About ivanbenson
I am a former singer, guitar player, writer, story teller, voice over talent, and a current heart attack survivor in the Atlanta, Georgia area.
For about 10 years I was privileged to tell the Christmas story at Stone Mountain Park. The train would stop on the back side of the mountain, and Grandpa Lacey (yours truly) would emerge to greet the passengers and tell … Continue reading →
Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged Christmas, defibrillator, gift of life, gifts, Grandpa Lacey, heart attack, ICD, Isaiah 53, Luke 2, Magi, Messiah, Scott Rousseau, Stone Mountain Park, the Christmas story, The Gift
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A week ago I found myself googling to find the meaning behind the numerous memes on Facebook with the simple words, “Me too.” The answer appeared quickly, of course. The numbers of persons expressing identification with the experience of sexual … Continue reading →
Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged adult entertainment, exploitation, Facebook, free speech, Game of Thrones, Me Too, molestation, moral boundaries, No rules. Just right., NPR, Outback, pornography, PTSD, radio, sexual abuse, sexual predator, Tom Ashbrook, TV, women
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So, this is the BIG DAY in the U.S.A., the total eclipse of the sun! It will happen in just a couple of hours from the time I am writing, and I am really excited. Supposedly, it hasn’t happened in … Continue reading →
Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged 1918, agenda, awe, awed, Barnum and Bailey, Biblical, Big Top tent, blockage, deception, disaster, eclipse, economy, fake news, flags, iPhone, Louisiana, Lowe's, media, monuments, morality, Mount Rushmore, New Orleans, new phenomenon, obfuscation, observers, occlusion, outside our control, overshadowed, phenomena, politics, racial issues, Savannah, Stone Mountain, sunblock, Total eclipse of the sun, witnesses
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“It sounds like you’re getting to do many of the things that bring joy to you. And that is very good!” These were the words of my friend, Will, spoken to me almost a decade ago. They still resonate with … Continue reading →
Today my wife and I visited The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. It was our first visit. And what a delight it was, too. If you’ve never been there you must put this on your bucket list; it is … Continue reading →
Posted in Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged 1888, 1895, 1914, 1930, 1956, All's right with the world, Asheville, Asia, Austria, Biltmore, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Crazy Horse, Easter 2004, El Capitan, Europe, Franz Joseph Haydn, George Vanderbilt, Grand Tetons, grandeur, Great Depression, Kentucky, Kilimanjaor, majesty, Mount Everest, Mount Rushmore, Noah's Ark, North Carolina, Redwood, Robert Browning, Saint Michael's Cathedral, Sequoia, size, spendor, Stone Mountain Park, Vienna
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We lost a famous poet this past week at the age of 87; his name was Derek Walcott. Today, NPR has been featuring his work, and discussing his effect on humanity. In one sense, I must confess I don’t know … Continue reading →
Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged 87, agnostic, atheist, Derek Walcott, DNA, facts, Goridan Knots, hyperbole, illustrative, Into the West, metaphor, primal nature, realm, sacred, sentient, the full spectrum, The Lord of the Rings, the whole truth, war atrocities
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It’s hard to know what something really costs, isn’t it? I mean, if you buy a piece of clothing you find appealing, and you begin to explore where it was made, who designed it, how and by whom it was … Continue reading →
Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged "Time is money", 20 pound hammer, 2016, 21st century, Americans, Apple watch, cancer, cost-conscious, counting the cost, criminal indictments, decay, Europe, extraction, Germany, hard working, heart attack, heart disease, hell bent, holiday, Holland, insider trading, iPad, iPhone, John Henry, lazy, movies, Operating System, pace of life, pioneers, pulling teeth, raison d'etre, rest, Rudyard Kipling, sixty seconds worth of distance run, standard of living, steel-driving, stress, taken us captive, tax evasion, television, the Jones's, The true cost, work
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My father was good with tools! Especially when working with wood. His father was born in Sweden in 1878, and Dad used to have some of his father’s tools until thieves broke into his and Mom’s Tucson, AZ house years … Continue reading →
Posted in Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged 1878, AZ, Christmas, coping saw, coping skills, Dad, father, fears, Flexibility, force, Forgiveness, Gentleness, grandfather, holidays, inauguration, insecurity, Jesus, Joseph, Mary, Mom, New Year, president, stress, Sweden, the unknown, tools, Tucson, uncertainty, worry
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Simplicity. It’s one of those things that many of us had as children, but at an age when we were incapable of appreciating it. It occurs when the stuff of life is boiled down (so to speak) to its essential … Continue reading →
Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged 2017, adventure, clarity, disaster, focus, heart attack, neutraceuticals, purpose, simplicity, stop and smell the roses, tragedy
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Sometimes the most arresting questions seem to come “out of the” proverbial “blue.” And often, they come from a source you would not expect. This particular question came from my grandson; he is 5 1/2, going on 25. My wife … Continue reading →
Posted in Aging Parents, Assisted Living, Family History, Stories, Uncategorized
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Tagged Art Linkletter, behavior, boundless, career, children, divorce, Dunkin Donuts, elderly, foster growth, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandson, honesty, independent living, kids say the darndest things, live out the words, natural candor, need to be wanted, nursing home, out of the blue, profundity, security, sought after, teenagers, the power of words, unhappiness, want to be needed
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The Lost Story 