THE CAT’S MEOW FOR WRITERS AND READERS

THE CAT’S MEOW

FOR WRITERS & READERS EZINE®

Issue 18, Vol. 06

© May 10, 2006

Published, Written and Edited by Rosanne Catalano, (a.k.a. R.C.Kayla)

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief and Writer/Author

Home of The Cat’s Meow for Writers & Readers Ezine® and

Rosanne Catalano’s Author Website – www.rosannecatalano.net

Ezine: ISSN: 2237-65

Editor and Proofreader: Nancy Currie

Editorial Production Assistant/Technical Writer/Author and Web Designer

Nancy’s Author Website – webwriterworx.50webs.com/

PLEASE NOTE: Our subscriber list is NOT made available to others, including companies. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. We are also NOT responsible for web site links that do not work unless they have been inserted into mine or the editors’ columns; then we are responsible, we apologize and will correct it as soon as possible.

A LOVE, A LIFE

How did this happen to me,

How does life flip over so quickly –

One day here, one day not

- a love - a life

What does it mean?

How many senseless hours

must be spent –

Isn’t it enough to be cursed

with the feeling of caring?

Must I live for it?

Must I die for it?

Written by Barbara Ann Hoover on 4-02-1980

IN THIS ISSUE:

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

EDITOR’S CORNER

OFF THE PRESS

COFFEE HOUSE 4 POETS & WRITERS

(Every Month Highlighting Artistic Talent – New and Established)

FEATURE ARTICLE

ARTICLES

PUBLISHER’S CORNER:

Rosanne Catalano – www.rosannecatalano.net

Hi dear readers, as the days get longer and the hotter weather approaches, I am ecstatic because I love watching all the flowers blooming, tree leaves renewing and all that’s involved with summertime activities such as those gardening aficionados who are busily planting their gardens! My neighbors have already begun getting their front and back yard gardens ready for the summertime… I normally would too, but this year there won’t be any ‘flowered’ plants in our garden. The reason? Because I was extremely sad to see four of my perennials die at the end of last summer, so this year more permanent plants go in the ground! Ones like Azaleas, English Boxwoods and Ferns. And, of course, once your garden is all finished, please don’t forget to WATER AND WEED as I sometimes tend to do when I get too busy inside!

Let’s also please not forget about our mother’s on Mother’s Day, May 14^th of this year, and veterans on Memorial Day, which falls on May 29^th this year… for Mother’s Day, the greatest gift to give is yourself sitting across from your mom at a restaurant of her choice; for Memorial Day, if you can’t march in a Memorial Day Parade, why not cheer them on from the sidelines? Or consider sending a letter to a man or woman in the military to thank them for fighting overseas for our freedoms? Just some ideas to pay tribute to all mothers and veterans -- for without their sacrifices, we wouldn’t have the freedoms we take for granted…

Great News! -- I recently started blogging as an extension of this column (and my own writing). My blog can be found at http://thecatsmeowforwritersreaders.blogspot.com, and I need to warn you that I am a novice at blogging, so the first few posts I write may not be as informative as I would like my blog to be, but give me time and I’m sure to get the hang of this blogging stuff :-)

On another subject, I would love to hear from our readers what you think of the new look of the ezine which we’re still experimenting with…to let us know your opinions, please go to: www.rosannecatalano.net/feedback.htm, and drop us a line to let us know whether you hate it or love it; either way we’d love to hear what you think! So come on, please don’t be shy … though we do understand being extremely busy, it should take only a minute or two to fill out the form. Also please stay tuned for the unveiling of my newly redesigned author web site… coming on June 1^st

The gift we gave to all subscribers can now be downloaded by readers, too, by clicking here! Yep readers, not just subscribers, can also download and read the all-new talking ebook, “10 Success Habits to Swell Your Bank Account In 2006,” which was written by Michael Green and Peter Twist, two very successful entrepreneurs. Their talking ebook is FREE so you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain! And in case you’re not familiar with what exactly an ebook is, please go to the article in our March 2006 ezine (Issue #16, Vol. 06), written by one of our contributing authors, Stephanie Martinez, in which she explains to you exactly what an ebook is and why they have become such popular books.

Would you also like to know how-to live a more positive life for you and your family? Well then, Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, a positive psychologist and happiness coach, tells you how to be more positive in everything you do, and how to set goals to live a more positive life. Plus she has great inspirational quotes, merchandise and books she has written that can be ordered right on her web site, The Enchanted Self.com. Her books and merchandise focus on you and everyone in your life and can be bought by clicking here. Her newest book, “Delight,” focuses on learning to love and enjoy yourself through life’s special moments, and is filled with emotional and delightful reminiscences that will charm you. To read more about her book or to order Dr. Holstein’s beautifully, inspirational merchandise and other books, please click here. Her web site comes highly recommended for anyone who wants to live a better life!

Now onward to all my wonderful contributing authors and writers; some new, some established …who have written poems, short stories and helpful informative articles for everyone to read and enjoy… And if you like what you read, please do visit the author’s web site or let the author know by email.

It warms our hearts to hear from our readers, and knowing that what we have written has touched and/or helped you in some way…

This Issue Is Dedicated To:

Carman Peter Catalano (my dad), Harold Clinton Welch (my step dad)

and Barbara Ann Hoover (a dear friend)

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EDITOR’S CORNER

Nancy Currie – webwriterworx.50webs.com/

Another busy month has passed us by. It seems like there’s hardly enough time in a day to get through all that needs to be done.

I’ll keep this brief. The web site is coming along nicely. Thanks to those who responded to our short survey. We’d like to hear from more of you. Tell us what you’d like to see on the new web site. Is there anything that we’re doing now that you particularly like and wish to see on the new web site as well?

We’re getting closer to our launch date of June 1^st! This is an exciting time!

Mark your calendars and visit www.RosanneCatalano.net on June 1^st!

In other exciting news, Rosanne has published a story article at AssociatedContent.com. Check it out!

See you next month!

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OFF THE PRESS

Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

Call for Submissions

Easter is beyond us now and the month of May has approached. We celebrate Mothers Day on the second Sunday of May. I am now preparing the queue for Mothers Day stories, and I would like your support to make a great Mothers Day Issue.

For Mothers Day I will be looking for Stories about your Mother, grandmother, neighbour, yourself; literally anyone you know who is a Mother and has been special in a certain way.

Now Mother is a broad term, and as is my custom, even when voting, is to include a variety of stories not just one kind.

So the broadened definition of Mother for these submissions will include: an animal such as a cat or dog that has been an exceptional mother or bad mother, whatever the case may be.

Mother superior in a convent, Mother Theresa, Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus, mother earth, the mother of invention, perhaps some special invention has inspired you to write an article.

If you can find a connection for your story with the word “Mother” it will qualify.

I had originally considered this to be a contest, when I was planning my scheduling but, it does not look like there is an interest for contests anymore. So it will be just submissions.

However I will do a poll here… Please write and tell me if you want a contest yes or no?

The outcome of this call for submissions, whether stories only or contest, will depend upon the response from the membership at large.

Thank you for your continued support.

Carol Roach, publisher and author (Storytime Tapestry Newsletter, 2003 and Picking Up the Pieces: A Woman’s Journey, 2003).

**** NEWS FLASH FROM CAROL ROACH, PUBLISHER OF STORYTIME TAPESTRY ****

Announcing a Special Project On Behalf of Storytime Tapestry and writer/author Vance Agee!

Vance Agee, writer, husband, teacher, and devout Christian, has entertained us at Storytime Tapestry since the beginning of the newsletter. Vance has written a wonderful book, a collection of about 150 of his original stories and poems, some of which have been featured in our newsletter.

He has graciously offered his book as a fundraiser for Storytime Tapestry and it is available to you, at the special price of $8.00 (American); please include shipping and handling (approx $4.00). The suggested retail price is $19.95 before shipping costs. Vance is offering this book at wholesale price to his Storytime Tapestry family.

This is your opportunity to buy for yourself, family, friends, or launch your own fundraiser for your church or other community organizations. You will be helping out Storytime Tapestry, and your own special needs group as well.

But the ministry does not end there; Vance has his own special cause. You’ll be helping to pay for a double-lung transplant (see introduction below), a project which Vance is very committed to.

Tell me, fundraiser for Storytime Tapestry, perhaps your own church or school fundraiser, partial proceeds for a lung transplant, not to mention that you will be supporting our very precious Vance Agee as a writer and friend, is there a better way to honour God and his ministry?

Email me at winterose@videotron.ca with your order. Spread the word, spread the love!

Carol Roach, publisher and author (Storytime Tapestry Newsletter, 2003; Picking Up the Pieces: A Woman’s Journey, 2003; Angels Watching Over Me [still looking for a publishing home!]).

INTRODUCTION BY VANCE AGEE, AUTHOR: This introduction was also published by The Eagles Garden, Publishing Ministry – Deborah Lynn Haley, www.theeaglesgarden.com, Edited by: President of The Eagles Garden, Gerald Neal Henderson, and Written by: Vance Agee.

You just picked up this little book. Well, that’s obvious, at least to the people around you.

The question now is: How long will you page through it and will you keep it?

Much of the earnings from the sale of this book will be given to a benefit fund for a wife and mom of three, who must have a double-lung transplant! If you buy this book, you will help one of the many needs around us.

The best other incentive which I can offer you is that the book is not about someone rich and famous, but someone like YOU and ME; someone who grew up in a very modest or even poor home, but with a rich emotional, intellectual and character world; a world in which many family members could have walked right out of a Dickens’ novel; the world of a little boy with a great mind and spirit but very humble surroundings. Would you like to share all that and allow it to blend with your own life? (Hard to relate to rich and famous, even when you are rich and famous!). If you do, you may email me at VGAgee@aol.com and we can talk. I’ll do my best to get back to you. But please include your email address, as this is the fastest way in which I can reply to you. That is what this is all about: Where Our Spirits Meet!

About what do I write?

About being a very young child (maybe 2 at the youngest!), about my mom and dad, about my grandma and grandpa, my goldfish, my first love at six, my favorite holidays, my sad times and the few happy times, about the mystery of the seasons, about my toy pets, school and church, later about junior high and high school, about college, and a little about the disappointments of later times. And about life in general. And time. And God.

Will you join me hand in hand or at least alongside one another?

Standing there, you are again at a crossroads of life. My goal is to be a help and a friend to you, in dark and light, in hope and despair, in dealing with both the good and the bad ghosts of life. Allow our spirits to meet… And here is one of my short poems:

Every word is a poem,

waiting for a poet.

Every word is a world,

waiting for the poet

Just to say, “Let there be?”

Vance Agee, author (Where Our Spirits Meet, 2006).

Please email Carol Roach at winterose@videotron.ca to order Vance Agee’s book, only $12.00 with shipping & handling!

Cassandra Daniels, an upcoming author, has published her second and much-anticipated novel titled, “Caught in the Middle.”

Her novel surrounds 21-year-old Lena Harper, an independent yet naïve college student, who takes on the risky business of escorting. Lena’s love of money has clouded her judgment until she meets Rasheed Graham. He steals her heart with his good looks, intelligent mind, and sweet charm. As they grow into a serious relationship, Lena feels trying to balance the two loves. One of them flips the script and takes the lead. In the end, she learns that having her cake and eating it too will have her Caught in the Middle. Pick it up for the reader in you! If the pages aren’t stuck together by the time you get to the end, you haven’t been reading this wonderful second novel by Cassandra Daniels!

“Caught in the Middle” by Cassandra Daniels, is available at: www.mahonganywritings.com; ISBN: 978-1-4116-8624-3, $9.78.

LOOK FOR Barbara Deming’s latest book, “Growing up Barefoot in the South (Essays by a Southern Writer)”!

She says about her book, “Those of you who know me well understand that this is a book dear to my heart. I always say that I am a Southerner first and an American second--those Southern roots go way, way back and are very deep despite the fact that I now live in California--well, at least it's Southern California. This book will carry you back to a time and place when life was simple, to small towns where the only rule of law was that everyone knew what you were doing--just the place for a tomboy who loved to get into mischief as well as climb mulberry trees to write. Take a trip back to those "good old days" where love for family, country and church were the values learned.”

The book is available at: http://www.amazon.com or http://www.barnesandnoble.com or you can obtain an autographed copy from the author at tejasbabs@aol.com.

Barbara Deming, author (The Quilt Maker, 2003).

“Absolutely the Last Resort” by Rose Anna Schoene is a novel of romance and suspense, set in the Catskill Mountains of New York, by one of America’s talented new authors who does double-duty as a medical secretary for an M.D., and is helping her husband battle cancer right now. Her book publisher, Seaburn Press says more copies can be ordered at www.amazon.com or you can use the direct link at: Amazon.com: Absolutely the Last Resort: Books. Seaburn Press, ISBN: 1592320600.

BRADY MAGAZINE has launched the ultimate syndication service for writing-related web sites: the online publication’s writing news, calls for submissions, and contest listings are now available for other writing-related web sites to post free of charge!

Launched as a way to help impact the lives of writers by providing networking opportunities, Brady Magazine’s web site content is available in three separate feeds; simply cut and paste the JavaScript onto your writing web site and their information will become yours. Feed content will automatically be updated on a regular basis as Brady Magazine’s site updates are completed.

“I don’t feel there is such a thing as competition between writing web sites, since we all have the same goal in mind,” states Krissy Brady, owner of Brady Magazine. “What I am looking to do is reach a wider audience, and what better way to do so than to network with web sites that have the same passion for the industry that I do?”

The syndication feeds are available by visiting http://www.bradymagazine.com/content.html, and cutting and pasting the corresponding JavaScript onto your web site. Once Brady Magazine’s feeds have been added to your site, contact Krissy and she will gladly exchange links with your web site. For more information, or for interview requests: Brady Magazine, c/o Krissy Brady, Editor, 165 Old Muskoka Road, Suite 306, Gravenhurst, ON P1P 1N3 Canada; P: 705-687-3963, F: 705-687-8736.

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COFFEE HOUSE 4 POETS & WRITERS CORNER

(Every Month Highlighting Artistic Talent – New and Established)!

I Don’t Know … Maybe

Written on 01-30-2002 by Heidi L. Metzger

I don’t know why I yell

Maybe because I feel like hell

I don’t know why I am here

Maybe because I don’t feel near

I don’t know why I cry

Maybe because I hate that he died

I don’t know why I love

Maybe because he’s my little dove

I don’t know why I hate

Maybe because I know I won’t get thru that gate

I don’t know why I lie

Maybe because I know I will die

Dizzy: Version 1

Written on 07-27-1998 by Heidi L. Metzger

I am sad

Sad as blue

I am happy

Happy as yellow

I am horny

Horny as green

I am mad

Mad as black

I am love

Love as red

I am alone

Alone as white

I am fast

Fast as orange

I am moody

Moody as purple

I am dead

Dead as gray

I am Dizzy

Dizzy as a rainbow

Dizzy: Version 2

Written on 02-17-2002 by Heidi L. Metzger

I am blue

Blue as the sea

I am green

Green as the grass

I am yellow

Yellow as the sun

I am gray

Gray as the sky

I am white

White as the clouds

I am purple

Purple as the flowers

I am red

Red as a rose

I am orange

Orange as a sunset

I am Dizzy

Dizzy as a rainbow

They Call Me Dizzy

Written on 03-29-2005 by Heidi L. Metzger

They call me Dizzy

and they don’t know why

My head is spinning so hard

it makes me want to cry

But I am lost and confused

plus twisted and used

Can I ever stop spinning?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Heidi L. Metzger (a.k.a. Dizzy Metzger), is a poet and the mother of two beautiful sons. She resides in Omaha, Nebraska, and can be reached at dizzysbackpack@yahoo.com. Stay tuned for more of Heidi (“Dizzy”) Metzger’s poetry…

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The Proposal

Written on 03-27-2006 by Sandra lee Hoynacki

I see the color of ribbon in your eyes

Diamond sparkled tear drop

A cerulean mood that sighs

The shimmer must never stop

A protégé of passion

Haunting looks....with envy green

A vale of reining fashion

The women gaze it seems

A coming out of words now sent

Perhaps a king or two

The most ostentatious of events

This town will ever do

Beau monde in taffeta attire

A stroll on carpet plush

Waiting carriage with hire

His bride will surely blush

A swirling off to heights unspoken

The horsemen grips the rein

My knight of love his token

I now will claim his name

The Preachers

Written by Sandra lee Hoynacki

She sat in church on her little perch most of her young life.

Daddy was a fireball preacher man and the children had to be little preachers, too. Sure didn’t want that for a life, it didn’t seem, but that is how it was.

We would sure go to church near ‘bout every night as Daddy had cleaning night, and then there was the visiting of all them sick folk. Me and little brother sure enough did not like that stuff (praying and crying people). All seemed useless at our age. Well, why couldn’t they just take a drop of that castoria that Mama slid down brother and me, and just get up and go? But they didn’t, so Daddy prayed and Mama agreed and we fidgeted.

Then there was Wednesday night prayer service, and Thursday night was the board meeting and on and on and on. Sundays were the best days, brother and I thought. Daddy being the preacher, well, it goes without saying that we got invited home to those nice Sunday dinners after church, and brother and I would eat and play and have a great time!

Now Daddy had this habit of making me sit beside him at the Sunday dinners. When he ate greasy fried chicken, he would reach under the table and wipe his hands on my pretty dress. Brother got smart, and he got to move from Daddy, cause Daddy got embarrassed as brother would let out a yelp, “Stop wiping that chicken grease on me,” which sure did get at Daddy --- turned red all over and said he wouldn’t do that.

So time moved me on through the years of singing in church from the age of three until the age of sixteen.

It seemed that I liked to talk in church, and on many occasions (and one particular big day at church), I just figured that I sure had the desire for Daddy to just carry on for himself. I would just sit in the back as I might even need to go to the bathroom at least once or maybe twice. I was surely trying to make up a good reason to sit way in the back of the church so Daddy could just preach his heart out to all those sinners that sure ‘nough needed the front seats, but not me or brother---why we were little preachers too! So I just figured that I would give up that front row pew for the pitiful sinning folks that others had invited, and so goes how I told Daddy I needed to sit in the back. Brother just got wherever and went to the bathroom like a rubber bank… back and forth and on and on.

So my little friends and I were just conversing about something really big in our lives---not boys, as that was a definite no-no for the preacher girl! Maybe we would sneak a peek at a picture of Elvis, as that was a sin all by itself. Well, sure ‘nough, out yells Daddy amongst all those sinners and some of those haughty goody folks! “Well now, seems as my young daughter back in the back has a lot to say and it must be of some great importance, maybe to us all… seeing as how she hasn’t took a minute… no sir …ree, to hear a thing I’ve said about the sins of this world, and all the sinners in it! Lee, tell these here good folks what it is you speak of there on that pew?” “Nothing Daddy, nothing” I said, sliding down as far as I could go in the seat.

Well time marched on and Daddy said no movies for brother and me, none of that jazzed up ungodly music that would send us both straight down to hell. Why maybe this here very night we’d go, and neither he nor I was ready to go… to hell, I mean. Daddy had planned that we would all just go to heaven if Jesus was invited to the house of our heart. I told brother that our chest was not very big, and I thought that Jesus was surely too big to hang out in that little spot there. Daddy said, “Just get down on your knees and ask Jesus to come in, and he will.” That sounded pretty simple for us, but trying not to sin, we were not sure about, I came up with this big idea how we could do it. I would sit on the sofa all day and not move, other than to eat, bathe, go to school, and all those things we have to do. Brother said that he was not sitting anywhere, and he would just go outside and do whatever, so I went with him, and we kept on doing whatever kids do all day long. Time kept on marching on and brother and I kept on trying to be little preachers ‘cause Daddy said the whole church was looking at us.

I was a pretty young girl and brother was a handsome kid. We were trying to fit in at the school, what with the ball games and the dances and all the things that we really were not allowed to do. Brother had been caught smoking outside the gym at school, and, as his protector, I saw to my sisterly duties and made sure that Daddy knew about it that very day when we got home. Daddy didn’t tolerate smoking or any form of sinning, as we represented the preacher and had to be preachers too. I didn’t think it so bad that brother got a whipping, as we didn’t need to mess up that temple that Jesus lived in. The temple was us, and we had gone down front and prayed, and he had just moved right in with us. Brother did not need to smoke with Jesus living in there. Why it could make Jesus sick, I thought, so brother got his whipping so he could get straight.

Well, life went on and I continued to sing in church. Daddy would go to the revivals and preach his soul right into a frenzy it seemed, as he would just sweat and wipe his face and look all tired. Never forgot that big church in Alabama just packed full of people, all in fancy clothes and big fine ears. The church was so big that you couldn’t even find the same room twice. Well Daddy had these girls that would go with us on the trips and sing with me. That was good because one of them smoked and was married, so I thought that it was time for me to learn things, so I could be sure that I understood just what sinning was and could assure Daddy that I knew just what he was talking about. Daddy got us all a room, and we girls were in a room all by ourselves since she was married and I was almost sixteen…not yet, but almost. We got settled into our rooms, and Daddy was on the same hall but down the way, so he would not be bothering us for sure since Mrs. Williams was attending us. She was really old, we thought, as she was already nineteen or twenty, so she needed to rest. Here we sat, me, my other friend and the older woman of nineteen. I surely was interested in that thing she took out to smoke, as I had not seen a cigarette up close, but knew from the preaching that Daddy pounded into us every day that this was one of those sure ‘nough hell-going trips if we didn’t get some understanding of it so as to tell others as soon as possible. I knew that trying it was not what Daddy wanted, but I felt that I must just once, as it seemed a grown up thing to do.

Mrs. Williams got out her fire starter and fired that long white thing right up as my friend and I watched, and tried to figure it all out. Looked simple to me, and I decided to give it my best shot. Never in all my almost sixteen years of life had I ever been so very sick! I was so sick that I knew that Jesus had left that heart for sure and I didn’t blame him. Yep, this was what Daddy meant! This was sending people right straight down there, maybe tonight even. I really didn’t know how to clean up my temple now, but Daddy would surely show me with a bible lesson or a long praying session or a soul cleaning or even a paddling, I supposed.

We made our way to church that night as we had to be ready to sing songs for the Christians and the sinners. I thought the sinners were sure in need what with them cigarettes tasting so bad! Daddy said that they were just like a chimney and needed help. We took our places on the platform as Daddy had us do and waited to sing the songs that Daddy picked for us. He got up there and introduced himself to all those folks, and then he called us up too. Well, we sang pretty good most folks said. As we started up to sing and maybe bless their socks off, as Daddy said. I never figured out why Daddy didn’t want them to wear socks, but anyway we would bless them off for sure. Making our way to the podium with all those fancy people watching us, my garter belt broke and down came my stockings in front of all them fancy city-people, right down around my very ankles! That was a mess, and there was not a thing we could do but pray that I could carry on with the songs. The sinners needed their socks blessed off, and mine had fallen off with no singing! Guess that was how God blessed me early. We sang and my socks just sat on my ankles. Nobody said a word, and neither did Daddy.

Time went on… Daddy continued to minister, and we, mostly I, continued to sing. Daddy always said that if you bring a child up in the way he should go, that when he is old he will not depart. Daddy was a very strict man and we never saw a thing at home that would teach us any thing but what God would have us do. But now brother and I maintained our innocence all the time as we tried to tell Daddy that God did not call us to preach, and we just did not want to anymore. Brother had started driving the car some. Daddy said I just couldn’t be taught and that I was just slinging the transmission right out of the car! Daddy quit my lessons and had someone else to do it instead. I figured that their transmissions were better than Daddy’s anyhow.

The ministry was growing and Daddy always had these big crowds and the biggest singings, and dinners on the ground. Things were fun at church most of the time, and the girls and guys would go skating and out to eat but never to movies as that was a big sin; so, we skated, ate pizza, had pajama parties, and life went on.

I remember one Sunday when the little old lady with the bobbed-up hair asked Daddy to do something special for her. He and mama talked and whispered, and the next thing I knew Daddy took a trip and we had a new song leader. Daddy had been good all the years that I could remember, he had gotten up in the middle of the night and got people out of the bars that were not supposed to be there. He took dying people the word or prayed before they died. He even got them out of the worst places, even jail. That was just how Daddy did it all the time, all the years that brother and I remembered. Now, brother and I really did not want to start going at night to get folks out of anywhere, but Daddy said, “Well, the Lord said that you must do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” So, sometimes, we’d go. Daddy kept on working on the sick folk, the sinners and the dying; and brother and I kept on telling him that we were not little preachers, and that he better get some help cause we were getting tired of cleaning that big old church and pulling all that gum from underneath the pews. Never could figure that one out! Why pay for all that gum and then hide it under the pew?! Well brother couldn’t figure it out either, so we pulled and swept and dusted and decided we would never be a preacher.

Now brother got quite an enjoyment out of pushing the old country outhouse over. He and the Deacon’s kid did this a time or two and got into a lot of trouble. I told brother that it was not so bad, I thought, but he said it was, as old Mr. Jones was all bruised up on the last pushing. So brother got a good whipping and no playing for a few days. No more outhouse pushing for him…seemed like a harmless activity, but it ended. So we went on to church and time moved on. Daddy kept us in tow as best he could as we kept on being the preacher’s little preachers that God did not call us to be, only Daddy. Daddy had us learning the books of the Bible, and we could get in any type of question match, and brother and I would spout them right off as good as the preacher could. We read and studied and acted as we should as we could get called at any time to that heaven in the sky! We did so want to earn our rewards, so we did unto others and treated them just like we wanted to be treated, as the Bible says. We followed the Ten Commandments as best as we could, and we even learned to share. We would give our tithes. We had to earn our allowance by carrying out the garbage every day, cleaning the yard, doing the dishes and cleaning the church, and on and on. We always put in our portion as Daddy showed that in the Bible we always wanted to obey God and give our first fruits to God. I really did not understand the fruit thing; Daddy never paid us any fruit and sure ‘nough if it were bananas he just ate them up or Mama made a pudding that he gobbled down pretty quickly. As time went on, Daddy did explain the first fruits, the tithes and the reason for it, and so we gave, but we didn’t want to be preachers!

Well, brother and I got older. Daddy still preached and Mama went along with all of the things preacher’s wives do. I must say that brother and I both had a streak of rebellion in us… I got married at the age of 16, and brother went out a few times and sowed a few wild oats. I sure was sowing more than enough oats to feed an army double helpings of oatmeal.

In the years to come, I departed from the upbringing of my parents for quite a span of time but am thankful to say that when you are brought up as you should be that when you are old you will not depart. Yes I did depart for the few years of rebellion, and needless to say I am sorry for this and had to learn the hard way that the parents who teach their children the God-fearing way are richly blessed, and should be on their knees in prayer thanking God for that type of parent. When you make your bed hard, you will lie in a hard bed as I, and many others that thought we had all the answers, are. My brother is currently out of church and has been for years, but has a Godly wife that prays for his eyes to be opened once again.

We still are not little preachers!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Sandra lee Hoynacki, lives in “the hurricane state” with her second husband, who, along with her four grown children and two grandchildren, is her very life. She is a retired nurse, who retired from the nursing profession to take care of her elderly mother, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, but still finds the time to write. Because as she, herself, has said: “I love writing, and hope to write for many years to come!” This very busy, new published author also attended The Institute of Children’s Literature at night and graduated. To read more of Sandra’s poetry, please visit her web site at www.PoetryPoem.com/poetic2050, where she recently won twice for Best Poet for her poems titled, “Dedicated to My Mother This Day”(published in our March 2006 ezine) and “The Proposal” (published above). Sandra can also be reached via email at sandylh@cox.net.

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The Painting

Written by Usman (Leo) Farouqi

Back home I knew an artist who was mediocre, unknown and poor. He was in his late 30’s with an awkwardly drooping and unkempt moustache. His skin was rather pale. His eyes would always look beyond you. I could never figure out if he was searching for something from my very soul or into the nothing beyond… From his appearance and child-like smile, you could imagine him anything but an artist. He was always cool and calm, and even hummed or whistled faintly while painting. His paintings were seldom sold.

He used to say, in a dreamy voice, “I don’t paint for money. I only use paint and canvas to express my thoughts, my feelings and my urges and cravings that keep haunting me. Or better yet, my works are not that I culture in my mind and then paint. No. My works take shape in my soul and, in a trance-like confusion, I reflect those shapes and shadows onto a piece of canvas through the colors of my brushes.” It was understandable; who would buy dry philosophy in the shape of a useless piece of canvas with scattered paints on it? But, amazingly, when he tried to explain a certain painting through the clouds of his cigarette smoke, one could feel the earth and everything on it stopping. One could hear music, hear thunder and hear verses of Khayyam.

The first time he arranged an exhibition of his art, he personally invited me to be there on the opening day. To encourage him, I took a few friends along with me and showed keen interest in his works. I noticed that he does not belong to one school of thought. His paintings conveyed different insights. He liked to paint landscapes at one time and portraits at another, and so on. But one thing was very clear and common in each of his paintings, that whatever he painted, you could see maximum details in it with a harmony of aesthetic color combinations. That, in my opinion, made him better than most of his contemporaries. He loved Salvador Dali and could talk about his Melting Clocks and Cannibalism for hours. He was far away from surrealism or cubism because he believed that every ‘ism’ is based upon propaganda and, according to him, painting and propaganda were two different paths that could and should never meet.

My friends and I were trying our best to look like lovers-of-art who understood and enjoyed the intricacies of art and each stroke of a brush. There was one painting, however, that really impressed me in particular. It was a simple painting with nothing fancy about it. It described a pedestrian path in the middle of fields with a scantily clad, and very tired, young woman sitting on the path and resting with an old beat up milestone. The first impression that I got from that painting was as if the milestone was urging the hungry and tired young girl to get up and capture the world! That was very unusual, very strange but the painting haunted my thoughts and I used to feel as if the milestone was urging and persuading me also to get up and capture the world, for this is not what you are here for – this is not your destiny, it would say in my thoughts.

Soon after his exhibition, the painter was murdered. My busy and demanding lifestyle kept me and my memories away from the painter and the painting. Then after some time, I came across the painter’s widow and told her of my interest in buying that particular painting. The widow’s eyes beamed for a fraction of a second, and then closed as if trying to gather her thoughts. And then, to my surprise, she told me that a millionaire’s wife had come to the exhibition and had wanted to buy the painting. It was surely an honor for any painter to sell a painting to a rich, pretty and famous lady like her.

But the painter had refused to sell the painting because, according to the rich lady, the color combination of the painting would match and enhance the overall look of her living room. The rich lady was not used to hearing a “no” from anybody, as is what the painter told her when he heard about the painting enhancing her living room! She felt her ego being shattered at the painter’s “no!” Her voice rose in rage and thus, in order to save her injured pride, offered a blank check for the painting. Which was again refused by the painter. “I cannot sell my paintings to anybody who considers them as decoration pieces! They are not lifeless pieces of junk. They are my own flesh and blood, and for anybody who has the inner insight and can see my soul in them!” the painter raged at the rich, pretty lady. The widow ended her tidbit by telling me, “I had never seen my husband so hurt and furious.” Then she stopped, looked up at me, and dabbed at the tears on her cheeks.

The widow, recalling more, went on with her story. Within less than two hours of that annoying and hurtful incident, the painter saw a poor, young lady standing in front of the painting, sobbing and trying to hide her tears with an old cheap, but clean, handkerchief. The painter saw the personification of his masterpiece and sold the painting to the young lady for $5.00 since that was all she could afford.

I’m still not sure who was happier? The young lady, who understood the meanings of life through the persuasion of THE PAINTING, or the painter who, all of a sudden, experienced a novel serenity of rainbow in his thoughts and feelings, oozing and creating with each stroke of his brush, or the widow of the painter for once being the wife of a man she loved without even knowing him. I could never understand the destiny of the Painter… was he a poet, a musician, a painter or all-in-one, a human being?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Usman (Leo) Farouqi, says he is not a writer but considers himself a lost soul, because when he was a young boy in Pakistan he was a sportsman who loved to play games such as Cricket, Tennis and Badminton, which he feels he was good at but could not stick to. He also loved to read and write poetry but in his mother-tongue only. English is his third language and because of a stroke a couple of years ago he has lost some of his English vocabulary, and now struggles with selecting the right words in English… because of this it takes a lot of time for him to finish anything that he writes, such as the above short story. When Leo is not writing, he is the owner of “Future Footwear,” a manufacturer/exporter of shoes, in Flushing, New York. To give Leo encouragement to continue his writing, contact him at futurent@aol.com.

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I See Heaven

Written by Michelle A. Obie

I see heaven

but heaven can’t see me

I hear the rain

and the children playing hide-go-seek

I see heaven

but heaven can’t see me

I hear God calling my name

I don’t see nothing but

You and me

Remember the Good Old Days

Written by Michelle A. Obie

I’ve been afraid to move on

Because I’m sitting here thinking about

the good old days

The days when we used to climb trees

and playing kickball in the middle of the street

Riding our bikes around the neighborhood

and during the middle of the night

And the police officers escorting us back home

I’ve been afraid to move on

Because I’m sitting here thinking about

the good old days

The days when we all used to sit in

the middle of the floor pigging out on candy

I remember being friends,

Growing up going to the same old school

When we all grew apart

Our friendships ending, we never said goodbye

We never said hello

We never talked until we see each other in the store

We say a few words but never say enough

We say a little

until something bad happens to one of us

Remember the pack

When we were kids we said

We will always be there for one another

I wonder, does this pack still stand now?

What Happened to You Yesterday?

Written by Michelle A. Obie

What happened to you yesterday

when I said goodbye?

You had a frown on your face

that made everything feel unreal

What happened to you when you said

nothing will ever be the same?

When you walked out that door

and you said why would I fall back down again?

I can’t go there anymore

I can’t lose everything I work so hard for

What happened to you yesterday

when I said goodbye?

You had a frown on your face

that made everything feel so unreal.

Wanted to Say Goodbye

Written by Michelle A. Obie

How can we say goodbye

when we just met?

My heart can’t tell no lie

I can feel it in my soul

that you are the One for me

My love for you is too strong

And it makes me weak

That you can’t notice me

I see you every day

But you walk right by me

and never say a word

Sometimes nothing at all

I would be the first to speak

I get so nervous that when I try to speak

I can’t get the words out right

because I get so tongue tied that

I don’t have anything to say

I wanted to say goodbye

But I just can’t because if I do

I know I won’t see you again

You won’t be able to haunt me

and my dreams anymore

When I say goodbye

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author, Michelle Antoinette Obie, says that writing has always been a huge part of her life in one way or another. Growing up wasn’t always easy for her, but she learned that life has its ups and downs, and that when you keep the Lord first the Lord will always bring you a blessing in disguise…so if you are thinking about giving up on your dreams, don’t! There is always someone there to encourage your dream and to make your dream a reality. Michelle has recently started her own freelance writing business titled “Obie’s Lifehouse Freelancing,” but still continues to write her poetry and short stories. If you liked, and were touched by her poetry, please contact Michelle at: michelleobie@bellsouth.net or info@obieslifehousefreelancing.com. Also do visit her new freelance writing endeavor, “Obie’s Lifehouse Freelancing” at http://www.obieslifehousefreelancing.com or you can visit her personal author web site, to read more of her work, at http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-writingforlove.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Protect Your Online Accounts from Phishing Scams

Written by David Slone

What is phishing? Phishing involves the sending of an email falsely claiming to be from an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The email directs the user to visit a web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security number, and bank account numbers. It is relatively simple to make a web site look like the legitimate site by mimicking the HTML code or by framing parts of the pages.

Many people fall victim to email scams designed to steal log-in information for accounts such as PayPal®, eBay®, online banking accounts and more. Scammers send emails to every address they can obtain so you may receive these even if you do not have an account with the targeted enterprise, site or company.

The scam emails keep getting better and better in their appearance. You may receive an email that pretends to be sent from eBay. The email will have all the appropriate logos and will often be formatted in the same way. The links within the email can even appear to be directed to legitimate pages within eBay.

For example, emails supposedly from eBay claim that the user’s account is about to be suspended unless they clicked on the provided link and updated the credit card information. Recently I received an email claiming to be from PayPal. It appears to be a receipt for an eBay purchase that I knew nothing about. The subject line is “Receipt for Your Payment.”

The body of the email included a description of the eBay item that had allegedly been purchased using my PayPal account. Below that was a notice that said:

Note: If you haven’t authorized this charge, click the link below to dispute transaction and get full refund.

I wonder how many people receiving a similar email would quickly click on the link provided in order to contest the charges.

OK, I know to be cautious with this sort of thing so I did not click on anything in the email. Instead I went to PayPal on my own and logged in. Guess what? There is no record there of the purchase!

Then I started looking at the formatting of the email. When I viewed the properties of the message I found that it was actually from a taketthatfanclub.com sender and NOT Paypal.

Just because it says that it is from such and such.com at the top of the email doesn’t always mean that is who it is from. The “From” name in an email can easily be altered. This email was formatted more like a received payment PayPal email than it was an actual receipt. I looked at all of my other emails titled “Receipt for your payment” and not one of the others was formatted like this one.

Other types of scams that involve PayPal usually involve a message about unauthorized access attempts. The sender will tell you that someone has tried to get into your account. As a result your account is in danger of being “frozen”. However, if you click the link in the email (You are told) you will be able to enter your password to avoid the loss of your account. Naturally, those unfortunate enough to give their log in information will have given it to strangers.

Remember that this is not limited to PayPal. Users of Storm Pay, eGold, eBay and more will see similar emails.

Watch out for scams like this that are designed to trick you into submitting information (like passwords) to allow the sender to access your account. Whenever you receive any suspicious messages, go to your account via a new browser and by typing in the url. Never click a link in an email that is supposed to take you to your PayPal account. If you make that the rule then your account information (and funds!) will be much safer.

If you believe that you have provided sensitive financial information about yourself or any accounts through a phishing scam, you should:

Contact your financial institution or account immediately. Contact the three major credit bureaus and request that a fraud alert be placed on your credit report. Bureaus and phone numbers are:

Equifax – 1-800-525-6285

Experian – 1-888-397-3742

TransUnion – 1-800-680-7289

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or call 1-877-382-4357. You can also contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ifccfbi.gov if you think you have been a victim of a phishing scam.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, David Slone, is the owner of Honest Information, which has webmaster resources such as tutorials and charts information, and articles and content for your web site(s) or newsletters. Visit his site at Honest Information.

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ARTICLES

Plants Reduce Stress and Increase Productivity in Offices

Written by Jeanette Joy Fisher

Recent research at the University of Texas and Washington State University in the United States and Surrey University in England has revealed that distributing plants throughout the office workplace can both lower stress and enhance employee productivity.

In the Texas experiment, participants were tested while using a computer program that had been specifically created for the test. The testing was done in cubicles that had been designed to replicate the average office environment. Participants were shown a series of random symbols, and were then monitored according to their stress level, based on blood pressure, and their productivity based on reaction time.

The tests were then run in environments with and without the common types of interior plants that are often seen in office cubicle situations. The results of the Texas study showed that participants were less stressed and had better reaction times when the plants were present. A computer program to test productivity and induce stress was specifically designed for these experiments. One hundred symbols were presented in identical randomized sequences to each test subject, and the only variable in the test was the presence or absence of plants.

Plants were positioned in such a way that they could be seen within the peripheral view of subjects as they sat at a computer terminal. Besides being able to concentrate and react more quickly, the study showed that simply having plants within view increased subjects’ ability to react by as much as 12 percent, as well as enabling them to recover from stress within five minutes.

Almost identical results were obtained in a similar study conducted at Washington State University, using essentially the same testing procedure. When plants were placed around the sides of a cubicle, subjects felt less stress (as indicated by lower systolic blood pressure levels) and just as UT researchers had discovered, the WSU study showed that subject reactions were some 12 percent faster while they were taking a carefully-standardized computer test.

A third study, conducted at England’s University of Surrey, examined the effect of strategically placing plants around an office in order to reduce noise levels. Plants were found to significantly reduce noise, thereby increasing productivity among employees. Although it’s somewhat difficult to quantify, most office workers are familiar with the effects of noise pollution firsthand. If you work in an office, just think back to the last time you had to take a break because you simply could no longer stand the noise.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Jeanette Joy Fisher, has researched the effects of environment on emotions for over 15 years. She teaches interior design college courses and seminars. Free interior design reports and more office design ideas at http://www.designpsych.com.

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Customer Service – What You Say Makes a Difference

Written by Andy Britnell

No doubt we have all heard by now of the statistic stating that what we say accounts for only 7% of our communication (body language accounting for 55% and tone of voice for 38%). Nevertheless, the way in which you express yourself can have a huge impact on your customer or whoever else you are talking to. These tips may help:

1. Listen carefully to your own speech and start to notice, and then cut out, ‘crutch words’ – words which mean nothing, but which we commonly use as padding. Words like ‘basically’, ‘actually’, ‘you know’, ‘sort of’, and of course the dreaded ‘at the end of the day’!

Not only are they incredibly irritating when used repeatedly, but they will make you sound unsure of your facts and unprofessional. You might find you slip into this habit when you’re feeling flustered or uncertain.

2. Avoid expressions like ‘you must’, ‘you should’, ‘you have to’ when talking to the customer – they don’t have to do anything unless it’s take their business elsewhere!

“If I received your order by Friday, it can be dealt with immediately” sounds so much more pleasant and helpful than “You have to get your order in by Friday or it will take another week”.

3. Never tell the customer what you can’t do! Instead of “We can’t deliver until next month”, say “We can guarantee delivery by mid-May”. Always make sure you are giving yourself plenty of leeway – under-promise and over-deliver.

4. Remember to say thank you – don’t take this custom for granted. You can express appreciation in all kinds of ways, from verbally to a quick note or a bunch of flowers. Or think about offering ways in which to reward regular customers – buy a certain amount and get one free, etc.

These suggestions have come out of discussions during customer service and sales courses, and I hope they will help you to develop and maintain good relationships with your customers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Andy Britnell, specializes in sales and customer service training for the private and public sectors. Go to http://www.andybritnell.co.uk/ and you can sign up for his FREE short monthly newsletter and FREE email coaching! That’s right, Andy also coaches corporate and SME clients who wish to fulfill more of their potential by thinking and behaving more effectively – see also http://www.executive-coaching-for-business-growth.com/.

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How to Get Free Publicity to Boost Your Business

Written by Sevim OR

Publicity is the most powerful marketing method for online and offline businesses. That’s why many business owners advertise their businesses in newspapers, on TVs and Radios, in newsletters, journals, magazines and other publications.

But, advertising your business in media is unfortunately extremely expensive. You have to issue attractive ads with color photos to grab the attention of the readers of the print media, among so many eye catching ads of your competition. To generate a competitive advantage through advertising in media is not affordable at all for new businesses, especially for start ups. Advertising on TV is even more expensive. So, it’s very hard for many businesses to advertise their offers to target audiences in print media and on TV, if not totally impossible.

How then can business owners who don’t have big budgets to spend on very expensive advertising campaigns promote their businesses to catch the competitive advantage? Isn’t there any affordable way for them to market their ventures effectively?

Yes, there is. In fact, there are two very effective marketing strategies, even much more powerful than those expensive advertising campaigns … and they are mostly FREE to use!

You can get FREE publicity writing Articles and Press Releases. Here you have to design a public relations campaign instead of an advertising campaign. There are relatively easy ways to design a public relations campaign.

Most businesses around the world use these two powerful marketing strategies frequently. They are:

1. Sending informative Articles to print media.

2. Sending Press Releases to both print media and to TV and radio stations.

However, you should definitely know that articles and press releases are not advertisements. They are not advertising materials. If you try to directly promote your business in your articles and press releases, they most likely will not get published.

You should know how to write an article and a press release abiding by certain rules, if you want to get publicity. We provide information on how to write an article and a press release in the right way to catch the attention of the editors and journalists first.

There is an important difference between Articles and Press Releases.

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Articles must provide information on certain subjects that the target audience would benefit from. You should remember to avoid starting paragraphs and/or listings with numbers in your article. Instead, use bullets when necessary.

Press Releases must have a news value; news that reporters would love to write about. They must be written in a special news story format. Keep in mind that good articles and press releases, with one or more attractive color images when necessary, would attract the attention of visitors and help increase traffic to your web site(s).

There are hundreds of thousands of media outlets which would accept your press releases at no cost. If your press release has a news value, especially a news general public would love to read, editors will love to write about your news, and media will gladly publish and broadcast it for free. You will get absolutely free publicity.

Therefore, don’t be too shy to write articles and press releases and send them to online and offline media, regularly. If you don’t have time to write and send your articles and press releases to media outlets yourself, or don’t know how and where to send them, you can submit them to a PR company, or to an article and press release distribution service provider.

If you cannot write your press releases and articles yourself for any reason, you can easily find freelance writers who will gladly write beautiful articles and press releases professionally for you. Press release and article distribution service providers can help you find the best writers.

There are many web sites on the Internet where excellent press release or article distribution services are offered at affordable prices or even at no cost. They will send your writings to tens of thousands of media outlets, including daily and non-daily newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, talk shows, online media, ezines, newsletters, news portals, syndicates, free content providers, independent editors, journalists, columnists, and relevant web sites.

You or the distribution companies you choose can turn your articles and press releases into RSS feeds too, and send them to hundreds of thousands of syndicates and web sites which distribute and publish free or fee-based content. You can reach millions of more targeted recipients sending out RSS feeds.

When your article is published in a popular publication you can reach all its readers and subscribers, people will start to see you as an expert in your field. You will gain more respect and more credibility which are extremely important factors to growing your business.

Think about what your business will gain when your article(s) are published in many publications!

Can you imagine what you will gain when your press release(s) gets publicity in popular newspapers and magazines, or when your news is broadcast on TV and Radios?

You will reach multi-millions of target audience in the most powerful way. Those multi-millions of target audience would not only hear your news, but they would believe it! Because people believe what media says in news much more than very expensive advertising campaigns.

Therefore, getting free or low-cost publicity in media through your articles and press releases, which are announced as news on TV and radios, and published in print and online media, or discussed in a talk show, are extremely valuable marketing strategies providing you and your business with great benefits, substantially increasing your sales, revenues, profits and ROI, which you cannot achieve with extremely expensive advertising campaigns.

Smart business owners know the importance of getting publicity, so they constantly use these most powerful marketing methods sending out several articles, RSS feeds and press releases almost weekly…

Of course, business owners should do everything they can to get publicity in media through their articles, RSS feeds and press releases if they really want to succeed in their legitimate, decent ventures. Repeated publicity will definitely help them build fortunes, grow their businesses fast, and keep growing forever!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Sevim OR, is the owner and operator of several web sites since 1997, providing clients with ultimate marketing programs to substantially increase sales, revenues and ROI, offering no-cost affiliate programs to earn big profits; visit Sevim at: http://www.aall-dreamlands.com, http://www.aaa-advertise.com, http://www.aaa-newswire.com.

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Advertising: Advice to Ensure Your Ad Gets Results!

Written by Judy May

Here is a question my clients pose regularly:

“I’ve been in business for several months and things are moving in the right direction; however, I want more business. I’ve thought about advertising but it seems so expensive. Do you have any advice on where to advertise and how much to spend?”

Many design professionals equate advertising with marketing. This is not, in fact, the case. While advertising may be a component of an effective marketing strategy, the terms ‘advertising’ and ‘marketing’ are NOT synonymous!

Advertising is, in most cases, expensive and – without repeated ad appearances – fails to provide the new business you hoped for. As a result, I highly recommend focusing your efforts on other marketing strategies that are more effective, such as speaking and writing.

But, to the extent your budget is large enough to support an advertising campaign (as opposed to haphazard occasional placement of “an ad here and another ad there” – otherwise known as “shotgun advertising” which is NOT at all effective), I have a few things you should keep in mind:

Advertising budget. The Small Business Administration (SBA) suggests that 5% of your gross sales should be budgeted for advertising. As an example, if you project $50,000 in gross revenues, the SBA recommends that your annual advertising budget be $2,500 (or just over $200/month). While you can use this as a “rule of thumb,” don’t fret if your available funds do not support this kind of expenditure. Instead of investing hundreds of DOLLARS per month in traditional advertising, spend your TIME & EFFORTS seeking to “get in front of” your target market as much as possible (by, for example, speaking, writing or networking).

Before placing an ad, do your homework. Contact the publication to ascertain demographics related to their subscribers and readers. Indeed, you need to confirm that your target market reads the publication you seek to advertise in.

There is no correlation between the amount of money spent and the resulting new business. This conclusion was reached in a recent study at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. So, if the money spent does not necessarily indicate the success of an ad, what does?

The message is the most important aspect of an ad. Often, the message is in the headline, which is the first – and, often, the only – part of the ad readers will see. The headline needs to be simple, compelling and, ideally, appeal to the reader’s emotions. If the headline delivers in this way, the reader will likely be drawn in to read the rest of the ad.

Think “out of the box” when creating your ad. If you want your ad to be read, you should strive to make it unique – ensure that it “stands out” from the rest. Let’s take your local Yellow Pages as an example. If you would peruse your Yellow Pages, I’m confident you would see that most are of the same format – what is called an “institutional” ad. That is where the logo and/or company name are “front and center”, along with their contact information. Rather than “leaping off the page” with an attention-grabbing headline, many ads “look like all the rest”, which often results in a less-than-expected return on your investment. So, instead of creating a “cookie cutter” ad, take the time to focus on your target market – choosing a problem they struggle with (e.g., putting a space together to look cohesive and attractive) – and try to come up with a headline that promises a solution to that problem.

Here’s an example: Instead of saying, “Specializing in One Day Room Makeovers”, try this: “Come Home to a Beautiful, Like-New Space … Completed in Just One Day”. Do you now see the difference?

Repetition is key. As mentioned earlier, you cannot expect to get results from one ad placed one time in a publication. Likewise, placing an ad in one publication for one month, then placing that same ad in another publication the following month, etc. will not get you the response you seek. To the contrary, the key to success in advertising is multiple appearances in the same publication so that readers begin to recognize you, get to know you, trust you, etc. The average reader will NOT contact you after seeing your ad once! In fact, most people will contact a business only after seeing the ad eight (8) or more times. As a result, before investing in advertising, realize that your investment will pay for itself only if you engage in a true advertising “campaign”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Judy May, is the President of Show House Marketing, a business development and marketing firm catering exclusively to design industry professionals. She can be reached at judy@ShowHousemarketing.com. For FREE Resources, including the Weekly $uccess Secrets Newsletter and the New! 14-day Jump Start Your Design Business E-Course, visit Judy at http://www.ShowHouseMarketing.com.

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Is Your Brochure Killing Your Sales?

Written by Jim Symcox

When you go to trade shows you probably pick up brochures.

What do you do with them?

In the majority of cases I’m willing to bet you either leave them to fester in the lovingly designed show carrier bag or you scan some of them and then throw them away.

Do you read any of the brochures you get through the post or left by sales people?

If you don’t read brochures, why do you think your prospects will?

If your brochure is all about you and very little about your customer it won’t get read! If it’s not read, it can’t sell anything. That means you’ve just lost another prospect because your brochure didn’t do its job right.

What a Brochure Isn’t

Designing a brochure is not simply the managing director, marketing director or Mr Average Copywriter simply dumping everything they can think of about your company and its products into a four-page, four-color brochure.

Explaining how your business has grown from strength to strength over the last 5 years, or how the new widget is now also available in puce and lemon is boring.

In fact, most brochures are deeply boring. Maybe not to you as the business owner – but to the most important people you know.

Your customers and prospects

Neither are brochures an art gallery for your in-house or external graphic design team to show off their brilliance with well produced photos, line art and consistent house style.

After all winning awards for your brochure is not as important as winning sales. Is it?

Have you found salespeople who are unwilling to give customers your brochures? That’s because good sales staff instinctively know whether your brochure helps or hinders sales.

So What Is a Brochure?

It’s purely and simply just another sales tool. Its part of your marketing tool set. Please treat it that way!

Use Sizzling Copy to Hit People Between the Eyes.

Don’t take up the space on the front, or back, covers with your logo, managing directors head shot or a stock photo of a forklift truck or someone attractive gazing transfixed at a computer screen.

Smash Through Buyer Inertia with a Captivating Headline

Instead use a great headline to encourage people to open and investigate what you’ve got to say.

You could use any of the following headlines:

If you’re in the car hire business, you could say “7 Reasons Why Car Hire Is Costing You Too Much”. Then explain why in your copy inside and further explain how you can make sure the prospect avoids those costs.

Perhaps you’re in IT or software services? Your headline could be “How To Sell More to Your Old Customers”. Then you explain how implementing a customer relationship management system gives the ability to follow-up properly.

But whatever company you are in, tell your customer something you know they want to know.

Write Copy That Tells and Sells

When you’re writing the copy inside your brochure, make it interesting, arresting and intriguing.

Give your prospects some interesting facts they don’t know.

Stir in some great customer testimonials. If you don’t have testimonials, start talking to your customers to get some!

You’re writing the copy to sell your product or service. So the writing is vitally important. Next you need to make sure that you’ve got necessary line art, photos or other graphics at appropriate points in the brochure. Whatever you do, remember graphics are there purely to support the copy.

Any graphics you’ve got make sure that you have a caption so that people don’t get distracted and keep wondering what it’s about.

Make sure that your brochure has all the ways your customer can get hold of you and order. That includes having an order or enquiry form they can fax to you.

Finally, one of the most important elements in the brochure: The Offer and action.

You need to offer your customer something for doing business with you.

You could offer any of the following:

- free bonus reports

- audio CDs

- DVDs

- Different payment options

- Strong guarantees

- Bundled with other products or services

Whatever you do offer make sure you’ve a call to action with a deadline for your offer. Your brochure needs to make clear the next step for your customer to do.

How Do You Use Your Brochure?

Don’t leave it lying around like yesterdays newspaper. You’ve paid good money to produce it! Treat your brochures with respect and give them or send them to people you want to do business with.

At trade shows, a good approach is to suggest that you’ll send a brochure to your prospect. That way you can keep following them up with further offers.

Jay Abraham is the world’s highest paid marketing guru at $5,000 per hour. He notes that sending a brochure to a prospect without a well-written and interesting cover letter reduces response.

Stapling an envelope with an interesting headline, such as “5 Ways to Slash the Cash That Drains From Your Web Site” gets people interested. They’re going to read that letter.

The letter needs to spell out what the major benefits are and where they are in your brochure.

Proof of effectiveness of adding a letter is given by Troy White, writing in Duct tape Marketing, he says:

“…Info USA who sells direct mail database lists started testing this (sales letter, Ed) with their catalogs and saw an immediate 300% improvement in orders. All with a simple letter attached to it!”

Similarly, use direct mail and send them out to the companies you’d love to do business with. Make sure you’ve got a personalized selling letter with every brochure you put out there.

Write and design your brochure as if you were standing in your customers and prospects shoes.

Do it right and you’ll deliver a brochure that gets read from cover-to-cover and prospects find informative and buy from you.

Remember if you’re not willing to invest up-front in producing a brochure that sells you can’t expect anyone to take action from it and you’ve completely wasted the money to produce it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Jim Symcox, says to get more FREE tips from his Marketing Magician’s Blog go straight to http://www.acornservice.blogspot.com, and sign up for a regular email feed. (The blog currently has over 12 months of solid postings so you’re sure to find a gem you can use!). Also get a free copy of Jim’s book for SME’s called “How to Leap Ahead of Your Competitors” by emailing him at web@acornservice.com with “ezine” in the subject line. Check out Acornservice’s site to opt-in to Jim’s free and no obligation seminar series on profit-driven business growth.

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Avoiding the Creative Crimes of the Century!

Written by Etienne Gibbs

Criminals are increasingly creative in the methods by which they steal your identity, your money, and your life. They are usually several steps ahead of the average consumer. With how many of the following ‘creative’ schemes are you familiar:

“Dumpster-diving”

“Mail theft”

“Pharming”

“Phishing”

“Skimming”

“Shoulder-surfing”

One of the positive things criminals have done, if I may say so, is add ‘creative’ terms to our vocabulary. It always amazes me how intelligent and creative criminals can be! – Always one step ahead of their next victim, and ultimately, the law!

Whether they go after your mail, or go “dumpster-diving”, or go “shoulder surfing”, or “pharming”, the end results are always the same: They become successful over another innocent victim!

Identity criminals are basically lazy people, in my opinion. Rather than getting a legitimate job, they would rather come up with ‘creative’ schemes to part their victims from their personal information and their money.

One of the laziest ways they steal our identity, usually with our unwitting help, is through “Dumpster-diving”. They simply sort through a person’s trash for paper records such as credit card offers, bank statements, past paid bills, or anything that has your personal and financial information on it. Sometimes they can obtain a full profile of us from separate documents (such as church records, car repair records, personal letters, medical records, etc.) they find. And businesses as well as consumers fall victim to this one form of theft.

Mail theft is a low-tech method lazy criminals use to go after your personal and financial information. As with “dumpster-diving”, its another easy way for criminals to get what they want with hardly any effort on their part, thanks to our unwitting help. For example, we leave a red flag on our mailbox to alert the mail carrier that there is out-going mail to be picked up. Or the mail carrier might do likewise to alert us to pick up our mail. Unfortunately, criminals love this because it tells them that the mailbox is ripe for the picking. A friend of mine calls this “The Low-Handing Fruit Scheme”.

“Shoulder-surfing” is a low-tech, low-touch technique criminals use to get your information – and they boldly do so in public places usually right under our noses or over our shoulders. Typically, they would watch or listen carefully as we key our credit card number or password into a keypad, or give our account number over the telephone. And don’t for a moment think that they have to be standing within earshot to steal your info. They don’t!

Sophisticated “shoulder-surfers” have been known to use binoculars, telescopes, or super-sensitive listening devices to steal your info from across the room or across the street. Sometimes they will record the sounds for accurate playback. Recording of the keypad sounds help them analyze those tones for replicated PIN numbers and passwords. Some criminals standing nearby may even use their camera-cellphone to record the numbers they see or take a picture over your shoulder.

“Pharming” comes in several versions. I’ll just discuss one here. Similar to “Phishing”, “Pharming” is an electronic scam in which criminals attempt to steal personal and financial information from numerous people simultaneously through something known as “Domain Spooling”. Here the hackers take over a DNS server and redirect user information to a new web site that they use to gather illegal information.

“Phishing” also bears mentioning here. It is a scam in which you, the consumer, are tricked into entering your personal and financial information (account numbers, Social Security number, PIN number, password, etc.) via a bogus email and web site form. The email looks as if it was sent from a company with whom most consumers may have an affiliation, such as AOL®, PayPal® , eBay®, or a major bank or credit card company; but, in reality, are nothing more than identity thieves hiding behind the email.

“Skimming” is another growing identity theft scam where criminals quickly and temporarily steal a credit card and run it through a credit card reader known as a “skimmer” that has been reprogrammed to steal information off the card. Often, this takes place at a hectic retail store where a consumer might not notice that their credit card has been taken from them for a few moments.

And the list goes on. I’m sure that by the time you read this, there will be several new types to describe new and ‘creative’ ways these cybercriminals have come up with to part you from your personal information and your money. It seems to be a losing battle – but don’t give up hope just yet! There are several resources that will come to your aid. I’ve compiled them on my blog at http://www.ProtectingYourIdentity.blogspot.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Etienne Gibbs, is known as The Master Blog Builder who helps small businesses and non-profit organizations improve their customer relationship marketing. Often coming across cases that are calling out to identity thieves, he started the “Protecting Your Identity” blog. To contact him, go to http://www.MasterBlogBuilder.com.

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Confide to be Less Angry in Your Marriage

Written by Dr. Tony Fiore

Jose and Juanita have been married for 17 years, and basically love each other, yet have been fighting over the same issue almost every night of those years: She likes it cold at night and he likes it warm in their house and bedroom. She had just opened their bedroom windows for the night. When she left to visit the bathroom, she heard Jose follow her and close all the windows…

Let’s eavesdrop to see what we can learn about this fight and what to do about it. –(curtain up)—

Juanita: (to Jose) I can’t sleep unless the windows are wide open. You know that, but insist on closing them every night, just so I’ll be miserable. You are selfish and inconsiderate.

Jose: (to Juanita) This is my house too. Why should I have to freeze? You always get your way. It is so cold in here you could hang meat! Are you trying to get me sick? No NORMAL person would want it this cold! (curtain down)

Is this a solvable problem?

Depends on the specific marriage. For some couples, the solution would be a simple compromise of some sort; for instance, buy a room thermometer and agree to always keep the room at an agreed upon temperature both could live with.

In many marriages, however, a problem like this is not easily solved—it becomes “perpetual”—and trying to “solve” it only creates anger and tension. For Jose and Juanita, this unfortunately was the case.

Why is a simple problem like this not solvable for our couple and in many other marriages? Could be many reasons, but the usual culprits are:

(1) The couple is engaged in a “power” or “control” struggle. This means the fight isn’t about the issue anymore—it is about who will win or lose.

(2) The temperature issues goes deeper and is emotionally tied into other personal or marital issues. If this is the case, the more pressure put on the person to “change,” the more the person resists.

For instance, turns out that Juanita literally panics if in a room without air flow due to issues in her childhood. Depriving her of fresh air flow literally makes her want to fight for her life.

Confiding makes the difference

Let’s now listen in on what Jose and Juanita could have said that may have made a HUGE difference in their communication.

This is because now they are speaking from their hearts –combining empathy (seeing things from the viewpoint of the other) with assertive communication (honestly speaking your feelings and thoughts in a forthright manner).

Juanita (should have said something like): I feel that I don’t have to put up with this, although I also feel bad that you have to suffer. I tell myself that if you really loved me, you would want me to be comfortable at night.

I also ask myself why should I always give in? I work hard all day too and deserve some consideration. All I’m asking for is a decent night’s sleep, but then, I wonder if I am being too selfish.

Jose (should have said something like): I do really love you and I want you to be comfortable too, but it gets so cold in here at night for me that I can’t sleep.

We both want a good night’s sleep and want to be able to continue sleeping together in the same room. Let’s find a way to discuss it so it doesn’t make us so angry at each other.

Granted, it is not easy to confide when in the heat of marital battle. Consequently, it is often better to first take a “time out,” calm down and then communicate what is in your heart. The following communication tips will help:

Four communication tips

Tip 1 – Don’t only focus on the issue. Also discuss your feelings, thoughts, and inner conflicts surrounding the issue. Confide what is going on in both your heart and your mind.

Tip 2 – Look at how you communicate with each other ABOUT the issue. Focus on the process of communication.

Tip 3 – Give up needing to be right all the time. Wise and successful married people have discovered that often it is preferable to be happy than to be right!

Tip 4 – Convey to your partner that you love them enough to want to join them so together you can find a way to deal with the issue or problem.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Dr. Tony Fiore, is a licensed psychologist, marital therapist and certified anger management trainer. He is a Fellow of the American Stress Institute and a Diplomate of National Anger Management Association. He has received advanced training in marital therapy at the Gottman Institute in Seattle, Washington. In addition to his active clinical practice, Dr. Tony regularly conducts anger management classes in Southern California, consults and provides training to companies for anger and stress management, and trains anger management facilitators. He also publishes a monthly newsletter “Taming the Anger Bee.” Dr. Tony is also known as The Anger Coach, and to get his print and Ebook (written with Ari Novick, M.A.), “Anger Management for the 21^st Century: The 8 Tools of Anger Control,” please visit his web site www.stopyouranger.com. For bonuses too, visit www.stopyouranger.com. To check out his “Anger in the News” blog and comment, go to: www.angernews.com.

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The Latest Treatments For Alzheimer’s Disease

Written by William Riopelle, MS

Since Alzheimer’s disease is commonly a slow process, the disease affects people differently and therefore individuals respond to different treatments uniquely. Currently, there is no drug or treatment program that stops the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. However, for individuals who are in mild, and middle stages of the disease, certain drugs have proven successful.

The latest drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease:

Aricept (donepezil)

Given orally, this medication is a reversible inhibitor of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. It is used to treat symptoms in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Our brains normally produce acetylcholine, a chemical thought to be important for learning and memory. People with Alzheimer’s disease have lower brain levels of acetylcholine. Aricept acts by decreasing the activity of acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme whose function is to break down acetylcholine. It is believed that by reducing the breakdown of acetylcholine, it will lead to an increase in the level of acetylcholine in the brain.

Cognex (tacrine)

Also given orally, this is another medication that inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Tacrine will not cure Alzheimer’s disease, and it will not stop the disease from getting worse. However, tacrine can improve thinking ability in some patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Exelon (rivastigmine)

Another cholinesterase inhibitor given orally, this medication is used to treat loss of memory and thinking ability associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Razadyne (galantamine)

This medication was formerly known as Reminyl. It was changed to razadyne on July 1^st, 2005. Razadyne is a competitive acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. It has been shown to treat some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease successfully.

Namenda (memantine)

Approved by the FDA in October, 2003, this medication is given orally, and works different from the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. It is thought that too much glutamate in the brain can cause cellular damage. Namenda works by blocking the effects of glutamate.

Antioxidants

Clinical trials have shown that vitamin E slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by about seven months. Current clinical trials are underway to determine whether vitamin E will slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Other clinical trials are underway to determine whether vitamin E and selenium supplements can help slow or prevent symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Ginkgo Biloba

The latest studies using Ginkgo Biloba extract from leaves has shown this chemical to be of some help with treating Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. However, there is no evidence that Ginkgo Biloba will cure or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, there is some clinical evidence showing that Ginkgo Biloba can delay cognitive deficits or prevent dementia to a certain extent in older people.

Estrogen

Clinical trials have been conducted showing that estrogen therapy can protect the brain against damages caused by Alzheimer’s disease. These studies were originally conducted using estrogen on women for hormone replacement therapy. Positive response regarding Alzheimer’s disease prevention, was noted as a side effect. Current evidence has shown while estrogen therapy can help prevent the severity or symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, it will not slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease once it has already been diagnosed. Also, one study showed that women over the age of 65 who were receiving estrogen and progestin therapy, were at greater risk of dementia and greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.

Individuals may participate in current scientific clinical trials

People with Alzheimer’s disease may participate in scientific clinical trials. In order to qualify to participate in the studies, certain tests must be conducted. For more information about participating in current clinical studies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, one can find out more information by calling 1-800-438-4380, which is the Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Center. The Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Centers are located throughout the United States.

The Alzheimer’s Association

The Alzheimer’s Association currently has programs and help available for caregivers and family members of people with Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, please visit The Alzheimer’s Association at http://www.alz.org.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, William Riopelle, MS, PT, is a senior physical therapist with over twelve years experience working with people in the area of Home Health. His popular web site provides more information, in downloadable audio format, for family and care providers on Alzheimer’s Disease: => http://www.audiomedicalscience.com.

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ADHD Medications – Do They Carry Risks for the Heart?

Written by Aslam M

The cardiac risk of the drugs for ADHD have attracted interest recently following the recommendation by the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee of the FDA to include a black-box warning describing the cardiovascular risks of stimulant drugs used to treat this condition. However, this recommendation has subsequently been toned down by the Pediatric Advisory Committee of the FDA.

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a disorder mainly diagnosed in school age children. It is characterized by increased activity, an inability to concentrate and poor school performance. Stimulant drugs have been the mainstay of treatment for ADHD. These include amphetamine and related drugs like methamphetamine and methylphenidate (Ritalin).

It is estimated that 2.5 million children now take stimulants for ADHD in the United States of America. A growing number of adults also take the drug, with a diagnosis of “adult ADHD”, which has recently come into vogue. However, the numbers are quite small in Europe and elsewhere.

Now let us come to the crux of the matter. Why are these drugs supposed to cause heart problems?

These stimulant drugs belong to the class of sympathomimetic amines. Cardiovascular effects of these compounds have been well studied. They act by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system and increases heart rate and blood pressure significantly. One study with a commercially marketed formulation showed an increase in systolic BP by about 5 mm Hg in treated adults. Such a rise of BP, argues the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee, can cause definite adverse effects on long term therapy.

The induced increase in heart rate also has well-described adverse effects on the heart. Persistent increase in heart rate may induce chronic heart failure as demonstrated in animal models of dilated cardiomyopathy.

The Committee also cites the examples of Ephedra (ma huang), marketed as a dietary supplement and phenylpropanolamine, an over-the-counter nasal decongestant, which belong to the same class. They have been known to have caused several well publicized adverse effects. Studies have reported that ephedra containing supplements accounted for 64% of the serious adverse reactions to supplements reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although their sales represented less than 1% of all dietary-supplement sales. A 16-fold increase in the risk of stroke has been reported among women taking phenylpropanolamine as a weight loss drug.

Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee studied cases of myocardial infarction, stroke and sudden death in children and adults taking ADHD stimulants which have been reported to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS). This could represent only a tip of the iceberg as only 1 to 10 percent of serious adverse events are actually reported. Some had evidence of undiagnosed heart disease on autopsy and the documentation was frequently incomplete.

Despite these difficulties, the Advisory Committee decided to recommend strong preemptive action. Factors which the committee cited as the reason for the action included the tendency of these drugs to raise blood pressure and heart rate, the history of serious adverse effects associated with two drugs of the class (ephedra and phenylpropanolamine) and the rapid increase in exposure, particularly among adults. Though the committee noted important potential benefits of these drugs for certain highly affected children, they felt that the administration of these potent sympathomimetic agents to millions of Americans is inappropriate. The recommendations emphasize more selective and restricted use of these drugs while increasing the awareness of potential hazards.

However, FDA’s Pediatric Advisory Committee was of the opinion that adding strong black-box warnings could cause more harm than good and may frighten parents. They, on the other hand, called for new information about health risks on the labels of attention deficit drugs. This would benefit doctors, patients and parents. They said that patients and parents should know about the reports even though it is unclear if the drugs contributed to the problems.

Now the FDA has to decide on the difficult problem of how to communicate the potential risks associated with ADHD drugs. The FDA will consider both panels’ recommendations before making a final labeling decision.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Aslam M, is an expert in Cardiology. He writes about matters related to heart disease in his Heart Disease Blog. He also writes a Drug Reviews Blog, where he reviews the latest developments in the field of drugs and medical devices.

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Disturbing Picture of Sexual Violence in Khayelitsha

Written by Anso Thom

A newly established rape centre in Khayelitsha has made a significant impact on a community where rape is a daily reality, from babies to grandmothers.

In just six months since it opened, the Simelela Centre for Rape Survivors in Khayelitsha has managed to significantly increase the number of people reporting rape, laying charges with police and getting treatment. However, data released today by the centre reveals a disturbing pattern of violence in the bustling Cape Town township, which has the highest prevalence of rape in the province and one of the highest in the country.

In the first six months, 442 rape survivors sought treatment from the Simelela Centre. This is more than the total number of rapes reported in Khayelitsha for the whole of 2003/2004.

The youngest case so far was a one-year-old baby and the oldest, a 69-year-old grandmother. The vast majority of the survivors are female (93%) and the most are 18 years old or younger. Over one in three cases were girls aged 14 and younger.

Most of the survivors knew their attackers (58%), and children under 14 were even more likely to be raped by someone they know (69%), according to the report. One in ten rapes were committed by a family member.

Despite the rapists in many cases being known, only a third of the rapists have been arrested with even fewer going to trial.

A large number of rapes took place in people’s own homes (31%). Even more took place in someone else’s home (39%) while proportionally few took place in open spaces (22%).

In most cases, women were raped with the threat of physical injury (68%) and in almost half of all attacks the perpetrator was armed (46%). The most common weapons used were knives (46%), followed by guns (24%). However, sticks, bricks and other implements were also used.

More than one in three rapes (37%) involved alcohol or drugs. Nearly a quarter of the rapes reported involved more than one rapist (23%) and a number of rape survivors have identified their assailants as being part of a gang (15%).

The majority of rapists were young men. Some 67% of rapes reported at Simelela were carried out by men aged between 21 and 30.

Most survivors who sought medical treatment filed statements with the police (86%). A few of these opted to not press charges. Only nine of those who did not press charges were adults, while the rest were children.

The highest incidence of rape is in Khayelitsha Site B, where over a quarter of rapes took place.

Police statistics reveal that 55,114 people reported being raped in South Africa last year, the highest recorded yet. The Western Cape has the second highest prevalence of rape in South Africa with 149,500 out of every 100,000 people raped every year. For years, there has been no dedicated rape centre in Khayelitsha that could deal with both emergency and follow-up care. Instead, rape survivors were obliged to seek emergency treatment at the Thuthuzela Centre in a neighboring community 20 kilometers away.

The Simelela Centre provides a holistic range of services for rape survivors, including a 28-day course of antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV transmission for those who report to the centre within 72 hours of being raped. Rape survivors are also provided with counseling and antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted infections.

The police, the justice system and the department of health are also integrated into the Centre. This means rape survivors are able to access all the care and services under one roof, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

The report goes on to identify a number of areas in need of urgent attention, particularly poor police investigations, failure to arrest suspects, failure to protect complainants from intimidation, and a harsh court environment. These factors all put people off from seeking justice and create a climate of impunity that encourages sexual violence.

Simelela Centre is situated at Site B Day Hospital and is run in partnership with Medecins Sans Frontieres, Rape Crisis, the departments of health, correctional services and social development, Nonceba (a family-based counseling centre for child rape survivors), the police, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Treatment Action Campaign.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The author, Anso Thom, is a writer for the health organization “Health-e.org.za,” which sends out free newsletters on the latest in health news from around the world. For further information about Health-e.org.za’s free newsletters, please visit their web site at http://www.health-e.org.za.

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WRITERS/AUTHORS AND READERS:

If you would like to submit your articles, short stories, poetry, flash fiction, essays, or haikus to us:

Please go to The Cat’s Meow for Writers & Readers Ezine SUBMISSION GUIDELINES page first (link is on Home page), then click back to the Home page to click on the “contact me” button, and send your submissions in the body of the email. No attachments or links of any kind. And please do provide a resource box or author bio along with your submission(s) so our readers will know how to contact you. We read every submission and try to respond within two months of receiving submissions. Thank you for submitting your work to us. Keep on Writing!

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· Published, written and edited by Rosanne Catalano (a.k.a. R.C.Kayla), Publisher/Editor-in-Chief and Writer/Author. Rosanne resides in Queens County, New York, USA. Her web site is: www.rosannecatalano.net.

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