Jun 24th “Get Your STUDENT LOAN – PAID OFF – NOW”

“If – – You and … or anyone in your FAMILY – – has a “student loan” – – and it is taking you – – – forever to pay it off – – that is – – for this reason – – – “YOU” are the “worker bee” – – and not the receiving “BEE” – – “

“We elect people to make living in AMERICA… better for every FAMILY – – not so those ‘Elected” can make laws for us to pay the bills – – and the same laws do not apply to the Congressional elected’ and their entire FAMILY.”

“We soon will not have enough AMERICAN WORKERS – – working to carry the “DEBT” for the ‘privileged class of elected people’ – – to continue to receive “free tuition” – – while – – they deprive the higher education – – to our “AMERICAN house-holds” – – as we must work to pay for them – – to enjoy the “LIFE of RILEY” … all – – – at our expense.”

********* ********* ********* *********

“MARY ELLEN”

I have received this before, but just in case you haven’t, I’m sending it on.

Judy

Subject: Congressional kids and staffers don’t have to pay back student loan debt….makes no sense – no matter what your party affiliation

Need for new amendment to US Constitution

I generally delete these political/forward things without reading them. However, this is short & sweet & the proposal is simple

28^th Amendment, 35 states and counting. It will take you less than a minute to read this. If you agree, please pass it on. It’s an idea whose time has come, to deal with this self-serving situation.

OUR PRESENT SITUATION:

Children of Congresspersons do not have to pay back their college student loans.

Staffers of Congresspersons are also exempt from having to pay back student loans.

Members of Congress can retire at full pay after only one term.

Members of Congress have exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed, under which ordinary citizens must live. For example, they are exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment.

And, as the latest example, they have exempted themselves from health care reform, in all of its aspects.

We must not tolerate an elite class of such people, elected as public servants and then putting themselves above the law. It does not matter if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent, or whatever. The self-serving must stop.

Governors of 35 states have filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon their states. It takes only 38 (of the 50) statesto convene a Constitutional Convention.

If each person who receives this e-mail forwards it to 20 people, in three days most people in the United States of America will have the message.

Here is the text of the proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution:

“Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States.”

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Jun 23rd “Become An Unstoppable Writer”

How To Find The Courage To Become An Unstoppable Writer

unstoppable writer - stone fresco of man with fist in air

Note: I wrote this post to myself while struggling to find the motivation to bring my stalled book idea back to life. I began writing full of excitement and then… it just petered out.

I started telling myself that no one needed my ideas. No one wanted yet another book on the subject. That everything worth saying had been said. And much better than I could say it.

If you’ve ever felt that way, I hope this helps….

How To Find The Courage To Become an Unstoppable Writer

Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don’t let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas? Joseph Stalin

Is it hidden away?

That idea for a novel?

Is it holed up inside your brain? Safe from the bullets of criticism?

Or maybe you started. And then ran out of motivation? Or inspiration? So you put it away in some digital drawer, secure from prying eyes.

What do you tell yourself? You’ll pick it up again when:

Inspiration strikes?
The kids stop screaming?
You find the time?

Or when they disarm the critics and declare an amnesty on all new writers?

Or are you waiting until the fear goes away?

As a writer, you may want any or all of those things to happen. But if you need them to happen – you’re already dead.

Dead as a writer.

Because even if they did happen, your brain would find another raft of excuses.

What you really need as a writer.

You might think Henry Miller pounded away at that typewriter hour after hour, week after week because he needed money (he was paid a dollar a page when he started writing).

Or that Haruki Murakami taps away day after day, month after month, because he lusts after fame.

No way.

There are safer ways to earn money. There are definitely easier ways to become famous.

So their motivation? The love of writing and nothing more?

If that were true, why did they face the firing squad of rejection slips? Why didn’t they just keep their head below the parapet? Secretly sitting in the alcove, keeping well back from view, writing just from compulsion, or desire?

Because they had an Idea. Nothing else.

To paraphrase Hal Lindsey (badly):

A writer can live about forty days without food
About three days without water or writing
About eight minutes without thinking about writing

But only for one second without an idea.

Because Stalin knew what he was talking about. Ideas are more powerful than guns.

Ideas can change lives. Guns can only end them.

Ray Bradbury knew (as Stalin did) that you don’t need to burn books to stop ideas. You just need to stop people reading them.

If you haven’t put your idea out there, how can anyone read it? And if no one can read it, how can it change anyone’s life?

What good are ideas if they stay locked up in your head?

Why you don’t write.

Look, I know you’re struggling just to get your butt in the chair. Struggling to find the time in between work, family, chores and life, to write.

Struggling to stop answering emails or going on Facebook. Because before you know it, it’s 2 hours later and you haven’t written a single word.

But it goes deeper than that, doesn’t it?

You’re struggling daily with that little voice in your head. The one that keeps telling you that everything you want to tell, has already been written and told.

That whatever goes down on the page won’t be good enough. That you don’t know why you’re even bothering to try writing, let alone dream of making it a proper job. That you feel like you’re playing at writing.

And I know that you’re scared.

Flat out scared that your dream to help, to inspire or simply to create a reaction in another human being is delusional.

That at the core, you’re writing’s not as honest as it needs to be. Simply because you don’t have the courage to make your writing truthful.

But...

If you can’t find the time to write.
If you can’t find the courage to write your truth.
If you can’t find the motivation to start – and finish – your idea.

then...

How can you change lives with your words?

It’s a scary thought.

Because if you can’t find it in you, then you’ll die with your song still inside you.

And your idea will die with you.

Does it matter?

Hell Yes!

But not for the reasons you might think.

Some people will tell you it matters because you owe it to yourself. You have to show the world what you can do. You need to finish that novel and send it out into the world.

But I don’t think so. As a writer you don’t owe yourself anything.

You owe your reader everything.

To paraphrase badly again:

Don’t ask what your writing can do for you.
Ask yourself what your writing can do for your reader.

Unstoppable writers have an idea. An idea that could change someone’s life. Maybe a thousand lives.

Maybe a million.

That’s the unstoppable power of an idea.

Listen, If you write romance and you can make a lonely soul believe that true love exists for them out there, you’ve changed a life.

If you write humor and you can make someone laugh after they’ve had a train crash of a day, you’ve momentarily changed their life.

If you write pure escapist fiction that allows someone living in quiet desperation to escape their humdrum existence, you’ve changed a life.

If you write non-fiction and can show a stressed-out mother how to reconnect with her kids, or pay off her debt or just feel sexier, you’ve damn well changed a life.

It doesn’t matter if you are tired, or scared, or just de-motivated.

You owe it to them.

And sure, it’s all been written and told before. But that’s just another excuse you brain throws up to stop you putting your ideas in the firing line.

There were children’s books before J.K.Rowling or Dr Seuss.
There were romances before Nora Roberts or Catherine Cookson.
There were detective series before James Patterson or even Arthur Conan Doyle.

And there was non-fiction before Tony Robbins or Stephen Hawkins.

Yet they all managed to find readers who wanted their ideas, their stories. No matter what had been written before.

What matters is that someone, somewhere is waiting for that idea. Your idea.

For them, its time has come.

And you are the messenger.

You need to find the courage to become an Unstoppable Writer, not for you, but for your reader.

And when you do, screaming kids, facebook or Joseph Stalin himself won’t keep you from putting your butt in that chair.

But when you do finish your idea and put it out there, how do you dodge those bullets of criticism?

You don’t.

Because when you truly believe that you can change lives with your words,

You won’t have to.

Because you’ll be unstoppable.

Do you want to learn more about how to become an Unstoppable Writer and change lives with your words?

YES! I’D LOVE TO!

You may just change your life.

But more importantly, you might just change someone else’s.

YES! TELL ME MORE!

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Jun 23rd “Check out this “CURE” for BETTER HEALTH”

The Scientifically Proven Cure No Doctor Will Prescribe

grateful - young girl

I was stressed out. Way out.

My blood pressure was out of control. Dangerously so.

I needed to calm down, to relax.

But the doctor’s words did the opposite:

“You could have a stroke! You must lie down.”

A Wake Up Call

I had started feeling odd that morning, but had only gone to the doctor to check a chest infection had cleared up.

It had. But now I had something much more immediate to worry about.

I’d had a series of aliments starting a year ago. And each one seemed a little more serious than the last.

And I realized that unless I found an answer, this one might be my last.

The answer to my ills

Fast forward and my blood pressure is now under control. It needs to come down a little more, but I’m out of any danger zone.

And I’m not stressed out. At all.

And I owe it to the doctor.

Not for lowering my blood pressure, she didn’t.

Not for prescribing me any drugs. She didn’t recommend any.

But for alerting me to the problem so I could cure myself.

Because even though it is a scientifically proven cure, no doctor would prescribe the pill I took.

The pill was regular doses of…gratitude.

And it was sweet enough to go down without a spoonful of sugar.

The life-changing power of gratitude

Think gratitude is something that gives you a fuzzy feeling inside and little else?

Well, gratitude cured me of my stress-related ills.

And it can do the same for you.

But not just for stress-related ills. For a whole lot more….

Image courtesy of Pixabay

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Jun 21st “HAPPY BIRTHDAY… Sister Mary Emeline”

*“Sister Mary Emeline – always a BEST FRIEND!”

“Sister Mary Emeline” – one of the “BEST of NUNS” at the German St. Vincent Orphanage – just so happened to become one of my very special people… in my LIFE – and until the day she went on her journey to HEAVEN – a FRIEND – someone that I always remembered on all occasions and still remember her BIRTHDAY was on the 21st of JUNE – and with a real nice and LOUD… singing voice… that can be heard all the way to “GRAND AVENUE” – – now – with a … one, two, three… and all of us together… “Happy Birthday… dear… Sister Emeline!”

The above letter – regarding Sister Emeline – her LIFE and FAMILY – and as you read – she was also an ORPHAN – – and… in the very same – – GERMAN ST. VINCENT ORPHANAGE – so I feel that – with the knowledge she had of the situation of ORPHANS – she had a much better attitude with the children that were in the same ORPHANAGE – – – and in my case – she became a personal FRIEND to me – all the years that she and I were in the Normandy, Missouri location.

You just might want to say… “She was a real FRIEND to the END!” Many years later – after my leaving the Orphanage – – and when… We moved back to the Saint Louis area – I had called her – to make arrangements – so that I could bring her to my home for the day and stay for dinner – – and my sons Lee and Al would play the piano and organ – and we would always have a very nice time together – something so different than just a visit at the Orphanage! I always thought that it was good for her to have somewhere to go – that was more entertaining for her and even FUN – including the long drive – and at different times of the year – with the seasons changing – – lots to see and talk about – forever!

“I feel… that – making “GOOD FRIENDS” and for a LIFE-TIME – is really what … we were planted on this “EARTH” to do!” DV

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Jun 20th Remembering a REAL FRIEND’s BIRTHDAY”

****** Happy Birthday Sister Mary Emeline!

Almost twenty years ago, one of my very best friends went to her Heavenly reward , Sister Mary Emeline Gander of the order – Sisters of Christian Charity – in Wilmette, Illinois. Sister Emeline’s whole life was a continual prayer. Everything she did – was with “LOVE!”

I first met Sister Emeline, while living at the “Orphan’s Home” and was assigned to work for her, in the “BOY’s” dining room. This was in the mid 1940’s – and each of our job assignments lasted six months. And, maybe again a year or two before I was to graduate from the 8th grade I worked for Sister Emeline, another six (6) months.

Sister Emeline became a good friend right away, because she was so nice to talk with, and seem to understand what ever I wanted to say and do – more important to talk to me as if I was a “friend” and what I had to say – made some kind of sense? She was more friendly than most of the “Nuns” – and that is what I needed – since I missed my own family!

Also, Sister Emeline was one of four (4) sisters and two brothers, who were placed in the same “Orphan Hone ” when her mother died and she was only three (3) years old. All four sisters – joined the Sisters of Christian Charity, her youngest … Sister Alvira… is in Heaven.

I miss not having such a good friend – we were always writing and sending stuff back and forth – always the best of communications and up-lifting words – still have every card and letter. So hard to forget your really “good friends” – no matter how long they are gone – but never ever forgotten!t Her youngest sister, Sister Mary Alvira, was my 5th and 6th grade teacher and also became another very good friend – that I kept in touch with until she also went to Heaven.

Sister Mary Emeline – Happy Birthday! You will always be “Family” to me! ***** “Always remembered – – never ever forgotten!” *****