Voice #8

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

I think people have finally got it that just because we are maybe in a war that is not popular with a certain segment of the society, they're not holding that against the military member. And the outpouring of folks that are willing to come forward and help is great.

Delia Gorham:

Folks need to be speaking out. In times like these, and especially with an election coming up, it's so important to use your vote as your voice.

Carlin Whitehouse:

The media plays a huge role in shaping cultural values, shaping beliefs, shaping norms and ideas, ideas about, for example, gender stereotypes, how men are supposed to be, how women are supposed to be, and then when they have relationships. How is that supposed to play out?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

hello, this is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, airing November 6th. This week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, our theme is voice. My co host, Genevieve Morgan and I will be speaking to a broad variety of guests, each giving their opinion on what voice means to them and how best to have one's own voice in this world. Voice is an important topic within my medical practice, and in fact it is maybe the most important topic. The most important thing that I do as a medical professional is to listen and to enable people to have a voice which may have been lost long before in their lives. A loss of voice which does indeed contribute to physical, emotional and mental woes. Once people have found this voice, I find that many of their health problems fall away. This week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we begin with a discussion of the importance of voice in soldiers who are returning home from conflicts overseas. We have a conversation with Major General Bill Libby and Chaplain Andy Gibson of the Maine National Guard. This is followed by a conversation with musician and local event promoter Spencer Albee. We then go into a conversation with Delia Gorham of the League of Young Voters and Carlin Whitehouse of the Young Adult Abuse Prevention Program. Each of these individuals, in their own way, is helping others to create a voice for themselves in this world. We hope this program and all of our Dr. Lisa Radio RM podcast programs are doing just that. For those who are listening, we are attempting to give a voice to all the people that are on. We are attempting to prompt others who are listening to perhaps think about the importance of their own voice in their own lives. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle. Thank you for joining us. Each week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, my co host and I, Genevieve Morgan, have a conversation which we just this week are starting to call deep dish rather than food and sustenance.

Genevieve Morgan:

I think we were eating something when we came up with that name.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I think we were actually. I think we were burritos or something. Right. We were at Bruce's Burritos in Yarmouth, and that's a favorite hangout. So we thought, you know what? We do a lot more than just talk about food on some of these segments and let's call it something different. And you're the creative genius. So this is what you came up with.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, I wouldn't say that, but I am good at some marketing terms every now and then.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

That's good. I like that. This is an interesting deep dish to have because we're talking about voice this week. And one might not necessarily think, oh, well, food, nutrition, nourishment, how are they related to voice? But they kind of are.

Genevieve Morgan:

Definitely. Definitely. I mean, the strength of your voice is how you put action and thought into the world.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It absolutely is. And there's a very physical thing that we know that happens in Chinese medicine and even in Ayurvedic Indian medicine where they talk about the voice and the throat chakra and your ability to express. Express yourself. And so.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, I'm actually looking at you right now across the studio, and your throat is right in between where your heart is and your head.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Jen, you're a genius. I think that that's a very important thing. And then sometimes when people are either sort of too much in their hearts or too much in their heads and they aren't able to marry those two, that. That does become kind of an issue, that they lose their voice.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, that makes sense.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. And we've talked about, I think. I don't remember how many weeks ago it was. Now, because we have so much fun here on the doctoralisa Radio Hour and we have so many shows now, and we do. It's so exciting, this own using of our own voices. We entertain ourselves this way. And we hope that we entertain those of you who are listening. We were talking about sort of milk and sort of phlegmy things that cause you to lose your voice. We talked about the throat and cold season tea and other things that you could do to keep your voice going during the cold season. So we thought, let's talk about something kind of related to that.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, I know it's important for you, Lisa, because you actually have a singing career. I don't know how many of your fans and listeners know this, but. But Lisa sings, actually sings extremely well. And I know because I used to act and I used to do a little singing myself, that you have to really prepare your throat when you want. There's one thing to talk and then there's a whole other thing when you're trying to project and sing. So what do you do?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What do I do? Well, one of the things that's very important is, and this has been known for a long time, is the importance of warmth and keeping your throat warm. And I know this as far as not only singing, but also digesting. I teach this in the dragon's way qigong class. I talk to my patients about it in this country. It's so weird that we're always about the ice water. Let's have some ice water with our meal. Let's have our ice water to cool us down.

Genevieve Morgan:

Even when it's 20 below.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We want ice water, we want ice water. And that's actually kind of. That doesn't really make sense. We need to keep things nice and warm. We need to keep our throats warm and our stomach's warm so that we can digest. So I will often start my meals and this is whether I'm going to sing or not, but. But I'll start my meals with something warm. So I at least have room temperature water. But I also will sometimes have tea, which is one of the things that we thought we might talk about today.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, and actually, if you go to a Chinese restaurant or a Japanese restaurant, they often serve you tea. So that makes a lot of sense.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. And tea does have very interesting and unique health benefits. It's more and more we're finding the benefits of tea. And the reason why it's so interesting to me is because if you think about what tea is, or tisane, I think that's how you pronounce it. T, I, S, A, N, E, which is an herbal preparation, and not the Camilla sinensis leaf, which is actually tea. These are all sort of condensed plants. So tea is all the healthiest things about plants kind of condense down and then you reconstitute them with a little water. And it's like a little magical potion.

Genevieve Morgan:

Yes. And an ancient cure, actually.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes. And we use this a lot in Chinese medicine. We use a lot of teas to help people heal, but they also use it in Ayurvedic medicine. And we know that it's becoming more and more used as people go back to herbal preparations. If you go to, like, the Whole Foods Market, which sponsors our locally grown food segment, there's an entire section full of teas. So it can have many different benefits,

Genevieve Morgan:

which can also be sort of confusing when you're shopping to figure out what's right for you and what you need.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And it's important to know that there is a broad range of teas that are available that are herbal preparations and they're not without their side effects. So there is valerian tea, which can be good for sleep. There's tea that has hops in it, which is also good for sleep. But if you're going to use an herbal preparation, then you probably want to do a little research ahead of time, and hopefully you have a practitioner who has some knowledge of herbs that can help you out with this so that you're.

Genevieve Morgan:

That's right. And if you're on medication, sometimes you really need to check with your practitioner to make sure that the herb that you're drinking doesn't counteract, or maybe it's a mixture of herbs.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes. And it's something that you might not intuitively know. So if you have access to something like the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, you can go look at that. If you have a naturopathic physician. We had Dr. Richard Maurer here a few weeks ago, and he has a good knowledge of T's. We'll have Deb Sewell of Avena Botanicals coming up in a later show. So find somebody that knows something about these herbal preparations. Don't just jump in.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, I think what's interesting about what you're saying is that they really. They have power. I think when people think about tea, they think about a diluted drink. And what you're saying is that it's actually an incredibly powerful thing to do for yourself is to drink tea.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Right. It's been around for thousands and thousands of years. So this is all we've been talking about, medicinal teas. And you asked me, what do you do to prepare for singing? Well, what I do to prepare for singing is kind of what I do in my normal routine, which is I Actually drink a fair amount of tea. I tend toward green tea and green tea is known for a lot of things. It's about mid range as far as caffeine content is concerned, but it does have caffeine. So green tea has antioxidant properties and it's been shown to be good for cancer prevention and also good for heart disease and maybe even some lipid lowering, some cholesterol lowering properties. If you're thinking about your green tea, it's halfway between kind of black tea and white tea and then there's of course decaf tea. But green tea is about middle range as far as caffeine content is concerned. Your black tea is your oolong tea, Earl Grey, which has a little bit of bergamot oil in it.

Genevieve Morgan:

My kid's favorite is English breakfast.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

English breakfast, absolutely. So those are all your black teas and they have to do with the way that the tea is actually prepared, the way it's oxidized and then. So that's black tea and that has the most caffeine content, not as much as coffee. And the reason I talk about caffeine is because that again, just like the herbs that we've been talking about, has an impact on the body. So it's just important to know if you're going to be drinking tea, how much caffeine does it have in it and where do you want to place it in the course of your day and how it works for you and how it works for you. So black tea has the most amount of caffeine, green tea not as much. And then white tea, which we don't know as much about, we don't use as much in this country. But I love white tea. It's a beautiful light tea that you can have sort of mid afternoon. It comes in different. There's a silver needle tea that comes loosely formed that it's just a. And again it has antioxidant properties. It's a good thing to have in the middle of the afternoon. If I'm looking at the teas over the course of my day, whether I'm singing or not, start with black in the morning, green sort of throughout to mid afternoon. And then if I'm going to have, if I want something lightly caffeinated, I'll go with a little white tea.

Genevieve Morgan:

What about lemon? Let me quickly ask.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I think we talked about lemon and cayenne.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, just for your throat.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, Lemon and cayenne as a cold sort of preventive. In a past segment we've talked about that. So it really just depends upon sort of what you need in your. If you need that sort of astringent, if you're trying to fight off some flemminess, it's not a bad thing to

Genevieve Morgan:

have in your tea.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

In your. Yes, right. In your tea. That's right. So those of you who are interested, you can find cold season tea, you can find locally grown honey, you can find other teas down at the Whole Foods. And hopefully having a little bit of this tea will help you to find your voice, whether it's singing or otherwise. Well, Jen, it's been fun to talk to you as always. I love having our guests on, but I also love just hanging out doing the deep dish with you.

Genevieve Morgan:

I know it's a nice chance for us to catch up. We've got so much to talk about every day.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I know we always run out of time on this segment, but we'll talk about it more next week.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Hello, this is Dr. Lisa Belisle. And this morning we're privileged to have with us two special guests from the military. This is a new thing for us on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour podcast. So Genevieve Morgan, my co host, and I are very happy to have you both here. Good morning, General Libby, and also Andy Gibson.

Major General John W. Libby:

Good morning, ladies.

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

Good morning.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And should I call you Chaplain Gibson? What's your official title?

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

Chaplain Gibson? If you'd like to call me Andy, I'm just as comfortable with that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

All right, well, I'm gonna read a little background on you because this is, it's interesting to me. Well, we'll start with you, Chaplain Andy. You are the director of Deployment Cycle Support and Maine Military and Community Services. You've been in the military for 24 years and received your Master of Divinity for from the Bangor Theological Seminary 19 years ago. You're ordained in the national association of Congregational Christian Churches. And what's really interesting to me, because I have siblings who have also been overseas, you were deployed in both Bosnia and Afghanistan.

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

That's correct. It's been a great career and I've really enjoyed the work that I've been

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

able to do and I thank you for it. I mean, having siblings go overseas, it really is very meaningful to be sitting here with somebody who's been overseas. So I Know that. And Genevieve also feels the same way, I think.

Genevieve Morgan:

Oh, absolutely. I do. I do.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And, General Libby, you're just as impressive, actually. You're officially a major general, is that correct? Yes, Major General. Major General Libby assumed you assumed your duties as the Adjutant General of the Maine National Guard on January 15, 2004. And during your tenure, the Maine National Guard has been continually involved in operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and more recently, Libya. You're responsible for mobilizing, deploying, and returning units from war, but your emphasis has been on the reintegration of Maine National Guard members back into their civilian lives and families. What's more interesting to me is that you also served in Vietnam. This is the reason that we decided to have you come in today. We're talking about voice. And as you know, my father is in the main Air National Guard. I think both of you have worked with him as Dr. Charles Belisle. I don't know exactly what his. General Libby, do you know his actual military title?

Genevieve Morgan:

Oh, yes. Tell us his rank.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. Is he a colonel or something?

Major General John W. Libby:

I'd rather tell you some stories about back in Orono, but.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Okay. Well, we know.

Delia Gorham:

Okay.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You were just actually saying earlier today that you played football with my father at the University of Maine, but you know him now as a family physician serving in the Maine Air National Guard. And the reason that we were interested in having you come in was because I had a conversation with him about how people are impacted when they serve overseas and how their families are impacted short term and long term. And he said this is a really important topic for you to discuss because sometimes people feel as if they don't have a voice upon returning. And I know that you have suggested that this is so people don't necessarily know who they can talk to or what they should be saying or when they should be asking for help.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, and I imagine their experiences are so different from the civilians who are here that coming back and having all of these stories that they may or may not want to tell, figuring out what to tell, what to say, when to say it can be very challenging.

Major General John W. Libby:

Yeah, there's no question about that. And we all react to our experiences differently and therefore have different needs when they come back. And what Andy's all about and what I'm all about. And frankly, my focus comes from my experience in Vietnam. When I returned From Vietnam in 1969, my service was not embraced. It wasn't appreciated. And that's a statement of who we were as a nation at that time, at the end of a very unique, popular War. We went to Starbucks across the street this morning and could not pay for our coffee. So the military has seen differently now. So at some level, it is easier for people to get the help that they want. But as I was sharing with Lisa, we are all Mainers and we're stubborn and we don't ask for help. And that's part of my challenge, is to convince people that I returned from Vietnam in 1969 suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. I sought help. I was changed by my experience, not clinically diagnosable. Perhaps my wife would confirm what I'm telling you, but it was not an impediment to my being successful in my chosen career. And I feel I'm more resilient than I was. So I like to talk about post traumatic stress growth, which a lot of people experience. But part of our challenge is convincing people, their families, their loved ones and their employers that help is available. All you got to do is ask, right?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You have to. You actually have to speak up. Although you were telling me that there is a pretty significant process. Once somebody goes overseas and comes back, you have an. Well, you tell me about this. Tell me what that looks like.

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

Well, Maine's actually, we've got our own program. There are programs that are sponsored federally. And then there's stuff that we do here for our folks, one of which in particular is that right when they get off the plane from their mobilization station, wherever that might be in the United States, we have a one day demobilization reverse check where they go to different stations. And part of those stations is finding about all the benefits that are available to them. Then the more formalized program at 30, 60, and 90 days is called the Yellow Ribbon, and that is congressionally funded. And at that, again, they see a lot of the benefits, a lot of the things that are available, a lot of the formal and informal folks that are out there that are willing to support them, their families are invited to these things. And so we find a lot of times that the military member is still kind of in a little bit of a daze after they've come back. It's not a behavioral health issue. It's just a natural reintegration, emotional experience. And so a lot of times the family member, whether it be a spouse, whether it be a parent, maybe even a brother, sister, or even kids, sometimes even a friend, can better understand the benefits that are available and better explain to that military member what's going on. Oh, by the way, we also do this before they leave, and we also have several sessions for the Families while the military member is gone. So all through its support, and that's why it's called deployment cycle support is because the whole cycle is getting ready for war, actually participating in war and then reintegrating from war. And every single service member in Maine is in one of those zones, one of those parts of the cycle.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I think it's really important to remember that we really are in war. I mean, this is very. I think this is a significant challenge. And I'm glad that when you went to Starbucks, people wouldn't pay for your coffee because that's sort of the least.

Genevieve Morgan:

Wouldn't let you pay.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Wouldn't. Well, right. Wouldn't let you pay. Sorry. But, you know, but the dozen seem. My mother, when my. I had three siblings that were all overseas and she had her three blue stars in the door. And for people who are in the military, they know what that means, but there's a lot of people who don't know what that means. And I was talking with Genevieve about this yesterday, that it's almost as if there's this something going on somewhere else. But we can be completely. It can be completely abstract and we're not remembering that there are violent, violent things that continue to go on overseas.

Genevieve Morgan:

Yeah.

Major General John W. Libby:

And it becomes more difficult for the general public to comprehend as time goes on. We've been at this a decade, which is hard to believe. I remember where I was, as you do on 9 11, and I remember realizing that something significant was about to happen to the National Guard. I never believed on that day that a decade later we'd still be at this. And we are, but.

Genevieve Morgan:

And in fact, it's become more complicated and some ways, in terms of our involvement, more entangled in different areas.

Major General John W. Libby:

But as a nation, we've got a short attention span. And I think the average public has just lost sight of the fact that we've still got men and women deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan from the main National Guard as we speak this morning, with an awful lot of units scheduled to head off after the first of the year. And I think we've lost sight of that at some level. And that's understandable. But the thing that I noticed that's still significant in my mind is as a nation, we've come a long way from where we were in the late 60s and early 70s, holding guys and gals who have simply agreed to support and defend the Constitution, responsible for what's going on in those places. We don't have a vote in where we go. Senator Snowe, Senator Collins, have a vote in where we go, but we don't have a vote. We go where this nation sends us. And as a nation, we've come to realize that. So. So consequently, I can walk into Starbucks on a morning in Portland, Maine, and not be able to pay for my coffee. And frankly, that tickles me.

Genevieve Morgan:

Can I ask a question of either of you? But I'm wondering the process that when you enlist and you become a soldier, that kind of training is about toughening you up. So I can imagine that when you come home and you're trying to figure out what's going on, you may or may not know that you need help. But if I'm the wife or spouse or partner or mother of a soldier, and I'm seeing that that soldier or veteran needs help, and maybe I'm the one that is recognizing that, but they aren't, how do I go about finding you and figuring out how to get that person into your services?

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

Well, actually, our services are available to anybody, whether it be the military member, a dependent, a friend, a parent, a child, and actually the phone number 1-888-365-9287, or our website, mainmcn.org either one of those places family members, friends can find all of those, that information that's available.

Genevieve Morgan:

And so you can go and say, well, I'm worried about my husband. He's not really acting right. Or he has all these dreams or whatever it is that they are thinking about, they can go and then everything kicks in.

Major General John W. Libby:

Yeah, absolutely. And one important group that Andy didn't mention are employers, because we see our individual soldiers, once they're back, one week in a month and a couple of weeks for annual training a year. The spouses, the family, the loved ones and the employers see them on a daily basis. They're the ones more likely to recognize that we've got a soldier in chrysanthemum or a soldier with needs, and they're the ones who are likely to refer them.

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

Our main military and community service is indeed a network, and it involves not only state entities, but also employers and also family members. Also a lot of behavioral health folks that are on the civilian side that have said they would step forward and help, sometimes at no cost, sometimes on a sliding scale. So it really is going to quite a large group of people. And you know, the general was just referring to how much things have changed. I think people have finally got it that just because we are maybe in a war that is not popular with a certain segment of the society, they're not holding that against the military member and the outpouring of folks that are willing to come forward and help is great. The problem is, as you just mentioned, is the service member or the family member or the employer or anyone else with whom this person is associated knowing where that stuff is. And that's why we've created this website. That's why we've created this 888 number. We have a Facebook page. Hopefully someday we're going to have a Twitter page. The whole idea is and just to keep the theme is to give these folks a voice and to hear what other voices are out there to support them.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So I'm struck by again, it's this theme of voice, but also connectivity on lots of different levels. I mean, we have General Libby, who's connecting with people and brotherhood, and it sounds like the same, but you're also connecting people from a faith standpoint. And you handed me this information on your organization. And you are helping people with substance abuse, you're helping people with legal problems, you're helping people. I mean, it really is this very broad network that you've created of support. You are trying to connect people with what they need. Is that a fair statement?

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

Absolutely. We and it's wonderful having General Libby and actually the previous governor and the current governor have all bought into the concept that a person is not full and well until all of the parts of their life have been met. So that means that if you're not, well, working and you want to be, it means if you do have a behavioral health issue, it means if you do have a substance abuse issue, it means that if for some reason you can't get your wood in while your soldier's deployed, if it means that you can't have certain basic needs met either through yourself or through your own work, that person is not fully actualized. And so if you want to talk about a voice that it does take away from that person's voice. And so what we try to do is, is approach Each individual as part of a system within some sort of a family or a relationship, but also an internal system to themselves that all the aspects within their life need nurturing and need help. Now, we can't provide all of that for everybody, but our job is to try to find the people who can and connect them to the service member of the family and the veteran.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I have an 18 year old, he's, you know, he's in Guatemala. He's in a different country now and he has all of these uncles and his grandfather and his great, you know, he has all of these people in his life who have been in the military. I don't know if he will end up in the military at this point, but I'm struck by the fact that when you start in the military, you could potentially be as young as 17. This is what I believe. I understand that you could sign up when you're 17, go to basic training before you begin your last year of high school or before you turn 18, and then join the military. And that's very young. So you're actually raising not only our sons, but our daughters from their early adulthood. That's a pretty big responsibility.

Major General John W. Libby:

Yes, it is. And it's a responsibility that, you know, frankly, I, and I think most of my staff embrace. It's all about service. I had three sons, none of whom served. And I'm convinced they didn't serve because they didn't experience what I experienced. Listening to my father recount his experiences. They didn't hear about the brotherhood from me because I didn't talk about the brotherhood. They knew what I did, they appreciated, embraced what I did, but they weren't mentored by me because of my experiences in Vietnam, as my father mentored me without knowing it towards certain. Now they're all involved in service. And I tell people this all the time. When my father died, they wrote in his obituary, he served his community, his state and his nation. And that's a theme that's always played out at our house. If they can say that about me when I'm gone, and if they can say that about my sons when they're gone, then they're saying an awful lot. And it's really all about service.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So you're raising our sons and our daughters to be of service, whether it's to, you know, family, community, larger sense. This is what you see.

Major General John W. Libby:

Absolutely. And the guards involved in so many things in the community, whether it's building a ball field in Yarmouth during an annual training period, whether it's the drug demand reduction Program that's funded at the national level, where our soldiers go into junior high schools and talk about the evils of drugs and do team building exercises. The great thing about the Guard is community based and they've given us programs that allow us to give back in the community. So that's part of what we're dragging your sons and daughters into is not only service to the nation, but service to their state and service to their community.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, and speaking of service, how can we as Mainers and members of the community support or help members of the military and their families this holiday season? Is there anything that we can do to help either support you and your services or, or just are there programs out there that can offer help and aid?

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

Well, that same number that I gave you earlier in that same website, both will give you the opportunity to volunteer in whatever capacity that you'd like to. It may be just that you just want to do general yard work or something like that for someone who's deployed. Right now we are kind of at a low in terms of Mainers that are deployed from the state. We have roughly 150 Marines that are over. Our Air Guard folks go in and out and that's a much less visible type of deployment because they go for many short term deployments. In the long run that ends up being just as disruptive as the single long term ones that the army tends to do, largely because there's such disruption in the household. I mean, they're coming home, then they're going away for four months and they're coming home for half a year, then they're back to over for three months and then, and so there's different types of disruption, but it's, but it's just as impacting. So what I would say would be, is become aware of the military folks that are around. You certainly thank them for their service. Offer specific things. If you just say, anytime you need me, give me a call. As the general said, we're stubborn Mainers. No one's going to call you. But if you do, say, hey, look, I'd be willing to take your kids for a night if you need a break, if you want to. I notice that you got some leaves out in your front lawn. Let me break those up for you so that you don't have to worry about that. Offer specific things. Because if you offer specific things, then you're much more likely to be able to reach out and help.

Major General John W. Libby:

And I got to say that the people of Maine, the three administrations that I've worked for, the Legislature have been magnificent in their recognition of the service and sacrifice of these part time guys and gals that we've got in the organization. You're always at risk when you mention someone because you don't mention everyone, but it's the acknowledgement of what we do. The free coffee at Starbucks in the morning, the Portland pirates on the 12th Military Appreciation Night, those little gestures that simply say, we understand your service, we appreciate your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your family and let me recognize you in some tangible way, something that was missing in this nation in the late 60s and early 70s, but is clearly present today.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, thank you so much for coming in and talking with us today. Thank you for serving and I'll just start that again. Thank you so much for coming in and talking with us today and also for continuing to serve me, not only our country, but, well, our communities. You're doing great work. We really appreciate all that you do and we send our thanks out to all of the military during this holiday season.

Chaplain Andy Gibson:

Thank you. And thank you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This week, like every week, we spend time with Genevieve Morgan and enable her to have her special guest on as part of Maine Magazine Minutes. Thanks for returning Genevieve.

Genevieve Morgan:

Thanks. Thanks, Lisa. And today I have a wonderful guest and a pillar of the music scene in Portland. His name is Spencer Albee. He's been in a number of bands including the Rustic Overtones, as Fast as he had a band called Spencer and the School Spirit Mafia, and most recently one of my favorite bands, Space vs Speed. So welcome Spencer.

Spencer Albee:

Thank you. How are you?

Genevieve Morgan:

I'm fine, thanks. Well, you know, today's show is about voice and you are a singer and a songwriter and a musician and you also give plenty of opportunity for other bands in Portland to have their voice. So did you come to music through singing, like singing along to records or did you come through playing an instrument and then adding your voice? Because you've been the frontsman for a lot of bands and you've been the singer.

Spencer Albee:

Yeah, I mean that, that's a good question. Piano happened. And I mean singing because it's the instrument that you carry around all the time. Yeah, everyone has one. Everybody, if you can speak, you know, you have a voice and everyone can sing.

Genevieve Morgan:

And you also, like we said, give, give opportunity to other bands. Tell me a little bit about what you've been doing in the event promotion and art support. Support areas.

Spencer Albee:

Well, I have a weekly event called Clash of the Titans which is currently in its 10th season, I think, and it's a Port City Music hall every Wednesday. The prize Thing is for the crowd musicians just to get together and have fun. But it's been doing great.

Genevieve Morgan:

And this experience has led you to start a new. Well, not new, but relatively new venture called Paper Empire. Can you describe more about Paper Empire?

Spencer Albee:

I mean, it is new, I think, because it was started a couple years ago. My neighbor and I and good friend Alex Kriegaus were like on the. Like on our stoop. And he was asking me, but he was leaving Wall street as I was like leaving the music business in a way, just being like. I just. I couldn't figure it out. Like, no one's buying CDs and just my whole industry. I kind of like equate being a musician these days to like, being an old wooden shipbuilder. When. And then you're standing there in the harbor and the iron. The iron boats come in, the steel boats come in, and you're like, oh, I'm out of a job now.

Genevieve Morgan:

But you've actually. You're not out of a job as far as I can tell.

Spencer Albee:

Well, no, but you have to figure. We have to figure out how to. Like, this is gonna sound really corny and I apologize for any artist that's listening right now, but you have to figure out how to re. Monetize it because the old model is just dead. You know, people aren't there. There's no more huge record deal. There's no Fleetwood Mac, you know, there's no Beatles. There's nothing like that. So there won't be any one song that's on all the radio stations. Like, all, you know, radio now is like mostly just pop. Most new music is discovered on a mass national scale by like American Idol and the Voice and things like that.

Genevieve Morgan:

But you've created these class. The Clash of the Bands and. Yeah.

Spencer Albee:

The battle of the Battle of the band music people.

Genevieve Morgan:

And you've created what I think is. So.

Spencer Albee:

See, no one can remember it is.

Genevieve Morgan:

It's good as Clash of the Titans, right?

Spencer Albee:

Yeah. Which I didn't make up, so it's okay.

Genevieve Morgan:

But. But you've created a venue where people can have live experience with music, which is a way. Something that won't ever die. I mean, it is a way that.

Spencer Albee:

No, no, people always. Yeah, people will always want to see music. I mean, the Clash of the Titans is. I've gotten some heat for it actually, from the. From the music community or more like the indie music review community. Because it's not an original music series using my co fingers again, you know, because it's covers. But like that's why we do it on a Wednesday and a Tuesday. We do. We stay out of the way of a night where you should actually go see an original band play their real music and we party down on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Genevieve Morgan:

but I think what you're doing is actually really inspirational because you have chosen a hard field to succeed in monetarily, you have done a number of different things and you're keeping it alive. And you are actually through these different ventures like Paper Empire, Clash of the Titans, other event promotion, you are actually out there creatively and entrepreneurially. And I'm wondering for some of our listeners out there who are growing up in Maine and who are musicians or who are artists, visual artists or literary artists who want to feel like there's a future for them in the arts, you are actually giving them an avenue for their voice. I mean, what would you have any advice for them? Do you have any counsel?

Spencer Albee:

I guess I think, you know, I don't want to sound like I was complaining earlier just like because the industry changed and like I said and you know, people stopped like buying music. That's just what happened. So I think like gone are the days of like get a record deal, be famous, millions of dollars. But if you think of it along the lines of like you are a plumber or you bake pizza or something, it's a job. If you work at it, I think that, you know, you can make a living at it. Maybe you won't get like a landslide fortune, which I've always been fine with. Like I'm find like go to work, do my bit, hopefully get paid at the end of the day and just make a living doing it. If I can make a living playing music, I think like anybody, if you can make a living doing what you love, then you don't really need a lot of money.

Genevieve Morgan:

So Spencer, I know that you're always cooking up something new because that's just who you are. What's on the horizon?

Spencer Albee:

We have a few. We mentioned the Clash earlier and we kind of mentioned Paper Empire. I didn't really do a good job explaining what it is, but it's.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, you can do that now.

Spencer Albee:

Well, it's like a. We ended up creating a company that was kind of a promotions company for music and political events, I guess.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Great.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, that's very apropos of election Day coming around the corner.

Spencer Albee:

Yeah, I think so. So we have a benefit coming up for the League of Young Voters because we're impressed by them and we're going

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

to be speaking with them next. So good people, good connection.

Spencer Albee:

They're doing good work. And the Clash of the Titans, the last one of the season, it runs through December, but the last one is going to be Sesame street versus the Muppets, which is going to benefit a local children's charity. Not sure just one. Just which one yet. But I've had so many people reach out to me. Like, usually I'll put up Van Halen versus Ozzy Osbourne and be like, yes, I'll sing. But this was like. I mean, my inbox was flooded with musicians and musicians, parents who wanted to make, you know, moms wanted to make costumes for us. It's not going to be so much of a battle as just, like, a celebration of that music.

Genevieve Morgan:

So that's what's new in terms of your events promotion. But does Spencer Albee have any new music or new gigs coming up?

Spencer Albee:

I do actually have been in the studio with my good friend and producer John Wyman, a great recording engineer. So we've just done a batch of new songs, and I'm putting out for the first time. None of my music has been available online. You mentioned all the bands I was in. Like, started in 2000 with the pop Sicko, which is kind of like an accident record. Like, I wasn't the singer of Rustic Overtones, but I still wrote songs and sang. So I put out a record, and it went through Rocktopus as fast as a number of records from each of those bands. So for the first time, I'm going to put that out on itunes and Amazon, like, all the.

Genevieve Morgan:

Oh, great. Under your own name.

Spencer Albee:

Yeah. Well, if we want to look for

Genevieve Morgan:

it, it'll be Spencer Albee on itunes and search. Great.

Spencer Albee:

And then you can get all the different records. So it's like 150 songs.

Genevieve Morgan:

Wow, that's impressive. Well, Spencer, thanks so much for coming in and talking to us today. It's always interesting to hear what you're doing. And as a community, we need to be really thankful to you for not only sharing your very impressive and beautiful voice and writing skills in your own music, but allowing us access to all these great bands. And what an exciting night. Clash of the Titans, Muppets in Sesame Street.

Spencer Albee:

That'll be fun.

Genevieve Morgan:

Among many others.

Spencer Albee:

For charity for the kids. For charity for the kids.

Genevieve Morgan:

Yeah, exactly. For the kids. Thanks a lot for coming in.

Spencer Albee:

Thanks for having me.

Genevieve Morgan:

Spencer Albee and his band, the School Spirit Mafia were profiled in an article last year in the Maine Magazine. Download it@themainmag.com the November December 2011 issue of Maine Magazine is currently available at your local newsstand.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Each week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we read from the book Our Daily Tread. Our Daily Tread was created in honor of my late college classmate Hanley Dunning to benefit her organization Safe Passage, which is based near the Guatemala State dump and educates children whose families must work in that dump. To learn more about safe passage, visit safepassage.org to learn about our special holiday promotion of our daily tread, visit islandportpress.com Our quote this week comes from Nelson Mandela, a man who most assuredly has kept his voice strong despite the difficulties that he has encountered in his life. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred. He is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Each week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we feature a segment we call Give Back in recognition of the fact that health is more than just an individual pursuit. It is indeed about the family, the community, and the world at large. And we hope that by showcasing some of the people who are helping us to give back, we enable people to make connections with that aspect of wellness in our world. This show's theme is Voice. And appropriately enough, we have a woman from the League of Young Voters here in Maine because we have an upcoming election day. So welcome Delia.

Delia Gorham:

Thank you so much.

Genevieve Morgan:

Hi Delia.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Hands Up. Genevieve and I are very happy to have you here. And I'm reading your very impressive bio, which is all the more impressive because let me start with the fact that you were born and raised in the smallest town in Maine, Randolph, which you told me is up in central Maine, central Augusta. So you started there. You're the program director now for the League of Young Voters. And according to this, you've been fighting the good fights since you started marching on picket lines during the 87 strike in Jay. Growing up in the labor movement and seeing the struggle firsthand, it was no surprise that you opted to attend college in the liberal enclave of Northampton, Mass. Where you double majored in government and American Studies at Smith College. I love this. Degree in hand, Delia turned right around and headed home to Maine, where she started organizing on various campaigns and causes. From the 2000 and 2010 electoral cycles to pushing for comprehensive clean energy reform on the federal level, to fighting for workers rights in the main state house, Delia has been mobilizing communities across the state to actively participate in the democratic process. So you are, you're an impressive woman.

Delia Gorham:

Thank you.

Genevieve Morgan:

It's great to have you with a strong voice.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Clearly you do have a strong voice and you want to have, you want to enable other people to have a strong voice as well.

Delia Gorham:

Absolutely. I mean, the League of Young Voters mission is to really try and make politics relevant and accessible to young people. And we're a member driven organization, so we're kind of in this luxury spot of being multi issue and getting to see what the people in the community are focusing on and what's impacting them. So yeah, we don't have a litmus test for, you know, you have to believe in these issues to be on our side. Obviously we advocate for certain things, especially with an election coming up, but being member driven, you know, we hear from the community about what to work on and it's kind of great. So it's almost like being the reverse program director in a way. My members tell me what we need to be doing and it's exciting to go out there and amplify their message and what they need to take away from what's going on right now. So, yeah, you end up working on a lot of different things that you wouldn't necessarily expect.

Genevieve Morgan:

What kind of information does the League provide and who are you really targeting in terms of your members?

Delia Gorham:

Our membership is open to everybody, but we like to focus on folks that are 18 to 35 years old to really try and get them into participating in the Political process. And, you know, it's not just elections. It's everything that's going on in our community here. So we want to make sure that they're turned off by the process, that they have the tools to understand how they fit into it. And, you know, really focusing on the younger crowd is important if we're going to have strong community leaders later on in life. So that's a big focus for us in trying to, you know, get folks out there. And this fall we've been doing a lot of work trying to educate the public on ranked choice voting. We've got a great program called Portland 101 that really dives into the heart of how our city runs because we're

Genevieve Morgan:

electing a mayor for the first time, isn't that right?

Delia Gorham:

Yeah, first time. And I believe it's almost 88 years. So yeah, it's a pretty big deal, especially with 15 candidates in the race. We have a fabulous elections committee made up of six members from here in Portland that for months on end had been studying and interviewing these candidates to really dive into exactly what they stood for, what they wanted to see happen with this new position. And so they're trying to really provide some great info to the community on this because talked to a lot of people this fall who are like, there are just so many people, I don't know where to start researching. Which is great that we have our fall voter guide out now so folks can check out all the different mayoral positions. We also included everything else that's going on the ballot this year, from city council to the yes on one race or question one, I should say.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Where can people find this information?

Delia Gorham:

We have them out at local businesses and different nonprofits across town. You can also get in touch with us directly at our office over on High Street. We're in the State Theater building and suite 302. Anyone that wants to drop by can get one, but hopefully they should be able to find one pretty easily. And we'll also have them at the polls on election day. So that'll be the last minute grab to see what folks had to say about all the different issues and candidates.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, it's election day on Tuesday. Today is Sunday. That leaves tomorrow. Can people still register to vote tomorrow?

Delia Gorham:

People can actually still register on the same day because we got this issue on the ballot. It suspended the repeal from going into effect. So as long as you have the proper ID or a utility bill or something with your address on it, you can still go to your polling place on election day and register right before you cast your vote if your town hall is open, if you're lucky enough to have it open on the weekend or on a Monday. Mine is not open on Monday. Usually you are allowed to go in and register. Still, you just can't submit an absentee ballot two days before, two business days before Election Day. So that's the good news about this season is if you haven't registered yet, there's absolutely still time and you should make sure to do it even if it's right before you vote.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How can people find out more about your organization?

Delia Gorham:

They should go online and check us out on Facebook at the main league of young Voters and definitely go to our website, which is maine.theleague.com we try and update it every single day and really encourage folks to send us information that they want to see getting out there. So that would be the perfect place to start. And you should come to some of our events in the future and learn about it in person because that's the most fun.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We encourage people to do that. And thank you so much for coming in and talking to us today, Delia. You're doing great work and we hope that you'll keep it up.

Delia Gorham:

Well, thank you guys so much. I really appreciate being here today.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

On the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we have the unique opportunity to speak with a second Give Back guest, and that would be Carlin Whitehouse, who is a youth educator with a young adult abuse prevention program with Family Crisis Services. And that is here in Portland. Thank you for coming in.

Carlin Whitehouse:

I'm really happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

One of the reasons I'm interested in having you just spend a few minutes with us is because I know you have an upcoming event that you were very excited to tell us about.

Carlin Whitehouse:

Wednesday, November 9th at USM Portland, the Lee Auditorium. We are going to be screening for the, I believe the very first time in Maine, actually, a documentary called Misrepresentation. You may recognize it's been on the O Network or Oprah's Network recently, but we're going to be screening it in its entirety, no edits. And we've had this full support of the director and the producers to screen it here in Maine. They're really excited for us and we're excited, too.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How is this film going to help us to understand the notion of preventing abuse?

Carlin Whitehouse:

It's interesting. We're always educating people about healthy relationships and recently, within the last bunch of years, we've really come to understand that the media plays a huge role in shaping Cultural value, shaping beliefs, shaping norms and ideas about, for example, gender stereotypes, how men are supposed to be, how women are supposed to be, and then when they have relationships, how is that supposed to play out? So this movie specifically talks about how women are portrayed in mass media, how women are sexualized, how women are objectified, and how this can affect a young woman's mind. When actually studies have been done where kids around 9, 10 years old, they're asked what they want to be when they grow up. Well, there's very similar answers for both boys and girls at that age. Then as they get a few years older, 13, 12, 13, 14, things start to really shift. All of a sudden the boys are the ones that want the powerful jobs, and the girls start talking about wanting to be actresses and models. And these are the kinds of things that shape our worlds, where the messages are, this is how a woman gains power, by displaying more skin, by acting a certain way, by being that sexy, coquettish flirt. And those are the only options. So there's a huge double standard. I think we all know that this film really delineates it, points out some specific examples and interviews a lot of really famous women who've struggled through their own, you know, dealing with their own identity and their own ambitions.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So this film does actually represent exactly what we're talking about Today on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, which is about voice. And we thank you for coming in and talking to us about it. Where can people find out more about this event that's coming up on November 9th?

Carlin Whitehouse:

Yap.org yaapp.org we also set up an event page on Facebook, the Young Adult Abuse Prevention Program, so people can go

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Very good. Thanks for coming.

Carlin Whitehouse:

Thanks a lot.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Each week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we read from my bountiful blog. As I've said before on the show, I began this blog in 2008 as a means of feeding myself physically and moved on to feeding myself emotionally and spiritually through writing in this blog. What I also found is that this blog has given me a voice. It has enabled me to speak my piece, which, as I said at the beginning of the show, is very important. This blog is called Finding Voice and was initially written on July 14, 2011. When we lose our voice physically, that fact is plain. A touch of laryngitis and we're forced into a state of semi whisper, working hard so that others might hear us. When we lose our voice metaphor metaphorically. Others may not realize it at all until one day we start talking again. At that point, it can be painfully loud, or at least loud by comparison. Then people are startled. Our newfound voice isn't always welcomed. It can be hard for others to want to hear. But sometimes others are more than willing to hear us. We just need to find the right audience. Then, gaining strength from an appreciative audience, we are able to use our voice anywhere, at any time, even if our voice dances uncomfortably in the ears of those around us. If we have the strength to keep using our voice, we may have the chance to use it as a tool with which we may help others. Perhaps others who have no voice, or perhaps others whose voices are not like ours. Our voice, after all, is part of who we are. Our voice is our gift. As we fine tune our voice, the fact of this gift may become clear. We may use our voice in song or in poetry. We may use our voice in defense of the voiceless. We may use our voice in praise or adulation. Then our voice is not merely a means by which we communicate. It is an instrument through which the breath of the world might flow. Our voice is not merely ours, and it is the voice of many. It is the voice of the life spirit, and as such, it must be allowed to find its way from the depths of our physical bodies so that we may be heard, so that we may join in the glorious cacophony and madness and joy created by the voices of our fellow man, so that our words may be welcomed back into the world. This blog post and others like it may be found on bountifulpath.com this week on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast, we address the theme of voice. I feel strongly that the work we're doing with the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast is giving a voice not only to those who come on the program, but to those who are listening and perhaps hoping to find an inspiration to create their own voices in their lives. Today we talked with Major General Bill Libby and Chaplain Andy Gibson of the Maine National Guard, who spoke about giving voices back to the soldiers who were returning from overseas. We also spoke with musician and local event promoter Spencer Albee, who discussed the importance of knowing one's own voice and using it with joy. Finally, we had a special featured Give Back, which had two different guests, Delia Gorham of the League of Young Voters and Carlin Whitehouse of the Young Adult Abuse Prevention Program, each of whom spoke about the importance of finding one's voice and using it in the world. We hope that this show will inspire you to find your own voice and perhaps listen more carefully to the voices of others. The individuals and events discussed on this show can be found on the Dr. Lisa website, which is D O C t o r lisa.org this is Dr. Lisa Belisle. Thank you for joining us this week. We hope that you join us again next week. Thank you also for being a part of our world. May you have a bountiful life.

Genevieve Morgan:

Sa.