Jim Keffer

Karl Brenner, "Above Lemon Lake," Oil on Canvas, 14 x 18 in.

It was in the early 1970’s that I decided to gamble. Seriously gamble. At the suggestion and encouragement of a fellow Instructor at Tulsa Junior College, I applied for a summer job dealing Blackjack at Harrah’s Casino in Lake Tahoe. Growing up I didn't play cards, not even Old Maids, because, in my family of origin, gambling was considered a sin. So my decision to spend the summer being a card dealer meant that not only must I learn the house’s way of counting to 21 and acquire card handling skills, It meant I would also need a “good story” so as not to get any grief from my parents about my decision...

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“Hallelujah! Santa Fe Creativity and Madness is on.” Thus read the header of an email I received last week. Well, that email got my immediate attention. On a global level creativity and madness have been “on” for centuries. But this email was referring to a series of weeklong workshops, which I have attended several times, that are presented annually in Santa Fe. These workshops, which are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, offer accredited Continuing Education to Physicians, Nurses, Psychologists, Counselors, and Therapists. In my experience, studying the demonstrated link between creativity and madness especially among the subpopulation of writers, poets, musicians, dancers, and visual artists is fascinating. Almost equally as fascinating are the creative and gifted people who attend the conference as either participants or presenters...

 

 

Loretta Young

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