​I bought this book last September, in 2022. I shop whenever I’m watching an OSU football game. It’s a superstition, but it makes me feel like I’m doing my part to help the Buckeyes win.

                                                               My Stats from Last Year: 
​​                              Trivia score              Name Recognition
Chapter 1              5 of 20                                  --
Chapter 2                 7                                    14 of 28
Chapter 3                 11                                 11 of 20
Chapter 4                  5                                      9 of 22
Chapter 5                  5                                      7 of 21
Chapter 6                  5                                    12 of 38
Chapter 7                  8                                    10 of 26

That means my best scores came in Chapter 5 for both trivia and name recognition. It was all about catching the ball, AKA the receivers. Here’s my link to last year’s trivia:
​
                              http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/trivial-pursuit-the-ohio-state-football-way


                               Game Day Saturday, September 16 - Chapter 8 - How I did, and what I learned. 

Chapter 8: Coaching Carousel: I thought I’d do better on this chapter than I did. I’ve been following Ohio State football since the 60s. I can name the coaches in order . . . Woody Hayes, Earle Bruce, John Cooper, Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, and Ryan Day.

I double checked, and I missed one. Luke Fickel was coach for less than a year. He came between Tressel and Meyer. I have a soft spot for Luke’s wife, Amy. She comes from Spencerville, Ohio. That’s just up the road from my house in Wapak.

In spite of knowing all that, I was back to mediocre again, 7 right out of 20. YUCK! And on name recognition, I knew 11 out of 23. Yep, mediocre, but, these questions are hard!

These are my four favorite OSU coaches. I don’t know any of the ones before Woody.  I was born in 1959, and Woody became head coach in 1951. He was still there during the fall of 1978 when I was a freshman. I feel sorry now for the next two coaches . . .  There was no way they could compare to Woody, and the three that followed . . . I loved them like Woody 😊
​
   Now for my Pick 3 questions, they’re all about the best OSU coach ever – Wayne Woodrow Hayes!
​

I got it right . . . 7! You can double check the answer in the first paragraph. I named those 7 coaches in order, and I only forgot 1. Not bad!

​Shucks! I guessed 17. Too high! The answer . . . 13. I guess even Woody couldn’t win them all, but he sure tried. 
​

I missed it! I said true, that two coaches could produce more All-Americans than just one. Wrong! I forgot that Woody coached for 28 years, while Jim and Urban only did 15, altogether.  Wow! What a coach!

                             Fun Fact: Before Woody came, OSU was known as the coaches’ graveyard.
                                                                       See you next week for Chapter 9!

​Have you ever felt like quitting? I hadn’t, not until last week. That’s when I got stuck, again. I couldn’t write a single word. I tried for four hours. I went back and forth between two chapters, over and over again. Nothing, so I gave up and called it a night. This isn’t the first time I’ve been stuck in the last couple months, but I never, ever thought of quitting. Till last week.

​Part 1 – The Idea: I was having another sleepless night. That’s when the thought of quitting started. At first I couldn’t imagine it, but the idea, it wouldn’t leave me alone. Then I thought ,what if. What if I quit?

I realized I can give it up, even though I’ve been writing since 2007. That night I came up with a few ideas on how to stop, how to tie up my loose ends. When I gave myself permission, I felt free. Free from stress that night. Free to look at my life and the choices I want to make. And finally free, to go to sleep.
​
Now I’m looking back at last week, matching my three experiences with a quote. I hope it helps you if you’re thinking about quitting. And me, I hope it helps if I’m in this situation again.
​

Quote #1: You have to fail in order to practice being brave.
Who said it?

​Mary Tyler Moore
​

Inspiring Quotes found an interview from 1997 that  Mary Tyler Moore did. She also said, “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage.”

These are two pictures of Mary. The first is from the Dick Van Dyke Show. It ran for 5 years in the 60’s, and it was one of my favorite TV shows.
​
The second is from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It ran for 7 years during the 70’s, and it was another favorite of mine. I thought Mary was super successful, but I guess even successful people have failures too.
​

​Sources:

This Photo from 1988: By Photo by Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1471176
 
Quote #1 : Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
​
​ Tomorrow - the next morning - how I felt and my decision

​

​Part 2 – And the Result: The next day, I felt lighter. I could quit, if I wanted to, or I could continue on. My choice, so I opened my laptop, and . . . I started writing. It felt wonderful! 

I wrote past the block in chapter 1, then past the next one in chapter 11. By the end of that day, my first chapter was ready for my critique group, and the second, it needed a little fine-tuning. But it was close!
 
I could write that day, but I left the door to quitting open, just in case. Deciding to write, or not to write gave me a freedom I haven’t had in years. For me. For my writing. Here’s the quote that expresses how I felt.

Quote #2: A self that goes on changing is a self that goes on living.
Who said it? 

​​ Virginia Wolf
​

Inspiring quotes found these words originated from her ideas about the writers who’d published before her. But they apply to everyone. Virginia too. We’re all human – our ideas grow and change. Learning new things, or learning from mistakes, that’s part of the process. We don’t lose integrity because of it. We gain, in both our personal and professional lives.  

Sources:
Quote #2:  Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes 


​

Part 3 – The Next Obstacle:  Remember that second chapter that needed polishing? I worked on it, but there was more to polish than I imagined.  I ran into an unexpected obstacle on the last two pages. I had too much information, and it slowed down the story. So I cut and polished, over and over again, but sometimes you have to quit, to get things right in the long run.

And that’s what I did. I went outside to read and relax. I didn’t plan to, but it’s what I needed to do. I realized I’d pushed so hard to write/revise a chapter in a week, that I forgot to have fun. Here's the quote that applied to me that day.

Quote #3: Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.
Who said it? 

​William A. Ward
​

Inspiring Quotes researched and discovered that William was a motivational writer. He wanted to inspire people with words. He believed success could start with one small step, like making a plan, or finding start-up money. The important thing – be patient. His advice – find pride and satisfaction in each small step you take.

​Sources:
Quote #3:  Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes

Part 4 – The Obstacle Revelations:  I hit obstacles in two chapters on a Monday, but by Friday I worked my way through them. I was hoping the next two would be obstacle-free. They weren’t, of course.

That’s when I realized I’ll be facing them in each and every chapter of this manuscript. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever written. Why? I’m doing more research in each chapter than I’ve ever done before. Then I have to pick the facts that work, that move the story forward. If they don’t, I edit/revise until the plot, characters, and supporting details do.
​
After a week of bouncing off story walls, I wrote my way to the end of them, and to this quote. It helped me figure out how I can manage this story, chapter by chapter. 
​

​Quote #4: To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first.
Who said it? 

William Shakespeare

Inspiring Quotes found this in scene 1 from Henry VIII. The set-up – The Duke of Buckingham is complaining about a character who’s manipulating the king. The Duke of Norfolk warms him to be careful, to control his anger.

That didn’t resonate with me, but this part did . . . acting in haste gets you the worst results. Norfolk said, step back. Think, and you’ll see the insights and perspectives that help you choose the right way to go. 
​

​Sources:
Quote #4:  Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes

This is a computer model of what the Titan submersible once looked like. The real one disappeared an hour and 45 minutes into its voyage to the bottom of the North Atlantic. It was supposed to  carry its five passengers down to visit the Titanic.

Titanic, the Ship of Dreams. The one that hit an iceberg in 1912 and sank to the bottom of the sea. Of the 2200 people aboard, only 700 would live to tell its story, and this is what the passengers of the Titan came to see.

Part 1 – The Voyage of the Titan:  This is the map of Titanic’s maiden voyage. It would be its final one too. The yellow star on the bottom of the map is Titanic’s final resting place, and Titan’s destination.

Take your finger north of that star, then a little west. You’ll find Newfoundland. It’s the island where the Titan Submersible began its journey on Friday, June 16th.
​

​The huge orange boat is an icebreaker named the Polar Prince. OceanGate hired the ship and its crew to get the submersible to the launch site. They arrived on the 17th.

The Polar Prince launched the submersible at 9:30 AM on the 18th. Everything went well for the first hour and a half. The Titan and Polar Prince talked to each other every 15 minutes, but at the 11:30 mark . . . nothing.

That’s when the search began, and the news went out to the world. I heard it around 1PM. It hurt to know that the people inside had 96 hours of air left, and the rescue teams had 4 days to find them. All over the world people like me began praying.


​                                                            

​
When those reports made the news, I hoped . . . the five were still alive. But I was a little skeptical about the pounding, until I heard whales could be heard hundreds of miles away, or that submarine crews really pounded on their ships. There was still time to save those five people, so I said a few more prayers.

 
​

Part 3 – Three Theories About What Happened:
​​ As soon as Titan disappeared, the news reports speculated on what could have happened to it.
​
Theory #1 – The submersible was bobbing on the water’s surface.

If it had, it might have looked like this boat and the buoy it’s tied to. That’s what Titan was supposed to do. It had seven backup systems that were designed to return it to the surface, if something went wrong.

I never heard this theory on the TV news. It must have been quickly discarded that first day when nothing was seen by ship, by plane, or by sonar and radar.
​

​                                          Theory #2 – The submersible got tangled in the wreckage. 

Titanic broke into 2 main pieces, the bow and the stern. They’re seperated by 2000 feet of ocean floor, and it’s littered with the ship’s debris. This is what’s left of the bow. It sits 12,500 feet underwater. Not only would Titan be hard to find, but it might also be impossible to free, in time.

I heard this theory on the news. They interviewed an expert who’d been in a submersible that got tangled in Titanic’s wreckage. His pilot freed them, got them to the surface in time. That TV expert was worried that Titan’s pilot didn’t have the kind of controls to break the submersible free himself.


                                                   Theory #3 – A Catastrophic Implosion happened.

​
Something went wrong inside Titan, and it collapsed inward upon itself. That something could have been a leak, a power failure, an electrical short circuit, or the hull could have been breached. The water would have pushed down on the submersible with so much force that the implosion would have happened within  2 nanoseconds. That’s two billionths of a second, so Titan would have been destroyed, immediately.

I heard this theory from the start, but when underwater noises were reported, I was like everyone else, hoping the crew was still alive. It wasn’t meant to be. Late on the 21st, the story came out that a US Navy ship picked up the sound of  an implosion sometime after Titan disappeared underwater. They told the Coast Guard, but they didn’t share the news. Maybe they didn’t want to give up hope, just in case the crew was still alive. 


​

                                 Shahzada Dawood

​A father and son traveled down to Titanic together. Their names, Shahzada and Sulemon Dawood. They’re from Surbiton, in south-west London. Shahzada is survived by his wife and daughter.

Shahzada, at age 48, was the UK vice-chairman of the Engro Corporation. They’re a Pakastani company that specializes in  fertilizer, petrochemicals, and engineering projects. He was also a board member for the Prince’s Trust International, one of King Charles III’s charities. Shahzada was an adviser to its international arm, and he focused in on Pakistan.

Suleman, at age 19, just finished his first year of business school at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. He’s survived by his mother and sister.

Shahzada’s wife, Christine, talked about this trip to a reporter. She had originally planned to go, but then Covid hit. When it was rescheduled, her son took her seat. What stayed with me – was how excited she said her husband and son were about this voyage. They were living their dream . . . traveling down to see Titanic together. I hope when I leave this world, I can do it like the Dawoods, following a dream.
 
Photo: By Engro - Original publication: TodayImmediate source: https://www.today.com/news/titanic-missing-sub-shahzada-dawood-passengers-rcna90565,
​Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74106816
​
​                                  Hamish Harding

 ​Hamish Harding was a fellow passenger and adventurer.  He lived in Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. He’s survived by his wife, Linda, two sons, Rory and Giles, a stepdaughter, Lauren, and a stepson, Brian Szasz.

Hamish, aged 58, was the chairman of Action Aviation, a private plane company, and he loved flying. He held an airline transport pilot’s license and had businesss jet ratings for  the Gulfstream G650. He was an adventurer, a skydiver, and a trustee of the Explorers Club. He was chosen in 2022 as a Living Legend of Aviation. Last year he went into space with Blue Origins, and this is his picture to prove it.

Hamish was also involved in a luxury tourism company, White Desert. They were the first to offer regular business jets to Antarctica. The South Pole was one of his favorite destinations, and he helped Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, reach a new goal. In 2016 Buzz became  the oldest person to make it to the South Pole. His age, 86.

Hamish was the ultimate adventurer, and he died making one last trip . . .  to the bottom of the North Atlantic, a place very few humans have reached.
​
Photo By Blue Origin - Original publication: The GuardianImmediate source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jun/19/hamish-harding-the-british-explorer-missing-at-sea-near-the-titanic, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74106831

​                                 Paul-Henri Nargeolet

Paul-Henri Nargeolet was known as Mr. Titanic. He was born in France, and he’s lived in Pawling, New York since 2022. He’s survived by his wife Anne Sarraz-Bournet, two daughters, Chloe and Sidonie, a son Julien, a stepson, John Nathaniel Paschall, and by four grandsons. His 1st wife, Michele Marsh died in 2017.   

At age 77 Paul-Henri was the senior passenger, and he once served as a French navy commander. He studied Titanic for 35 years, spent hundreds of hours observing it, and has taken several submarines down to the wreck.

He joined a team in 1987 that brought up some artifacts from the ocean floor. Titanic lies in darkness, and it’s covered in coral. Paul-Henri spoke about seeing it from a submarine lit by projectors. Everyone onboard the ship was speechless for 10 minutes, not a sound could be heard. He said the ship is an oasis in an immense desert. Imagine the deep dark bottom of the ocean. Nothing survives there . . . except on, and around the Titanic. Life flourishes there, thanks to an accident.

Paul-Henri has loved Titanic and its history for over 35 years. It seems fitting for his body to rest beside it. For Mr. Titanic, it is the ship of dreams.

Photo By Harpers Collins - Original publication: ICIImmediate source: https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/titanic-le-chamoniard-paul-henri-nargeolet-serait-a-bord-du-sous-marin-disparu-7075224, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74106893

​                                          Stockton Rush

​Stockton Rush was Titan’s pilot on its final voyage. He was also the co-founder and CEO (chief executive officer) of OceanGate. That’s the company that owned and operated Titan. He’s survived by his wife, Wendy and their two children.

Both Stockton and Wendy have important ancestors. Wendy’s great-great-grandparents died onboard the Titanic in 1912. Their names, Isidor and Ida Blun Straus. Stockton is descended from Richard Stockton and Dr. Benjamin Rush – they were both founding fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence.

Stockton went onto develop several businesses over the last 20 years. At BlueView Technolgies they manufactured high-frequency sonar systems. He also worked at Entomo where he was involved in software development, and at Remote Control Technology Inc. It sounds like each step in his career brought him a little closer to developing Titan.

Stockton was in charge of OceanGate’s financial and engineering divisions too. His vision brought the 4000 and 6000-metre submersibles to life for crews and passengers. I imagine taking this special group of adventurers down to Titanic must have been a big moment. It seems fitting as Stockton’s final mission, and for his final resting place.

Photo By OceanGate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHSPhKUUXIM, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=133459795

Sources

Photo by Madelgarius - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=133558088

Part 1- 4 – Titan submersible implosion - Wikipedia

Part 2 – https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/06/20/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-live-updates/70336
​
Part 3 –  Wreck of the Titanic - Wikipedia
What Happened to the Titanic Sub? Experts Explained Likely Scenarios. (insider.com)
​
Part 4 – Titanic sub: what we know about the victims of deep-sea tragedy | Titanic sub incident | The Guardian

​​Have you ever met a bat up close and personal? Not the baseball kind. The bat, who flies through the night. I have, four times so far. Keep reading, and I’ll tell you some true stories about me, and my bats.

                                                                      Story # 1 – The Bat and the Mop

The first bat flew through this backyard in Lengerich, Germany. If you were a bat, you’d stop in every night to feast on its bug buffet, but not that night . . . it tried the door.

Most German windows don’t have screens, and the back door, it was open. So that bat flew inside and did a few laps. I called it a bird, and my German friend, night bird.
​
We argued until she pulled out a big, thick book. I thought she was going to hit the bat. Nope! It was a dictionary, and she pointed at a German word, Fledermaus. Beside it, in English, I saw bat, and that’s the moment it hung upside down from the curtain rod. No Fake, Jake!

What should we do? Well, we argued some more, and that bat watched and listened. Finally my friend tried the garage, and I was stuck with the bat. I had to do something, so I tried a mop. I held it up to the bat, hoping it would fly away. Nope! Three limbs clutched my mop. The fourth, held tight to the rod.

We stared at each other, like forever, at least until I heard my friend’s footsteps. I yelled door. Thank goodness she left it open, and that bat finally flew a few laps, then left through the door.

That’s the short version of my brush with a bat. If you’d like the one with more juicy details, try this link: http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/the-true-bat-story
​
  

                                                                     Story #2 – A Pillow Fight, with a Bat!

Believe it or not, I wasn’t the lead actor for this story . . . that role went to my husband, but I guess I was still the leading lady, and the villain . . . the bat. This is my only bat story where it got to be the villain. The other three times, poor bat! It stumbled into the story.

This one started when my husband woke me during the night. He called, cover your face. Note – I hate doing that. I get too hot, and then I have to kick off the covers. When I asked why, he said there was a bat in our bedroom. I know – a bat, flying laps, around my bedroom. YIKES!
​
It was enough to keep me undercover, because this bat wasn’t nice, not like the others. My husband said every time he popped his head out, the bat dive-bombed him. And the sound it made, I don’t remember the syllables, but they were high-pitched and squeaky. They sounded mean, like he was shouting, this is MY room. Not Yours!

Finally my husband had enough. Not me, I stayed undercover. He grabbed his pillow and started swatting. The bat pillow fight was on! But it wasn’t the nice kind, the slumber party kind. My husband swatted the bat to the floor, and it screeched – I’ll hurt you, I will! I was terrified, but my husband and the bat, they were still fighting, with that pillow.

A few minutes later he yelled, get a shoe! Why? So he could knock it down, for good. Every time he swatted, that bat flew back up a moment later. NOT NICE! It could have flown away. So I scrambled for a shoe, staying close to the ground. I think I tossed it. I wanted it there, fast, but I didn’t want to knock my husband out either!
​
He grabbed the shoe, hit the bat, and the battle was over. That fast! My husband carried it outside. My guess – he didn’t touch it. A bat that mean, might have had rabies. Afterwards I was so thankful it picked our room, not our daughter’s. She was probably middle school age back then, and a bat would have totally freaked her out.

Our two boys wanted to keep it as a souvenir, but we said NO! We called a park ranger. He lived two doors down, and he took it away before we got home. We never heard if it had rabies, but I’ve always wondered.

PS – I always think of this as my second bat story, but now, telling it for the first time ever, our kids must have been much younger. My guess – in grades 6, 4, and 1. No wonder I was so thankful that bat never crawled into our daughter’s room.

PPS – How did it get in? Our guess – it flew in the fireplace. It’s on the bottom level of our house. Then it flew upstairs and crawled under the door. It had too . . . it was the only way in . . . Both of our bedroom doors were closed. What an adventure! Thank goodness we lived to tell!

  

​                                                                  Story #3 – Tennis Anyone? Game, Set, Bat!

Have you ever swung a racquet at a bat? I have, but my heart wasn’t in it. It was the third time I’d met one up close, but it was the scariest. Maybe, because I was all alone this time.

It all started when my husband decided to cap our chimney. It sounded like a good idea, but I had no idea what it would set in motion . . . Not one. Not two, but three bats flying through our house. They must have called the chimney home, until that cap trapped them inside. There was nothing they could do, except fly through our house. They were looking for a way out, but the doors and windows were all closed. 

My husband was in Tennessee the night the first one flew through. I was in Ohio. His advice – grab a tennis racquet. Easy for him to say! He can hit the ball, and I can’t. 

That racquet made me feel a little safer. At least I could defend myself, sort of. My other defense, the one I was good at, hiding in our bedroom with the doors shut tight. Thank goodness that bat never crawled under either door. I think we were scared of each other.
​
The second night the bat flew up and down the stairs a few times. I swung and missed each time, but it finally disappeared. I didn’t search, not me. It was bigger than the other bats, with wings that filled the stairs. He flew up and around me and my racquet. What an acrobat!

​He said that I was the batlady. Okay, I have said that, and a lot. Then he said I could take care of it. I thought a moment. Then I thought suck it up buttercup, and I headed outside, armed with a six-foot piece of baseboard. And no, I wasn’t going to hit the bat with it.

I got outside and of course I didn’t see the bat, like usual. My husband pointed, and there it was, hanging onto the base cap. I googled to find that word. It’s the baseboard that goes around the top of a wall, or the top of a porch.
​
My tiny new friend was on the base cap beside the front yard. It looked like a small bird, but birds can’t land on a base cap. I looked, then wondered if I could really help it leave. Then I thought suck it up buttercup again, and I held my baseboard up to that bat.

Nothing! I wondered if it was ignoring me, or sleeping. Did you know bats sleep during the day and fly at night?  I tried again. Nothing again! The third time – it stretched out its wings. Yowzah! Suddenly that bat looked a lot bigger, but I sucked it up, and I held that board up one last time.

OOOPS! I forgot to tell you I was talking to the bat the whole time. On that last try I told my winged friend it couldn’t sleep on the porch. I said fly away. Find a better place to sleep. Guess what? It worked! My friend flew away, and I haven’t seen it since.
​
BTW – My tiny new friend probably lives in the mini-woods on either side of our house, but this is the first time we’ve met. Why? Bats avoid people the way people avoid bats. I thought I should build it a house, but I realized I don’t need to – my bat has lots of houses to choose from. They’re called . . . TREES!

If you copy someone’s work when you’re young, you’re called a copycat. You might get in trouble with your teacher. Maybe with the person you copied from, but it doesn’t hurt a lot.
​
If you copy when you’re older, like in high school, you might get a bad grade. If you do it in college, it’s serious. The name even changes. It’s called plagarism. Not only will you get a bad grade, you might be kicked out of college. It might stay on your academic record, making it hard/impossible to get into another school. 
​

​Part 1 - Meet Ed Sheeran: He’s a famous musician/songwriter, but he’s run into a couple of copyright issues.

I did too, when I found these public domain pictures of Ed. I’m allowed to share them with you, but only if I acknowledge the photographer. If I don’t, I could get into trouble. I don’t like trouble, so I”ll paste their names below the pictures. It’s the right thing to do too, to give creators credit for their work.
​
Look at both pictures. Which Ed looks older? If you said the first one, you’re right. It was taken in 2018 in Berlin. The second one is from a festival in 2014. Ed changed a lot, in those four years. 

Would you believe that it was in 2014 that Ed got into copyright problems. Why? What happened? Keep reading. My source:
​         
                                       Link: Ed Sheeran wins Thinking Out Loud copyright case - BBC News
​

​In 2014 Ed was hit with a lawsuit over his hit, “Thinking Out Loud.” The children of Ed Townsend thought it was too close to their dad’s hit with Marvin Gaye. , “Let’s Get It On.”   

Ed Townsend’s children thought Ed Sheeran copied too much from their dad, and the kids sued Ed, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music for copyright infringement. The case wasn’t settled until May 4 of this year, 2023. Nine years is a long time to wait for a judgement. It’s also a long time to pay a lawyer.

The heart of the case wraps around the chords and rhythms. Ed Sheeran’s lawyer says those elements are like the letters of the alphabet. They build words. In music those elements build songs.  The other side says they don’t own the elements, but they own their father’s unique arrangement of them.
​
​

Both sides in the litigation, must have had good points to keep the court case alive. Good pieces of evidence. So what tipped the scales for Ed Sheeran, all puns intended? 😊 He testified, with his guitar. He sang bits of his song and talked about the four chords he used to write it. He probably talked about the four chords in the other song, and how they were different.

Ed talked about writing it in England with his friend Amy Wadge. He said he was inspired by his grandparents, and by a new someone he’d started seeing.

Both sides used musicologists, people who study how music is put together. They use computers to help them analyze it. Ed Sheeran’s witness pointed out those same four-chords in question, they were found in a couple of songs written and produced before Marvin’s song came out in 1973. Marvin and Ed were never sued over those chords, and their hit came out 31 years before Ed Sheeran’s.

During the trial Ed’s lawyer said, “These are basic musical building blocks that songwriters now and forever must be free to use, or all of us who love music will be poorer for it.” Ed Townsend’s children, Ed Sheeran’s, and children yet unborn will never hear that music, or write it either.
​
Ed told reporters he’d quit singing and writing songs if he was found guilty. Thank goodness he wasn’t. His talent, his genius would have been lost, forever.
​

Afterwards, Ed thanked the jurors, but he said he was also “frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all.” He added, if the verdict had been guilty, “we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters.”
Ed is not done with copyright lawsuits. There’s still one hanging over his head for “Thinking Out Loud.” David Pullman is an investment banker, and his company holds the copyright for the Marvin Gaye song too. He has the next lawsuit.

I write for children, and I can see both sides of the issue. I’m just glad I don’t have to sit in judgement on this case, or any others.                                                   ​

​Source: Ed Sheeran wins Thinking Out Loud copyright case - BBC News

​

Part 2: Copyright, for Reading a Book:  I started doing Saturday Reads in April of 2022. I was excited about sharing new books and authors with you. I’ve always been a reader, and one of my favorite things . . . reading out loud. This seemed perfect!

A few months later a friend asked about Saturday Reads. I told her I read and record a picture book every Saturday. Then she asked if I had permission from the publisher. That’s when I got a sinking feeling. I hadn’t even thought about it, until she asked. Now, I was worried. Violating copyright is expensive, even if you do it by accident, and that’s exactly what I’d done.

         This is a copyright for a children’s book. It’s mine, so I have permission to share it with you.
​

​ Copyright © 2019 by Rinda Beach. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written per-mission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

The underlined part, those are the important words. I asked another writing friend about them. She’s also a small publisher. She said I could still do Saturday Reads, but only if I read part of the book. She explained that by recording it, a reader could get the book without buying it. That’s not fair to the publisher, or to the author/illustrator, and I’m one of those. I had no idea, but now I do, so I changed how I do Saturday Reads.

Now I stop at/before the halfway point, when there’s a question about how the story ends. Then I tell curious readers to check out the book at their local library or book store. I still get to introduce new books and authors, but now it’s the right way. I’m grateful to both of my friends. One warned me about the danger, and the other showed me how to share books correctly.

It all started with a photo, but not this one. It’s public domain, so I’m safe to use it. The one I picked, it wasn’t.

Back in the day when I was teaching, I took some tech classes, and they said it was alright to use Bing images. I thought that was still true when I started my blog in November of 2016. I was writing, but I wasn’t making money from my blog. WRONG!
​

This isn’t the photo either, but the original one was of Donald Trump. It was taken back in August of 2017, back when there was a huge eclipse, and it was supposed to be the best one, for a long time. If you’d like to read what I wrote back then, here’s the link . . .
http://www.rindabeach.com/blog/august-26th-2017

But now you won’t find anything about Donald Trump in that post. I’d written about how everyone, including Donald, Melania, and Barron went outside to see the eclipse. They had special glasses on, like everyone else across the country. I wrote about the First Family, and I had a picture of them too.

That photo stayed up for half a year or more. Then one day I got an email from a law firm in Canada. They were representing a French newspaper/magazine. The email asked me to cease and desist. They wanted me to take down the picture, because of copyright. AND they wanted money, almost $200 for my mistake. 
​

I wanted to ignore it, but I couldn’t. They had me! They had a photo of the post, with the date, and the photo in question. I didn’t ask any more questions. They gave me a number to call, and I did. I spoke to a lawyer, and I told her my story . . . how I was a retired teacher and an unpublished writer, who wasn’t making any money from their photo, or from my website. I also told them I’d already taken the photo down, per their request.
​
It wasn’t enough. I still had to pay a fine, just like you do when you get a speeding ticket. (You have to have a really good excuse to get out of it, like you’re having a baby.) I didn’t, but they took my situation into account. They cut my fine in half, and I learned how to find and use Public Domain pictures.
​
I was scared to death for at least six months. I’d been using Bing photos for almost a year, but I lucked out. No one else contacted me, but, I learned my lesson, at least about photos. Now I never search Bing for them. I go to Pixabay or Wikipedia, and I follow their rules (like I did with the photos of Ed Sheeran). Copyright lawsuits are expensive. Ask Ed!
​

Part 4: Copyright and My First Book:  This was my first, and worst experience with copyright. I’d done all the work, gone through all the problems that go with writing and publishing a book. I’d lost and found three illustrators. That was the first time I was dead in the water. Then I’d found a friend who helped me with the illustration codes for IngramSparks, my printer. If he hadn’t figured it out, I would have been dead in the water again.

That’s when the third one hit. I was meeting with a local business group in April. I wanted to spread the word that my book was coming out in May . . . Someone asked if I’d talked to Purdue. I looked at them, completely blank. She said Purdue had a foundation that owns the copyright to Neil Armstrong’s name and image. Later a friend said I look shell-shocked. I didn’t have a clue. I didn’t know what to do next, except cry.
​
There’s always a silver lining, if you’re willing to look for it. I had a critique group that afternoon, and one of the members is a small Texas publisher. She looked up the copyright and showed it to me. (I couldn’t even find it.) Then I had to figure out what to do next. I’m a retired second grade teacher. I didn’t know anything about copyright back then, but I’ve always known how to ask questions. It’s one of my superpowers.
​

​
​So, I asked a friend, my daughter’s mother-in-law. She’s actually a copyright lawyer. How lucky was that?! I gave her a call. The next day she had the name of the contact at Purdue, and she had gathered information for me. She coached me on what to do, but she didn’t represent me . . . lawyers can’t work outside their own state lines. She helped me figure out what to say. Then she nudged me and got me moving.

It took a month, but I finally got permission from Purdue. Why? How? Money! I negotiated a contract with them (I know . . . crazy . . . for a retired teacher to do). Someone told me this group of lawyers even represented Marilyn Monroe’s estate. OUCH! Lucky them, this time they were working with a retired teacher. Me.

My lawyer friend showed me how to decide if an offer was fair, for me. The first one wasn’t. Every penny I earned, plus an extra nickel, went to Purdue. They had no idea, literally. We went back and forth a few times (I know . . . it still amazes me that I did it.), and we finally came to an agreement that worked for Purdue, and for me too. Thank Goodness!

I didn’t set the publishing date, not until the contract was signed and dated. THEN, I could sell my book. It was the first time I learned writing is a business. If you can’t make money by selling a good or service, you can’t stay in business. According to the IRS, my business is considered a hobby. Why? I don’t make enough money to qualify. Entrepreneurship is NOT for the faint of heart. It’s for businesspeople who can produce goods and services at a reasonable price, pay for their expenses (people and materials) and make enough money to pay for their own expenses (their own wants and needs). If you can’t do that, you are a hobbyist, like me.
​

Meet the new King and Queen of the United Kingdom, as of 1PM today, May 6th, London time. This was their official portrait this morning. It’s from 2019 when they were titled Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. Don’t worry, they still look pretty much the same.

This is the first coronation since Elizabeth II in June of 1953. I wasn’t born yet, like most of the world, so this is the first coronation I’ve ever seen. I looked up the schedule last night. Click here to see what it said: Here's the Full Schedule for King Charles III’s Coronation | Time
​
For the general public, the real enthusiasts, it all started at 6AM, London time. That’s when the viewing areas in central London opened up. Those early risers got a great view of the King’s procession. It passed by, twice. Me, I was fast asleep. That was 1AM, Tennessee time.
​

​This is the official invitation. I didn’t get one, but Wikipedia let me share this one with you. The guest list had 2200 names, but only 2,000 people fit inside the church, so planning started way back in September.

The British government paid for this event, so they got to make the guest list. It included members of the royal family, representatives from the government, and both houses of Parliament. Representatives of the Commonwealth countries, foreign royalty, and heads of state got invitations too. Jill Biden represented the United States.
​
All the invitations and RSVPs were done months ago, just like they are for a wedding. In March the holy oil was consecrated by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. If you’re a Christian, this is where you go to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s fitting that the holy oil is consecrated there.
​

And just like a wedding, there were practices for Coronation Day. On the morning and evening of April 17th and 18th the military did dress rehearsals for the two processions. No one does ceremony like the Brits.

On the 19th the RAF (Royal Air Force) practiced their flypast, and finally on May 3 the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, plus the Princess Royal (his sister) had their own practice inside the Abbey. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it helps you know what you’re doing!
​
Westminster Abbey actually closed on April 25th to tourists, and to its own congregation. It won’t reopen until Monday, May 8th. I bet the people at the abbey will be glad to see things get back to normal again.
​

This photo is from Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding. I wanted a photo with people inside the abbey. This is the newest one I could find. Just like today’s coronation, there were 2000 people there to celebrate the wedding of Charles’ parents.

For today’s coronation, guests had to arrive between 7:15 and 8:30AM.  It sounds like going to an airport. They went through security first, before they entered the abbey. Then most of them waited 3 hours, or more, before the king finally arrived. I would have brought a book. If you’d like to find out who did/who didn’t attend, click the link from Time, and scan down their page.
​
From 9 to 10:45AM, the guests had time to mingle and find their seats. That’s also when world leaders, British politicians, and international royals started to arrive. Lucky them! 
​

Meanwhile back at Buckingham Palace, there were other preparations going on. The men in the photograph are part of the Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Calvary. They’re called Life Guards. Too bad they don’t work at a pool!
​
At 9:45AM they started getting into marching order. Their job – to escort the King’s Procession from the Palace to the Abbey. The parade will also include 200 members of the Armed Forces. No one moves until 10:20AM, or whenever Charles and Camilla arrive. I guess it takes time to get horses, and people, into position!
​

​The King and Queen left Buckingham Palace at 10:20AM. They were in a special procession that took them to Westminster Abbey. That’s where British monarchs have been crowned for over 900 years, since William the Conqueror in 1066.
​

​
​Both of these photos were taken during the procession today. Charles and Camilla were inside his mother’s Diamond Jubilee State Coach. It’s so modern it has air conditioning and electric windows, but, it still uses the traditional horses, 6 Windsor Greys, and the Household Calvary Mounted Regiment. I love British traditions!
​​

​The king and queen were scheduled to arrive at 10:53 for the 11:00AM ceremony. Why? To give them time, in case they were late, or needed to catch their breath. They made it . . . with time to spare.
                                                 

Next up, the oath, but first the Archbishop recognized the existence of other faiths and beliefs within the UK. That’s something new in the coronation. Then Charles promised to govern the UK and the Commonwealth, following the laws and justice set up in each nation. He finished by saying he’d maintain and protect the Christian church.
​
Next Charles walked up to the altar, laid his hand on a Bible, and said, “The things which I have here promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God.” Then Charles kissed the Bible and signed a written copy of his oath. 
​

​Charles was anointed with chrism oil. It’s a holy oil made from olives that were harvested from the Mount of Olives. Jesus went there to teach, and to pray. The chrism oil was also blessed in Jerusalem, back in March.
​
Anointing a king is as old as the monarchy. Charles went behind a screen close to the altar. The Archbishop put oil on his hands, chest, and head using the coronation spoon. This is a private moment between a monarch, and the God who chose him. That’s why there are no pictures of it.
​

​At long last, Charles was done, and it was Camilla’s turn. She was anointed with chrism oil. The only difference, she did it in front of the congregation, and that was a break from royal tradition. Every other king or queen was anointed behind a canopy or a screen.
​
Camilla was invested too, but she only got the queen consort’s ring. BTW – Charles got a ring too . . . the sovereign’s ring.

​​This carriage gets 8 Windsor Greys to pull it  on the 1.3 mile route back to Buckingham Palace for the Coronation Procession. The streets were lined with 1000 loyal subjects. It was scheduled to leave Westminster Abbey at 1PM, and it included 5000 members of the UK’s Armed Forces, plus 400 from the Commonwealth and Overseas Territories. The Sovereign’s Bodyguards were there again, plus the Royal Watermen. This, was a very big deal!
​
The first photo is the Royal couple on the balcony, just the two of them for the royal salute. It was scheduled for 1:45PM. It’s the only part I saw live on Saturday. I couldn’t figure out why all those soldiers were lined up on a field. It turns out they were in the garden (yard) for a salute, followed by three cheers from all those soldiers. Imagine a drill sergeant yelling, “Hip, hip.” And the 5000 answering, “Hooray,” times three. It was a very British moment.
​

After the royal salute, it was time for my favorite part, and it wasn’t even on the schedule. It’s when the crowd approaches the palace, and the royal family joins the King and Queen on the balcony. They waved to the crowd, and the crowd roared back, like always. I think everyone loves it because we get a peek at the royal family, sharing a moment, with the country.             
       
From left to right do you see Prince William and his family? Next, the King’s 4 pages. One is William’s oldest, George. Can you find him? Hint - he’s looking down. Next of course, the King and Queen, and to her right are her 4 pages, 2 are her grandsons. Camilla’s sister is on the balcony, and finally on the right, Prince Edward and his family. It’s not the whole royal family, just the working ones.
​

The Fly-past was scheduled for 2:15PM. I’m not sure what time it started, but it wasn’t the fly-past that was planned. It was scaled back from the 68 aircraft who were ready to represent the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, and British Army.
​
Even scaled back it was a crowd favorite with the helicopters and Red Arrow Team. Everyone knows about helicopters, but I’d never heard of the Red Arrows. I found this old photo, and I saw a clip of them tonight . . . a row of planes trailing blue, white, and red plumes. Magnificent!
​

Monday, May 8 was a holiday across the UK. It was also The Big Help Out. The King and Queen partnered with The Scouts, the Royal Volunteer Service, and faith groups across the UK to help their local communities. What a lovely way to celebrate, and to encourage people to get involved.

                  Congratulations to King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and the UK! Well done you!
​

​                                               Sources:
- Here's the Full Schedule for King Charles III’s Coronation | Time
​
​-   Coronation of Charles III and Camilla - Wikipedia

I’m a reader, and I’m always looking for great advice, for you and for me. I found this on Quora.com, and I saved it. It was written by Julie Gurner, who’s a Doctor of Psychology. She said these are the 10 pieces of life advice that she wished people would take.
​
The source link: (29) Julie Gurner's answer to What life advice do people not take seriously enough? - Quora    And the link to her Quora profile: (29) Julie Gurner - Quora
​​

 
1. “Don’t Make Decisions When You’re Angry:” Julie has seen many people in her practice do this, and the results, they aren’t good.

It’s easier said than done, but learning how to set aside anger will help you make better choices. When I’m super angry, I write a letter to myself. I go for a walk or talk to a friend. Find a way that helps you set aside your anger, for now. You’ll make better choices if you give yourself time to calm down. 


​

2. “Be Yourself:” Julie said she’s seen people make choices they hate because they wanted to make someone happy. If you’re not true to yourself, you’re the one who’ll be miserable.
​
Peer pressure is hard to handle at any age, but if you learn to ignore it, you’ll be happier. Don’t take a dance class because everyone’s doing it. Take it because you want to. I pick what I want to write, and I’m happy, finding the right words to tell that story. I refuse to spend my time writing what’s trending. Life is too short.        

​

3. “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff:”    Julie says to choose your battles. Pick the things that are worth fighting for, and let everything else go.
​
I spent my life worrying about those little details. It didn’t make anything better. In fact it made them worse. Now that I’m older, I can let them go. I also learned there are some things I can’t control, like finding an agent. All I have is my best. Then I send out my work. I hope, and I pray. If you’re in the same boat, do your best. There is no more. Then let the chips fall where they may. They will anyway, and you’ll be happier. That’s always a good thing.

​

4. “Know Your Worth:” Julie said, when you value yourself, you don’t allow other people to bully you, and you’ll reap the rewards for the rest of your life.
​
One of my strengths is knowing what I’m good at, and what I’m not. That helps me handle criticism. If you want to be a writer, it comes with the territory. You have to know how to handle it, and who to listen to. One of the best things I’ve learned, after a critique I look at the suggestions a day later. I have six critique partners that I trust, but it still comes down to what I think. If I agree with them, I’ll make the change. If I don’t, I’ll leave it as is, for now. If three people comment on something, then I have to change it. I want the writing to be just right, for you.

​

5. “It’s Okay to Ask for Help:” Julie worked with lots of people who wished they’d asked for help earlier, but couldn’t. They waited until the last minute, until things were ready to break down.
​
That’s one of the best things I’ve learned as a writer. I work with a group of six. We read each other’s’ work every week. I send them my best writing, but I can’t see my own mistakes, and they can’t either. Asking for help means that you’re smart, that you’re ahead of the game. I used to tell my students the only dumb question, is the one you don’t ask. 
​

6. “Who You Marry is One of the Most Important Decisions You’ll Make:” Julie said it was key to the rest of your life. You’ll see that person every day if you stay together. If you divorce, you’ll get rid of them, but you’ll live with emotional and financial damage.
​
I’d look at this much earlier, when you learn to make friends. I watched, especially when my kids were in middle school. I was lucky . . .  they found friends who built them up, who made good choices. When I met my husband, I was looking for someone who’d be my best friend for life. I’m blessed. We’ve been married for 38 years. I’ve been with him longer than any other person I know. I’m glad I made a good decision.

​

8. “The Best Time to Start is Now:”  Julie’s advice, start working on your dreams today. Time passes too quickly. Don’t regret what you didn’t do . . . give it a try.
​
If there’s something you’ve dreamed of, just do it. Give yourself permission to struggle. You might discover you hate it, or that you’re terrible at it. Sometimes that makes it easier to try something new. I’ve been writing since 2007, but I haven’t had super-success. I still don’t have an agent, but, I’ve had fun along the way. I’ve met a lot of great people, and, I’ve self-published three books. It’s true . . . nothing ventured, nothing gained.  So try it, and see what happens.

9. “The Best Revenge is Living Well:” Julie says when you hold onto grudges, it just messes up your life. Her best quote, “anger is something you carry for someone else’s mistakes.”
​
In the words of Frozen, let it go! I’ve spent my whole life struggling with those grudges. Julie is right . . . I carried the anger, not the person who hurt me. They had no idea. One even said I made it up. Since then, I’ve learned to forgive first, then let the anger go. When it bubbles up, I forgive again, and let it go, again. I’m not responsible for what the other person chooses to do. I can move on. I feel happier and healthier. I hope forgiveness/letting it go will help you too.

​

10. “Treat Others the Way You’d Want to be Treated:” Julie says that if everyone treated others like this, the world would be a better place.
​
This is the Golden Rule from the Bible. It’s so simple to understand, but people get caught up in themselves. Then we forget about others. At least I do. Now I have a new goal . . . think about the people around me, then decide on the best course of action. Thinking before talking/doing is always a good thing, but hard. 

I googled natural resources, and this is what I found . . . materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain, or for your own personal advantage.
​
I’ve never thought of people having natural resources, but I do, and you do too. As a teacher I used to talk to kids about the things they were good at, their gifts. Their talents. You could also call them natural resources. Here are some of mine. 
​

​1.  My Background as a Reader and a Teacher:  I’ve been reading books since I was a toddler. It was one of the things that helped me start writing. But now I read differently as a writer. I look at books for their characters, their plots, for the way they use words. I’ve always learned new ideas from books, and now they’re my writing mentors. 

I’m also a retired teacher. I taught reading, second grade, and inclusion. Those 33 years helped me begin writing. They’ve helped me find ideas that I think kids will like. They also taught me how to teach, and how to learn.

I’ve applied those skills as a writer. I learn from the children’s books I read, from my critique partners, and from listening to my own words. Listening slows my brain down. It lets me hear my mistakes, then correct them. I always listen again – sometimes changes work. Sometimes they don’t. I keep working until I’m happy with the words. Then I move on.
​
Now I’m working on something that I’m not allowed to revise. It’s a middle grade novel, with lots  of chapters. I can’t go back because it’s a black hole that I can’t escape. I know – because I was in one with my ant book, for ten years. The only way forward is to write, run it by my critique partners, make notes on the manuscript, then move on to the next chapter. It’s working! I’m on chapter 5. Woohoo! And, I’m getting better at plotting those chapters!

2.  Time: When I was teaching time was my most valuable resource. I never had enough, ever . . . for my classroom, or my family. I always felt torn between them. Then I started writing . . .

I went to Germany to chaperone my high school son and his friends. I found a story I had to write, so I wrote on weekends and snow days, when I had time. Now I’m retired, and I can write all day, seven days a week. Would you believe I discovered there’s still not enough time? That there will never be enough? I try to use it effectively, but I learned again, my best is enough.
 
Now I have five stories that are agent ready. I also have two I’m working on this year. Another two are sitting in my computer, waiting for me to return. When? When I feel ready to write them. I need to learn more about their plots and characters, and that’s sometime . . . in the future.
​

 
​3.  Organization: This is my key to everything, and teaching helped me embrace it. A friend wanted to plan out the units we’d teach from the first week until the last. I wasn’t sure, but I trusted her, and it worked! The best part – you can see connections across subjects, across disciplines, and, it keeps you moving, especially when you get stuck on a unit.

When you’re a teacher, you also do lesson plans. That means this week, you’re thinking about next week . . . what you want to teach . . . what resources you need to gather. Organization made my classroom go round.

This week you’re also following those plans you made last week, but if you know anything about plans, they never come out the way you imagine. Your class moves faster/slower than your plans. An experiment fails to work, even though you followed directions. One of the skills I learned as a teacher . . . roll with it. Somehow, everything works out in the long run.

I’m glad I found ways to get organized when I was teaching. I use different systems now as a writer. Some take care of my blog/website. Others make sure I move forward with my WIP’s (Work in Progress). I have another to take care of submissions. I may never get that agent . . .  that’s out of my control . . . but I’m going to give it a 100% Rinda Beach try, and that’s good enough for me. Your best is all you have to give. (It took me years to learn that.)
​

​4. Revisions skills: Usually when I think of revision, I think of words and sentences, pages and paragraphs. I got a different kind of revision lesson today, and I almost forgot to write tonight’s blog.

Remember that book I’m working on? That I’m not allowed to go back and revise? I just discovered a big boo-boo! I’d forgotten a character. Somehow in my timeline I didn’t see him. Guess what I did?! I went back to chapter 3 and made it chapter 4. The chapter I was working on became chapter 5, and now I have a new chapter 3, about Phillip Livingston. I’m so glad I found him!
 
And the best part – I get to add Henry Laurens. If you check out The Books I’m reading for Research on my blog, you’ll see Henry. He’s pretty famous . . . he’s the only American who was ever imprisoned in the Tower of London. Have you guessed this story is set during the American Revolution? And the other good thing . . . I have chapter 5 already outlined. When I finish the new chapter 3, I’ll be ready to write 5. The prep work’s already done. Wahoo!
​

​​
​5. Imagination: I didn’t think I was creative when I started teaching, but  I learned that I see the world differently. No one else sees it like me, and that effects how I put ideas together, as a teacher, and as a writer.
 
The idea for Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream came out of that clear tub. It has a few pieces from the wind tunnel Neil built when he was 16. Thousands of people have seen them at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, but I’m the only one who ever put them together, in a story.
 
I was fascinated with those old parts. Neil made them into a wind tunnel that looked like the Wright Brothers’. But that didn’t make me want to write about them. It was his mother – she never checked the wind tunnel, not until it was finished. Me, I would have watched as Neil put each part together. We’re polar opposites, Neil’s mother and I . That captured my attention. It made me want to write his story.
 
That’s what happens whenever I find a new idea to write about. Something catches my attention, and I have to check it out. I begin to weave characters and plot ideas together. Eventually a story takes shape, from my imagination, and from story magic.
​

​6. Faith: I believe anything is possible – if I work hard, if I’m persistent, and if it’s meant to be. Back when I was looking for my first job as a teacher, I got a lot of no’s. I didn’t quit. I believed each door that closed, would lead me to the right one. It did!

I believed it was possible to become a writer. I got a lot of  no’s, but I found the right door, with Neil. It wasn’t easy, but every time I hit a roadblock, I found a way around it. Best of all I published it in time for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

It’s been five years, and I have three books out in the world, but I’m not done yet. I have more ideas, more stories to tell. This time I’m looking at traditional publishing. That means finding an agent. Here’s to knocking on a few more doors, and waiting to find the right one. 
​

Princesses are supposed to be practically perfect, right? They should be pretty and kind, and they should be able to read.

​What if the princess was pretty and kind, but she discovered she couldn’t read. What do you do with a princess like that, who isn’t quite perfect enough?
​
                                                                              Part 1 – A Princess and Dyslexia

This is that practically perfect princess as a baby. She’s with her grandmother and great grandmother. Together they’re three generations of the Windsor family. Do you recognize Princess Beatrice, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Queen Mum of England?
​
That was Beatrice – until she turned seven. That’s when she discovered life wasn’t so perfect. The print in her book looked muddled, like a bunch of gobbledy-gook. Why? Dyslexia, and it made Beatrice feel confused, like she wasn’t good enough, or smart enough. Imagine – a princess who didn’t feel like she was enough?!
​

Beatrice is a very private person, but in the last few years she started talking about her dyslexia. How as a child she noticed her best friends were ahead of her. They read yellow and green books, and Beatrice, she was left behind in the white ones.

I was surprised Beatrice felt lucky, but her friends and family never made her feel like she wasn’t enough. The people that surrounded her talked about how to move forward. They looked at what she could do, not at what she couldn’t. Beatrice talked to them about her struggles, and it changed minds, including her own. How could it not? Everyone is a sum of their capabilities and limitations.

During secondary school, which sounds like American middle/ high school, the princess got support from the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre, and it worked! Beatrice passed eight GCSE’s when she was 16. That’s the UK abbreviation for General Certificate of Secondary Education, and my guess is she passed eight tests. I wonder if she got eight certificates?!

Beatrice went on to pass three A-levels. In the US we’d call them college prep classes/end of year testing. She went on to college and graduated with a degree in History and the History of Ideas from Goldsmiths College in London. Here are two pictures of Beatrice, outside school of course.
​
The first picture is Beatrice skiing with her mom and sister back in 2004. She’s on the left. I did the math . . . She was 16 back then, and those GCSE’s must have been around the corner. 
​

​The second photo is of Beatrice with her baby sister Eugenie from 2013. I did the math again, and now Beatrice must be 24. She’s done all the hard work (school), and she’s working for a living. BTW – 2013 is the same year she became the Royal Patron for the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity. Remember the group who helped her find coping strategies for her dyslexia? I bet it felt great to help the people who helped her.

Before covid, Beatrice worked for a software company. Her niche – communications and strategic partnerships. Best of all it played to her strengths in communication, and it’s much better than “sitting behind a desk.” She’s still at the same company, but Beatrice has worked herself up the ladder. Now she’s Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy at Afiniti.com. Would you believe it specializes in artificial intelligence, or that Beatrice says her dyslexia gave her an advantage?

She ended one of her interviews by saying that a lot of her colleagues have dyslexia, and that it’s a strength because they see things differently. They’re problem solvers who look for new ways to do things. They’re not afraid to be experimental or entrepreneurial. Beatrice said dyslexia turned into a gift. The best part – understanding that it’s not about what’s wrong with you. Dyslexia “is a great part of how your brain works, and everybody’s brain works incredibly differently.” What a great way to look at yourself and at your abilities! I imagine Beatrice’s parents are pretty proud of her 😊

                                                     ​​​Part 3 – Dyslexia: How to Recognize and Cope with It
Dyslexia makes it hard to match letters to sounds, whether they’re an individual letter or in combinations. It’s usually diagnosed when kids start formal reading, sometime in kindergarten or first grade, but it’s not a vision problem.

Here are some suggestions from Healthline.com. They’re common sense ideas that I can summarize for you. If you’d like to read their full article, this link will take you there: How to Help a Child with Dyslexia at Home: Ideas, Resources (healthline.com)
​

​1. Read together every day. It builds a relationship, and that’s always a good thing. Please do it in a way that fits your child. Sometimes I read a page, then one of my kids would read. If they didn’t know a word, I’d give them the first sound, wait a second, then give them the word. Other kids, I’d let them read as long as they wanted.

​2.  Focus on sight words. I used the Dolch Words, the 200 most common words in books. Think words like: is, been, the, are, or could to name a few. If your child is in kindergarten, they’re already bringing words like this home every night. 

3.  Repeat, repeat, repeat. I used to say repeat to remember, and remember to repeat. It works with math flash cards and sight words. It also works with the leveled readers that teachers send home. Each time your child reads them, they get faster and more confident. 

​4.  Create a nurturing place to study. Think comfy, and also being patient with your child. Sometimes it helps to think of times when something was difficult for you. What did you need to succeed? Try those same kinds of things with your child, age appropriate of course. 

​5.  Create a learning calendar and use it too keep track of progress or tasks to do. It’s great because kids can see their own growth, like how many words a minute they’re reading then, and now. If your child gets stuck, work together to get past the obstacle. 

6.  Make sure your child is getting enough sleep. I didn’t know that kids with dyslexia are more at risk for sleep disorders. I could tell when my 2nd graders weren’t getting enough sleep. When that happened, they didn’t do as well. I have sleep problems myself so I do these things as much as possible.
​
- establish a bedtime. Try to keep it at the same time, even on weekends.
- create an environment for sleep, like a dark room or a nightlight. Whatever your child needs.
- limit social media and electronics before bedtime. They stimulate you when it’s time to wind down.
- develop a sleep routine that you do every night before bed (a snack, brush teeth, read a book). Whatever fits your family.
Kids ages 5-13 need 9 to 12 hours of sleep each night. Teenagers aged 13-18 need 8 to10 hours.

​7.  Praise success and effort. You can do no more than your best. Your child can’t either. Remember, they already know they’re behind. Noticing those tries and successes builds confidence. Princess Beatrice said pushing back against dyslexia built her problem-solving skills and confidence. It can do that for your child too. 

8.  Use mnemonic devices. (new-mon-ic) They’re tricks to help you remember something.
​
- turn information into a song. I did. It helped my kids remember things like weather and landforms.
- letter or word imagery. Example – make b’s look like beds and d’s like dogs. For letter sounds like ow, I had ow as in cow, and ow as tow.
- acronyms like ROY G BIV. My second graders used that to remember the colors of the rainbow . . . red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

​​9.  Find a tutor, especially over summer vacation. When I met my new 2nd graders, I could tell which ones read over vacation – they took off right away. The kids who didn’t took a few weeks to brush up on their skills.

Sources:
- Princess Beatrice's ongoing difficulty with 'muddled' thoughts swirling in her head (msn.com) 
- Watch Princess Beatrice Open Up About Her Dyslexia in Rare Interview (townandcountrymag.com)  
- Princess Beatrice: The Gift of Dyslexia - Dyslexia | Dyslexic Advantage
- How to Help a Child with Dyslexia at Home: Ideas, Resources (healthline.com)

Photo Sources:
By Archives New Zealand from New Zealand - Image from Christmas card issued by H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth II (1988), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122834578
​

​By File:Web Summit 2018 - Forum - Day 2, November 7 DF1 7541 (45765935451).jpg: Web Summitderivative work: Minerva97 - This file was derived from: Web Summit 2018 - Forum - Day 2, November 7 DF1 7541 (45765935451).jpg:, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8679423

​By Norbert Aepli, Switzerland, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5678659

​By Carfax2 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26706695

​Most people strive for perfection – the perfect wedding, the perfect vacation, the perfect you. Perfect, truly perfect is incredibly difficult to achieve. You could work your entire life, yet never reach it. I found three inspiring quotes about perfection to share with you. 
​

It was Tyra Banks. If you’ve never heard of her, she’s one of the world’s top models. If anyone wanted to be perfect, you’d think it’d be a model, but Tyra actually encourages young models to be themselves. To embrace what makes them special. What sets them apart, what makes them beautiful.

Tyra wasn’t always successful. In middle school kids teased her about her looks. They thought of her as the ugly duckling. You know the one who became a swan? So did Tyra.

Tyra started modeling at age 15. She failed repeatedly, but she didn’t quit. She was rejected by four agencies before LA Models signed her. Then she moved to Elite Model Management, one of the top agencies in the world. That would have been around 1989 when she turned 16.

Tyra got involved in lots of different businesses over the years, from movies to music, television to teaching, cosmetics to writing. She continued to reinvent herself. You need to be brave to do that, ready to own your own mistakes. It’s the only way to grow. I haven’t read any of her books, but I love the title of the one she wrote with her mother in 2018. Its title . . . Perfect is Boring. I totally agree!
​

   Sources:
- Quote:  Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
​- Information:   Tyra Banks - Wikipedia
- Photo: By VOGUE Taiwan - 泰拉班克斯走秀摔倒才不怕：「多跌幾次」讓別人以為你是故意的！How Tyra Banks Would Handle Peter Kavinsky｜拆解經典電影｜Vogue Taiwan, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95508569
​
​

Whoever said this, might agree that these two babies show the opposite sides of perfect care. The first one is so happy. Clearly her parents love her dearly.

​The second baby looks like she’s in the middle of a meltdown, but that doesn’t mean she’s unloved. Her parents are probably struggling to figure out what she wants. When they do, she’ll be happy and content again. So, who said it?
​

It was Fred Rogers. You know, Mister Rogers, the one with the neighborhood? Fred didn’t have the perfect childhood, but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t loved. His parents probably struggled with how to help him.

Fred was shy, introverted, and overweight as a kid. He was also stuck at home because of asthma attacks. Would you believe he was bullied? Kids can be mean. How did Fred survive it? He created his own world in his bedroom. Later bits and pieces of that world became Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.

Fred focused on a child’s developing psyche. On their feelings and the way they reasoned their way through problems, especially moral and ethical ones. His show modeled civility, tolerance, sharing, and self-worth. It handled hard things like the death of a pet, sibling rivalry, new babies, moving, and divorce. These are the problems of childhood, and I’m speaking as a retired second-grade teacher. They’re also the things families struggle with. I’m glad Fred was there to give us a helping hand.

Another piece of Fred’s legacy showed up nine years after his death. It was a new show created from some of his characters . . . Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. It touches young children the same way Fred did. My grandchildren watch Daniel Tiger. They love him, and I love what he’s teaching them about feelings and reasoning. They’re the same things that Fred learned from his own experiences, then shared with his audience.
​

​Sources:
Quote:  Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
Information:   Fred Rogers - Wikipedia


​
​

Whoever said this, might agree these photos fit their statements. The first one shows a beautiful river flowing through a city. It’s perfect now, but what if there’s too much rain, and it runs off into the river? It won’t stay perfect. Nothing does.