Have you heard of the song, Be True to Your School? Or the Beach Boys? No? You can click on this link, keep reading, or do both. I suggest both 😊          Link: be true to your school - Search (bing.com
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​Be True to Your School is a song by the Beach Boys, and it came out in October of  1963. I was 4, but I still remember it. The Beach Boys were popular in the 60’s and later in the 70’s when I was in high school. They were known for their ‘California sound.’ It was all about surfing, cars, and girls. You know, teenage stuff. In the 60’s California was the place to be. My parents considered moving, but didn’t.

This song started playing in my head after the OSU/Michigan game. My team, The Ohio State University, lost, and the internet articles were awful. Everyone loves the thrill of victory, but no one wants anything to do with the agony of defeat. It’s not fun, but it’s important to know how to win, and how to lose. Maybe that’s why this song started circling through my head.

So where did it come from? From Brian Wilson and Mike Love, two of the original Beach Boys. I knew that, but I didn’t know the melody was the University of Wisconsin’s fight song, ‘On Wisconsin.’ But the Wilson brothers, Brian, Carl, and Dennis weren’t channeling Wisconsin. They were using their high school fight song. Hawthorne High School in California uses the same melody, different words. As for the Beach Boys, their lyrics were all about staying true to your school, to your girl, the important things in life. I love positive messages, the kind that make you want to be a better you. Loyalty is a good thing.

BTW – the cover photo (below) is for their single, not the album. If you’re younger than me, songs back then were played on record players. They were vinyl disks, 7 inches in diameter. The ‘A’ side had Be True to Your School, the hit side. On the ‘B’side was In My Room. It was actually a hit, but not as big.
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Tomorrow – my thoughts about staying true to my school, to its coaches and players. Win or lose, I believe in loyalty.
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​                                             Sources:
Photos: By http://www.7inchrecords.com/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5030597
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Search link:  be true to your school - Search (bing.com)
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Information Sources:
Be True to Your School - Wikipedia
The Beach Boys - Wikipedia


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Part 2 – The School:  I’ve been true to my school since the 70’s. I’m a Buckeye first, last, and always. Win or lose, I’m a Buckeye. They’re words, but I’m a writer, and words are important to me.

I’m also loyal. If The Ohio State University is playing football, then I’m cheering them on. If we’re into Bowl Season, then I’m all about the Big 10. I’ll root for them, for their coach, and their players. Shucks, I’ll even root for Michigan, but only if it’s a Bowl Game.
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There are 3 seasons at OSU – the first11 games, then Michigan, and last, a Bowl. Win at least 2 of them, and you’ll keep your job.
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Here are the last two OSU coaches, Ryan Day and Urban Meyer. After OSU lost The Big Game on Saturday, people wanted Ryan fired, and Urban to be rehired. My guess – probably the same ones. The history of the two coaches is linked,

Here’s how . . . In 2018 when people were calling for Urban to be fired, he was placed on administrative leave for three games while the university investigated him. Urban was cleared, and he returned to finish the season. But those people, they were still calling for him to be fired. Not me. I’m loyal.
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The coach during those 3 games – Ryan Day. He won all 3. I backed him then, and I backed Urban’s return. Some people didn’t, and they got their way. Urban retired after the 2019 Rose Bowl. I was glad because I thought Urban stepped away for health reasons. He looked like he was in pain during most of the season. 
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The next head coach – Ryan Day. I was glad to see him back. I thought he deserved the job. And his record since then . . .  In 2019 Ryan had a  12 – 0 regular season, the first one since 2013. His team won the Big 10 Championship. They made it to the National Playoff but lost to Clemson. Coach Day was named the Dave McClain Coach of the Year, AND he beat Michigan.

2020 was a weird year. That’s when Covid almost stopped college football. The Buckeyes played 4 games and won them all. The 5th game, Coach Day missed . . . he had Covid . . . but his team still won. As for Michigan, they refused to play, they said because of Covid. We Buckeyes didn’t buy it. We thought Michigan choked and wanted to stop us from making the National Championships. But the Big 10 council said let OSU play. We won the Big 10, then beat Clemson in the National Playoffs. It was so satisfying after losing in 2019, but the year ended with a loss to Alabama. Disappointing, but being the #2 football team in the nation – not so bad!

2021 was interesting . . . Coach Day started freshman CJ Stroud at quarterback. I couldn’t believe it! I haven’t seen a freshman in that position since Art Schlichter when I was in college. I also couldn’t believe how Coach Day helped him grow. The Buckeyes lost 2 games that season, early in the year against Oregon, and that final awful game. I knew eventually Michigan had to win, but it was glorious, from 2011- 2020. And the good news – we beat Utah in the Rose Bowl. Michigan – lost BIG time in the National Championships to Georgia.

This year, 2022 was great, until Saturday. That’s the day Coach Day lost to Michigan, again, 2 years in a row. I didn’t know he bragged that he’d “hang 100 on them” in 2021 . It wasn’t wise, and it fired up those Wolverines, 2 years in a row. But looking at his record, even with 2 losses to Michigan, I’d keep Coach Day. Look at all those great regular seasons, plus 2 Bowl wins.

Photo Sources:
Ryan Day: By CFB ON FOX - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kelObbmNiQ, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113990115

Urban Meyer: By CFB ON FOX - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kelObbmNiQ, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113990179
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Information Sources: Ryan Day (American football) - Wikipedia
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Part 3 – The Team:  I’ve been true to my school and its team since the 70’s. No player wins in isolation, or loses that  way either. Great plays, and mistakes are part of the game. I believe in that old adage – it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. 

​As for CJ Stroud, he took a lot of shots over the weekend for losing The Big Game, two years in a row. I didn’t blame CJ last year. He was a freshman and still learning. The only other freshman to win the starting quarterback position was Art Schlichter. It was unimaginable to start a freshman then, unless they’re super-talented. It still is.

CJ has grown a ton over the last 2 years, thanks to Coach Day and his staff. He is so good that this is probably his last season at OSU. He’s planning on going into the NFL draft.
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​If you haven’t been in a school the last week of October for a while, you might not have heard of Red Ribbon Week. It’s been around since 1985. It started as a tribute to a DEA Agent, and now it’s the largest and longest running drug awareness and prevention program in the United States.

Part 1 – Its History:  This is Enrique or Kiki Camarena. He was born in Mexico, and his family immigrated to California. Kiki served as a Marine. Later he joined his local police department and did undercover narcotics work for them.

Kiki joined the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) when it opened in 1977, even though his mother told him not to. He said that he was only one person, but he wanted to make a difference. Kiki’s memory still matters, and I’m glad his story hasn’t been forgotten.

Kiki left work on February 7, 1985 to have lunch with his wife. He never made it. He was kidnapped by five men from one of the Mexican drug cartels. They tortured him for his DEA work. His body was found a month later. My heart hurt back then for Kiki and his family. It still does.

His friends and neighbors wanted to remember him. They wanted to join his fight against illegal drugs so they started wearing red ribbons. So did parents across the country. They wanted to stop the drugs and alcohol that hurt their children. They formed groups and took up the fight. They adopted the red ribbon as a symbol of Kiki’s sacrifice, and one by one they showed that one person can make a difference.

The National Family Partnership (NFP) was one of those groups, and they sponsored the first National Red Ribbon Celebration in 1988. They’re doing it again this year. I remember Kiki’s story from the 1980’s. I remember taking part in Red Ribbon Week for most of my teaching career. I don’t remember when my school started, but I’m happy they’re celebrating it again this week.

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​Part 2 – FAF Called Me:  FAF, or Families Against Fentanyl, has been calling me to write about them since the summer, but I never found the right time. This has to be it, and I think Kiki Camarena would agree. He believed that one person could make a difference, and this might be my chance.

All of my illustrations are screenshots from FAF’s website: Families Against Fentanyl. This one caught my eye. Fentanyl is the #1 cause of death for anyone aged 18 to 45. That’s my three kids. All three. I thought they were safe from drugs. Maybe not.
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​Fentanyl is so sneaky. It’s sent over the Mexican border by the same cartels Kiki fought in 1985. It can be added to other pills, to other drugs. It’s so potent that a rookie policeman died three times in a drug bust, and he only caught its smell. He didn’t swallow. Thank goodness! He lived to tell.

Now those same cartels are disguising fentanyl to look like candy. My best advice with pills/candy is to buy them from the store, even if you have to pay more. Your life is priceless, and you only get one shot. That’s it.
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When trick-or-treating this year, go to the houses of people you know. Don’t eat anything until you’re home, and your parents can look it over.  This feels like when my kids were growing up, and people were adding razors to Halloween candy. AWFUL! Back then we took our kids to places we knew, and we checked their candy, just to be sure. Some people even took it to the hospital for an x-ray. They wanted to be safe, not sorry. 
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​I absolutely agree with FAF. We can, and we must stop this. One of the best ways you can help is by signing their petition. I thought if I’m going to write this post, I should sign. I’m #41,584. Their goal is 50,000 signatures. You’re welcome to sign up too, but the decision is yours to make.
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When I was scanning through FAF’s homepage, I ran across this headline. It’s shocking, that a chemical added to a pill, or something that looks like candy, could be a weapon of mass destruction, but the data is there.
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I paraphrased this sentence from FAF so I could wrap my brain around it. This year, either 2021, or so far in 2022, drug overdose deaths reached 100,000, and fentanyl accounted for 64% of those deaths. That means 64,000 people lost their lives because someone snuck fentanyl into their pill. My children are in that age range. It’s frightening . . . so I’m writing about it. 

​This screenshot and the next one, are from FAF’s button, ‘Take Action.’ There are four bills that are waiting for Congress to vote on. All four deal with fentanyl. After the November election, my guess is that nothing will happen until January, and then new bills will have to be proposed, again. 


The next screenshot (below) shows a sentence from each bill. I like H.R. 8030 best – it requires action from the Department of Homeland Security.

H.Res.1172 seems weak. It urges President Biden and the Department to do something. Require sounds stronger. I’m a writer. I love strong verbs!

                                       Part 3 – This Year’s Red Ribbon Week Theme:  
​                                                      Celebrate Life – Live Drug Free
My old school always found one way each day to celebrate the theme. Here are ten ways I found to have fun, to celebrate life, drug-free this week, and the rest of the year.

​                                1.  Play with toys.                                                             2.  Get outside to play. To have fun.
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​                            3.  Have fun in the water.                                                                       4.  Find animal friends
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​                           7.  Spend time with family.                                                                         8.  Read a book.

​I firmly believe that if you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will. Self-care is more than eating nutritional foods. More than exercising. It’s believing in, and having confidence in yourself. It’s allowing yourself to make mistakes, and learn from them.

That’s what this post is all about . . . caring for your own self-concept, for your own belief in yourself. It’s still true . . . if you don’t do it, no one else will.

Quote #1 – As one goes through life,
one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.
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Who said it? ​

Katharine was an actress. She paddled her own canoe from the moment she stepped onstage in 1928 until she took her last curtain call for a TV movie in 1994. She was 87 years young.

Katharine was known for the roles she played – strong-willed and sophisticated women, and they matched who she was in real life – with her headstrong independence, spirited personality, and outspokenness. She was one of my childhood heroines. When I grew up, I wanted to be as strong and independent as she was.  

Katherine was part of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but she did it her way. She wore pants before other celebrities did, way before I was born in 1959. I remember wearing dresses to school, and that was in the 60’s. We weren’t even allowed to wear culotte’s (shorts with a skirt in front) until 4th grade. That’s the year we were finally allowed to wear pants. THAT was a HUGE deal. 
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Sources:
​1.  Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
2.  Katharine Hepburn - Wikipedia

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Quote #2 - You will either step forward into growth,
or you will step backward into safety. 

Who said it? ​

​Abraham Maslow
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​Abraham was an American psychologist. He stepped forward into something new when he focused on the positives of his patients. He believed they were more than a bag of symptoms. Abraham could have stepped backwards by focusing on the abnormal, the ill. He refused.
 
Abraham taught psychology at Brandeis University, Brooklyn College, New School for Social Research, and Columbia University. He is best known for creating a hierarchy of needs. When I went to college to become a teacher back in 1977, I learned about that hierarchy. It made a lot of sense then, and I think it still does.

​This looks like a chart I would have studied in the 70’s. What stayed with me, all these years later – the needs at the bottom must be met first. If you don’t have food, water, warmth, and rest, it’s hard to move up to your need to be safe. It’s like the foundation of a house, if you don’t have a good one, it’s hard to build the upper floors of Belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualization. 

​If you’re living in the suburbs and suddenly lose your job, esteem and self-actualization are a lot less important. You’ll be focused on getting food, water, utilities, and shelter, the things you really need to survive.

• Sources:
• 1.  Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes

2.  Abraham Maslow - Wikipedia

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Photo Sources: 
1.   Abraham Maslow By -  
http://www.celebriton.com/abraham_maslow/photo/a_photo_of_abraham_maslow,
Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34062949

2.  Maslow's Hierarchy By - 
Androidmarsexpress - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93026655

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Quote #3 - Try not to become a person of success,
but rather try to become a person of value. 


Who said it? ​

​Albert Einstein
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Albert was a theoretical physicist born in Germany. He immigrated to the US during WWII and became a citizen. He’s one of the few physicists who’s known around the world, but he’s also known for his values.
 
Albert is famous for his theory of relativity. Have you heard of E = mc2? That’s his equation! He’s also known for his work in quantum mechanics. Together they form the heart of modern physics.
 
Albert won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, partly because of his work in theoretical physics, but mostly because he discovered the photoelectric effect. He noticed when light strikes and hits something, electrons bounce off and become photoelectrons. 

​Albert wasn’t afraid to be different. He believed nature worked systematically, not randomly, like throwing a dice. He also came up with the unified field theory, which I can’t even begin to understand, or explain. What I do get – he was willing to work outside the mainstream of physics.  
 
Albert could change his mind when the data changed. He joined several European scientists before the US joined WWII. They sent a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning him that the Germans were building nuclear weapons. They said the Americans should too. After the war, he said that letter was the great mistake of his life. He joined ten scientists, and they sent another letter. This time they warned the world about the danger of nuclear weapons.  

School’s out for the summer, and it’s lovely – more time for vacation and family – But it can also make it harder to get things done. If you need a little help, here are four tips from Justin Bennett. (@HealthyFit.info). I hope they’re just what you need.

​Having a baby or toddler makes life exciting and exhausting. However, working from home while managing your children presents an additional layer of challenges. If you are looking for ways to be successful when working remotely while taking care of your kids at the same time, follow these four tips.
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​1. Rely on Others
Having a support system makes a huge difference when it comes to taking care of your kids while working. Your partner, family members, friends, and neighbors are all excellent resources when you need someone to watch your child.
 
Sit down with your husband or wife and make a weekly schedule; it should note who watches your children and when. Do your best to include some child-free work time for yourself.
 
Maybe there are a few days during the week it would be helpful for someone else to watch your child. Perhaps you need someone on standby for extra busy days. Talk to people in your support system, and see if any of them can tend to your kiddos on a regular basis or as needed.
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​2. Reorganize Your Processes
If you are a company employee, over time you have probably gotten into the habit of doing things a certain way. Taking a step back and reevaluating your processes helps you realize there are faster options that save you time.
 
For example, maybe your inbox is a mess, and you have simply gotten used to it being that way. Making a few teaks can make it easier to manage and track emails. Search online for articles and videos with helpful recommendations for reorganizing your inbox.
 
If you are a freelancer, you have more flexibility with revamping your processes. Maybe you need help tracking your income. Instead of sending a generic email to customers as a bill, better track the amount and accuracy of payments using free tools. Check out this invoice maker. This allows you to create professional invoices that feature your logo and brand. Simply select from a variety of pre-built templates, and customize your invoice with your brand colors, business name, logo, and other important information. 
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​3. Stock Up on Toys and Books
Whether your kiddo is stationary, sitting, crawling, or running, having items to play with helps him or her stay busy while you work. Set up a play area in or near your office so you can monitor your child.
 
Fill the area with kid toys, books, and games. Wash the toys on a regular basis to prevent germs from spreading. Stock up on toys without spending lots of money by shopping at thrift stores and garage sales.

4. Make To-Do Lists
Many people find their lives run smoother when utilizing checklists. According to one article, 96% of those surveyed felt their lives were better when they used to-do lists.
 
To prevent personal and professional tasks from slipping through the cracks, make a to-do list at the beginning of each day. Check items off as they are accomplished. Create other to-do lists throughout the month, such as bills or chores lists. As needed, add tasks from these indexes to your daily list. This ensures big-picture items are not overlooked and get tackled during the week. 

While working remotely gives you more freedom, you need to take intentional steps to make sure your job and your little ones are tended to. Following these four tips brings balance to your workday while still loving on your children. Visit Rinda Beach for more.

I spotted this on one of my Private Facebook Groups, and I saved it to share with you. It made sense to me because I’ve done all of these things, tried to quit, and found myself going back there again. Bad habits, they’re hard to break!

​​When I went back, my source had disappeared. I did a reverse picture search and found the original site on Tiny Buddha.com. I’m glad to give them credit.

1.  Trying to please everyone – Have you ever felt like this? Like everyone wants a piece of you, and you just can’t say no? You don’t have to be a doctor to feel this way. It happens to everyone, even kids.

I’m a retired teacher, and I used to feel that way all the time. I had kids at home and at school who needed me, and I tried to help everyone.
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Fear needs to be handled like anything else. I look for opportunities in it. Sometimes what I fear actually makes my life easier. Look at elementary age kids – no diapers. No terrible twos. It was my favorite time with my three kids.
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Losing a job/failing to find a new one – those are hard changes to make. When I’m in the middle of one, I look for silver linings. I wait for them. I know they’ll come, but I have to be patient and wait them out. You can too.

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​3.  Living in the Past – You have no choice. You can’t stay in the past. It will quickly become the present, and eventually the future. Nothing stays the same forever. I’ve been a kid, an adult, a mom, and now a grandma. Each stage had things that were wonderful, and awful.
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​That’s life. It’s interesting that #2 fearing change, and #3 living in the past can be the same. You have to change to move into the future. For me, the trick is to minimize what’s awful. Then I look for silver linings. There are opportunities out there. Sometimes you have to look for them. Sometimes you have to work, and make them happen.
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​4.  Putting Yourself Down – Are you harder on yourself than you are on anyone else? Me too. It’s important to be honest with yourself, but you also need to give yourself a break, the kind you give other people.

​I’m a recovering perfectionist. I’ve learned to forgive myself when I fall short. It’s hard. It’s easier to forgive someone else.
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My advice – Put yourself up. Recognize one thing you’re doing well. You have to believe in yourself to get things done. Put downs can stop your forward progress.

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​5.  Overthinking – Do you examine every angle before you start something new? Thinking through consequences is a good thing . . . unless you freeze and can’t move forward.

​I overthink things, but I’ve learned to balance it by looking for problems, and then coming up with solutions. If they don’t work, I make a new plan. Life is about problem solving, not perfection. I want to enjoy both the journey, and the challenges.

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​1.  Please yourself. If you’re not happy, no one else will be either.
2. Examine change. Look at it closely. Does it fit you and your style? Adjust as needed. You don’t have to change, for change sake alone.
3.  Live in the present. Learn from the past, and plan for the future, but enjoy the here and now. No one is guaranteed tomorrow.
4. Compliment yourself. Celebrate what you do well, and what mistakes can teach you.
5. Make a plan and test-drive it. Correct as needed. Remember detours can be a good thing. 
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Since Covid reared its head in 2020, we’ve all endured so much. Now that Covid’s waning, there’s something else to endure . . . the Ukraine. It hurts to watch the news. I endure by praying, by keeping the faith, and by doing what I can for the people around me. So here’s my newest post – 3 quotes from 3 people. They endured, and we can too.

When I look at this photo, I see endurance . . .  living in a wheelchair, the rehabilitation they’ve gone through, and the workouts to build strength. This is what endurance looks like.

                   Quote #1 – At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.
                                                                                Who said it? Frida Kahlo
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Below are two images of Frida. The first was taken by her father in 1932. Frida was 25. The second is a self-portrait Frida painted in 1940 at age 33.
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Frida endured more than most people can dream of. At age 6 she got polio. It changed her forever. Her right leg was shorter and thinner than her left one. She had to be isolated from her classmates for months, and kids can be mean.

Frida almost died in a bus accident when she was 18. An iron handrail sliced through her body. Her friends pulled it out. Can you imagine the pain she endured? Or your spine broken in 3 places, your leg in 11, and your foot crushed and dislocated? It took her 3 months to get back to work, but Frida was never the same again.
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The accident took away her dreams to become a doctor, and later a mom. They gave her pain, illness, and surgeries for the rest of her life. A friend said she “lived dying,” but she endured. She found another dream in her art. When she couldn’t sit or stand, she rigged an easel over her bed so she could paint. You can find braces and hospital beds in her work. She not only endured. She used her pain to grow as an artist.

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​Sources:
Frida’s Quote: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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Her Self-Portrait: By Frida Kahlo - Lloyd, Brigitte Gastel. "Portrait of the Artists". artroots.com., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3518151
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Information: Frida Kahlo - Wikipedia



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Quote #2 – Ruptures almost always lead to a stronger project.
Who said it? Anne Carson

This is Anne’s photograph from Amazon. She’s hard to find. Anne is a very private person. She’s also a college professor who’s been teaching the classics, comparative literature, and creative writing in the US and Canada since 1979.

Anne specializes in teaching and translating the classics from Ancient Greece and Rome. She also works with more modern writers like Emily Bronte and Virginia Woolf. They’re all part of her teaching and writing. 

​Anne loves to mix different kinds of writing together, from poetry to essay, from fiction to nonfiction. She likes to collaborate with singers, dancers, and visual artists. I’ve never read her work, but she must have a style all her own. 

Mixing and collaborating made Anne’s work unique, but it also led to problems. That’s when she switched gears and did something new. When she returned, the problem had worked itself out.

​Ruptures happen all the time – to balls and fingers and pipelines. Have you heard a bone heals back together stronger than it used to be? It’s true for me and my work, and for anyone who has endurance. 
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​Sources:
​
Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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Anne Carson - Wikipedia



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Quote #3 – What do you do when there's nowhere to turn? You drive straight ahead.
Who said it? Leslie Gordon

Meet Leslie Gordon, her husband Scott Berns, and their son Sam. They got the news he had progeria in the summer of 1998. Sam was 22 months old, but it meant he’d age rapidly and die by age 14.

​Leslie and Scott specialized in pediatric medicine, but they discovered little was known about progeria. That there was little support for their family. With nowhere to go, they started their own research foundation to fill in the gap.

The Progeria Foundation has learned a great deal since 1998. They discovered the gene that caused it. Produced medicines that give children an extra 2 ½ years of life. They’re working at the DNA level to edit the genes that cause progeria. Without Leslie, Scott, and Sam, none of this would have happened.

Sam Berns died in 2014. He lived three extra years thanks to the foundation. I listened to his 2013 TED Talk. It’s incredible! It’s about his philosophy to live a happy life. He found it in the important things, like band and good friends. 

​Here’s to the road ahead. There are problems out there, but we can face them, like Leslie, Scott, and Sam did. Who knows what we’ll discover? The possibilities are endless. For every problem we endure, something good can come out of it.
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It depends! On whether I’m picking them out at the library, or buying them online. Some things are the same, but some things are different.
​
Part 1 – Picking Library Books: If you take a look at my newest picks, I bet you can figure out why they called me. They said take us home. Take a guess what they said . . . then check to see if you’re right!

When I go to the library, I wander through the shelves, but I only look at the new picture books. They’re displayed at each end of a row of shelves. I might pick a book or two on that first lap, but I might not.
​
What do I look at? The titles and the covers! They invite me to pick them up, or ignore them. Occasionally I look at the back, or the inside flap to see what they’re about, but mostly I use that front cover to make my decision.
​

I picked Don’t Hug Doug because I like Carrie Finison. I’ve read a couple of her books, and I like the way she thinks. I picked Bright Star because I’ve met the author Yuyi Morales on a zoom class or two. I’ve also read a few of her books, and I liked them.
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I also loved their covers. Daniel Wiseman made the title big and bold. He added Doug beside his name. It’s nice and simple, and it tells me what it will be about. Yuyi’s cover intrigued me with its deer and cactus. I know it will focus on them, and I’m willing to pick it up to find out what’s at stake for them.
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With my other two picks, the title and the cover made me pick them up and take them home. For Henry at Home, I liked the two kids on the cover, and I wondered what was going on between them. I must have been missing home because I picked another book about it. The title, A Home Again, and the tiny red house made me curious. Curiosity is a good thing when it comes to book covers.

PS – when I finish reading each book, I add the title and author to my reading journal. I record what I liked and what I didn’t. They may/may not appear on My Reads. The best way to get a review is by matching up with the subject of my blog posts. There are books I read years ago that I loved, but never got to put on My Reads. If I sort of like a book/didn’t like it, I will never ever put it up. A bad review is devastating to the ego, but, it can also destroy a book’s chance to succeed and find readers like you.
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Part 2 – Picking Books Online:  I can’t look at real books online so I shop at Amazon. These came up when I clicked Kindle titles. They’re based on my browsing and purchasing history. 
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These books popped up first. I’ve read all three authors, but the one that’s calling me is the third one, The Jane Seymour Conspiracy. I’ve already read the other 3 books in the series.

The second book is from Alison Weir. I have her series on the six wives of Henry the VIII, except for his last one, Catherine Parr. She’s calling me back. I’ll pass on Jeff Wheeler for now, but his Druid is tempting. I love historical fiction!
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Here’s the next row from Amazon. It’s Young Adult fantasy. I’ve had Harry Potter, the ‘real’ books for years.

I don’t know K.M. Shea, but the cover isn’t calling me. I am curious about the books by Emily R. King. She has 2 series that came out after The Hundredth Queen. I’ll look at the titles, descriptions, and ratings to see if I want to check them out.
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Shanna Swendson came up, big time on my search list! She has more titles on my kindle than any other author. I found 5 here, plus 2 more! Before I pick any of them, I’ll check the titles, descriptions, and ratings to decide. 

This also came up on my search. I’ve never heard of Gaslamp Fantasy before, but here’s the Wikipedia definition – it’s a subgenre of both fantasy and historical fiction. It’s usually set in Victorian or Edwardian England. It fits – I love fantasy and historical fiction.
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If I don’t see what I’m looking for, I keep searching. I check my favorite categories, my favorite authors, but I only buy, if I like the description and ratings. I want to know what other readers think about that story.

​If you’re happy, and you know it . . . Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but not for everyone. I have three quotes from three famous people. I hope they help you find a little bit of happiness.

Quote #1 – There is in the worst of fortune the best chances for a happy change.

Who said it? Euripides! It came from one of his tragedies. Here’s a recording with a minute’s worth of information about him.    Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes

If you’ve never heard of Euripides, I’m not surprised. He wrote tragedies about 2500 years ago. Would you believe only three writers from ancient Greece had their complete plays survive? I hadn’t heard of the other two either – Aeschylus or Sophocles. I think it’s amazing that a quote about happiness came from a writer who specialized in tragedies.    Source: Euripides - Wikipedia
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​This is how I’d illustrate Euripides’ quote, the worst of fortune leading to a happy change. It might be raining on their parade, but these two are still having fun, together.

​Who said it? William Carlos Williams. He was 20 when he wrote it in a letter to his mom. Back then he was a student at the University of Pennsylvania. Here’s a link to a minute-long recording about him.  Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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I’d never heard of William Carlos Williams. He was quite talented! He was a medical doctor, poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright. He may have been overshadowed by other writers, but he inspired the Beat generation of the 1950s and 60s. Who knew he lived a pretty normal life as a doctor for more than 40 years? Maybe that’s why his words still ring true to me!
Sources: William Carlos Williams | Poetry Foundation                       William Carlos Williams - Wikipedia
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When I think about what William said, this is what I picture . . . SHARING. One of my firm beliefs is that when you give, you get. When you get, you give. They work together.

Quote #3  – Whoever is happy will make others happy too.
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Who said it? Anne Frank. She’s unforgettable. She was forced to hide in an attic for 2 years during WWII. That’s when she wrote this sentence about happiness. Here’s a link to her recording. It’s about a minute long.        Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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This is Anne, back in July 1942. It was taken two months before her family went into hiding. Her father knew about some concealed rooms in his office building. They were hidden by a bookcase. The photo below is a cutaway of that building. If you go to Wikipedia, you can enlarge it and identify each room.
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​This model reminds me of a doll house, but this was no children’s game of hide and seek for the Franks. If they were caught, they’d be sent to a concentration camp.

Anne and her sister, Margot, were separated from their parents in November of 1944. They were sent to Bergen-Belsen, another infamous camp. They died a few months later, sometime in late February or early March. No one knows for sure.
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Anne’s father was the only one in the family who survived the war. Otto lost his wife, his daughters. When he returned to Amsterdam, he found his secretary Miep Gies. She’d helped them hide, and she saved Anne’s diary. Otto published it in 1947 because Anne wanted to be a writer. She succeeded! Her diary has been published in over 70 languages.
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​What Anne wrote about happiness is incredible. She was so young and so wise. She found happiness in writing, and I get to share it with you.

Information Source:  Anne Frank - Wikipedia

Photo Sources:  1. Her house: By Alexisrael - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31562690
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2. Anne and Margot’s grave: By Arne List - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=184880

​Part 1 – Talking Money – The Must-Have Conversation:  This is a tough conversation . . . I had trouble writing my post last night for you. Talking money anytime is difficult, and doing it with your parents is even worse. If you’d like some advice, try this link. They have some ideas that might be helpful for you. Link: 6 Ways To Help Your Aging Parents With Their Investments | Bankrate
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I was lucky . . . I didn’t have to initiate the talk. My parents did – after my dad’s heart attack. It changed their lives. They survived quadruple bypass together. Then they patched the potholes they found during that experience. They organized their important papers and told us where to find the things they’d need, like insurance and bank accounts.

Then they made out their wills. They set up medical and financial powers of attorney to take care of each other. They added clauses to allow my sister and I to help them, if they couldn’t help themselves.
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I didn’t want to look at that information when they first put it together, but now looking back, I’m glad my parents made me do it. At some point in the last few years, I realized . . . that it’s my turn. My husband and I need to have that talk with our kids. We need to put our information together. We need to set up wills, and power of attorneys, but for now, my husband and I are putting it off, like we’ve done for years. It’s easier to put things off, than to push through to do them.

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My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s back in 2011. He lived with it until he died in 2015. Mom managed the house, the finances, and watched over Dad during those years. She was sharp as a tack then, and she still is!

​Mom’s mind is sound, but slowly, over the years, her body has weakened. Now she can’t live alone, so she moved into a senior citizen home in 2019. Mom still makes her own decisions, financially and otherwise, but I do her shopping and pay her bills.

These tools helped me help her.

• A Living Will
• A Durable Power of Attorney (POA) for Finances
• A Durable Medical POA

 
The Financial POA helps Mom the most. Through it she grants me the power to do the things she needs done. If she ever changed her mind, she could take my name off and put someone else’s on. Over the years we’ve learned to work together; to listen to each other. I try to give her room to make choices, and I try not to make them for her. She tries to listen to what I can do for her, and what I can’t. It takes teamwork from both of us. It will take the same for you and your parents.

If it’s hard for your parents to make good choices, you can set up a Revocable Trust. It limits how much your parents can spend, but it may change your relationship. No parent likes to be told what to do by the child they raised.
 
If your parents are no longer of sound mind, you can set up a conservatorship by going to court. You’ll have to prove your case to a judge. If they agree, they’ll set up a guardian to make decisions. The guardian would control their checkbook and credit cards. It’s a last resort; one I didn’t have to use. My parents helped me into this world, and now it’s my turn to help them leave it behind. ​

​Have you heard, “If you can be anything, be kind?” I have, and right now it feels like everyone could use a heaping helping of kindness. Here are three quotes from three famous people about kindness.
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​Quote #1  – No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Who said it? Aesop! You know the one from the fables? This quote came from the moral to “The Lion and the Mouse.” Here’s a recording with information I didn’t include. It’s about a minute long.
Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes

Aesop was a Greek storyteller who was known for his tales. Someone gathered them together to make Aesop’s Fables. He was born around 620 BC, before Christ. He died around 564 BC or BCE (before the common era). That’s almost 2500 years ago.

Details get lost over time, but Aristotle, Herodotus, and Plutarch wrote about him in their histories, so some details are still known. Aesop started life as a slave, but he was clever enough to win his freedom. He became an adviser to Greek kings and city-states.
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No one is quite sure what Aesop looked like. This is a Greek statue of him. It’s in a collection in Rome, but I’m not sure how old it is. There’s another image of him from a woodcut that was done 1489. It’s below, with my list of sources.

Do you know the story of “The Lion and the Mouse?” It’s #150 on the Perry Index. I’ve never heard of it before, but I like to learn new things. There are 584 fables on the regular list; more on the extended one.

The fable – A mouse wakes up a sleeping lion. Mouse doesn’t want to be a snack so he asks lion to let him go. Lion does, but later he’s caught in a net. Mouse hears his cries and sets him free by chewing through the rope. Lion’s kindness is repaid.
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That’s the first version of the story. Later ones, in English have the mouse asking for freedom, saying he’ll pay lion back someday. Lion of course is tickled that such a tiny creature can help him.
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​Information Sources:
Aesop - Wikipedia        
Aesop's Fables - Wikipedia     
The Lion and the Mouse - Wikipedia 
Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
 
Photo Sources
- Greek Statue - By user:shakko - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5545991
 
- Lion and Mouse Sculpture - By Celeste Hutchins from The Hague, Netherlands - statue 2, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2186911
 
- Woodcut to the left - By File created by me; art by Francis Barlow (died 1704) - The 1687 edition of Aesop's Fables with His Life: in English, French and Latin, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9510028

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​​Quote #2  – More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.

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​Who said it? Charlie Chaplin. Have you heard of him? He was a famous actor who starred on stage and screen from the time he was a kid until 1976. That was a year before he died. Sorry, I couldn’t find a recording this time, but if you click this link, you can read their information.
Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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If you read the information from Daily Inspiration, it’s about this photo from Charlie’s movie The Great Dictator. Charlie wrote the script. The quote about kindness and gentleness is at the end of the movie. Charlie wanted it said in 1940 because of Hitler and World War II. I think it still needs to be said today.
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Charlie may have become a famous movie star, but he didn’t start out that way. He was born in 1889 in London, England to a pair of music hall performers. His parents separated when he was two, and his dad left the family behind. His mom struggled with money. Charlie was sent to a workhouse twice before he was nine. That’s where you went when you were penniless. They’d give you a place to stay, and work to do.

By the time he was 14, his mom was hospitalized for mental health issues, but a young Charlie was already taking care of himself – He was performing onstage in music halls. By age 19 he signed to do stage work with the Fred Karno Repertoire Company. The famous producer even took him to America.

Charlie soon found his way into silent movies, and by 1918 he was a world-wide star. He was only 29. A year later he went in with three friends to found United Artists. It gave him the freedom to make movies the way he wanted – to write, direct, produce, edit, star in, even compose the music. His movies were known for their slapstick comedy, with a little tragedy/sorrow on the side.
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Charlie has a website. The link: Charlie Chaplin : Official Website
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Information Sources:
Charlie Chaplin - Wikipedia                                                                      
Charlie Chaplin : Official Website
 
Photo Sources
- Charlie starred as Adolf Hitler in The Great Dictator, 1940 – By United Artists - Cropped from File:The Great Dictator publicity still.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29507472
 
- Charlie in City Lights, one of his best movies, 1931 –  By United Artists - www.creativelydifferentblinds.com/TVStageandFilm/CharlieChaplin/CityLights, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19983420
 
- Charlie as The Tramp – his iconic role, 1915 – By Essanay Studios - British Film Institute, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24496648

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Who said it? Julia Alvarez. She has published 17 books so far. Most of them are both in English and Spanish. She writes everything – poetry, nonfiction, novels, and picture books. Sorry, I couldn’t find a recording this time either, but if you click this link, you can read the information from Inspiring Quotes.
Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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This quote came from her essay an Aha Moment. Julia wrote about a horrible plane ride and the acts of kindness she saw during it. She also noticed how kindness inspires more kindness. Sometimes when life is at its worst, people rise to be their best.
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Julia was born in New York City in 1950, but she moved back to the Dominican Republic when she was 3 months old. Her family lived there for the next 10 years. Julia thrived! Maybe because Domincans value story-telling, and they nurture it too.
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In 1960 Julia’s dad helped with a plot to overthrow the dictator. The plot failed, and her family fled to the US. Can you imagine leaving everything behind?
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That night Julia lost her home, her language, family and friends, everything she knew. She was homesick in the country she’d been born in, but it wasn’t home. She felt out of place, and people didn’t accept her because she was different.

At school she was discriminated against because she was from Latin America and spoke differently, with an accent. How did Julia cope? She turned to books and literature. She had teachers who liked her writing and encouraged her to keep going.

At age 13 her parents sent her to boarding school. They wanted her to have a better education than the local schools could offer. She also spent every summer visiting the Dominican Republic. Her parents wanted to make sure she kept her heritage and grew up properly.

Those experiences with immigration, new schools, and living in two different worlds found their way into Julia’s books from the Garcia Girls to her Tia books.
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​Information Sources:
Julia Alvarez
Julia Alvarez - Wikipedia
 
 
Photo Sources
Julia Alvarez