tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17681987240091896152024-02-10T01:24:35.189-08:00Bex BooxRebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-27513971019420979372018-08-14T12:58:00.001-07:002018-08-14T12:58:33.239-07:00ALTERNATIVE THEOLOGIES RELEASE B-Cubed Press' Alternative Series, which began in 2017 with <i>Alternative Truths</i>, is now a trinity with the announcement of <i>Alternative Theologies: Parables for a Modern World</i>. I'm honored to announce that my essay, "Prayer," is part of this collection.
I think I dealt with a good deal of my frustration with growing up in a Southern Baptist Church via three submissions to this anthology. As I have said many times, I never got sent to the principal's office, but I spent a lot of time with Dr. Scales because I asked too many questions in Sunday School. Today, I'm getting kicked off of right-wing "Christian" sites because I quote Bible verses.
I hope Dr. Scales would be proud of me.
https://www.amazon.com/Alternative-Theologies-Parables-Modern-Alternatives-ebook/dp/B07G9Z3KWZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534261211&sr=8-1&keywords=alternative+theologies+parables+for+a+modern+worldRebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-56727177977489713352017-12-30T13:24:00.000-08:002017-12-30T13:38:36.884-08:00RIP Heather McClaw<h1>
RIP Heather McClaw</h1>
<br />
February 14, 2005 – December 30, 2017
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<br />
We came to the rescue for her brother, but I couldn’t look into her big blue eyes and not take her as well. As one of her foster moms said, “She’s got eyes clear to infinity.”
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It was a good decision. Heather was pretty much inseparable from Reese. Here we have Pinky and the Brain: <br />
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<a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Heather/img_8871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Heather/img_8871.jpg" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="267" width="400" /></a></div>
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We didn’t realize she was Nurse Heather until our eldest cat, Rambo, who was seventeen had an illness. Heather and Tara “bookended” the Old Man and kept him warm until he felt better. Here’s the three of them in better times:
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/rambo/IMG_3789.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/rambo/IMG_3789.jpg" width="400" height="320" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="640" /></a></div>
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I think she could get almost anything out of people if she used her Big Blue eyes:
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Heather/HeatherAt2_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Heather/HeatherAt2_05.jpg" width="400" height="320" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="640" /></a></div>
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She was the first one of our cats to help make Indy welcome. I knew the little scamp would be okay when he finally recognized, “hey, she looks kind of like me.” She’s been a patient and good mama to the Irrepressible “Dr. Jones.”
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Indy%20aka%20Indiana%20Jones/IMG_1079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Indy%20aka%20Indiana%20Jones/IMG_1079.jpg" width="267" height="400" data-original-width="400" data-original-height="600" /></a></div>
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She bathed Indy and loved him just like his Mama cat did:
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Heather/photo%2035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Heather/photo%2035.jpg" width="267" height="400" data-original-width="533" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
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She even conned her brother, Reese, into accepting the evil little alien.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Indy%20aka%20Indiana%20Jones/IMG_1148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Indy%20aka%20Indiana%20Jones/IMG_1148.jpg" width="400" height="267" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="533" /></a></div><br />
Probably the best testament to her character is when we had a heartworm positive foster dog, Andy. Because of the immiticide, Andy had to remain on crate rest for 28 days. We figured the cats wouldn’t bother him.
Instead, Heather chose to keep him company. For most of his stay, she remained faithfully outside that crate. Whenever Andy got restless and needed to take a potty break or wasn’t feeling well, she’d come and get one of us to help take care of him. <br />
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<a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Andy%20-%20Foster/IMG_2510.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Andy%20-%20Foster/IMG_2510.jpg" width="320" height="239" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="598" /></a>
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She faithfully kept her post throughout Andy’s fostering and even gave her approval to his new parents, Rick Dunham and Pam Tobey, when they drove down from D.C. to pick him up.
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And why do I keep calling her “Nurse Heather” instead of “Doctor Heather?” Because docs make their diagnoses, write their orders, and leave the nurses to do the work. She stuck around with the patient to make sure all was okay.
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Her vet described her as the World’s Sweetest Cat and even the student vets at UT-Knoxville Vet School said she was one of the easiest animals they ever worked with. She’s just a dear good girl.
But she’s not perfect. Never leave any kind of “bling” within her reach. She’ll steal it! I don’t know how many necklaces Tony had I both lost to her before we found her stash.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Heather/DSCN0011-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/Heather/DSCN0011-6.jpg" width="400" height="267" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="533" /></a></div>
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She’s truly the Queen of Bling. Someone actually said, “Why would you do that to your cat?” Hey, she put her head in there. She LIKES having jewelry. I remember after she came back from radiation for her thyroid, we bought her Mardi Gras beads. She was insulted they were plastic.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/164248_10201132212853129_219800229_n.jpg?oh=ec644a9a0bd67bf9862d2253b49b0bea&oe=5AC50745" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/164248_10201132212853129_219800229_n.jpg?oh=ec644a9a0bd67bf9862d2253b49b0bea&oe=5AC50745" width="300" height="400" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
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I don’t know why an animal so sweet would have to go through what she has. Her veterinary record was thick and painful, including a bladder full of struvites, two nukes for thyroid, and pancreatitis. When we found out last fall she had cancer, we would have biopsied, but the mass in her abdomen was close to her aorta and the vets said the procedure was dicey at best. Somehow I believe she hung on past my birthday and Christmas to make the holiday good.
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I’m sure her brother, the weremeezer, will sing the song of their people to the moon for her. I don’t think I have ever met a sweeter, more thoughtful animal. I’m writing this through tears and I expect I’ll be crying for days to come. My heart feels broken in half. I don’t think I could put it much better than Leonard Cohen.
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There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.
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Rest peacefully, Little Bird….You brought a lot of light to this world.
Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-6244197627761870302017-11-18T06:34:00.002-08:002017-11-18T06:34:58.428-08:00<h1>Cat Tails Blog</h1>
<p>
Cat Tails War Zone is a charity anthology co-edited by Dana Bell and myself to benefit Shadow Cats, a cat rescue out of Round Rock, Texas. Shadow Cats does amazing work in several areas: feeding feral colonies, sheltering FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) and FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus ) positive cats who can recover from the illnesses which were previously thought to be fatal with proper food, rest, and shelter. They also work to find forever homes for adoptable cats and kittens.
</p>
<p>
My husband and I learned about this rescue from our veterinarian, Dr. Roy B. Smith, who runs the rescue with his wife, Sheila. While we lived in Austin, we volunteered for them. Here’s a picture of our Shadow Cat, SamWise, who was an amazing animal:
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/samwise/img_7840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://abckyle.com/photos/pets/samwise/img_7840.jpg" width="387" height="400" data-original-width="773" data-original-height="800" /></a></div>
</p>
<p>
What we’re looking for are stories where cats were helpers to a war effort. There actually are many real-life examples of cats protecting ancient temples, guarding soldier’s food supplies from rodents, and keeping troop morale up by serving as a unit mascot. If you’re interested in seeing real-life examples of cats helping, here’s an article from PetMD:
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<p>
<a href="http://www.petmd.com/cat/slideshows/seasonal/five-cats-of-war" target="_blank">http://www.petmd.com/cat/slideshows/seasonal/five-cats-of-war</a>
</p>
<p>
At the moment, we have stories ranging from the Vikings to the future. Examples of time-frames are: Vikings, Revolutionary War, World War II, current-day warfare, and the future. We’re accepting all genres, so you can even have your troops fighting aliens or some other type of creature, but please keep the rating PG-13. The deadline is December 31, 2017; however, we can be somewhat flexible if need be. Contact the editors at: BellKyleEditors@gmail.com for details.
</p>
<p>
The submission call, with more details, is here:
</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/CatTailsGuidelines.html" target="_blank"> http://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/CatTailsGuidelines.html</a>
Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-5576765129074155792017-11-11T07:14:00.002-08:002017-11-11T07:20:45.183-08:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">
More Alternative Truths</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFkVgqzm44mcCN5U0lR2TyMAs8il_7oKillD-uNoSzwQThoCARnrlsxSOhrd1TnLojOWQpzUlTU5bhOJJkL8w31tWoR-fkEqRYQqSzcy2u7n3oyCKoLnYmtEAxVMfYmUxXXBp6QpLdkW8/s1600/HelenMcFarland-YearUnknown-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFkVgqzm44mcCN5U0lR2TyMAs8il_7oKillD-uNoSzwQThoCARnrlsxSOhrd1TnLojOWQpzUlTU5bhOJJkL8w31tWoR-fkEqRYQqSzcy2u7n3oyCKoLnYmtEAxVMfYmUxXXBp6QpLdkW8/s320/HelenMcFarland-YearUnknown-14.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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People often ask why writers write what they do. I have never had a clearer answer than in this particular case. <br />
<br />
My story in More Alternative Truths is dedicated to my Mom, Helen
Dorothy McFarland-Brewer, who instilled a desire to learn in me that
often put me at odds with the schools I attended. <br />
<br />
Mom loved to do many things:<span class="text_exposed_show">
cook, sew, interact with family, play with cats, but I think the thing
she enjoyed most doing was teaching. And she seldom missed an
opportunity to provide new knowledge. From an early age, Mom taught me
to observe the world around me and study it, to read and learn as much
as I could, to respect learning in others. From solar eclipses to
cooking clay for me so I could learn how to make colors, she seldom
missed a teachable moment. <br /> <br /> As I grew, she said "Look it up" as
many times as she said, "I love you." I learned early how to use both
dictionaries and encyclopedias--the only problem with that was I
occasionally got lost and couldn't stop! <br /> <br /> Every day, I see the
new administration decrying facts. Every discipline is taking a hit,
particularly science. And if that science interferes with fascist
corporate interests, the pertinent disciplines may not be taught at all
in the future. <br /> <br /> Growing up with a natural educator for a
mother, I wondered could someone born to teach stop even if she faced
stiff penalties? And what would be the inevitable consequences when
those teachers continued to provide their most precious treasure,
knowledge, to others?</span>Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-2413716822500968782017-04-29T14:34:00.001-07:002017-04-29T14:35:11.789-07:00Alternative Truths Anthology <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/410NYwEhUaL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/410NYwEhUaL.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
"This machine kills fascists," Woody Guthrie painted that message on his guitar in 1941 in a fit of patriotism. Other artists subsequently followed suit. At that point, the United States was fighting Hitler. <br />
<br />
Margaret Atwood, author of <i>The Handmaid's Tale, </i>describes the conditions in 1939 the year she was born: "<span class="permalink-content-inner col-xs-11"><span class="permalink-content-inner-inner col-sm-12"><span class="item-body-wrap clearfix"><span class="item-body"><span class="item-body-inner clearfix"><span class="item-body-detail col-xs-10"><span class="bodytext">“Having
been born in 1939 and come to consciousness during World War II, I knew
that established orders could vanish overnight … Anything could happen
anywhere, given the circumstances.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
I lost two uncles in that fight. They were both good men who enlisted and believed in the cause. No one ever conceived that fascism was coming to our own country. And yet here we are, 76 years later facing a reality that grows increasingly surreal each day. <br />
<br />
The following comes from Bob Brown, publisher and editor of <i>Alternative Truths</i>: <br />
<br />
"Alternate Truths Anthology was formed, when on February 23, 2017 I,
and many of my friends, asked what we could do. We could write, we
could join that noble tradition of using the pen, to poke the powerful.<br />
<br />
So was born, Alternative Truths. And our pens became word processors and our ideas became stories.<br />
<br />
Kellyanne Conway was not the first political operative to applying
flexibility to truth. But she gave us the best ever description of the
premise when she coined the phras<span class="text_exposed_show">e, “Alternative Facts,” in describing what George Orwell had for all previous generations labeled as New Speak.<br /><br />
Like beauty, truth, especially political truth, is in the eye of the
beholder, and for years Americans have tolerated the common elements of
exaggeration and rhetoric from their politicians. But not since the
early days of the nation has such a mockery of truth been made in the
name of politics, and in that vein we present to you, Alternative
Truths." <br /><br />The anthology is twenty-four stories from notable authors, including Phyllis Irene Radford, Louise Marley, Jim Wright of Stonekettle Station, and twenty-one others following in Guthrie's tradition creating everything from humor to dystopic horror in the name of truth. <br /><br />I leave you with words from one of my favorite presidents: </span><br />
<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">"It is the part of America to stand for the freedom of the human mind and to
carry the torch of truth."
Franklin D. Roosevelt <br /><br />R. Kyle, April 29, 2017 </span>Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-59209854937996096552016-11-24T09:15:00.000-08:002016-11-24T09:15:28.331-08:00Cozened Book LaunchNicole Givens Kurtz has a new novel out called Cozened. This is her second book in the futuristic detective noir series.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi427x6bKX9FwjqIWZCOd6B5m9hy8f4jxlrD0UdCfyyUTCtQUH7Ar-HjoCsYZrCqxaPGmaLHylUtviXoVkBisVfh5ywyFvGEgHThz5hzCtYvKDitObPWMcPtiq8-z0_LFmWW58SGANeNBrI/s1600/Cozened_CoverArt-300x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi427x6bKX9FwjqIWZCOd6B5m9hy8f4jxlrD0UdCfyyUTCtQUH7Ar-HjoCsYZrCqxaPGmaLHylUtviXoVkBisVfh5ywyFvGEgHThz5hzCtYvKDitObPWMcPtiq8-z0_LFmWW58SGANeNBrI/s400/Cozened_CoverArt-300x450.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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There is a raffle to go with the launch hosted at Rafflecopter's website. <a class="rcptr" data-raflid="700e19078" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/700e19078/" id="rcwidget_cmqud5ip" rel="nofollow">at Rafflecopter's giveaway website.</a><br />
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">It can be purchased at either Amazon (<span class="s2"><a href="http://amzn.to/2gm7ijc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://amzn.to/2gm7ijc</a></span>) or from the publisher (<a href="http://mochamemoirspress.com/cozened" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="s2">http://mochamemoirspress.com/cozened</span></a></span><span class="s3">). </span><br />
<span class="s3"><br /></span>
<span class="s3">Here is Nicole's bio: </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">NICOLE GIVENS KURTZ is the published author
of the futuristic thriller series,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Cybil Lewis</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">. She also writes horror and dark fantasy. Her
novels have been named as finalists in the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Fresh Voices in Science Fiction</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">EPPIE in
Science Fiction</span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">, and</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Dream Realm Awards</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">in science fiction. Nicole’s short stories have
earned an Honorable Mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Writers of the Future </span></i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">contest, and have appeared in numerous anthologies
and publications.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
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<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment-->Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-47951908986047155072016-01-10T14:43:00.001-08:002016-01-10T14:43:32.912-08:00GUEST BLOGGER: Nobody Gives a Damn that You Wrote a Book – Unless You Give Them a Reason
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
By MH Bonham</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Author of 35+ books, Publisher of Sky Warrior Book
Publishing, LLC</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Visit Sky Warrior Books at: <a href="http://www.skywarriorbooks.com/" target="_blank">Sky Warrior Book Publishing, L.L.C.</a> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone wants to write a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some folks have actually written books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some have gotten their books published,
either by themselves, through a small press, or, if they’re exceedingly lucky,
through one of the big New York houses.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point, many authors are convinced their work is
done. The reality is their work is just beginning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nobody Cares that You
Wrote a Book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nobody gives a damn you wrote a book, except maybe your
mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your writing buddies and
friends may say they care, but how many of them have actually bought one of
your books? The people on the street don’t care. In fact, they are inundated
with other things that occupy their attention such as the Internet, movies,
video games, and other entertainment, there’s very little time or inclination
for them to actually read a book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When they do buy a book, it’s because they know about the
book, or are looking for a book on a particular subject. If your name isn’t
J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, chances are they haven’t a clue that you wrote a
book they might actually enjoy reading.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Some Facts to Back
This Up</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Bureau of Labor Statistics backs me up on this. In 2013,
<a href="http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20140926.htm">the average person
spent a whopping $29.20 on physical books that year</a>, not including sales by
book clubs. If you do count the book club sales, the number soars to $32.23. If
you look on Amazon, that’s maybe two or three books out of nearly two million.
E-books that year fared better than physical books, with the average amount
sold being $30.18. That includes everything from the 99 cent books somebody put
out, to the big houses selling their e-books at nearly 15 bucks a pop.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">If This Didn’t
Depress You Enough</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If this didn’t depress you enough, you’ll be glad to know that
book publishers cut their employees by 18 percent. This means that even the big
houses don’t have enough staff to promote your book. Small publishers rely on
authors to promote their books. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What You as an Author
can do to Buck the Trend</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, consider yourself one of the enlightened. Your book
won’t sell without you promoting it, unless it wins the book lottery and
becomes a best seller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be
realistic: you’ve got a far better chance at getting hit by lightning while
riding a unicycle on a sunny day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As an author, promoting your book is paramount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, writing is very important, and you
need to write every day, but promoting is just as important. Take one day’s
writing time out of your already busy week and do something to promote your
book. The following are no cost ideas that can promote your book better than
you think.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How you get people to care about you and your books is to
get them aware that you exist. To do this, you have to get your book in front
of readers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ten No Cost Ideas to
Get Your Book in Front of Readers</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Create a Facebook page for you and your work. If you
don’t have a Facebook account, you better have one. Post about the latest works
and status reports about things you’re doing as a writer.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Join promotion groups and announce your book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One promotion group, in particular, you
should join is Goodreads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find
authors you love and follow them.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Start a blog and post to it regularly. You can talk
about anything as a writer. Livejournal and Blogger offer free blog pages.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Offer to do guest posts for other writers on their
blogs who have books similar to yours. Offer the writers the ability to guest
post on your blog in exchange.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Contact your local library and request that they carry
your book. If they won’t order it or can’t purchase it directly, consider
donating a copy.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Start an
e-newsletter for your fans. Both Constant Contact and MailChimp have free
e-newsletters for low numbers of subscribers.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Run a contest which requires sharing your blog or
Facebook page in social media to enter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try Rafflecopter for this.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Create a small e-book with short stories set in your
book’s world and offer it free on Amazon and other e-book venues. Include the
first chapter of your book and links where to purchase your book. Post it on Weebly
and other places where fans are always looking for new voices.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Volunteer to help out with local book conventions or
science fiction conventions. Not only will you get your name known, but you may
be able to put books in the hands of those who are bellwethers in the reading
community.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Offer
to exchange book reviews with other authors. More book reviews means more
exposure and more opportunities.</div>
Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-73192661690430840542015-06-19T11:29:00.000-07:002015-06-19T11:29:46.219-07:00COMMENTARY: Take down the Confederate FlagMy first job was working for the State of Oklahoma's Government Information Service. I got asked a number of interesting questions. One, in particular, sticks in my mind today. I will do my best to recreate the conversation as faithfully as I can: <br />
<br />
Caller: Do you know that the Confederate flag is flying over the State Capitol? <br />
Me: Yes, Ma'am, (reaching for a brochure I have on my desk) it's part of the Fourteen Flags Plaza.*<br />
Caller: I don't think that's right...<br />
Me: Ma'am, the plaza's there to show the fourteen flags which flew over Oklahoma prior to statehood. The Confederate flag is just one of them...<br />
Caller: Do you think that's right?<br />
Me: Ma'am, I can't give my opinion...<br />
Caller: But, do you think that's right?<br />
Me: If you're asking me if I approved of slavery, my answer is no. If you're asking me if I believe we should display our history, I'd want to remind you about some of the other nations whose flags are flying in the plaza. The Cherokees, for example, had slaves. The Spanish had the Inquisition. The French royalty treated their peasants so badly....<br />
Caller: I think they should remove the Confederate flag.<br />
Me: Ma'am, if you believe that, you should talk to your State Representative and Senator. The state's certainly spending money to keep them up and you could make suggestions for that money's alternate use....<br />
<br />
I've never been one to shirk the unpleasant aspects of history. I liked to think we'd come a long way. After Wednesday's shooting of nine Black congregants during a Bible study, I'm not so sure we have. <br />
<br />
No, I emphatically do not believe this was an attack on Christianity. The shooter's words before he started killing people were: “I have to do it. You’re raping our women and taking over the country. You have to go.”<br />
<br />
http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_960w/Boston/2011-2020/2015/06/18/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/0622CHARLESTON.jpg<br />
<br />
<br />
The Confederate flag, which the attacker firmly embraced, is not just a reminder of our dark and ugly past to some. In the attacker's eyes, it's a rally to race war. <br />
<br />
And it's time to take every one of them down. <br />
<br />
"Like the Nazi flag, the Confederate battle flag has come to symbolize to
large portions of the public extremely destructive attempts to promote
racism. And in both cases, extremists use them as the potent symbols of
racism they are in order to rally like minded extremists. As such, it
does not deserve to be flown over any public building in these United
States." David Kinne<br />
<br />
Please note the Fourteen Flags display was removed from the Oklahoma Capitol grounds in 1988. The Oklahoma State Fairgrounds still has the Fourteen Flags Plaza, which shows the fourteen flags: <br />
<br />
http://newsok.com/14-flags-plaza-shows-state-history/article/2551499<br />
<br />
Rebecca McFarland Kyle, June 2015Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-58201646885309078412015-05-20T08:16:00.001-07:002015-05-20T08:16:26.986-07:00COMMENTARY: Sansa Stark Rape --- GET REAL Monday morning, the internet was all abuzz over the Sansa Stark rape scene on <i>Game of Thrones. </i>I honestly can't remember this much buzz about a program since the cliffhanger on <i>Dallas. </i><br />
<br />
I admit it, I was surprised. <br /><br />Every single show starts out with a MA warning. And we've needed it. The rape scene was by far not the worst thing I have seen....I read the books and the "red wedding" had me shaking for quite a while after that. <br />
<i></i><br />
And, of course, there's far more violence I could mention....That brought me to several solid conclusions: <br /><br />ONE: People are often immune to violence. I've always been acutely aware of the effect of television violence. Studies on children show that watching violent programs desensitizes children to violence and could lead to more violent behavior. Further, in adults it can also lead to a disproportionate sense of unease about society. <br /><br />Essentially, if you are what you eat, you also often are what you "consume" via the media. <br /><br />"You are the only censor if you don't like what I say you have a choice you can turn me off." <br />
<br />
Alice Cooper -- <i>Lay Down and Die, Goodbye <br /></i>TWO: People don't complain effectively. Oh, they'll complain loud and long--on the Facebook page of a relative stranger...But do they actually go to the right place? When I suggested to a vitriolic complainant that they should perhaps write their treatise on violence in <i>Game of Thrones </i>to HBO or George RR Martin, the author of the novels, they were outraged. I pointed out there was no point posting it at some random person's page -- when the people making the decisions about future violence would probably not read it. <br /><br />THREE: People need to get real here. Where is the outrage about real rape cases? I can name four serious situations that I have come across in the news in the last day and I don't see as much discussion and outrage about them as there seems to be about a fictional character. <br /><br />Here goes: <br /><br />Rape's more prevalent than you think. A study of one college showed 18% of the freshmen girls either were raped or had an attempted rape. Just in one year:<br /><br />https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/05/20/study-prevalence-rape-first-year-students#.VVyZQVr6uOM.facebook <br /><br />"Affluenza" is real. If this was a poor man, particularly a minority,
he'd be in jail for much longer. You think this is going to stop Mr.
Johnson from inappropriate behavior in the future? <br /><br />Samuel Curtis Johnson III, the billionaire heir to the SC Johnson fortune confessed to repeatedly raping his twelve-year-old step-daughter and what kind of sentence does he get: four months and a a $6,000 fine. <br />
<br />http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/06/07/billionaire-gets-off/<br /><br />Judges don't take child rape seriously. The rapist of a three-year-old got a light sentence because his attack on the child "wasn't violent." <br /><br />http://edgytruth.com/2015/04/10/judge-gives-light-sentence-to-child-rapist-claiming-sodomy-wasnt-violent-click-here-do-something/#<br /><br />And a Baptist pastor got by with raping a mentally challenged twenty-year-old girl in Louisiana because the girl didn't know to fight him off? <br /><br />http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2572006/Baptist-pastor-arrested-police-claim-mentally-handicapped-womans-father-sex-wife-bedridden.html<br /><br />GET REAL, HERE! <br /><br />So, what can you do? <br /><br />First of all, talk to the right people. Get in touch with your elected officials and tell them you want stronger laws and sentencing against rapists and child abusers. <br /><br />Second, get in there and help. Contact your local Rape Crisis Center or Women's Shelter and donate your items, money, or time to them. Literally, abuse victims can come in to the shelter with nothing more than the clothes on their backs -- these are real people in need of real help. If you've got outrage for these situations, spend it wisely.<br /><br />Rebecca McFarland Kyle, May 2015<br />
<br />
<br />Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-5125787237541370612015-05-17T14:21:00.002-07:002015-05-17T14:27:57.293-07:00The Un-Civil War Or My Faux News FamilyFuturist and Science Fiction author, David Brin, states the United
States is in their third Civil War. There's nothing "civil" about the
political divide currently in the United States. I know far too many
people who've lost friends, even family over the difference of a single
opinion.<br />
<br />
I've lost two family members, so far.<br />
<br />
1.
Cousin V went from a moderate to a neo-con with the turn of the 2008
election. I knew her physicist husband voted for Obama. We had pretty
honest discussions about politics. He said he was going to since he'd
done his research and noted that Democrats restore the economy and
reduce the deficit where Republicans do not. We definitely needed some
recovery badly in 2008. <br />
<br />
That's when the emails started.
Understand V has a Masters degree in Accounting and she knows the value
of research. She obviously didn't do any when the emails agreed with her
prejudices. <br />
<br />
I snopes pretty much everything that comes in my email. I sent her corrections, which she ignored. <br />
<br />
Seeing
as she felt free to fill my inbox with her prejudices, I sent something
to her regarding a statement of Glen Beck's which I disagreed with. <br />
<br />
Her response: "You are too liberal to be friends with anymore." <br />
<br />
Friends? We were family before that. <br />
<br />
T,
her husband, who was quite ill at the time with brain lesions,
understood my reasoning precisely and said that he and I could continue
talking via another email. So, I continued to send emails to him, but
never got an answer. He wondered why I wasn't corresponding. I advised
him that I was. When I asked if V had access to the emails, he said
"no." <br />
<br />
I continued to send get well cards to him, a couple a
month, and I sent a sympathy card when he passed. I hope he got the
cards. I spent time and money trying to make sure he knew someone cared
about him and was hoping the best. I never knew whether she gave them to
him or not. That's on her. I tried. V. never contacted me except once
more. <br />
<br />
She sent a completely fictitious email about President
Obama. I didn't bother to Snopes it. At that point, I figured I was off
her list anyway. Then, someone else on the list did fact-check and sent
the correct information via REPLY ALL. <br />
<br />
Her response: "I guess I wanted it to be true so I didn't bother to look it up...."<br />
<br />
2.
I knew Uncle H was a racist since I was six or seven. I remember a long
ride back from my grandparents with him and my Mom back in the Sixties
where he ranted about Dr. Martin Luther King and H. Rap Brown and wished
both of them would get shot. He used language my mom said I should
never use, but she never corrected her little brother and when I asked
she said, "He's a grown man, honey, I'm not going to change him...You
know better." <br />
<br />
I don't remember exchanging more than
cursory conversation with the man. He talked to my Mom. If I answered
the phone, he'd ask for her and I'd get her. He was busy and I got the
feeling he didn't want to deal with someone else's kid, even if it was a
niece. <br />
<br />
The emails started shortly after the election. I'm not
sure how Uncle H even got my email. I can't say I'd send a thank you
note to whoever provided it. <br />
<br />
I snopesed and sent him the
correct information. For that matter, I even tried to engage him in
conversation asking how his family was, etc. He never replied. He just
kept filling my email with stuff he hadn't bothered to research which --
from my sampling--was lies. <br />
<br />
I finally emailed and said, "Look,
if you want to talk about your family, about your experiences, etc., I'd
be glad to listen. I'm not interested in politics, particularly if you
are not going to do any kind of research..." <br />
<br />
Half a dozen emails of the same ilk as before the next day. I set his email on "JUNK" and walked away. <br />
<br />
It disturbed my Aunt J (his younger sister) that I'd done this. I advised her, he wasn't sending anything personal to me. <br />
<br />
"He's
my baby brother and he's just always been kind of a brat," she said. I
wondered then if his older sisters had called him on it if he'd have
been so much of a brat. I don't know. I could have asked Mom that or
just about anything, but Aunt J was not in a state I could do that. <br />
<br />
Nothing
he'd even written, just forwarding garbage. Still it made her cry and I
felt sorry I'd admitted it. I did check the email at that time. Same
old junk. Sadly, he sent the same email to me at least three times in
some instances. I was just on a SPAM list. <br />
<br />
3. Cousin G is
someone I admire very much. Okay, maybe not her research skills or her
paranoia, but she walks the walk of her faith. She's served as a church
organist, a Hospice Chaplain, and volunteer and done more work to help
the needy than many folks I know. <br />
<br />
The same emails started after the election. Heck, she even started her Christmas cards with: <br />
<br />
"I'm disappointed in the election...." <br />
<br />
Yes,
she believes every wrong word she hears about President Obama and the
government. Sadly, she's let racist language slip, too. <br />
<br />
The
difference is, she actually reads the research I do and thanks me for
part of it. We're still friends and I think occasionally what I say to
her makes a difference. She actually asks me questions sometimes and I
do my best to research them and show her my work so she knows that I
actually am not just spouting an unfounded opinion. <br />
<br />
And -- I
have told her what my Mom thought about a lot of issues. She always
respected Mom as a well-educated and a thinking person and when she
hears what Mom used to say to me back -- fifty plus years ago growing up
some of her anger goes away. <br />
<br />
Yeah, I hate that we're dealing
with the same issues and the same racism and hatred we dealt with when I
was growing up. I have my Mom to thank for me growing up as a thinking
person who does their research and believes in equality and justice. <br />
<br />
The
one difference between Mom and me is that I am speaking out to my
elders--her peer group--and saying what I think. Uppity, I suppose so,
but do we change the world by being silent? Sometimes we have to do it
by presenting facts and not allowing people to just be "bratty" or
"difficult."<br />
<br />
R. M. Kyle, May 2015<br />
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<br />Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-72557887989259597512015-04-29T03:49:00.000-07:002015-04-29T03:49:07.633-07:00Fifty Shades of "Nay" I do my best to keep in touch with my ninety year old aunt. She prefers "Auntie Mame" to her given name because she's a huge fan of the musical and it's her ambition to enliven the lives of the people she cares for, too. <br />
<br />
Auntie M: Have you read this new book, <i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i>? <br />Me: I only got through a few pages...the writing was terrible<br />Auntie M: It's pretty sexy...<br />(I have to stop and take a breath here. Yeah, my aunt's been married three times, but she's ninety)<br />
Me: You're okay with that?<br />
Auntie M: No, not really...but the books were given to me by X... <br />
(X is her daughter-in-law, the recent widow of her only son. She takes good care of Auntie M but I don't believe she would want my aunt to be uncomfortable or unhappy) <br />
Me: You don't have to read every book that's given...<br />
Auntie M: But she says it's really good...<br />
Me: Good is a matter of taste--not everyone has to like the same things...<br />
Auntie M: She and her girlfriend are going to take me out to dinner and the movies and we're going to see the film...<br />
Me: You want to see it?<br />
Auntie M: (pause) .... no<br />
Me: (gets out phone and looks up the Rotten Tomatoes rating for <i>Fifty Shades of Grey.) </i>It only got 25 on Rotten Tomatoes. That's not very good.<br />
Auntie M: I liked that movie...<br />
Me: Huh?<br />
Auntie M: The one about fried green tomatoes...<br />
Me: No, Auntie, Rotten Tomatoes is a rating group for movies. The rating's from zero to 100 with 100 being the best. <i>Fifty Shades of Grey </i>got a 25.<br />
Auntie M: It didn't deserve that much from what I'm reading...<br />Me: If you don't want to finish the book...<br />
Auntie M: I've got the other two, they lent them to me...<br />
Me: You don't have to read stuff you don't like. It's not like there's going to be quiz or something...<br />Auntie M: But we're going to dinner and to the movie...<br />
Me: (looking at listings) There are several other films you could suggest to see instead. (I list them and tell her about them..) <br />Auntie M: Maybe the weather will turn bad...<br />Me: Why not just suggest another film? Auntie M, if you're not comfortable reading the book, you're not going to like the movie much better....<br />
Auntie M: Maybe I'll get sick....<br />Me: Maybe you'll just say "No thanks, let's go see another movie. That's what the girl should have said in the book...."<br />
Auntie M: It looks like snow....<br />
Me: The forecast would be better if it looked like NO! <br /><br />No is a two-letter word, which is easy to say when we're two years old. It gets harder as we age. We don't want to be perceived as negative or fun-haters. We want to fit in. <br /><br />Too many women are taught to please, to make the people we love happy without thought to our own happiness, let alone just plain comfort. <br /><br />The best thing we can learn to do is say, "No thank you," and make an alternate suggestion if there's something else we want to do. <br /><br />R. Kyle, April 2015<br /> <br />
<br />Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-18491869446558546752013-11-12T08:17:00.001-08:002013-11-12T08:18:12.744-08:00REVIEW: Dissected -- Megan Messina Bostic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
When Sydney Warner was six, she awoke one day to find her Mom's telescope and jewelry left in her room. Her Mom was gone--the note she left read she was going to be happy. Sydney managed to weather that storm well enough, but in her junior year far worse happened--and she went badly off-course. Syd's begun to cut herself. Her father and teachers don't know--and if they don't find out, she could cut too deeply.<br />
<br />
Sydney's story is told with empathy and concern. Ms. Bostic did her research and made sure her fictional character went through a factual journey. The story's believable, heartfelt, and strongly written. <br />
<br />
Some authors would shy away from the hard topics, but Megan Bostic knows that there are kids out there going through difficult situations like Sydney's. Is this a real condition? The new DSM includes a new condition listed called NSSI or Non-Suicidal Self Injury. It's estimated that one in five young girls today cut themselves with razor blades or burn themselves with fire. That's a dramatic increase from 3% of the population in 1990. This condition is particularly common among young girls from ten to sixteen. It's theorized they do this to trigger a flow of endogenous opiates into their bloodstream--these chemicals help deal with pain. Girls who are doing this are not acting out--they do not want parents or teachers to find out. Most conceal their condition with long sleeves or long pants.<br />
<br />
Reading books like these help young adults to know that they are not alone. Perhaps that's not as good as group therapy, but it's an important start. How do I know this? <i>Go Ask Alice </i>stopped me from taking drugs in when I was in the eighth grade.<br />
<br />
This book is absolutely recommended for readers of all ages. Sydney is a strong likeable character and her predicament is riveting. The plotting is so good you will want to read into the night. <br />
<br />
SOURCE: ARC provided by the author<br />
<br />
Rebecca McFarland Kyle, November 2013Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-18331792901522698102013-05-03T09:23:00.002-07:002013-05-03T09:23:43.853-07:00BOOK REVIEW: The Possibility DogsThose of you who know me know that I am legally blind. I was born with cataracts and have had deteriorating vision ever since. At some point, I will need a service dog. My eye doctor made the suggestion last year and I just have not had the courage to follow through yet.<br />
<br />
I've been told that a service dog would grant me better access and I would be more approachable than I am carrying my cane. The one friend I asked about this said: "I'd be more interested in the dog than the person with it."<br />
<br />
Was it her? Is this everyone? I would like to think not, but that gave me pause. <br />
<br />
My lifelong dream has been to work with dogs in some way to do service work. I've never been in a position to be a puppy breeder as I once hoped, but I'm wondering if organizations are going to stop using purebreds and start taking shelter dogs.<br />
<br />
Why? Not every puppy--even those from a solid lineage, makes the cut for service work. From birth, dogs bred for service work, are socialized and trained. Then they go to a puppy raiser who works with them for months before they ever reach the training facility for service dogs. <br />
<br />
And there is a greater need for service dogs now, particularly with our soldiers coming back from Afghanistan with PTSD.Many organizations have applicant waiting lists that are literally years long. <br />
<br />
But--some groups are going a more direct route. Instead of making more puppies, they are going to shelters and picking dogs who show promise for the task. This may well be the best way to find homes for the massive overpopulation of strays--quote from the book: <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />"A 2009 National Public Radio story
underscored what most of us who work with dogs already know: the
homeless animal population has long existed, the Great Recession has
made things worse for American pets recently. In some areas, intakes
have increased annually up to 400%. Surrendered dogs are often have
healthy pets that are up-to-date on their vaccinations and have been
neutered or spayed but have to be given up because her owners have lost
jobs, homes, or both, and they need to find safe places for their dogs
to go. It's a desperate choice made with loving intentions, but for
surrendered pets, too often there are not enough adoptive home to go
around. Rescuers have had to work even harder than usual, trying to
maximize adoption events and social media exposure to give more homeless
pets some kind of hope." <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Susannah Charleson is noted for her work with search and rescue dogs. In her first book, "The Scent of the Missing," she talks about finding and training Puzzle, a Golden Retriever, to do S&R work. While "The Possibility Dogs" does not contain as gripping material as her first book, the situation is still compelling.<br /><br />Patients needing
service dogs are often just as lost as a child or an elderly patient who
have wandered away from home. Depression, trauma, physical illnesses,
put these people at risk. Often, "invisible illnesses" make it doubly
hard because the general public does not understand and cannot empathize
with their need.<br /><br />Ms. Charleson well understands that need. A debilitating kidney ailment may well necessitate a service dog for her in the future. Having found and trained a search and
rescue dog, the natural extension for this skill-set would be to locate a
shelter dog with service dog skills and train it. The following is
advice from Paula, a dog evaluator who finds animals for therapy, et
cetera. She says: "any dog can be surprising. Before you can find many
dogs for this work, find one."<br /><br />"The Possibility Dogs" is interspersed
with Ms. Charleson's experiences with folks and their service animals
and her own quest to find some trainable dogs for this work. The stories
will make you laugh and shed more than a few tears.<br /><br />This book is
not just for people who are interested in service dogs and therapy
work. The stories are riveting enough to keep you reading even if you
never plan to use the knowledge. But, if you are considering therapy dog
work, either getting a dog for yourself or a family member, or training
one, you should add this book to your library. "Possibility Dogs" may
well open some possibilities for you.<br /><br />Rebecca McFarland Kyle, May 2013
Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-61212657425378574962013-03-14T12:02:00.000-07:002013-03-14T12:02:05.078-07:00COMMENTARY: Arachno-Funk, Part 1Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone.....<br />
<br />
You've all probably heard the old folk song, but it's true. I never really appreciated the education I got from Oklahoma City's inner-city schools until Barack Obama ran for President the second term.<br />
<br />
An article I read described President Obama as being able to understand world problems better because he grew up as an "international kid." He learned from living in Hawaii and visiting various countries how other cultures work and how to get along.<br />
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I got some of that coming up at Central Junior High and Classen High. Unlike my Wonder-bread elementary school, we had Black, Native American from half a dozen or more different tribes, Hispanic, and in my last years, Vietnamese students all mingling in the melting pot of public education. <br />
<br />
Yeah, it was stressful, but it was good. I learned about fry bread and kitchens (not the kind you cook in), appreciated the accordion in conjunta music, learned to sing gospel well enough to be asked to join the Gospel Choir, and appreciate bun. (Vietnamese dish) And that's just for starters.<br />
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I wish I could say my school experience was like that. I'm one of those old hippie types who really does want everyone to live together in peace. Sadly, no. We had our share of racial tension. Even had a special pep assembly to try and get us to come together. The Student Council Vice President who suggested we should get along got a brick thrown through his windshield.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, two years after I graduated, Classen High School kicked the KKK off the campus. This was a united force representing all the races of the student population. I was never so proud of my old school.<br />
<br />
Now, Classen is an advanced studies magnet school, in 2009, one of the top in the nation. Do they always clean up the place after I'm gone? Perhaps it's karma from the Class of 1978!<br />
<br />
I really did learn a lot about different cultures from Classen, but what I'm talking about today is learning how cultures share an iconic image in their mythology.<br />
<br />
In this case, it's this guy and his kin: <br />
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It's Mythology class right after lunch and we're discussing Greek, Roman and Norse myths.<br />
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"Why are we learning this?" I hear from one of my fellow students. "Do you see any Greeks, Romans or Norse folk in here?"<br />
<br />
A show of hands revealed none of us believed we were such. Only our teacher had any Norse connection and that was on her husband's side of the family. We had some pretty diverse culture represented: American Indian, Black, and I spoke up for Scotland. <br />
<br />
"What do you suggest?" Mrs. Adams asked. "This is the textbook we've got. What are we going to do about it?"<br />
<br />
Can you hear the pin drop in our classroom? <br />
<br />
"Those of you who want can do special reports on myths from your culture," Mrs. Ericson said. "It's extra credit and will help you with your final."<br />
<br />
My hand shot up first. Yeah, I'm that kind of student--in English class--plus, I had a bad case of Senioritis and that whole idea sounded a lot better than studying hard for a final when I had invitations and Baccalaureate and all that graduating stuff to do. <br />
<br />
This was easier said that one; however. Our small school library had tons of books on mythology. Unfortunately, they were all pretty much related to Zeus/Jupiter and Odin. Lucky for us, OCU was close and if you looked really sad and promised not to mess up anything, they'd let you in their library.<br />
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<br />
I picked the kelpie or Ech Uisque--the waterhorse of Celtic myth which often lured humans to their death in the rivers and lochs. The ech uiqque plays a part in one of my short stories which has yet to see the light of day. For more on that legend, click here: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://howlinghorse.deviantart.com/journal/Legend-of-the-Kelpie-242660654" target="_blank">Kelpie Legend</a><br />
<br />
But Crystal picked the mythical character who had me entranced: Anansi. I hope Crystal decided to be a Griot. She rocked that report. <br />
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Of course, I was prejudiced. I still had my Creepy Crawlers set from when I was a kid and I "cooked bugs" every Halloween from a carefully-cadged supply of "goop." I cooked the spiders. The rest of the molds bored me.<br />
<br />
One of our Native American students added that Vehoo was a Cheyenne legend and a trickster like Anansi.<br />
<br />
"Spiders were considered beneficial in Celtic myth," I added. "There's even a story where a spider helped Robert the Bruce kick the English out of Scotland." <br />
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<a href="http://www.longlongtimeago.com/llta_history_bruce_page02.html" target="_blank">Robert the Bruce and the Spider</a><br />
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You ever have a moment where you sit and look at your friends and classmates and realize yeah, we're different, but we're also alike. We write stories about the things and creatures that are important to us and we pass them along to future generations, first beside campfires and on into the classroom. <br />
<br />
I was a fan of mythology since fifth grade when my teacher handed me a copy of <i>Bullfinch's Mythology, </i>but they were just tales until then....<br />
<br />
Rebecca McFarland Kyle, March 2013<br />
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<br />Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-79051430479100122842013-03-12T12:53:00.003-07:002013-03-12T12:53:49.418-07:00COMMENTARY: The Next Big Blog Thing<br />With my sincere thanks to the lovely and talented Ellen Herbert, who suggested I join this blog hop. Check out her blog here: <br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ellenherbert.info/the-next-big-thing-blog-hop-2/" target="_blank">Ellen Herbert's Blog</a><br />
<br />
My current WIP is new to me. The inspiration came like most do in the middle of the night via a dream.<br />
<br />
Since I have so much trouble writing a pitch, I'm starting with it. Here's the tentative: <br />
<br />
Who says Romeo and Juliet have to die? Sometimes, star-crossed lovers do mend fences between feuding family. Generations ago, Jordon and Morgan's many times great-grandparents did just that between the Crossers and the Necromancers. They didn't realize that the marriage would null their offspring's gifts--until a pair of fraternal twins are born--and are nearly torn apart when they discover their powers. <br />
<br />
And like any good blog hop (which is pretty much the chain letters of long ago), I am passing the torch on to an amazing author of steampunk and horror, Allison Dickson:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.allisonmdickson.com/" target="_blank">Allison's Blog</a><br />
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Rebecca McFarland Kyle, March 2013Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-48524751688572001402013-03-10T13:38:00.001-07:002013-03-10T13:38:12.174-07:00MOVIE REVIEW: Oz The Great and PowerfulDirector: Sam Raimi<br />
Writers: Mitchell Capner and<br />
David Lindsay-Abaire (screenplay) <br />
Frank L. Baum, <i>The Wonderful World of Oz</i><br />
Cast: <br />
<br />
James Franco <i> </i>Oz<br />
Mila Kunis Theodora<br />
Rachel Weisz Evanora<br />
Michelle Williams Annie-Glinda<br />
Zack Braff Frank/Finley<br />
Bill Cobbs Master Tinker<br />
<br />
<br />
Seldom do I see a movie where I want to just remain in my seat and see the next show--and the next, until the theater staff tells me it's time to go home. Among those are <i>ET </i>and <i>The Princess Bride. </i><br />
<br />
I was predestined to either love or hate this movie. I've been an Oz junkie since I was three or four. The film would come on television every year about Halloween time and after the first, I was prepared. I sat down spellbound with my Welch's grape juice and my popcorn and not even my father, who usually had ultimate control of the television, dared complain. <i> </i>When I got older, and leaned that <i>The Wizard of Oz </i>was based on a set of books by Frank L. Baum, I found them in the library and read them all. And yes, I've read Gregory Maguire's take on Oz as well. I've seen <i>Wicked </i>from near the front and loved the musical. <br />
<br />
No, I don't have any snow globes or Oz dolls in costume...I do own the remastered Blu-Ray where I realized to my utter shock that the opening scenes of <i>The Wizard of Oz </i>were not black and white as I originally believed, they were sepia! <br />
<br />
Tony and I were there on opening night for <i>Oz The Great and Powerful. </i>We went on a matinee with hope in our hearts. And, yes, I could have stayed until the theater shut down. I want to see the film at least once more before it goes off the big screen--maybe at a theater with better sound and visual resolution. I'll own the movie--and I might even splurge for some swag if they have the right Christmas ornament.<br />
<br />
<i>Oz </i>opened in Kansas with a carnival charlatan seducing a young woman to be his assistant. Enter Oz, the wizard. The only reason he gets in the hot air balloon in the middle of an impending tornado is because the young woman he was about to seduce was another's girl and he was about to receive a well-deserved beat down.<br />
<br />
After some peril, Oz lands in Oz and learns he is the wizard that was foretold of. Then the magickal politicking begins. Theodora and Evanora, the sisters, are trying to get him on their side so he can kill the Wicked Witch by breaking her magic wand.<br />
<br />
Then, he meets Glinda and realizes who he needs to side with. As she tells him, "Perhaps you are not the wizard I expected, but you are the wizard we need."<br />
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There's a lot to love about this film. Of course, it pays homage to the original WOZ by beginning with the mundane world in black and white. (Might have preferred sepia, but I'm not quibbling) The casting was excellent. James Franco is a perfect scapegrace with devastatingly brilliant ideas.<br />
<br />
One change I really appreciated was that in the original Oz the only color aside from Caucasian we saw was green. This modern Oz is integrated and the folks join together for a common cause. <br />
<br />
Love seeing more evidence of steampunk's influence. Baum and Wells certainly were the original steampunk inspiration. It's good to see the Tinkers working--and tie in how Oz appears in the original film.<br />
<br />
Yes, we will go back to see this film in the theater and we're definitely going to own the Blu-Ray. I'm excited about the possibility of sequels. I hope they film quickly, because they do not want to lose a single member of this cast.<br />
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Rebecca McFarland Kyle, March 2013 <br />
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<br />Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-3416338811380839692013-02-02T09:00:00.003-08:002013-02-02T10:11:00.768-08:00MOVIE REVIEW: Rise of the GuardiansDirector: Peter Ramsay<br />
Writers: David Lindsay Abaire (screenplay) William Joyce (book)<br />
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Cast: (voiced by)<br />
<br />
Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher<br />
<br />
An evil spirit named Pitch plans to destroy the hopes and dreams of children. For the first time, the Guardians (Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, The Sandman and their newest member, Jack Frost) must work together to save themselves and the future of the world.<br />
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2012 was a banner year for animation. <i>ParaNorman, Hotel Transylvania, Frankenweenie, Brave, </i>just to name a few. <i>Rise of the Guardians, </i>which is based on William Joyce's multi-book young adult series, is one of the best. <br />
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Casting was well done. The voices fit their characters and it's obvious the actors were into their roles. Animation brought life to the screen. I saw this film in the theaters and immediately went searching for a pre-order. I'm so fond of it, I'm adding the film to my annual Christmas viewing. <br />
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Overall, I seriously hope to see more films from this franchise in the future.<br />
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Rebecca McFarland Kyle, February 2013 Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-17126861511493123202013-02-01T08:10:00.001-08:002013-02-01T08:10:52.975-08:00COMMENTARY: The Hard Choices<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/543782_4876864033552_895800179_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/543782_4876864033552_895800179_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Above are the crew of <span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">the Columbia STS-107. (L-R) mission specialist David Brown,
commander Rick Husband, mission specialist Laurel Clark, mission
specialist Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist Michael Anderson, pilot
William McCool, and Israeli payload specialist Ilan Ramon. All were
killed when the shuttle disintegrated over Texas February 1st, 2003.</span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">I honestly don't remember where I was when I heard that Columbia disintegrated over Texas. I remember crying, but that's all. </span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">What I hadn't known until ten years later was that NASA knew the astronauts were in trouble before the crash. Wayne Hale, the person who later got charge of the shuttle program, talked about the incident in his blog: </span></span><br />
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<span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">"After one of the MMTs (Mission Management Team) when possible damage
to the orbiter was discussed, he (Flight Director Jon Harpold) gave me
his opinion: 'You know, there is nothing we can do about damage to the
TPS (Thermal Protection System). If it has been damaged it's probably
better not to know. I think the crew would rather not know. Don't you
think it would be better for them to have a happy successful flight and
die unexpectedly during entry than to stay on orbit, knowing that there
was nothing to be done, until the air ran out?"
</span></span><br />
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This has to be the hardest decision anyone had to make. Imagine, working with people, knowing them, caring for them, learning a bit about them and their family...Knowing also that they were the best the US had to offer up for this mission, and realizing they were going to die and you had to make a choice of what to tell them.<br />
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I sat here and contemplated their choices. If the astronauts were told, they'd have minutes in a cabin of decreasing oxygen knowing they were going to die. Even if they were the best, the worst of their natures could come out. On the other hand, they went out on a high-note. I think they believed they were going to make it.<br />
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Of course, they didn't have a chance to say goodbye. But, I suppose they did so as they were leaving--just in case. Nothing comes without a price. I know the crews who took off for the stars were willing to pay. May they fly through the stars forever.<br />
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Rebecca McFarland Kyle, February 2013 <br />
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<br />Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-14907189427229268522013-01-28T17:25:00.001-08:002013-01-28T17:25:23.560-08:00COMMENTARY: Happy 200th Birthday, Pride and PrejudiceLearning to read wasn't easy for me. My eyes didn't want to work scanning the lines of writing. <i>The Adventures of Dick and Jane </i>left me staring off into space. The first reading that captured my full attention was Dr. Seuss, aka Theodore Geisel. No surprise I am still a fan of the colorful, the whimsical, and the amusing. Make no mistake, there was wisdom buried beneath the laughter. <i>Green Eggs and Ham </i>taught about prejudice. <i>The Lorax </i>made us want to walk more softly on this earth.<br />
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Mostly after that, I just read what I wanted. My first taste of The Reading List and the classics came in Mrs. Cowden's fifth grade class. Intimidated by the high shelves of the library, I asked her for some recommendation. She handed me <i>David Copperfield. </i>After I got past my shock at the book's heft, I was sold. I read everything Dickens, London, Twain, and Shakespeare that library held.<br />
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Then, she handed me Jane Austen. I grew up in the Sixties and there weren't a lot of options for women. This was the first time that I read a classic written by a woman. I sat and looked at her name on cover page the tattered book (most of the books Wilson Elementary for their fledgeling library were second-hand and repaired with duct tape by Glenda Vickery, our librarian, and my Mom) for a bit and wondered. What was it like writing then?<br />
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I knew people who wrote then did so on typewriters, mostly manual. But, Jane Austen had to have written that whole book by hand. Why I never thought of the process before was something of a mystery then. I realize now part of the reason was that writing something that good seemed inaccessible to me before that moment. <br />
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Like most of the classics, place and time are as strong a character as the people living through them. The times were vastly different for women. "Entailments" meant that the property held by the Bennet family could not pass to any of the five female daughters. When their father died, they'd be left penniless unless they found a husband. I followed the sisters' trials and tragedies with a sense of awe. Imagine just walking out in the rain and ending up gravely ill? <br />
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You remember the Sixties Virginia Slims cigarette slogan: You've Come a Long Way, Baby. Well, indeed we had. Just looking at my college-educated Mom who taught school before she married told me that. Mom could vote, which meant she even had a say in our government. She was four years old when my Grandma got the right. She told me more than once to always make best use of my right to vote, too. <br />
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I laughed through the antics in <i>Pride and Prejudice. </i>And I loved the characters. But, I thought about the change in times and what that meant for me.<br />
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And I kept thinking about that as I moved from Jane Austen to the Bronte Sisters, and finally to Louisa May Alcott. Like many young women, particularly of the Southpaw nature, I had perpetually ink-stained fingers. I looked at my hand and I realized then whatever I wanted to be I was going to write. <br />
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Today, women in Afghanistan are proudly showing their ink-stained fingers because they, too, can now vote. <br />
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I viewed these pictures with tears because they made me realize that we've still got a long way to go, too. Women everywhere are fighting for the right to vote, to walk the streets safety, and to have the right to choose whether or not to keep a child foisted upon them by a rapist. <br />
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This entry is part of Courtney Webb of Stiletto Storytime and Alyssa Goodnight's 200th Birthday Celebration for Jane Austen. <br />
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List of participating bloggers is available on Alyssa Goodnight's page at <a href="http://alyssagoodnight.com/2013/01/pride-and-prejudice-anniversary-party-blog-hop/" target="_blank">http://alyssagoodnight.com/2013/01/pride-and-prejudice-anniversary-party-blog-hop/</a><br />
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Rebecca McFarland Kyle, January 2013 Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-55692912464452890512013-01-28T11:20:00.001-08:002013-01-28T11:20:51.798-08:00COMMENTARY: ChallengerFor my generation, we marked our lives by where we were when President Kennedy was assassinated. For the next, the crash of the space shuttle <i>Challenger </i>was a keystone event. <br />
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It was a cold, dry and windy day in Oklahoma City warmed by hope and anticipation.<br />
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For the first time in my career, I was going to see a shuttle launch live. I was working for the Oklahoma Historical Society as secretary to Mary Lee Boyle, the senior archivist, and we had a television set for the Oral History Program. We were all particularly hyped that Christa McAuliffe was going up as a payload specialist. Many of us followed the Teacher in Space Program that President Reagan announced two years before <i>Challenger. </i>Added bonus: she was a History Major and a Social Studies teacher. Her mission was to teach the world about the new frontier. <br />
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<br />We were all aware of the delays this mission faced as we crowded into the tiny equipment-filled office vying for a good spot to see the 19-inch color screen. We'd planned to see the flight on the initial take-off date just six days before on January 22, 1986. Nobody really anticipated trouble. It was a long time since Apollo I and NASA had twenty-four prior successful missions. <br />
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<br />No big deal. I still had hope in my heart of going to the moon on American Airlines. Back in fifth grade, Mrs. Cowden encouraged each of us to write and get on the waiting list for moon-flight. At that time, I still had the card American sent everyone who did write. <br />
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<br />The launch went fine. We were all cheering and high-fiving each other when the vapor plume split into two.<br />
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"What happened?" I asked. I'd come late to the party and didn't have a great view.<br />
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For a few hope-filled moments, nobody knew. Maybe this was a scheduled event. Maybe....<br />
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Then, the announcer told us the shuttle exploded. I remember tears springing to my eyes. Chris Bittle, the photo archivist, hugged me. I think Mary Lee and several others did as well. <br /><br />Christa had flown with our hopes and dreams and those were gone now. In some ways, I suspect this was the beginning of the end for President Kennedy's aspirations for us. NASA took a long hiatus to make sure they were functional. The Columbia disaster followed and set us back even further.<br />
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All I can say is Rest in Peace--and rest in the star stuff where all life is conceived. <br />
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<img alt="" height="440" src="http://media.theweek.com/img/generic/ChallengerCrew.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="649" /><br />
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The seven crew members aboard the Challenger Shuttle seen from left:
Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith A. Resnik, Francis R.
(Dick) Scobee, Ronald E. McNair, Mike J. Smith, and Ellison S. Onizuka.<em> </em><br />
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To watch CNN's live coverage of the Challenger take-off, follow this link: <br />
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<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4JOjcDFtBE" target="_blank">Challenger Take-Off and Explosion </a><br />
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Rebecca McFarland Kyle, January 2013<br />
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Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-54060172949021928232013-01-25T04:12:00.001-08:002013-01-25T04:12:23.334-08:00COMMENTARY: How I came to be known as the Chicken Shit Queen
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Back when I worked as a Research Assistant at the Department
of Commerce, I literally knew what it was like to get the ‘shit’ jobs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Literally. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My boss called me in to her office and told me she had an
important assignment for me. It was my first legislative query. One of the
State Representatives from the Eastern part of Oklahoma wanted a report on
chicken waste recycling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, even then, Oklahoma recognized their problem. With
chicken farming in the east and pig farming in the west, they were literally up
to their elbows in poop. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Worse, if they didn’t do something, that poop was going to
taint their groundwater and nobody could wash off their dirty elbows or
whatever part was affected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My boss didn’t want the job—so she gave it to me. Her words,
not mine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Keep in mind, I don’t object to this kind of thing. I love
science and the idea of recycling something nobody wants fits my values. So, I
set to work contacting the folks in the industry to find out just what could be
done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I learned about pelletizing waste into fertilizer, or fuel
pellets that would burn in stoves. Much to my dismay, I learned that many
chicken breeders were already re-using their birds’ waste—by recycling it into
chicken food feeding it back to them. Can’t say as I’ve cared for chicken much
since. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh, and I got samples. My office was fragrant. The upside—my
nose was usually stopped up that time of year and NOBODY came in to see what I
was doing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By the time I was done, I had a neat little report with a
bunch of labeled odiferous exhibits. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And a nickname, The Chicken Shit Queen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">However, I got the last laugh. Because after all those years
of taking shit from the Oklahoma Legislature, I got to send some right back to
them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rebecca McFarland Kyle, January 2013 </span></div>
Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-49657136338309162582013-01-16T08:53:00.001-08:002013-01-16T08:53:12.671-08:00COMMENTARY: Pennies and Monet -- Some things may be in the blood<div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
"All lovely things will have an ending. </div>
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All lovely things will face and die;</div>
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And youth, that's now so bravely spending,</div>
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Will beg a penny by and by.</div>
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Conrad Aiken</div>
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I didn't get to know my cousin Reggi very well. She lived 600 miles away and she was several years older at that critical time when those years were most divisive. When we got together, she was the fun glamorous person I wished I could be. As one of my male cousins said to me: "She got all the beauty. You got all the brains." </div>
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I think she had both.</div>
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Reggi fought off a rare form of Hodgkins Disease in the late 90's. We thought she was okay. Then, ovarian cancer (as a result of all the scans she had to make sure she was clear of the Hodgkins) set in. She fought long and hard, but eventually lost in 2003. </div>
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In 2006, I got the chance to visit her Mom and Dad while I was in Denver. They were living in Reggi's condo at the time. They were caring for her two cats, Alvin and Alicia, and missing her terribly. </div>
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So was I. And yes, I wondered -- why take the beautiful one and leave me behind? </div>
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The first inkling I got that perhaps I was more like Reg than I expected was when we found a penny on the sidewalk. Of course, I picked it up. I need all the luck I can get! </div>
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Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck.<br />
Find a penny, leave it lay, and you'll have bad luck all the day.<br />
-- Proverb</div>
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That's when they started telling me about Reggi and pennies. She saved her pennies. When she was dying, she gave her dad a single penny in a lovely wooden box with a final message. </div>
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I do something a bit odd with my saved pennies. I bless them and toss them where someone might find them and pick them up. Figure their luck has to come from somewhere. <br />
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When I got to Reggi's condo, I realized there was more similarity than I'd expected. When I walked into her downstairs bathroom, I saw purple towels and a miniature of Monet's "Waterlilies" hung on the wall. <br />
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Monet's my favorite painter. His work reminds me strongly of the world I see without my glasses, blurred lines, but an explosion of rich color and sensation. There's no doubt much of this was due to Monet's cataracts while he lived at Giverny. When Monet got eye surgery for the cataracts, the clarity of his paintings improved. I love him in all phases, but that soft, misty time is still my favorite. <br />
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I've been chasing tours of his exhibits most of my life and missing them by that much. I finally managed to see "Waterlilies" in person at the High Museum in Atlanta. I sat down and just breathed it. <br />
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Monet never did anything easy. Despite having cataracts, he still worked at painting water in grass which is difficult to depict. He once said, "I would like to paint the way a bird sings." In my opinion, he did that and he made colors so vivid they bear his signature: <br />
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“Color is my daylong obsession, joy, and torment.”
Claude Monet<br />
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I've always wanted a Monet bathroom. I fell in love with a home in Oklahoma City that had purple fixtures in the hall bath. I knew precisely what I was going to do with that bathroom...We didn't buy the home, sadly. I sat there in my cousin's bathroom and realized that time and distance didn't separate us. Somehow we were connected. <br />
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I left my Aunt and Uncle a gift. I took every penny I'd accumulated in my suitcase-sized
purse and dropped them in random places about the condo where they'd find
them and feel loved and blessed. I'm going to find a print of Monet and put it in my home.<br />
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I wish I'd known Reggi better. I advise you to reach out to your friends and family if you feel that need while they're alive and make sure they know how much you love and value them. Reggie was in her fifties when she died, far too soon. </div>
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Rebecca McFarland Kyle, January 2013</div>
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Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-82590899413264391522013-01-15T08:47:00.000-08:002013-01-15T08:47:16.488-08:00COMMENTARY: Sometimes your Mom is just plain wrong...Don't get me wrong, I loved my Mom. She was a loving, wonderful woman who savored life. She worked hard to learn and impart that knowledge to me, but sometimes...the things she could come up with. These are the ones that turned out funny.<br />
<br />
* Shrimp cocktails contain raw shrimp -- Mom once told me about going downtown to eat at Bishop's with her little sister, Doris Jeanne. She said, "And, your Aunt ordered TWO shrimp cocktails--and those shrimp were raw." Yeah, that had a high ewwww factor for me as a kid. So, I'm out on a date at a nice restaurant (Bishop's was gone before I was born) and the wait-person offers me a shrimp cocktail. My response was, "My cat might like raw shrimp, but I'm not a fan." Everyone around us heard and laughed and the poor waiter nearly dropped a tray. <br />
<br />
Nope, Mom, those shrimp are boiled and then chilled for the cocktail--and they are delicious. <br />
<br />
* They cut off the heads of bodies to embalm them -- Mom used to tell the joke about the funeral director getting a complaint when a widow realized her husband had the wrong suit on. The man just picked up the husband's head and switched it with the other guy who had the right suit. I was twenty-two and got a chance to speak to the head of the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Agency for Oklahoma for a client. When I told him what Mom said, he about broke something laughing. It's a common misconception--and so's the joke. <br />
<br />
Nope, Mom, the Funeral Director uses intravenous fluids to embalm the body after they drain all the blood out. <br />
<br />
* People glow in the dark when they get radiation poisoning -- Mom told a story about some women who were working at a watch-making factory. They would use their tongues to shape the brush when they were painting on radioactive paint to make the watch hands and numbers glow in the dark. Fortunately, no embarrassing anecdote here; however, the women did not glow in the dark. Whatever they painted with the radium-infused paint did glow--such as fingernails, toenails and teeth.<br />
<br />
The lawsuit the women filed led to a landmark decision requiring employers advise workers when they are handling unsafe materials. For the whole case, see: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_Girls" target="_blank">The Radium Girls</a><br />
<br />
Mom, you weren't entirely wrong on this one and I give you credit for knowing about something that happened in 1917, two years before you were born. While people who get radiation poisoning do not glow in the dark, the lesson from this is clear--don't ingest stuff unless you know exactly what it is. Pity I didn't learn that before I liked Hostess Snowballs.<br />
<br />
Rebecca McFarland Kyle, January 2013Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-31658105857911841172013-01-15T07:51:00.000-08:002013-01-15T07:51:12.110-08:00COMMENTARY: An unintended lessonA-tisket a-tasket<br />
Mac's buying me a basket<br />
<br />
Those certainly weren't original lyrics, but my heart was in them. I was three or four and my grandpa, Estey Earnest McFarland -- aka Mac, was taking me to downtown Leedey, Oklahoma to buy me my first Easter basket.<br />
<br />
I could have any one of the baskets at Breeze Dry Goods. I just couldn't have any of the filled ones, because they already had the candy--and Grandma and I would be making eggs. She had eggs, dye, and even a woman's magazine with patterns for rabbit ears! <br />
<br />
I got a green and white basket and we took it up to the counter. Then Mac did something weird--he just walked out without putting any money on the counter. <br />
<br />
"Mac," I stood at the register calling him back. "You didn't pay for the basket."<br />
<br />
"I put it on my account," Mac said. "They count up everything I buy and then at the end of the month, they send me a bill and I pay for it then."<br />
<br />
"I'm sorry," I apologized to him and the nice lady at the register.<br />
<br />
"That's okay," Mac told me. "I'm proud that you are so honest at such a young age."<br />
<br />
Was it the basket or the compliment that made this memory such a strong part of me? I can't answer the question, but I can still remember the spring day, the filled baskets, the Easter grass, and later on, making pink Easter Eggs with bunny faces and ears with Grandma. <br />
<br />
This was the first time I ever heard about charging things. My Grandpa definitely did credit right because he paid for whatever he charged at the end of the month. He was a good man, a person who valued truth and honesty--and I knew that he valued me for those qualities.<br />
<br />
I hope I thanked him for the basket. Pretty sure I did, but I should have thanked him for a lot more.<br />
<br />
Rebecca McFarland Kyle, January 2013Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1768198724009189615.post-66308209409438429862013-01-13T14:35:00.001-08:002013-01-13T14:35:25.557-08:00COMMENTARY: Happy Birthday Wherever You Are 1/13 -- any year<style>
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</style> <span style="font-family: Times;">I wrote this 1/13/2006 for my LJ blog: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;">Today,
you're 28. I hope your day and your life has been blessed. <br />
<br />
I often think of you and wonder how you are. By now, I hope that you have
learned you were adopted. I hope that you're happy and secure and know that
your parents chose you as theirs. I also hope that they love you and gave you
everything you needed--in every way possible.<br />
<br />
No, I'm not your biological Mother. I was her friend. <br />
<br />
Your biological mother found out she was pregnant just as she was getting a
divorce from your biological father. Learning you were coming didn't make
them want to stay together. They were both just barely into their 20's and he
had a previous wife and child already. They didn't get along well enough to
make it work for you and they were smart enough to know that much. <br />
<br />
For a brief time, your biological mother considered raising you on her own.
She only had a high school education and no real job skills. She found an
attorney who knew a couple who wanted a baby and couldn't have one. So,
that's how you came to be with your parents. <br />
<br />
I cannot speak for your mother any further than just stating the facts. I
wanted you to know that there's someone out there who often thinks of you.
When I first knew you were coming, I offered to help your mother raise you as
best we could, but she thought adoption would be a better idea. I'm not
saying any of this to defend her actions--it's not my place to do so. <br />
<br />
In some ways, I cannot defend her. Selfishly, I miss you and I wish I had
been able to know you. <br />
<br />
You and I were connected from the first. I knew the day you were born--and
without a phone call, I knew the hour. I never saw your face. Sometimes, when
I have walked through crowds of anonymous people, I have glanced at women
your age and wondered if it was you. <br />
<br />
Happy birthday, dear girl, wherever you are.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;">POSTSCRIPT: Six years later, I still think of you. You're 34 now. I hope your have a comfortable home and a family who loves you. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;">I know perhaps you may wonder whether your Mom loved you. Truth was, she loved you enough to sacrifice her pride and give you up to someone who'd give you a better life than she could. Sometimes, that's enough. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt;">Rebecca McFarland Kyle, January 2013 </span></div>
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Rebecca McFarland Kylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14859160319335914160noreply@blogger.com0