Hello to you listening all over Whidbey Island and wherever your feet touch the ground.

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

What’s better than Food & Music is the Whidbey Rising Benefit Concert! Join us as a brilliant array of musicians and performers from across Whidbey Island come together for a benefit concert to feed our island community.

Money raised will go to the Whidbey Food Resilience Fund, administered by the Whidbey Community Foundation. Funds will be shared across the island through rapid, equitable grants to food banks, meal programs, and other community-based organizations, ensuring that Whidbey residents have reliable access to nutritious food during the holiday season and beyond.

DETAILS here and on the Indivisible Whidbey website:

When: Saturday November 22, 2025

Time: 2:00 p.m. Doors open at 1:30

Where: Coupeville High School's Performing Arts Center

NOTE: Please arrive early to ensure a seat. RSVP on Mobilize is for crowd size planning; seating will be First Come First Served.

Click HERE to check out the amazing list of performers and make an early immediate donation! You are welcome to pay what you are able. Every dollar counts!

Click HERE to RSVP on Mobilize; but be sure to arrive early to get a First Come First Served seat for what is sure to be a sold out event!

See you there and see you then!

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Sayville, New York!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

The other day I was talking with my longtime friends, colleagues and brainstormers, Tania and Leanne, about times when we set out to achieve X but an unintended, better-than-expected Y happened. You know what I mean: the mystery of unintended consequences that turns out to be amazing!

Here’s one: The Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming was working on a project on Staphylococcus bacteria at St. Mary's Hospital in London. He took off on vacation leaving behind an uncovered petri dish of bacteria. When he returned he saw a blue-green mold (like what you might find growing on bread exposed to moisture) growing on the dish and that the Staph bacteria were being killed in the area of the mold. Fleming - knowing a good thing when he saw one - identified the mold as the fungus penicillin notatum, and Shazaam! developed penicillin as an antibiotic. Fleming’s unintended discovery of penicillin revolutionized the treatment of infections.

Click HERE to learn more about the Discovery and Development of Penicillin 1928-1945

Now, as to the moldy bread in your kitchen. Yes, penicillin is an antibiotic produced by a fungus called Penicillium notatum. Yes, this fungus is commonly found on moldy bread. Yes, when the fungus grows on bread, it releases penicillin into the surrounding environment.

Let me caution you! Not all moldy bread contains penicillin. Moreover, eating moldy bread is a very big “No! No!” as it can contain harmful substances. Having said that think twice before you toss out what might be an unintended answer to a problem.

Question: When did you set out to achieve X but an unintended Y turned out to be what you were looking for? What happened next?

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Victoria, Texas!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

Maybe like me you’re familiar with the line, “Everything old is new again.” Some attribute the saying to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, to Jonathan Swift in the 1700s, or to Churchill, Mark Twain, or even a Chinese proverb.

Genesis aside, what does the saying mean? In brief, old patterns, music, items, ideas, and so on come around again to inspire new forms. Like this example from Ben Tuna, the Glass Cowboy, a second-generation stained glass artist. His most recent creation involves a vintage Porsche (scorched by the fires in Los Angeles) and windows salvaged from decommissioned churches.

To quote from the Glass Cowboy website: “By merging sacred architecture with the burned-out shell of an icon of speed and design, Ben explores the tension between ruin and reverence. These windows, once still in chapels and cathedrals, now move - reframed in steel, placed in motion, and carried forward by a new purpose.

This body of work asks: What survives disaster. What beauty do we carry with us. And how can broken things be reborn, not as what they were—but as something entirely new.”

Click HERE to learn more

Click HERE to contact Ben Tuna at Glass Vision Studio

Click HERE to follow Glass Cowboy on Instagram

Story Prompt: What in your life has survived disaster? What beauty still remains? How might you imagine what’s broken being reborn as something entirely new? Write that story and tell it out loud!

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Dong Nai, Vietnam!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

Imagine this: parents taking matters into their own hands and dialing back on their children’s cell phone access by bringing landlines into their homes. In one dad’s words, “Landlines strip communication skills back to basics.”

What makes this move look like something out of The Wayback Machine? Because it confronts the digital mainstream with unsung values grounded in new ideas.

In our house this is how we’re doing it; not so much to return to artifacts of the past but to values, manners, civility, listening, and a way of being in the world that is not tied down to and held hostage by the ever-present DEVICE.

I believe that our yearning for a more humane way of life in this digital age is showing up in what we decide to let go of as well as what we choose to hold on to.

Click HERE to watch the 4-minute Today Show segment to learn more.

Question: It’s not just about a mom or a dad with an idea but an idea that’s resonating. What ideas do you have to marry the pre- and post-digital worlds by calling on the unsung values of the old ways?

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Show Low, Arizona!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

Maybe like me in times of difficulty you turn for comfort or encouragement to a favorite line from the past, that still make you wonder: could this have been written with me in mind?

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said, “Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Looking at its sad appearance who would think that those stiff branches, those jagged twigs would turn green again and blossom and bear fruit next spring; but we hope they will, we know they will.”

Goethe also said: “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

As you set forth in days ahead, remember to pause; breathe; have faith that you got this; and it will be alright in the end.

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Communication Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Story Prompt Friday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

Maybe like me you find yourself having lost track of the pathway of purpose. What’s my work for? Who’s it for? Why does my work matter?

When I hit this place I ask 4 questions to re-orient my compass heading to True North:

Why?

Why Me?

Why Me Here?

Why Me Here Now?

And then I set out on a walk to listen for the answers which will show up. Guaranteed! How do I know? Because what you’re looking for is looking for you.

Story Prompt: What are you looking for? What might be looking for you? Write that story and tell it out loud!

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Quezon City, the Philippines!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey and your host, Diane Wyzga.

In 2017 (years before the current madness) Pope Francis said, “Hitler didn’t steal the power, his people voted for him, then he destroyed his people.” That’s what con men do. Yes, there are days when We the People feel ashamed - even hopeless - for having been duped.

At the same time I’m reminded of a line in William Faulkner’s 1936 novel Absalom, Absalom!. “Well, Kernel, they kilt us but they ain’t whupped us yit!” The quote captures the spirit of the post-Civil War South, suggesting a resilience despite a devastating military loss. For those who paid attention, with that quote Tim Kaine introduced Hillary Clinton ahead of her concession speech. It still applies. Work still remains.

Question: If it’s true - and I believe it is - we are responsible for the world in which we find ourselves because we alone can change it, how are We the People showing up, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant? How are you finding your voice in these times and what are you saying when you speak up? We the People are casting off our feelings of helplessness, committing to action, reaching for miracle. Where do you find yourself reaching for miracles? Reach! They ain’t whupped us yit!

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.

Hello to you listening in Warsaw, Poland!

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds (and a bit more) for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.

I am deeply proud of my Polish heritage and being a lawyer. These times are unprecedented; but especially for judges, the last line of freedom’s defense. Attacks on the independence of the judiciary are sweeping our country taking various forms ranging from court capture to direct attacks on judges. The cowards behind the attacks know that the independence of judges - the judicial branch of government - is foundational to democracy.

“Judicial independence is fundamental to the rule of law. The rule of law is fundamental to freedom. Freedom is fundamental to the protection of every citizen.” [John Macmenamin - Judge at the Supreme Court of Ireland]

Those are not my words. Those are the words of John Macmenamin, a judge at the Supreme Court of Ireland who joined with Polish judges at the “1000 Robes March”, an unprecedented event held in the name of judicial independence.

1000 Robes March was the greatest demonstration of judges in contemporary Europe, with more than 30,000 people, including hundreds of judges from 22 European countries marching in solidarity with their Polish colleagues in the fight for judicial independence. The silent march in January 2020 was a reaction to proposed laws that threatened to undermine the judiciary’s independence in Poland.

"A Thousand Robes" is a short (12 minute) documentary film directed by Kacper Lisowski. The story is about mutual gratitude, focusing on the positive interactions between judges, lawyers, and the public. It highlights citizens who are moved by the judges' defense of their rights and lawyers who have experienced solidarity from ordinary people and European judges. The film serves as a warning against what dismantling the democratic mechanisms of the state leads to.

Documenting this touching episode of the dramatic struggle for the rule of law that still lacks a happy ending in Poland, Kacper Lisowski also talks to the European judges participating in the march of a thousand robes. Particularly poignant is the voice of a Turkish judge who knows from experience what happens when such a struggle is lost.

Click HERE to watch A Thousand Robes the film on YouTube.

CTA: Maybe like me you will be moved to tears at what We the People can accomplish when we heed a call to action. This is what democracy looks like! Take Hope! Take Heart! Take Courage from all the good work being done by our federal judges who are in solidarity with our Democracy, our Constitution, our rule of law without fear or favor!

You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website, check out the Services, arrange a no-obligation Discovery Call, and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack.

Stories From Women Who Walk Production Team

Podcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music

ALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please consider sharing and attributing it to Diane Wyzga of Stories From Women Who Walk podcast with a link back to the original source.