with a nearly 30-year history of accolades and anticipation, GardenFest is a freshly-sprouted good time.

GardenFest was the idea of a loving daughter who wanted to bring smiles to her parents’ faces while supporting the local music scene in an innovative way. Kelsey Seay wanted to surprise her music-loving parents, Ken and Marta Keiran, with a bill of their favorite artists that “just happened to be at xBk together on an unassuming Monday night at the beginning of summer.” So she did.

To set the stage, it helps to know that her parents hosted a garden party in their Beaverdale neighborhood for more than a decade, bringing together musicians, visual artists and others as Ken shared his whirlything creations and they opened their home to the city for the annual celebration. Last year was the final installment of the beloved event, so Kelsey mobilized to create a new and special surprise event to ease the transition. She reached out to Sam Pattison and the bands Ducharme-Jones, Weary Ramblers and me to bring her idea to life. She created the promotional art, handled the details with the venue, promoted the event behind-the-scenes, took care of the artists and created one extremely special night.

The symbiosis between artist and audience is exhilarating. Tremendous energy abounds when the setting is right. Both of these events were designed as listening environments—shared experiences in which artists share music and stories, and the audience reciprocates with applause, attention, and sometimes even singing along.

If artists are the flowers that need to take root before blooming and the audience is the nutrients needed for growth, we must also be mindful of the gardeners. It is the gardeners who provide the vision: working the land, starting the seeds, exploring opportunities — gardeners bring new love to life.

Some gardeners like Kelsey are just starting their plots. Others like the Des Moines Arts Festival are finding new ways to showcase beauty by adding components like A Story and a Song to their well-rooted landscape, offering newcomers a chance to bloom. This year’s Arts Festival was a cornucopia of Iowa musicians, featuring the colorful work of musicians such as Dickie, Sara Routh, Todd Partridge, Brian Herrin, Derry and the Dirty Dishes, Central Iowa Music Lab and more throughout the weekend. Iowans know how to nurture nature and it’s showing in the increasingly robust local scene.

The landscape is growing, but there are still so many flowers in need of gardeners and nutrition. If you’ve never hosted a house concert, perhaps this is the year to start your own garden party. Most Iowa artists have accessible social media presences and are open to your ideas of making some local magic happen. Be a catalyst like Kelsey. Shoot someone a note and see what happens. Other ways to feed the scene come in the form of attending shows, picking up some merch, showing a little Venmo love, engaging with social media posts, subscribing to local content, inviting a friend to join you at a show, and simply expressing enthusiasm for these artists (who are also your neighbors) because we all benefit from the creative symbiosis of audience and artist in this ever-changing garden of life.

Neighbor, neighbor, need a favor.
How does your garden grow?
With loving hearts for vibrant arts—
Pretty blooms ready to show.

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Thank you for your support!

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark. You can also learn about my other professional services at www.chiphappens.life where I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses.

When I pulled up to my destination around 5 AM, the quiet juxtaposition of the dark and developing morning sky brooding behind the sharp lines of the 801 Grand building motivated me to snap a picture. Early mornings are beautiful; I should enjoy them more often.

The sky began to lighten soon after I found the news team, creating a colorful backdrop for our conversations about the uniqueness of the festival. Colleen Murphy, Director of Community Relations for the Des Moines Arts Festival, introduced me to reporters Eva Lynner of WHO-13 and Natalia Gomez de Campo of KCCI Channel 8.

I learned that, despite working for separate networks, Natalia and Eva are friends who both recently graduated from the Mizzou School of Journalism and landed their first media jobs here in the Des Moines market. Their enthusiasm for their work so early in the morning was impressive. We discussed art, the Iowa music scene, and life in media while waiting for our opportunity to go live.

Their exuberance reminded me of a time 25+ years ago when I began my career in media at the Des Moines Register. I felt somewhat ancient explaining that my first job was selling classified ads printed on newsprint down the street at 715 Locust. It also brought back many fond memories about co-workers and the breakneck speed at which we’d worked. I even met my wife working there. It was a wonderful chapter in the book of life.

The media landscape is ever-changing. Earlier this week, iHeart laid off most of their remaining local on-air staff. These talented personalities with expertise in sports and local news had deep ties with their listeners and our community as a whole. Big corporate media outlets bottom lines don’t seem to align with local content these days which is a real bummer for markets like Des Moines. We didn’t get into these topics during our conversation because I didn’t feel like being a buzzkill on such a beautiful morning with enthusiastic catalysts for the arts, but I did offer up the unsolicited advice to develop your own brand immediately.

After our on-air discussions, I headed back to my car when I noticed a kettle of turkey vultures circling 801 Grand. As I walked east in the quest for a clearer shot of this latest juxtaposition of nature and architecture, my attention was increasingly more drawn to the mural on the parking garage in the forefront.

There are typically more vehicles in that lot, so I took advantage of the early hour sparseness in search of a better view and hiked across the pavement watching the birds move fluidly as the light from the rising sun continued to brighten my surroundings.

As I approached, I was rewarded with a perfect view of Leon Keer’s Nature’s Algorithm—an impressive mural with a fun augmented reality component. I was, however, disappointed in the picture of the birds high above that now felt like specks of dust far off in the distance. That’s alright, I thought. I tried and this art is stunning up close. As I turned away, I spotted a common solitaire city pigeon feather resting discreetly on the worn asphalt near my feet and I knew I had one last downtown photo to snap before driving home and responding to emails.

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The Des Moines Arts Festival runs all weekend and I’ll be performing at 1 PM on the Roots Stage with , Madison Ray and Kelsie James for Story and a Song. We’re part of the growing Literary Arts element of the Festival this year. Free live music featuring incredible Iowa and national acts will take stage all weekend in an environment full of creativity in a myriad of directions. Please come join 200,000+ of your neighbors and friends this weekend as we explore the arts and seek beauty as a community.

Thank you for your support!

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark. You can also learn about my other professional services at www.chiphappens.life where I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses.

Of Dad’s many quips, his sardonic but serious “do as I say not as I do” has had some real hang time. Another classic I recently shared with my kids was “when you’re pointing a finger at someone, you’ve got three pointing right back at you.” Then there’s the tongue-in-cheek “you show me a good loser… and I’ll show you a loser.”

Earlier this week, my wife and I drove from Des Moines to Kansas City and back to assist my folks in navigating the massive health complex that is the KU Medical Center. Dad was diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal cancer earlier this year, likely the result of alcohol and tobacco use. The docs expressed confidence that they could eradicate it with chemo and radiation, and we learned after a series of scans they had succeeded! After weeks of treatments, Dad is clearly weakened by both the disease and its cure, but he’s happy to have that battle behind him.

Cancer isn’t the first rough patch in Dad’s life. The farm crisis of the ’80s bankrupted my folks when I was a kid. That was generationally tough. My older sister, Tonja, presented numerous challenges for them as young parents. Tonja was abandoned by her biological parents in our hometown at age 6 and my parents adopted her before having me and younger brother, Andy. As a family unit, we were ill-equipped to understand the early childhood trauma Tonja had endured, but my parents never gave up on her through tumultuous times. Tonja passed last year at age 56.

I love my dad and I know that makes me a lucky guy. It doesn’t work out that way for a lot of folks. I love that he gave me my first guitar at a time when I was floundering. I love that he’s taught me his way with flowers and plants. I love that he has survived so much over the years and keeps finding a way to smile, crack a joke and tell a great story.

One of Dad’s classic lines was to tell people he was headed to “Therapy Pond,” There he would fish, sip on some Natty Lights, watch the sun set and enjoy the beauty of a rural Kansas evening away from the stresses of the modern world. Over time, “Therapy Pond” became “The Forty” where outdoor recreation—morel hunting, grape growing, crawdad farming, campfire burning and more—would take place.

There are many lessons we can learn from our elders. Sometimes we benefit from modeling them. I love growing zinnias and other flowers these days. It took me a lot of living to find that joy. Sometimes we benefit from not modeling them. I’m sure glad I quit smoking a long time ago. Fathers aren’t perfect, but they are the apple trees from which we fall. It can be wise to “do as they say, not as they do.”

Thinking of Dad and all his sayings, I decided to write a song that incorporates his country wisdom into a song of encouragement. Hope you enjoy it.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad! I love you.

FISHIN’ ON THE FORTY

[SLOW]

Back pain, no rain, it’s been that kind of year

I had hoped, even joked, tonight you’d be here

To walk with me, talk with me, tell me everything is gonna be alright

But it appears all these tears ain’t gonna fix tonight

[LONG PAUSE]

Spoken: Now what was it my dad used to say?

[FAST]

Suck it up buttercup, go hit the hay

Let your pups nurse them wounds away

It’s better to have loved and lost then to never love at all

Things come and go but you got to stand tall

Life ain’t easy but it’s pretty in the fall

Then comes Christmas, spring’s right around the corner

And oh sweet summers we’ll be fishing on the forty

[CHORUS]

Fishin’ on the forty, oh Lordy, Lordy

Fishin’ on the forty, gonna find me some peace

Fishin’ on the forty, oh Lordy, Lordy

Fishin’ on the forty, ain’t life a peach!

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Thank you for your support!

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark. You can also learn about my other professional services at www.chiphappens.life where I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses.

This article is designed to increase awareness regarding the prevalence of caregiving in America and cites research from many credible resources, including the Pew Research Center, WorldMetrics and AARP. My hope is to catalyze conversations between friends and families about the future, freeing many of current and potential stresses. It’s a tough topic, but I believe visibility on the reality and inevitability of the caregiver journey will improve the overall quality of life for many Americans. The AARP report goes on to say that family caregiving “spans generations and touches every corner of society. More than 63 million adults provide ongoing care for aging parents, spouses with chronic conditions, or adult children with disabilities and serious illnesses—a staggering 45 percent increase since 2015.”

The numbers are mind boggling and reinforce the importance of planning with loved ones. As the great humanitarian and former first lady Rosalynn Carter said, “There are only four kinds of people in the world: Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”

Despite this knowledge, our health care system does not properly prepare and support these amazing caregivers who are mostly left to their own devices to navigate these changing and choppy waters. This is unfortunate because while challenging in many ways, caring for a loved one is an incredible human experience full of emotion, resilience and spirituality. Such efforts should be celebrated and subsidized more in our modern society. Blessed are the merciful caregivers. Unfortunately, most of them are underprepared and overburdened, with many experiencing severe hardships that go unseen.

Caregivers Are Stressed

“The sobering statistics paint a picture of caregiving as a heroic marathon run on a treadmill of relentless, underestimated demands, where the caregiver's own life, health, and finances are the quiet, crumbling collateral damage,” writes Thomas Reinhardt in a 2026 World Metrics report. Many caregivers endure tremendous stress as they shoulder the heavy load often without consistent assistance and respite care. This “heroic marathon” would be less arduous if people had more tools, resources and knowledge before they started this long run, especially understanding that personal respite care is a vital element of a positive caregiver experience with programs like TCARE.

“In the U.S., family caregivers provide $470 billion in unpaid care every year, 70% say the emotional burden feels extremely difficult and 60% report major physical strain,” according to the World Metrics Report. Here are some other important contextual statistics from the report.

• 70% of caregivers report fair or poor health, compared to 30% of non-caregivers

• 65% of caregivers report spending more time on caregiving than they anticipated

• 45% of caregivers report unmet medical needs for the care recipient, and 35% report unmet emotional support needs

• The average annual out-of-pocket cost for family caregivers is $7,000, with 10% spending over $20,000

• 60% of caregivers report symptoms of anxiety, and 50% report symptoms of depression, exceeding clinical thresholds

• 40% of caregivers want training on caregiving tasks (e.g., wound care, medication management), but only 15% have access to it

• 65% of caregivers believe they need more emotional support, but 50% have not received it from community resources

• Women make up 65% of family caregivers, compared to 35% of men

  

Sandwich Generation

The term "sandwich generation" was introduced in 1981 by social workers Dorothy Miller and Elaine Brody to describe adults, typically in their 30s to 50s, who are "sandwiched" between dependent children and aging parents requiring care. The average caregiver today is 51 years old. Among them, “approximately 16 million sandwich generation caregivers balance care for both adults and children simultaneously” according to AARP.

Rising Costs of Assisted Living

According to another AARP Report, long-term care costs increased significantly from 2019 to 2024, led by nearly a 50 percent increase in costs in home care and assisted living. Long-term care costs continue to climb, with adult day services rising 33 percent, and nursing home costs jumping 25 percent. More recently, nursing home costs are up another 4.6 percent, and home care costs have jumped 7.9 percent from May 2025 to May 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since 2021, home care inflation has risen 39 percent, compared to 27 percent inflation for general services and 26 percent for day care and preschool costs. It’s increasingly out of reach for most households to afford and often requires creative manipulation of personal assets and clever “Medicaid spend down” methods.

In addition, “only about 7 to 8 million Americans, or roughly 2%–3% of the population, have long-term care insurance,” according to the JRC Insurance Group, which means many families are scrambling for assets and options in times of caregiving need because Medicare generally doesn’t cover assisted living. This reality has many Americans reeling for solutions, creating tremendous stress and financial hardship.

As a former family caregiver, I decided to get my insurance license in early 2025 when I discovered an innovative, cost-effective policy that focuses on caregiver wellness and home health care. It would have been a big help to us if we’d had it in place before my in-laws needed our assistance. In the last 18 months, I’ve learned an enormous amount about our convoluted system and am proud to have helped several folks navigate challenging situations to improve their quality of life as they healed. It’s not a conversation people naturally want to have, but it is an important one that can prevent much tougher situations later on.

With caregivers being the “invisible backbone” of the system, it’s critical to identify allies in all directions and early on in the process for better outcomes for both patient and caregiver. We simply don’t know what we don’t know. One major and important trend I like to counsel my clients on is the proper utilization of home health care. Home health care and the “Hospital At-Home” trends are a direct result of both consumer preference and a health care system that is desperately searching for savings. The health care industry is enamored with it and its delivery will soar in the next decade as our population ages dramatically.

The Role of Home Health Care

According to PWC.com, “Home care is a gamechanger for expanding access, cutting costs and fostering seamless communication between patients and providers. Other health care industry outfits like the Arcadia Care Journey, reinforce this claim, “When a patient experiences an acute event that requires hospitalization, it is common for them to need care once they leave the hospital. After this acute inpatient stay there are multiple post-acute care options for a patient, with the two most common being skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home health care. Wherever a patient goes after their inpatient stay, the goal of post acute care is to improve the patients’ health status while keeping down overall costs and the potential for complications. Overall, we found that home health care is associated with substantially better long-term outcomes in regards to cost, readmission rates, emergency department (ED) rates, and mortality; additionally, timely home health access is critical to minimizing adverse outcomes for patients and reducing costs”. Last fall, we experienced this first-hand when my wife’s Uncle Pete was struck with sepsis, requiring hospitalization and a three-week home health care stay with us. You can read about that personal health care experience here. We learned a lot about Medicare Advantage going through that process together.

The combination of home health care and comfortable convalescence provided a preferred environment for healing. Pete’s preference to heal outside of a skilled nursing facility is not uncommon, according to USA.gov, “the US senior population will exceed 70 million by 2030 and many prefer the convenience and affordability of home-based care.” The National Institute on Aging confirms a strong trend toward aging in place, powered by digital tools like telehealth and hospital at-home models. Long story short, seniors want to age at home and that means home health care and family caregivers will continue to take on a larger share of the load.

Home health care offers a range of specialties these days including enterostomal and chemotherapy as well as various skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and other services. These specializations bring the “Hospital At-Home” model to life, but the home health aide is often the workhorse in assisting caregivers to find much-needed respite and share the workload. Below is a list of duties often performed by home health aides according to SeniorSafetyAdvice.com that all caregivers should be mindful of as they manage the care of others. Bathing and dressing are two challenging tasks alone that can often be outsourced with a visiting home health aide relieving the caregiver of a difficult task.

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In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, here’s a FREEDOM checklist to help folks navigate a timely conversation about modern day caregiving based on my personal experience and industry insights. It is by no means a panacea to the systemic issue of elder care, but it can certainly improve the quality of life for those willing to engage in an honest conversation and find some FREEDOM from an issue that is seemingly inevitable for so many of us.

CHIP’S TIPS: FREEDOM CHECKLIST

F: FOSTER a conversation between loved ones regarding the possibilities of someone needing extended care in the future. Getting started on this conversation is often the hardest part. The idea of losing any perceived independence as we age is challenging, but this conversation is meant to enhance quality of life, not detract from it. The earlier you have this talk, the better—many alternatives become unavailable once a loved one starts experiencing cognitive impairment or an inability to perform normal activities of daily living (ADLs).

R: REVIEW all current health insurance policies and a loved one’s preferences for convalescence. In the business world, this is known as a Situational Analysis. You are simply discovering what may or may not be in place already. Learn what Medicare (or Medicare Advantage) does and does not cover for convalescent care for loved ones 65 and over in their individual plans. (Here’s a link to the Medicare site that is pretty clear about its general lack of assisted living coverage.) Review any existing supplemental Short-Term and Long-Term Care policies for Daily Benefit Amounts, Elimination Period and Activities of Daily Living (ADL) stipulations to understand the overall coverage. (The average short-term rehabilitation is between 3 weeks and 3 months. The average long-term end of life stay in a facility is closer to 14 months).

E: EXPLORE ways to minimize discomfort and distress in the event of a future need. What does a 3 to 6-month period of recovery look like? Is the loved one’s home capable of allowing for convenient convalescence? Is there main floor access to bath and bed in the home? Will a ramp need to be added? What does the local social support system look like? What is the proximity for a family or friend caregiver to assist? Are they open to living with someone else while care is being administered? Is there a preferred local skilled nursing facility if needed? Would they rather have services like physical therapy performed in their home? What’s the viability of adding a supplemental insurance policy that could fit a budget to help fill the gaps if needed for convalescent care? (Most policy premium rates are determined by attained age for the insured, so the monthly premiums do increase the longer individuals wait. It’s also important to note that most policies will not cover folks already in need making approval from underwriting more challenging).

E: EMBRACE caregiving and a strategy for healing and recovery with close friends and family through the creation of a family caregiver contract or personal care agreement. These agreements create transparency for interested personal parties and are critical in preventing many issues. Here’s a sample you can print off for reference from AgingCare and more information from the American Council on Aging regarding their importance especially when it comes to the Medicaid Spend Down process necessary for many families. Formalization of a family caregiver contract can go a long way toward preventing future conflict and stress.

D: DOCUMENT all decisions, policies, and intentions. Store the paperwork for safekeeping in an accessible area with all other life directives (wills, family trusts, etc.).

O: OPTIMIZE the present. Regardless of any potential need for care, life is meant to be lived and cherished. Music, nature, socialization, proper hydration, staying active and art are some of my recommendations for being happy and in the moment as we age. Life is a gift and so is aging. There are no doubt numerous challenges but finding a way to smile and see beauty daily in every life stage sure makes for a more pleasant experience.

M: MOTIVATE and thank others. Encourage your network to replace worry and indecision with a personal plan, too. Our “invisible caregivers” need all the advocacy that can be found in the system before they are called on for duty. And, when you see a caregiver hard at work let them know they are special. Offer to spell them for an hour or two sometime so they can find a little personal respite in a long walk, live music or anything that would just allow them to prioritize some of their own needs. These hidden helpers could use a lot of hugs and encouragement for their hard work. Caregiver burnout is all too real.

Discussions like this are easy to put off, but totally worth having while you and your loved ones are still (at least relatively) healthy and independent. As a sandwich generation caregiver and insurance agent, I am available for consultation at chip@albrightspark.com. When I’m not writing or sharing music, I am helping others prepare to care in creative and strategic ways. As the great Anglo-Irish satirist and Gulliver’s Travels author Jonathan Swift wrote, “vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” Caregiving is beautiful and should be seen with respect and admiration.

Related Caregiving “Chip Happens” Articles

Blessed Are the Caregivers

Better Days: On Your Mind Podcast: Caregiving

Helping Uncle Pete Get Back on His Feet

The Power of Music Therapy

Play the Game

The Future is Neuroplasticity

Chip Happens

Written in 1982, this instant classic won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983. The movie, directed by Steven Spielberg and featuring a star-studded cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey with an original score from icon Quincy Jones, came out in 1985. The story is revered for good reason, and it has continued to inspire more interpretations, as great art does.

As I began the epistolary novel, written as letters between sisters Nettie and Celie set in early 20th century America, I could feel its poignancy quickly permeating my veins, immersing me in the remarkable resilience of Black women living in the tough and unjust Jim Crow south. The world is incredibly cruel to these characters as they endure poverty, patriarchy, racism and domestic violence. Yet, their love for each other and ability to find beauty despite adversity is inspiring.

“Everything want to be loved. Us sing and dance and holler, just trying to be loved.”

Often censored in the United States because of sexual content, explicit language, violence, and homosexuality, The Color Purple was an even more meaningful read for me in the heart of Pride Month and with Juneteenth this coming Friday, commemorating the end of slavery in America. As I occasionally read passages aloud to my family, my youngest daughter said she could probably hunt down her paper about the book for me. I was thrilled to add this component to the literary experience.

“I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering bout the big things and asking bout the big things, you learn bout the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, the more I love.”

As I finished reading her moving essay last night before watching the 1983 movie, the importance of a robust public education from teachers that encourage big picture thinking for students through provocative works of art became even more front lobal for me, especially juxtaposed with recent comments from the White House lawn this weekend denigrating the class act that is Michelle Obama. Given his behavior, it’s doubtful that UFC fighter Mr.____ has read and taken Alice Walker’s work to heart. Too bad. But it’s never too late for enlightenment, is it? After all, I just read The Color Purple for the first time. Maybe he will too someday.

“I been so busy thinking bout him I never truly notice nothing God make. Not a blade of corn (how it do that?) not the color purple (where it come from?). Not the wildflowers. Nothing. Now that my eyes opening. I feels like a fool. Next to any scrub of a bush in my yard, Mr.___’s evil sort of shrink.”

Here is my daughter’s essay from the spring of 2025. She’s headed off to college this fall to study accounting aka “the language of business.” I’m hopeful she’ll change the world one business conversation at a time with empathy and wonder that are so critical to the human and American experience.

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Out of Control: The Cyclical Nature of Abuse by Annabel Albright

The less control an individual has over their own life, the greater their desire will be to control others. This drive for power is blinding and causes those afflicted to disregard the moral consequences of their quest to regain control, resulting in the perpetuation of cycles of abuse. These observations are relevant when considering the motivations behind Mr.___ ’s physically and psychologically abusive behavior towards members of his family. In The Color Purple, Mr. ___ failed to challenge the societal standards that dictated his own life and instead became an avid enforcer of the same ideologies, demonstrating that when one’s own autonomy is obstructed, individuals will seek to regain their power through the control of others.

Mr.___ went to great lengths to control others around him. Most frequently, his wife Celie was the victim in his struggle for power. In a reluctant and transactional marriage void of any connection, Mr. ___ treated Celie as his servant, overwhelming her with a heavy workload immediately after she moved in. As time passed, Mr.___ demanded much from Celie and was physically abusive regardless of her compliance. Mr. ___’s treatment of Celie was not only abusive through his frequent violent attacks, but also through the cruel emotional manipulation he used to obscure his failed physical pursuit of Celie’s younger sister Nettie. “Every day when Mr. __ come from the mailbox I hope for news. But nothing come. She dead, I say” (Walker 117). Mr.___ hid each of Nettie’s letters, leading Celie to draw the devastating conclusion that Nettie was dead. After Mr. ___’s unsuccessful attempt to assault Nettie on the day of her departure, Mr.__ felt severely threatened by Nettie’s ability to stand up for herself. Knowing that Nettie would fight to protect Celie just as fiercely as she had fought to protect herself, Mr.__ feared that any communication from Nettie would undermine his domination over Celie. After growing up in an unstable household run by their abusive “Pa”, Celie and Nettie had formed an unbreakable bond that helped them endure their situation. Both sisters went to great lengths to protect the other, including Celie’s acceptance to marry Mr.___ who had originally insisted on taking Nettie as his new wife.

Although Celie was not Mr. ___’s first choice to marry, neither was Nettie. Nor Annie Julia, his first wife who died at the hands of the lover she took during her abusive and loveless marriage. Mr.___ ’s first choice, and the mother to three of his children, was the glamourous and free-spirited Shug Avery. However, due to his father’s disapproval and his own inability to accept and defend the unconventional nature of his relationship with Shug, Mr. ___ found himself unable to stay with his true love, an anguish that fueled the fire of his cruelty. “But, he weak, she say. His daddy told him I’m trash, my mama trash before me. His brother say the same. Albert try to stand up for us, git knock down” (Walker 121). The societal expectations that defined the necessary nature of a committed relationship and the objections of his father drove Mr. ___ and Shug apart. In this limitation of autonomy, Mr. ___ was met directly by the lack of power he held over the direction of his life. This helplessness ultimately led to Mr. ___ accepting and enforcing the same beliefs regarding marriage that obstructed his love for Shug Avery.

The concept of love is explored extensively throughout different relationships in the novel, with each unique manifestation of love holding great power. For most of his life, Mr. ___ was unable to comprehend or appreciate the nature of the love he shared with Shug. Instead, Mr. ___ believed that their relationship must adhere to the societal expectation of marriage, a suggestion rejected equally forcefully by both his father and Shug herself. “And I didn’t even want him for a husband, she say. I never really wanted Albert for a husband” (Walker 122).While Shug was deeply enamored with Mr. ____, she continued to prioritize her independence and ability to freely pursue her musical career. The institution of marriage may take many forms, but in early 20^th century America, marriage more closely resembled ownership rather than partnership. Though Shug Avery was merely rejecting a suppressive patriarchal dynamic, Mr. ___ failed to reflect on the flawed societal standards and instead sought to avenge his loss by pursuing what he perceived as the correct balance of power in marital relationships. In each of Mr. ___’s subsequent marriages, he compensated for the absence of love through an increased exertion of violent control over his wives. Mr. ___ sought to regain the power he lost to constrictive societal expectations by becoming a proponent of the same principles that had stifled his relationship with Shug Avery.

Harpo is Mr.___’s eldest son by his first wife. Along with Celie, Harpo suffers greatly from the wrath of his father’s regrets. Having never truly loved Harpo’s mother, Mr. ___ extends much of the same cruelty toward Harpo. Like Celie, Harpo is treated as a servant by his father and is forced to work long shifts of intense physical labor. “Why don’t you work no more? he ast his daddy. No reason for me to. His daddy say. You here, aint you? He say this nasty” (Walker 27). When Harpo questions why his father doesn’t contribute toward the household work, his father coldly implies that Harpo’s sole purpose is to work, and that Harpo’s existence excuses Mr.___ from any continued contributions. While the conditions of Mr. __’s upbringing are not discussed in detail, it can be inferred through his father’s authoritative nature and Mr. ___’s continuation of a hierarchical household structure that Mr.___ was raised in a familial dynamic that called for the household’s children to perform the bulk of the labor. This philosophy that incentivizes the creation and expansion of families to relieve the previous generation of their responsibilities illustrates how when an individual grows up in a system that limits their autonomy, they will eventually seek to regain their power and justify their suffering by asserting their own control over someone weaker. When an individual, like Mr. ___, is raised under the pretense that the head of a household should reap the rewards from the others’ work, they will support these hierarchical systems of command when it becomes their turn to benefit from the arrangement that previously limited their autonomy.

This dynamic does not end solely with an unfair distribution of household labor, rather it extends to the complete emotional and physical domination over the rest of the family. These expansive powers manifested in both Mr. ___’s physical abuse of Harpo and his instillment of misogynistic patriarchal values which would ultimately sabotage Harpo’s marriage to Sofia. “[Harpo] Grin, look up on the porch at his daddy. Mr.___ blow smoke, look down at him, and say, Yeah, I see now she going to switch the traces on you” (Walker 34). Harpo was satisfied and secure in his relationship with his first love and wife, Sofia. Though Sofia’s more independent behaviors were considered unconventional by societal standards, Harpo truly loved Sofia and was content with their distribution of responsibilities. Harpo even began to enjoy the completion of domestic tasks, like doing the dishes, after moving out of his father’s house. After Sofia asked Harpo to hold their baby, Harpo smiled, taking pride in caring for his child. However, given his perspective that the unconventional dynamic of his relationship with Shug was societally unacceptable, Mr. ___ poked at his son’s marriage and scorned Harpo for not having more power over his wife. Although Mr. ___ criticisms were ironic given his own non-compliance with traditional gender roles in his relationship with Shug Avery, Harpo took his father’s disapproval to heart, obsessing over ways to gain power over Sophia. His determination to control Sofia drove the two apart, leading Sofia and the children to leave Harpo.

Ultimately, Mr.___ makes amends with the victims of his abuse. He reflects with Celie on his own suffering and how his longing to be with Shug had deterred his ability to appreciate his surroundings. “I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ast…The more I wonder, he say, the more I love” (Walker 281). Mr. ___ eventually finds inner peace by accepting his role in the universe, not as an enforcer, but rather an observer and an enjoyer of the world’s infinite mysteries. By relinquishing control, Mr. ___ discovers the various types of love that always surrounded him, and this time he does not attempt to confine them by societal standards. Celie symbolically acknowledges this change in character, as she calls Mr. ___ by his first name, Albert, in their final interactions. By choosing to redact Albert’s last name from most of Celie’s narrative, Walker placed an emphasis on the significance of the last name within the context of how America’s patriarchy suppresses individuality. Americans inherit their last names, either generationally or through marriage, with the male surname traditionally superseding the female. Albert’s father, Albert, and Harpo are all technically “Mr. ___”, a shared identity which correlates to the inherited and collective generational perspective that would limit each of their world views.

When trapped in conditions which limit one’s autonomy, individuals will inherit their oppressor’s desire for control. The repetitive nature of this sequence demonstrates how cycles of abuse are not necessarily perpetuated by the inheritance of irreparable moral flaws, but rather through misguided vengeance and a desire to rationalize the causes of their own suffering. Only by changing the lens through which one perceives their surroundings will stifled individuals begin to understand their true motivations and desires.

Thank you for your support!

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Paid subscriptions are amazing, but I understand they aren’t for everyone. My Venmo is @chip-albright-1 if you feel inspired to “chip in” at any level supporting my art and independence. You can also learn about my other professional services at www.chiphappens.life where I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses.

As a former caregiver for a family member with dementia, my interest was immediately piqued when I recently met Iowa author Terri Leedom at an event and learned that she released a book about dementia earlier this year. I had several questions for Terri, who lived as a caregiver for more than eight years with her mother, Donna. Terri previously released a light-hearted children’s book, My Silly Granny (2022), in an effort to help destigmatize dementia for small children. Since that release, friends and family had encouraged her to tell more of the story and share her caregiver and dementia insights with others.

Terri kindly agreed to hop on the podcast to discuss her book (which can be purchased here for $17.95). It’s an incredibly accessible read—full of practical advice and heart. As the great humanitarian and former first lady Roslyn Carter said, “There are only four kinds of people in the world: Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”

More About Play the Game from Beaverdale Books

“Play the Game is a deeply compassionate, personal account of author Terri Leedom’s journey as a caregiver to her mother living with dementia. From the earliest signs of the disease to her mother’s final decline, this memoir offers a candid look at the realities of a condition that erodes memory, but never love.

Leedom shares how she learned to play “the game of dementia” one day at a time, following her mother’s lead and finding connection with her mother’s new and ever-changing reality. She showed up each day with good humor and a willingness to meet her mother wherever she was in her mind.

Blending Leedom’s honest storytelling with accounts of others who have faced similar experiences, Play the Game offers guidance for how caregivers can gain access to the mental world of their loved one with patience and empathy, and provides heartfelt insight into establishing new connections. It’s a holistic approach for anyone embarking upon or already navigating this challenging path, including a checklist of common dementia symptoms, practical caregiving suggestions, and self-care tips for desperate times.”

In addition to her work as an author, Terri keeps an active schedule, bringing joy to various assisted living facilities. "I wanted to thank you again for coming to our Memory Café. You made such an impact on our friends who are struggling with the changes in their loved one. You have a story to share that will touch so many lives. Thank you so much!" - Gay Puthoff, Resident Life Coordinator, The Village, a WesleyLife Community. You can order Play the Game or My Silly Granny here, or connect with Terri at terri@terrileedom.com if you’re interested in hosting her for an event.

Thank you for your support!

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Paid subscriptions are amazing, but I understand they aren’t for everyone. My Venmo is @chip-albright-1 if you feel inspired to “chip in” at any level supporting art and independence. You can also learn about my other professional services at www.chiphappens.life where I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses.

As we sat down for our daughter’s final high school orchestra concert a few weeks ago, my wife and I thumbed through the pages of the program featuring senior highlights. In it, we learned that our Annabel’s favorite orchestra piece was Adagio by Adalyn Sidon.

As I reviewed the program, I noticed that the Chamber Orchestra would be playing Adagio from Star Suite written by Adalyn Sidon. How cool, I thought. The orchestra is playing an original composition written by a classmate! What a remarkable and fun achievement. The piece was beautiful and the vibes spectacular inside the Roosevelt High School Auditorium as Adalyn performed the viola solo with an orchestra of her peers led by conductor Jennifer Luft.

After the performance, I reached out to Adalyn to see if she would be willing to discuss the composition, share insights from her creation, and give us a sneak peek as to what the future in music holds for her. She kindly agreed to join the podcast, and I learned all sorts of new things about “textures, timbres and artificial harmonics” and the “deeper, more emotional sound” of the viola. This young woman is going places, including the Hilton Head Chamber Music Festival for ten days this summer. Thanks for joining the podcast, Adalyn, and all the best as you head off to the University of Michigan this fall!

Thank you for your support!

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Paid subscriptions are amazing, but I understand they aren’t for everyone. My Venmo is @chip-albright-1 if you feel inspired to “chip in” at any level supporting art and independence. You can also learn about my other professional services at www.chiphappens.life where I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses.

When I moved to Iowa in my early 20s in the fall of 1999, there was a high-functioning, almost tranquil approach to politics that felt like it consistently moved the state forward on the issues of the day through discussion and compromise. Seasoned senators Charles Grassley (R) and Tom Harkin (D) represented both sides of the aisle with real political capital in DC, Democratic governors Tom Vilsack and Chet Culver served terms sandwiched between those of Republican stalwart Terry Branstad, and congressional representatives from our then 5 congressional seats (we lost a seat after the 2010 census due to relative declining population) were a fluid blend of red and blue. Current party registration numbers strongly indicate that we are generally the same community-minded people and thinkers, but our constitutional federal republic government has moved away from an accurate representation given the sea of red that floods Iowa from the Mississippi to Missouri rivers.

Civility and compromise reigned as elected officials were forced to work with each other to create meaningful legislation because that’s what the populace expected. We cared so deeply about public education we chose it to represent us on the back of the Iowa quarter in 2004, featuring a schoolhouse and the words “Foundation in Education.” Additionally, the entire world looked to our state’s astute adjudication skills as presidential hopefuls from all parties came here to enjoy the Iowa State Fair, ride RAGBRAI, eat delicious pie, kiss our babies and connect with real folks that care deeply about democracy in America and quality of life throughout our rural and urban landscapes.

Fast forward to 2026: I’m now in my 50s and it seems that the concept of elected officials working together is ancient history in contemporary politics. For example, the apolitical human health issue of rising cancer rates (Iowa continues to have the second-highest rate of cancer in the country and is one of a few states that has rising rates of cancer, according to an annual report by the Iowa Cancer Registry) saw very little traction in this last session. A last-minute funding bill for water treatment is hardly a drop in the bucket of what’s truly needed to reverse this alarming trend and we all know it. But, when one group has all the power, you can just take your bill and leave the court. You also don’t need to invite others over to play with you.

These days, State Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat to hold a statewide office; he’s actively campaigning to become the next governor as Kim Reynolds (R) steps down from the stranglehold she’s had on Terrace Hill for what seems like a decade and then some of single-party rule. Given the overall frustration felt by the majority of the populace, it isn’t that surprising that both Reynolds and sitting senator Joni Ernst (R) are choosing to step down and exit stage right for more relaxing lives than those of elected officials trying to answer the hard questions of an unhappy constituency.

You know who isn’t looking to take the exit door? . The hopeful Senate candidate is out there wheeling himself door-to-door, entering the homes of Iowans to better understand the issues, talking (and listening) to anyone and everyone that cares about the future of Iowa and America. He speaks openly about growing up struggling to make ends meet in Council Bluffs, how the system helped his family overcome his spina bifida—a result of his father’s exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, and how his experiences living overseas as a competitive athlete broadened his perspective on government, especially when it comes to funding healthcare. He also talks about how falling in love with and marrying an immigrant gave him personal insights on our overly-cumbersome system, how Tom Harkin’s legacy ADA legislation created opportunities for him that would otherwise not exist, and how the Iowa economy needs to diversify and treat our waterways and ways of life with greater respect.

It only takes being around Josh for a few minutes to feel and benefit from his story and authenticity. I’m happy to have interacted with Representative Turek a few times now because of my song, “If It’s Turek, That’s Terrific!” that I released in April after reading a series of articles by in The Iowa Mercury about Turek’s life story and his ascending Senate campaign. The more I read, the more impressed I was and I couldn’t stop thinking about the wordplay between “Turek” and “Terrific.” So, I wrote a song with six simple verses (one for each vote he won his first election by in Council Bluffs) in a classic “three chords and the truth” manner in the hopes of it benefiting Josh’s road to the Senate by encouraging people to hop on the Turek Train.

Within a day or so of releasing and publishing “If It’s Turek, That’s Terrific!”, I received a call from a 712 number that wasn’t accompanied with a “Potential Spam” warning, so I picked up. It was Josh. He wanted me to know he really enjoyed the song and appreciated my support. It wasn’t a long conversation, but he certainly didn’t cut me short in the chat. Since then, I have been invited to play the song at a couple of fundraisers in Des Moines for friends hosting meet and greets. At the first event, I waited around until the end to chat with Josh. I watched him engage with attendees asking him tough and pointed questions that evening. He was clearly educated on the issues and consistently provided thoughtful and nuanced responses. As I watched him, I was increasingly more impressed with his level-headedness, overall knowledge, and general enthusiasm.

I asked him, “What was it that made you decide to run for office?” His answer was twofold. First, he knew based on his personal experiences of living overseas and growing up with a disability, that he had the perspective and fortitude to improve life for others. Secondly, when he learned that no permanently disabled Iowan had ever been elected to statewide office, he knew the onus was on him to change that ridiculous statistic in a time when nearly 1 in 5 people are permanently disabled. As a result, he ran for Iowa's 20th House of Representatives district in his conservative hometown of Council Bluffs in western Iowa and won by six votes in 2022.

He improved his winning vote margin substantially in his 2024 re-election because his constituents clearly trust and believe in him. During his second term, he worked on agricultural legislation, co-sponsoring a bipartisan right-to-repair bill requiring ag equipment manufacturers to make parts, software, and repair tools available to farmers and independent mechanics at fair and reasonable cost. The bill passed the Iowa House in 2026. Josh is not just able to win elections—he can follow through and enact legislation as a response to articulated needs.

Given his ability to win an election in an extremely red district by literally pulling himself up the stairs into homes to meet with people face-to-face, I have faith Josh Turek can bring his message of “prairie populism” across our beautiful state, mobilizing many voters that are currently apathetic with American and Iowa politics this fall. Josh puts people over party and has me excited to see a purple majesty on the horizon again. On the other hand, the only purple the Zach Wahl’s campaign seems to be showcasing these days is that of sour grapes with their continued negative attacks of “Iowans Over Insiders” launched at Team Turek. Zach was the first Democrat to announce his candidacy for the US Senate race in the spring of 2025. He likely thought he’d go unchallenged, given his connections and over 15 years of being in the state’s political spotlight, but that’s not the way the ball is bouncing. Former Team USA Paralympian gold medalist Josh Turek is on the court, leading with a winner’s mentality and ready to usher in a new purple reign the state of Iowa so desperately needs.

Looking for my original essay and song about Josh Turek? You can find it here, "If It's Turek, That's Terrific!"

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Thank you for your support!

To find more stories and insights across the state of Iowa, please consider following and supporting the many talented journalists and storytellers of the Iowa Writer’s Collaborative of which I’m a proud member. NOTE: All annual paid subscribers to the Chip Happens Substack will receive a copy of my CD compilation, Twenty-Five, that includes 25 original songs. If you are only in the market for the CD, it is available here for $25. CD art and design were completed by my amazing and talented wife, Jen Albright, who is the driving force behind our strategy + creative firm, AlbrightSpark.

Paid subscriptions are amazing, but I understand they aren’t for everyone. My Venmo is @chip-albright-1 if you feel inspired to “chip in” at any level supporting my art and independence. You can also learn about my other professional services at www.chiphappens.life where I help folks evaluate strategic alternatives to traditional long-term care based on my experience as a family caregiver with loved ones that endured difficult cancer and dementia diagnoses.