We will not forget

My mother was a Marine sergeant and served at Pearl Harbor. Those of you who know my writing, or know me, know she died several years ago and was honored with a full-military funeral. Women who served are working to raise money with quilt sales and bake sales to turn a pitiful wreck of a crumbling wall into a permanent memorial at Arlington National Cemetary. These women who served in World War II are dying now, one by one.

Soon, as with all of that generation, they’ll only be memories. How sad to see the material reminders of the service go down.

Here’s the story of the women who are hoping new generations of women, and men, will pick up the slack and allow women to be remembered for their contribution. Today’s military women, as the story points out, serve in combat, while our military mothers couldn’t as much. But the generations that came before us did what they could, gladly, and as volunteers to pave the way for todays’ women to serve the way they wish to.

The msnbc article says,

“Most of them are in wheelchairs and they are ill. All of their hair is white, and I look and I think, who knows how long we’ve got left. We just want to do our best while we’re here,” said Lorraine Dieterle, 84, a World War II veteran stationed in New York as a photographer for the Coast Guard who volunteers at the memorial.”

In 1997 when the current memorial was dedicated, a 100 year-old retired soldier named Freida Mae Hardin spoke to the crowd of 40,000 onlookers. I expect she’s gone now, but what she wanted was clear. If you have any way of getting involved or of helping, please do it.

More:

On rape in the military

For families, war is about fear

Resources for military women and military families

If Cyber Monday was an indication, electronic gifts are huge for this year’s holiday gift lists. Before you buy more computer hardware, computer peripherals, and computer toys, go through what you have and donate it. It’s the green living thing to do. Most comm,unities do not allow you to put computer hardware out with the trash. iolo.com gave me terrific solutions!

Why donate computer stuff?

Donate a computer to a school, church, or non-profit and your accountant may be able to deduct the value from your taxes. The government (U.S.) has incentives for computer donations. Folks at iolo technologies remind you to consider the value of installed software when you estimate the value of your computer.

There’s still a divide in the U.S. between computer-haves and -have nots. Some kids, indeed, some school districts are hard pressed to provide even basic equipment. That isn’t to say they will put antiquated hardware into use. Recipients of your gift may turn oldest equipment over for cash to enhance their programs.

The environment benefits every time we choose to recycle or reuse instead of pitching something into a landfill. We all know computer stuff is dangerous to throw away and will never degrade. I saw an old monitor laying in a roadside ditch out in the country the other day. I’d like to get my hands on the “donor” of that one.

Who to donate the computers to

• If the equipment is less than 3 years old, you can give it directly to an organization since extensive upgrading may not be necessary.
• Three to 5 year-old computers should go to a refurbishing center that can repair and upgrade computers, making them useable.  TechSoup’s searchable list of refurbishing centers is a good resource.
• Computer older than 5 years? Recycle it through TechSoup’s searchable list of recycling centers. (Goodwill and the Salvation Army no longer accept donated computers.)

Call the organization before you take your stuff over to them.

iolo technologies smart tips for computer donations

• Keep the operating system intact - the organization won’t have to spend valuable funds to purchase and license a new operating system.*
• Keep any software installed. This may increase the amount your tax deduction, and help the recipient of your PC - older computers often work best with older software.
• Where possible, include the peripherals and accessories, such as the mouse and keyboard, and include any manuals and CDs that came with the computer.

Last details when donating

It’s critically important that you remove your personal and sensitive data from the computer before you turn it over to anyone else. Reformatting the drive or erasing the data does NOT remove your info. Any novice can recover it unless you dowhat’s called a “wipe” with software like DriveScrubber.

Think outside the computer box and consider donating printers, speakers, storage units, or any other computer accessories you aren’t using. Then go get your new stuff for the holidays and enjoy!

Keep a record of your donations, including original receipts if you have them. Ask the organization you choose for a donation receipt.

iolo is a PC tuneup company, makers of System Mechanic software. They care about our environment. Visit their site for great tips, reviews, and information.

Read more?

Get rid of things and people cluttering your life

Need a money-making career? Consider ghost writing

Most women would jump on a legitimate work-at-home opportunity. Are you willing to learn a set of  professional skills and then work hard from home? Ghost writing may be for you. I warn you - ghost writing isn’t easy. The rewards? Set your own schedule. Work from where ever you choose - at home, your boat, a vacation locale. I’ve done it for years and so has Claudia Suzanne - the world’s most prolific, respected ghosts. Cash in on her secrets - this isn’t a sales pitch, it’s a clue.

Claudia Suzanne

I’ve worked at home for three decades, successfully, and am always on the look out for job opportunities that women can use long term to make a living while raising a family or enjoying personal freedom. Four months ago, I met a phenomenal writer, Claudia Suzanne. She has written more than 100 books - fiction and non-fiction, but you probably don’t recognize her name. That doesn’t bother her.

What does a ghost writer do?

Ghost writer Claudia, well-known in the publishing industry and master of a satisfying income, says:

1. A ghost is a writer who reads an author’s manuscript, writes an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses, then presents professional recommendations to the author. The goal: to get the manuscript attention and respect it deserves upon submission. The ghost must learn to evaluate from a positive point-of-view.
2. The ghost, with the author, refines and polishes a manuscript so it pleases the author and meets professional standards. The ghost may simply do a thorough edit, or rewrite most of it, with author-input. The ghost must learn how the publishing industry ticks, effective editing, and how to maintain any author’s voice.
3. The ghost puts together a professional quality proposal package for the author to submit. The ghost must learn what agents look for.
4. The ghost gets paid. A lot. The ghost must learn how to be worth it.

How to learn the right way to market yourself as a ghost

I signed on to audit Claudia’s 14-week ghost writer training program. Audit, as in she waived the tuition so I could report to you women. Two weeks into the program, I was so impressed with her teaching, her knowledge, and the value of the class that I paid the tuition. Claudia has fueled new, lucrative careers for hundreds of students. Her past students have branched into editing, small press publishing, novel writing, and lots of other fields.

If you need a new career and have experience or solid skills as a writer - you could do a lot worse than investing in this ghost writer certification training. The pace is like a master’s level college program - the work serious and multi-layered. Weekly class time is three hours; homework is at least five hours. The “classroom” is a telephone conference call each week - an extremely effective distance learning method. Claudia’s style is warm, professional, serious.

If you take the certification training and meet completion requirements, you’ll earn the only ghost writing certification in the industry. You’ll learn how to find customers, set rates that reflect your level of expertise, and how to make a name for yourself in the business, even though your name may never appear on a book’s cover.

Ghost writing is one of the fastest growing careers. As the changing publishing business lets more people publish writing cheaply and quickly, more people want to write books. But many understand they don’t know how. They are willing to pay for help. You can put yourself in the hands of one of the most respected ghosting experts and learn to provide that expert help.

Read the details about ghost writing certification training.

Read more:

A review of Claudia’s course

This morning, anyone caring to tune in could be subjected to Sarah Palin and Oprah Winfrey at the same time. Sarah is hawking her new book because it will make her a ton of money. Oprah is hawking anything she thinks will support her flagging viewership - and right now that something is probably Sarah Palin.

You can’t turn to any medium right now and not get Sarah and Oprah, Oprah and Sarah. Sara in short shorts on the cover of Newsweek. There’s presidential material. Oprah, thank goodness, not in shorts. Don’t kid yourself. Sarah is not presidential material, nor is she interested in being president of anything. She’d probably quit in mid term. She is interested in a couple of million bucks that will come from the sale of this book. Why will the book sell? Ya got me.

But it will. In a time when Pulitzer Prize-winning writers are unemployed and long-respected publication go toes up, this gunk will sell so Sarah Palin and her co-writer(s) pd their bank accounts. Perhaps it’s just another indication that the demand for quality writing is giving way to junk content. Perhaps just salacious curiosity. Ms. Palin, like her never-quite-made-it son-in-law, trashes lots of people in her book. Readers like seeing people trashed.

As for Oprah - she’s just getting really scary. She books anyone who is controversial, difficult to look at, tragic, or slimy. Then she either grills them or hugs them, depending on what her handlers tell her will make for a better audience reaction.

I used to like Oprah for her sort of rogue, er, maverick, positioning. Now, she’s just stale. Sarah? I’m embarrassed for her each time she opens her mouth. I can do without both of them - and I did, choosing reruns of Jerry Seinfeld over Oprah’s show this morning. What was it Letterman said? Something about the Mayan prediction of the end of the world in 2012 being linked to any possibility that Sarah could be president. Whew. Could you tolerate the simpering and giggling for four years? What a thought. Bring on the Mayans.

The United States National Women’s Hall of Fame is a delightful place to get virtually lost for an afternoon. I tripped over this site today as I was browsing the Web and I couldn’t tear myself away. You don’t have to leave your comfy chair, or go out in the rain. Just click on the alphabetical links and read about women who have impacted our lives.

• I read about how Lucille Ball was not only a comedian, but a true entrepreneur and the first woman head of a major studio.
• I learned that Mary McLeod Bethune was an African-American teacher who, with only $1.50, began a school to help educate other young African-American women. Maybe she wasn’t as flamboyant as Oprah, but she did her part.
• Leontine Kelly was the first female Methodist bishop. Awesome power for us.
• Ida Tarbell’s expose of the Standard Oil Trust in the 1904 publication, The History of the Standard Oil Company prompted the federal government to prosecute and break up Standard Oil for anti-trust violations. She became an icon of journalism.

The articles are very short - teasers, really, with nuggets of susinct information in them. They are often linked to larger pieces, and can inspire you to browse. Learn about women. Read a few of these to the children you care about, girls or boys.

You might become inspired to write a brief or two in your social media spaces about the women who have inspured your life.

Take a moment to check out my guest post at HealMyPTSD.com for PTSD and Invisible Illness Awareness Week. I was invited to do a guest column because two of my family members are dealing with PTSD. It’s really tough to cope with an illness or condition that is invisible. There are physical symptoms, but often, people chalk those up to some other cause. HealMyPTSD is a valuable website by people who have knowledge and great concern.

While we’re at it, let’s visit some of my favorite posts over the years of compiling WomenDayByDay and Ontext:

A guest post from Thistle Farm, where women work to fix the hugely challenging problems in their lives. This one is terrific.

Women who read us honor their military loved ones for Memorial Day.

Proof that Jesus was a woman, and other funny stuff.

The courts are failing to help battered women.

22 ways to earn aliving at home - work at home

Basing marriage on positive thinking

Dr. Phil and the drunken teenage girls

Half dozen good ways for women to enter the blogsphere

Light therapy for pregnant women

There. That’s a little journey through the last few years of Women Day By Day. It’s rewarding to spend time digging up great information for my readers and empowering women to manage some of the things we face everyday. I’ve really loved finding guest writers to do a post here and there this year. Let me know if you know someone with something important, funny, or entertaining to tell us. Write me — maryan at ontext.com

Hasselbeck Hassett cat fight

Burgeoning author Susan Hasset, for some reason, sent a copy of her self-published book to Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Now, Hassett is suing Hasselbeck for plagiarizing Hassett’s book about surviving and managing celiac disease, which, if you follow the media, half of America seems to have.

Hasselbeck is the abrasive, blonde pseudo-celebrity who sits at the table on ABC’s The View and complains about practically everything on earth. I find her most annoying and most untalented. My opinion only, I’m sure. I love the idea of having opposing points of view. But Hasselbeck is such a parrot. I can’t really believe anything that comes out of her mouth is actually her opinion or that she actually has researched, studied or even read about the issue at hand.

Hassett is a Cape Cod resident, tile installer, and entrepreneur. Hassett says she can’t work because of celiac’s disease. She wrote her book, she told me in a quick phone conversation, to help other people .

According to a blog post about her, by a woman named Kelly,

On June 23, 2009, Sue Hassett