One of my Last Posts on Read Cash – A Rant
It’s been real, it’s been fun, but hasn’t always been real fun. I joined read.cash on a whim and within a month had made over $150. Sounds great, right? Well, not so much and here is why. Quite simply, things don’t add up the way I imagined they would. I am sorely disappointed.
I did all the right things: made comments, sponsored people and wrote grammatically, full length articles. None of my content was ever plagiarized but rather 100% original. But what has it profited me for my time? Of the aforementioned $150 plus, my balance as of this writing is a paltry **$52.07**
Where did all the rest of the money go? Sure, read.cash take a small percentage, and the people I sponsor get a few cents a month, but that does not account for a $100 loss. Anybody have a logical explanation – because I don’t!
And by the way, I am not giving up on Bitcoin Cash because it it is a great digital coin. In fact, I am buying a coin this Friday, along with $100 worth of another coin which out of respect for read.cash will not name. But that coin is hotter than a Manila night.
At any rate, the last three articles I wrote prior to this one received a grand total of, get this, nothing. Where did the @TheRandomRewarder gallop off to?
I’ve also found that people are greedy on this site. They think by some miracle they will strike it rich. That’s not going to happen. If that is what you are seeking, go mine for gold in the Philippines where the second largest deposit of unearthed gold is located. Seriously. Not only are they greedy, but I get comments begging for money.
And sponsors? Not a single one! Poor writers get them, especially females. Is there a gender disparity? It would appear to be so. But hey, more power to you. After all, it beats prostitution.
And here is another reason why my time here will be strictly curtailed: poor grammatical articles. The rules specifically state that grammar is rewarded. I’ve found the converse to be true. I have read articles on here my ex third grade students could write better. Horrific! And yet these “writers” are making money? It not only boggles the mind but is the antithesis of what read.cash rules dictate.
Yet another reason I am will be spending far less time on here is because my business clientele are returning since most of the US is opening up for business again. I make a minimum of $20 per double spaced page writing for clients. Just for reference, yesterday I made $80 on 2.5 hours (3,711 pesos). This is not bragging but merely demonstrating the vast disparity between the pay I receive here and actual hard cash (though it is all fiat currency).
Yes, I know I won’t be missed and I am absolutely fine with that. Greener pastures are what I seek. I’ve been writing for three decades so I believe I know what I am doing, but read.cash is just not working out for me. My wife complains I am wasting my time writing 2 pages here for pennies when I could me making $40 from a client in the US. She has a point (and by the way, she is a Filipina).
A final reason for spending considerably less time here is the dire lack of a response to emails sent to the folks who run the site. You never receive a reply. Don’t believe me? Try it. Try writing a well thought out email and wait, and wait, and wait. You’ll get nary a response.
Overall, read.cash is a fine concept but it is simply no longer worth spending a lot of time on it for me. It needs improvement. Badly.
I do have plans to write one more fictional article before throwing in the proverbial towel, if time permits. As it is, I woke up at 2:30 a.m. here in Asia to write this article before getting to work on projects my clients sent me.
In the end, I’ll take each of the articles I have written here and compile them into a a small book to sell on Amazon (who will also likely rip me off). Hell, I may just publish independently.
For those of you who push on here at read.cash, I sincerely wish you the best. Until I appear again, if ever, I bid you fare thee well and adieu.
Oh, and in the time it took me to write this article, I lost 36 cents. How? Why?
She Let Me Down, but I was Lifted Up!
I left my successful film career in the United States to come live in the Philippines in December of 2009. I’d visited the country previously in 2005 and fell in love with it. By pure chance, I met a beautiful, intelligent woman who had the same affinity for guns and the military that I did. Little did I know then that she would take me for everything I owned.
Things went well for a few months. Soon I saw a repetitive pattern of her desire for men. We spoke about it in civil terms. Little did I know at the time, but she was still on dating apps chatting with other men from around the world. We put an end to that or so I thought.
One day I caught her cheating. As a Christian man I forgave her, she apologized, and life seemed to appear to return to normal. However, we agreed to move to Angeles City to get away from any further temptations.
I worked online as a writer at night for US clients and slept 4 hours during the day. I often worked 20 hours a day. One morning I woke up and she was in the CR but had left her iPad open. I took a glance at it and sure enough, she was still chatting. I even saw a naked video she had sent the guy. As you can imagine, I was angry.
I forgave her again and we agreed to move to Bonifacico Global City (BGC), get a nice condo, and change our lives. Things went well. As writers, we were making great money. And things were going quite well for a couple of years. She shopped for the latest fashion, took trips all over Asia alone, and I stayed home to keep up with the writing workload.
Then came the day I caught her cheating a third time! In anger, I smashed her MacBook Pro and tossed her iPhone to the floor. After apologizing several times to me I was unable to forgive her. After all, I had sent her daughter all the way through UP where she graduated number one, and sent her son to a private school (not to mention other expensive gadgets I bought for her kids).
At any rate, she convinced me to go have a pizza and a pitcher of draft beer at Shakey’s Pizza so I agreed. Maybe we could work things out, *maybe*. There she became abusive and made quite a scene. Mind you, I never hit her.
We left and went back to the condo. She spoke to the guard and asked that I not be allowed upstairs to our 19th floor place overlooking the Manila Country Club. Of course I objected, though to no avail.
She threw an object at me and I charged her, while two security guards attempted to stop me. I threw one to the ground and shoved another back. I’m no tough guy, but I learned how to fight at an early age to protect my disabled sister, and then gained more skills as a paratrooper and infantryman. I hate to fight.
Anyway, she called the police who soon arrived and placed me in handcuffs and off to jail I went, or so I thought.
Instead we went elsewhere. I won’t go into details where or what happened, but I spent the night inside the police station free to leave whenever I wanted.
The problem was, I had no belongings and only a couple thousand pesos to my name. Thankfully, the police went to the condo and retrieved a suitcase of clothing and my laptop. I never got my iMac or other worldly possessions. Luckily for me, I had stashed 12,000 pesos in my ex-military jacket with the intention of saving enough money to buy her a diamond ring worth 60k.
I had nowhere to go, no family, and was on the streets. Since I loved the beach, I took a bus to La Union. I arrived disheveled and sought out an old friend but he had moved on. The couple next door ran a water station and showed me Christian kindness. They found me an apartment near the beach for 6,000 a month. By the time I had bought food and moved in, I had 1,000 pesos left to my name, my laptop, and a pocket Wi-Fi. All total, she had taken me for 6 million pesos, all of my belongings, and a new car.
Yes, revenge crossed my mind, but my Christian values saved me from a life in prison and her a funeral. And by the way, her family were (and remain) powerful people so I really had no win. So I resolved to get to work. She had changed the password on our client email so I had to search for new clients.
I lived on a ramen soup a day to save money. Sometimes I splurged and ate Sky Flakes and a stick of BBQ. Within two months I had saved some money.
My Christian friends at the water station were always there to help me, by the grace of God.
After six months I moved to a nicer place. After a year I had a fully stocked house with all new appliances. I had to press on! Anger surfaced from time to time, but prayer and a lot of tears helped me through my grief.
It’s been six years since the day I was left homeless with nowhere to go. I have an abundance of clients whom I write for, a nice place right on the beach, and a beautiful woman and a 15-month-old son.
Yes, I still think about my ex from time to time and I pray for her because she is not a Christian. Her family has disowned her. I heard she was in CDO but whatever. She made her bed and she can sleep in it wherever it may be.
Life is wonderful again. Was it my own will power that pulled me out of my distress and dire circumstances? Many would think so, but the answer is not at all. I give all the praise and glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I’ll end this true experience with some encouraging words.
“'…no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,'
declares the Lord” (Isaiah 54:17).
Finally, my friends, if you truly love someone, don’t cheat on them.
The Legend of the Headless Horseman?
Lifeless bodies began appearing at regular intervals where I grew up in Spring Valley, California. They were typically found decapitated by an unknown sharp object, thought to be from a Samurai sword. Many residents thought a serial killer was on the loose. The police gave no clues. Fear gripped the communities but teens loved to travel the dirt road at night as a dare.
Proctor Valley Road is on a huge stretch of private property and runs a length of 10 miles in Chula Vista, California.
Narrow areas of road, dead man curves, and wild animals seek their prey. The most dangerous part is that teens often turn their headlights off and wind up crashing their cars, injuring themselves and others.
One night we decided to pull a prank on a friend named Leif. We all knew of the dangers of Proctor Valley Road, but like typical teens, one always believes they are ultimately invincible.
At any rate, we loaded up two cars full of us teens, and our hapless victim was clueless as to what was going to unfold. We wagered him $10 he wouldn’t ride in the trunk of one of the cars all the way through the 10-mile stretch. He took the bet.
First of all, we had to siphon gas from an older friend’s Dad’s truck, as we were low on fuel. With that easy feat completed, we drove to the road, four people to one car, three in the trailing car, with an additional one (Leif) in the trunk of the second car.
The prank was to drive half way down the dirt stretch, stop quickly, open the trunk of the second car, after three jumped into the lead car, and then drive off. That would leave our victim alone at midnight when and where the headless horsemen typically left his decapitated victims.
The horsemen roamed the nights seeking whomever he could find, sitting proudly atop a white horse, ever ready to strike his victim with his razor sharp blade.
We drove the rest of the way laughing and betting on whether Leif would poop his pants, lock himself in the trunk, or run for some semblance of cover. The doors were locked on the second car so that option was not on the betting table. The wisdom of the day advised the nobody should ever get out of the car.
Our prank went somewhat sour on us when we got a flat tire at the end of the road. We fixed it within 10 minutes and then proceeded on. We estimated Leif would be stuck alone for a good 45 minutes before we could make the trip back.
Back on Proctor Valley Road, two of us (me included) rode on the hood of the car to demonstrate our bravery, headless horseman be damned. Fools is what we actually were!
Bob W. was driving, and in typical style, turned off the headlights for perhaps 30 seconds. It was a near fatal mistake, for when he turned the headlamps back on, we were at the infamous Dead Man’s Curve.
The car hit part of a sandy hillside and Bob quickly regained control, though nearly sending the rest of the passengers to an almost certain death over a cliff on the right side of the road.
Unfortunately for me and Vic, we were thrown from the hood of the car the moment the Chevy swerved back into control. Vic broke his wrist, I received only some cuts and bruises. Looking back, maybe it also knocked some sense into my head, but that’s another story.
Another problem soon arose. We had forgotten in our excitement exactly where we had dropped Leif off. Holy dog crap! Bob drove slowly as we all peered out the windows in search of the car. Luckily for us, we found it within 10 minutes or so. The problem was that Leif was not in the trunk or anywhere to be found.
We called his name in loud whispers, not wanting to attract the murderous horseman. It never dawned on us how a headless person could hear.
A few guys began to panic. Had the horseman grabbed Leif, sliced his head off and left the body elsewhere? We could all be accomplices to murder if so. We huddled together like a football offense to decide on our next move. One suggested we search the area with a flashlight. We quickly nixed that idea.
Bob, the eldest of us all at 21, decided we’d drive down the road more. Sure enough, the headlights picked up Leif walking down the center of the road. When we whistled for him to get back into the car and head for home, he merely laughed. “Great prank, dudes!”
“How long you been walking, man” I asked.
“Maybe an hour?”
“Alone?”
“No,” he replied sarcastically, "I hitched a ride with the headless horseman, idiot!”
We all headed home and called it a great night of teenage fun.
However, the next morning as I read the San Diego morning paper, another body had been found decapitated along a stretch of Proctor Valley Road.
Was the headless horseman real or was there a serial killer at large? Today the headless horseman legend lives on, and bodies continue to pile up. It’s been thirty years since our forage into the unknown, so it is doubtful an alleged serial killer would still be on the prowl.
Safety Tips for Preventing Toddler Injuries
A couple of weeks ago in the Philippines I saw a Facebook post about a two-year-old toddler who, being curious as most kids are, die after sticking the handle of a spoon in an extension cord socket. It broke my heart. Think of a lifetime of grief for the unfortunate, broken-hearted family.
As parents of children, we are constantly busy with this or that and can easily lose sight of what our kids are doing. Sometimes their curiosity leads to their untimely death or injury. Let’s pay more attention and follow some easy tips to avoid needless tragedies.
Yes, kids are going to fall, skin their knees, bump their heads and cut their precious fingers or hands. That’s life and part of growing up. But we need to be more responsible if we really love our children. They are God’s gift to us and are precious in His sight. Can we not show them the same love?
Here are some useful tips to avoid needless heart wrenching tragedies.
Keep your floors swept clean and free of objects. Your baby can find things that you have no clue are even there. She or he can easily choke on food, small objects like coins and buttons, and other things. It takes mere minutes to sweep a floor. For the love of God, do it! Often, if necessary.
In the same manner, supervise your child when she or he is eating. Teach them to sit and eat rather than running around with food. And don’t feed them adult food that is difficult for them to chew. They can easily choke in mere minutes.
Toddlers have a fascination for fans. They love the whir and the breeze than emanates from them. But in a moment’s notice, they could lose a finger. Buy a fan cover to prevent injury. Here's mine.
The cost is less than 50 cents (25 pesos). An ER visit and a loss of a finger lasts a lifetime and is considerably more costly.
Secure your extension cords.
Yes, we all need extension cords, but open sockets are a definite hazard. Years ago my child placed a paper clip inside a live wall socket. Fortunately, she was only burned. What if it had been a knife, fork or a spoon?
Avoid suffocation. Babies love plastic bags and balloons. It doesn’t take but a couple of minutes of not paying attention for a baby to die from suffocation. Balloons are fun, too. But we must be careful, anyway. Harmless when inflated, they can become deadly choking hazards when they pop or naturally deflate.
Never leave you child unattended on a chair or sofa. Falling hazards can result in serious brain damage or death. Use a highchair or sit with your child on a sofa.
If you live upstairs, be sure to lock your screen or front door. Additionally, use a wooden baby gate so they cannot access the stairs if they do get outside. Toddlers love to explore and love going outside. Always supervise them when they do go out. Never leave them unattended.
Don’t buy a cheap baby walker or high chair. These made in China items can be extremely dangerous. They can easily tip over when the baby begins rocking or may collapse because of the cheap manufacturing. Here is what we use. It is sturdy.
Close all doors at night. When you are fast asleep, they may awaken without your knowledge and easily explore and harm themselves.
If your house has sharp corners like on desks and tables, use rubber protectors so when they eventually (and trust me, they will) bump their heads. You can pick up a strip of these for less than a couple of cups of coffee. On the other hand, an ER bill even with insurance can be expensive.
Babies love to reach for things. Be sure when you are cooking that you keep pot and pan handles turned sideways to prevent serious burns if your child attempts to grab them when you’re not looking. Along with this, keep lighters and matches out of their reach. Burns from these devices last a lifetime!
Never, and I mean NEVER, leave your child unattended in a bathtub or swimming pool. These lead to quick drownings. In the time you’re making a phone call or a TikTok video, your child could have quietly drowned. If your child is in a pool, always have them wear a life preserver. Most kids love the water, but have an inability to swim.
Kids are prone to drinking whatever they can get their hands on. Keep poisonous products out of their reach. If you use a different container for a toxic substance, be sure to label it. You or the toddler can mistakenly use it improperly and die. Also, keep all medications out of reach.
There are many more preventative tips parents can take. Take a look around your house or apartment and look for possible dangers.
Above all, keep a close watch on your child. In only takes seconds for them to find trouble. Be a wise parent. Your child’s life is in your hands.
Zombies Stole my Bitcoin Cash
I consider myself a rather adventurous guy but am equally cautious at whatever I do. Despite living in a relatively safe neighborhood, I decided to take a brief walk down the small road where I live near the beach. I met up with an old friend sitting on the beach who was three sheets in the wind. He told me there were some zombie sightings in the area and if push came to shove, he was prepared to make a mad dash into the sea.
Rather than laugh at Mitchell, I felt sorry for him. Perhaps he was experiencing a bout of depression from living the single life during the enduring pandemic. Therefore, I struck up a conversation with Mitch, as I sought to cheer him up and lessen his anxiety about his imagined zombies. We spoke for about 45 minutes before I forgot I had left my front door wide open. I dashed back to my house somewhat frantic, especially since darkness was falling.
I found that the screen door had been ripped off its fragile hinges. My refrigerator had been cleaned out of food and drink and the door was wide open, and my cat had also been mauled. Fresh blood stained the floor of my new carpeting.
Zombies? Maybe I needed a drink! I peered into my office where I had left my laptop and iMac on. I soon determined that my Bitcoin Cash had been stolen. I became infuriated. Though it was my fault to have left everything exposed, I was nevertheless incensed to the point of premeditated murder.
I took a few minutes to think it all through. Could a dumb zombie actually possess the wherewithal to steal my crypto? Sure, they could eat a horse in minutes, but mental faculties were not their strong suit.
As my anger diminished to a certain degree, I opened my window to catch the cool breeze coming in from the sea a scant 80 meters away. It was then that I saw a zombie eating my neighbor’s dog like it was a $20 cheeseburger. I grabbed a flashlight and prepared to head out the door.
The atmosphere was quiet until I fired the first shot from my Remington 12 gauge shotgun, taking the head off the half dead beast of what once had been a human. The blast, loud as it was, shattered what had been an otherwise peaceful night before the above-mentioned events occurred.
I stepped out onto the veranda first, and sure enough, the blast had attracted more zombies. I wondered if Mitchell had already jumped into the sea and had possibly drowned. A million thoughts raced through my spinning head.
What to do next?
That’s when I spotted a lone zombie with my red portable Bose speaker. I clicked the flashlight off. What was he going to do with it, eat it? Working quickly, I grabbed a clothesline made of old rope and fashioned a lasso.
Would it be strong enough to bring him down? Could I even make a clean attempt to loop it around his worthless neck? I had to give it a try; I had no choice other than to shoot again.
I tucked my loaded .357 Magnum into my waistband and ventured outside, creeping like a cat burglar. I didn’t want to alert any more zombies, most of which had already dispersed.
Before the lone zombie could catch my scent, I roped him like a calf and gave him a swift roundhouse kick to his skull, dropping my shotgun in the process. To my ultimate surprise, he spoke to me in perfect English! Was this a new breed of zombie caused by the pandemic or perhaps the effects of a vaccine? The thought passed quickly when the zombie actually spoke.
“Nice Bose outfit, man.” When he made an attempt to regain his balance, I again had no choice but to level my pistol at him, but I wanted questions and I wanted them immediately.
“Give it back or I’ll blow your head clean off your shoulders.” I pulled the hammer back, my finger resting calmly on the trigger. He sensed his imminent demise. I could see it in his glowing eyes.
He placed the speaker down like a crate of freshly delivered eggs. I peered around to ensure no other zombie had heard the click of my weapon, then returned my attention to the creature sprawled on the grass. The silence of the neighborhood was deafening. Was I the last and only person alive? “Jesus,” I muttered to myself.
“Were you in my house? Were you the thief who raided my food and killed my cat?’ There was a pause and then an expression of remorse came over his bloodied face.
“Yes sir, I was.” For a zombie, new breed or not, he had an air of intelligence about him.
“Are you the same one who stole my Bitcoin Cash wallet?” He merely nodded. A new wave of anger flared within me. I was tempted to send him on to his greater or lesser reward with the loaded gun.
I looked around anew to make sure nobody was creeping up on me. When I reverted my attention to the creature, I noticed he was crawling away slowly. “That’s far enough,” I muttered.
“May I have my bag and leave now?” he asked, apologetically. He pointed to what appeared to be a gunny sack. I clicked the flashlight back on and it was stock full of God only knew what.
“You stay put while I have a look,” I commanded. I opened the sack and it was full of items of every description: coins, rings, assorted jewelry, smartphones, cash, and other things I didn’t have time to sort through at the time. “Where did you get these things? I asked.
“We stole them from the dead we ate.”
“Well, pal, they’re all mine now. Get up and get moving. If you are not out of my sight on the count of 5, you’re a dead whatever the hell you are.”
He ran like a vampire at an alarming speed, but stopped at my gate. That’s when I let loose with another shotgun blast and put him out of his misery. I then hauled the bag of stolen goods up into my home.
My sleep was restless that night and I kept the light on, doors bolted, and my two weapons at the ready. When daybreak arrived, I peered out my window and saw no bodies.
I sorted through the contents of the sack and estimated approximately $100,000 plus worth of valuables. Later, as I scanned the neighborhood, it was deserted save for a few people apparently looking for family and friends.
I went into town and deposited $46,320.47 in my bank account, then sold the jewelry and other plunders, which I then deposited.
When all was said and done, I’d made close to $112,000. I promptly bought Bitcoin Cash with no remorse whatsoever. I also bought one Ethereum coin for good measure.
The funny thing about the event of that night was that no mention was ever made of zombies, dead people, or even evacuated homes. Oh, and I heard Mitch was found deceased on the beach, supposedly eaten by a shark. Conspiracy theorist or not, I knew there was a coverup by the government, but everybody was afraid to say a word about it.
The Dangers of Christian Apostasy
I’m going to step on a lot of toes here but not out of bitterness but rather out of love, so be forewarned. Many will not see heaven because they have believed a false gospel.
First of all, as believers in Christ, those who have read and studied His everlasting word know that not every verse or chapter carries a message that appears positive.
Why is that? To teach us! His love abounds and He wants us to know him through his words so that we may know Him better and live a holy life. Scripture abounds with examples of bad choices people have made, and we have all made them because we are sinners.
But one of the bigger dangers today consists (and throughout history) is that of believing another gospel other that the one Jesus, his disciples, and many others preached. These "other gospels" are what is known as apostasy. Those who led astray are not bound for the heaven they think they are.
Maybe you’re one of them. I pray not.
I have no righteousness of my own, but rather it comes from the shed blood of Christ Jesus who died on the cross for me.
Let’s look at what the Apostle Paul said about apostasy.
”I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!” (Galatians 1:6-9, NIV).
The fact of the matter is that many of you have turned to another gospel, but hopefully so very few. Nevertheless, allow me to step on some toes here about some of these other gospels which abound, and yes, I will name churches, denominations, and names, for I fear no man, only God.
Cults abound in the world (some 2,500 plus) and many fall prey to sweet speaking pastors and false teachers, whether they are men or women.
As a prudent believer, you should always compare a speaker’s words with God’s word, because it is the ultimate authority.
Why do I speak what I am about to say? Because of the following verse: “Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth, and give them warning from Me" (Ezekiel 33:7).
Here are but some churches that teach another gospel:
Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Inglesia de Christo, Ellen G. White’s Adventism, Ambassadors for Christ, Islam, Apostolic Churches, Kingdom of Jesus Christ (Apollo Carreon Quiboloy), Black Hebrew Israelites, Church of Scientology, Philadelphia Church of God, Krishna, United Pentecostal Church, Catholic God's Spirit, and the notorious Word-Faith Movement (Kenneth Copeland, Ceflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Hagin, and a host of others. The aforementioned are known as prosperity teachers. While they are wealthy, adherents are by and large not.
Have I stepped on your toes, hurt your feelings and questioned your beliefs? I do so only as a warning of the eternal damnation that awaits those caught up in “another gospel.”
Finally, let’s look at some of the many warnings about false teachers and their churches.
“As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (2 Peter 2:1-3).
“If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to … (1 Timothy 6:3).
“For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4).
Finally, my friends, I encourage you to really look into your hearts and examine and truly consider what you have been taught and now believe.
Confess your sins of apostasy to God, not to some pagan idol who has no ears, no eyes and who cannot speak.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. May God touch your heart and guide you in His wisdom and into His true gospel. Amen.
How my Uncle Gained Wealth
People all over the world seek various means to accumulate wealth, some to an unhealthy magnitude. When they lose it all, they become despondent, even to the point of ending their lives. Here’s how my uncle Hank earned his wealth and left it all to his heir.
As a young lad, Hank learned the value of money. He mowed lawns, delivered newspapers, performed any odd job that came his way, and was never proud to say no to any job, plus he saved his earnings. Unlikely many people today, when he felt he had enough money to support a family for the long-term, he married and had three children.
Times were difficult during those days, but he worked 16 to 18 hours a day. Nowadays, people complain about a 30-hour workweek. Times have changed and not for the better.
As a society, many of us have lost our work ethic. We’d rather complain about low wages, inequality, and demand the government fend for our daily needs. Many of us have become lazy, slothful, prideful, and all to our disadvantage.
Allow me to share Hank’s secrets to wealth accumulation. You see, there was no Internet then, and things like Bitcoin obviously didn’t exist. But one thing that did exist was taking pride in one’s work.
He told be this once over a beer, “Never refuse a job, never complain about the work you have to do until you’re finished.”
After a foamy sip from my draft beer, I asked, “I’m missing the point, Hank.”
He replied, “Once you complete a task you’ll be less likely to complain and feel a pride that you did your best.
It made sense and I’ve followed his sage advice all these years later. I learned that complaining and worrying were like rocking in a chair: they get you nowhere.
Hank was wise and calculated his financial moves. At the same setting at the bar, they had what was called a tip jar. Inside were bits of paper that you tore open in the hopes of winning some money. Tip papers were 25 cents back then, relatively cheap.
Hank asked Rick the bartender on the cool, “Anybody get lucky yet and win the $500 prize?”
The bartender, none the wiser, replied frankly, “Not yet, Hank”
Uncle Hank peered at the gallon-sized jar for a couple of minutes and then said, “Watch this, son.” I obliged.
“Rick, give me everything in the jar.” I was shocked. There had to be $150 or more of tip papers inside.
Rick dumped everything on the bar and Hank said, “Let’s go and win us some money!”
We spent 25 or so minutes opening the tip papers. Hank won over $800! Easy money. He gave my $100 for helping him out.
Later that hour, I asked Hank why he never owned a home but instead rented for 20 plus years. After all, the American dream is still shoved down our throats.
He advised, “Never buy a house. Sure, you can make a nice investment when you sell it, if you’re fortunate, but when you figure in the cost of a lifetime of maintenance, you may or may not come out ahead.”
Then he added this: “I don’t have to pay for any repairs, broken appliances, water heaters that go bad, and the maintenance man mows the yard and keeps it tidy.”
Another piece of advice he gave me was to never pay cash for a new car, even when you have enough money in the bank. Instead, you should borrow the money. This left me confused.
“Son,” he said, “let the interest on the money you have pay for the loan.”
I learned a lot from Hank, and he was always a generous man. When he passed on, he gave his fortune to my young brother. Unfortunately, he squandered it all on fast living.
I suppose the lesson here is to not treat money unwisely, to be diligent at whatever you do, and take calculated risks. Most of all, never complain. It’s a lesson we can all learn from if we truly desire to acquire wealth for our retirement years.
What Actually is the Fear of God?
Ecclesiastes 12:13 reads: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Let's take a look at what this verse means in its proper context. It certainly does not mean we should be scared of the living God.
The fear of God is not the fear we experience when walking down a dark alley and suddenly we are followed by people with ill intent. It is not the fear that brings about our sudden anxiety when something is amiss in our lives, like paying bills, a lack of finances, evictions and typhoons or hurricanes.
Solomon teaches us (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).
Only those who should be really afraid of the living God are those who have rejected Him. Hell is real, not a parable, but an actual eternity in unbearable torment (see Luke 16:19-31).
We need not be afraid of a loving God, but we are to fear Him in the rom sense that knowing it is only by His grace we are saved from eternal damnation and can experience a relationship with Him both now and the eternal hereafter. Additionally, we should maintain the our awareness of the awesomeness of God and have a hatred of sin.
Yes, life gets in the way at times. We hang out with the wrong "friends" and have the false notion that since many others are doing it, well, all is well and fine. That is our mistake. It is far from okay.
Yes, we all sin daily. But Jesus paid the price with His blood for all our sins. This does not mean we can go about our lives and sin freely, but rather we should sin less. We can pray to God that he may create a spirit of holiness in our hearts.
And what of the Ten Commandments? Do they apply to believers today? Yes!
But wait, Paul said the law was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. This is also true.
But here is the difference to dispel any confusion you may have regarding the matter.
The laws that Jesus fulfilled were the ceremonial laws.
On the other hand, the other category of law in the Bible is that critical code of living our lives that is the Ten Commandments. Those commandments form a moral law that continues to this day. Indeed, it has not been done away with as some suppose.
So yes, the fear of God is demonstrating our love for Him and his righteousness and by living a holy life. We will not become sinless but will sin less when we fear God and are obedient to his commandments.
Be encouraged!
PTSD, the Silent Killer
I haven’t posted for a few days because of a PTSD attack. If you don’t know what is, great for you, because you would not want to know the suffering of this malady. As a former elite Soldier, I experienced things I would not wish upon my worst enemies (and I have only a few). It’s a deadly disorder and veterans like me are committing suicide at the rate of 20 per day plus.
There’s therapy for the disorder but I have found it to be useless. Well-meaning men and women speak up about their respective war stories to get it off their chest. But after a session, it seems to only make it worse for me because I begin to reflect on my experiences. Trust me, you should never want to kill anybody because the memory lives on and the experience strikes you when you least expect it. It sucks. It *really* sucks.
The symptoms vary, non of which are any good. Flashbacks of the experience, hallucinations, guilt about the experiences of seeing your brothers in arms dying, hyperactivity, fits of rage against the people you love, lack of sleep, and negative thoughts, are just some of the things one will experience.
Again, you would not wish this on anyone.
PTSD dissipates after a while but can linger for weeks. My recent episode lasted for 5 days, and while it is still ongoing, it is getting better. The one thing I despise about it is that you feel alone and don’t want to associate with friends. Many don’t understand. They haven’t been where you’ve been.
There is hope. You need a good support system. Unfortunately, many men and women refuse to seek help. Medication helps, Valium being the one I use. However, the most common treatment, and mind you, they are ill advised, are drugs. I don't use drugs, except for alcohol.
At any rate, alcohol consumption is the most widely used remedy for PTSD. It blunts the pain and memories, but only temporarily. Marijuana is another common use, as are hallucinogens. These mute the symptoms but do not cure. In fact, there is no cure.
I don’t want to delve into my experiences. Suffice it to say, they were not good. At times I have panic attacks. They strike unexpectedly. Fight or flight is the reaction. One minute you can be standing in the market and the next thing you know, panic hits. You may drop what you have bought and flee.
The worst case scenario is you may stray into traffic, not thinking about the consequences. My friend Harry did just that. One minute we were sitting around having a beer and eating some snacks, and then he said, “I’ll be back in a minute.” His minute turned into eternity. He stepped in front of a fast moving bus. His funeral is a lasting testament to the perils of PTSD.
I’ve said enough. Just writing about PTSD is stressful. Maybe I'll have a beer or 30.
If you have a family member who experiencing PTSD, do not lose hope. Watch out for him or her. Offer compassionate support. Be there. Practice true love.
Try your best to understand what the person is going through. Refrain from losing your temper, as it could have severe effects. If the person needs to isolate, give him or her room but keep a careful watch.
Remove harmful objects like guns, knives and drugs of any kind. Essentially, you become the physician in charge. In the event you cannot handle the situation, seek help from a friend. If it becomes too much of a problem, call you doctor or take the person to the emergency room.
Life is precious, PTSD is real. Understand it and save a life.
The Day I Stopped an Attempted Rape
Rape is not about sex but rather is an act of violence. It is a horrific crime that I believe should carry the death penalty. It some countries a death penalty is carried out. Rape destroys marriages, lives, and can inflict a lifetime of mental anguish and pain on the innocent victim.
I was living in Northeast Ohio when a twentysomething male attempted to rape a female convenience store clerk around 3:30 in the morning.
Here’s how everything went down.
It was our bowling team’s regular Thursday night for fun and a few beers. Since we worked the second shift in a factory, our league games began at midnight sharp. Our team consisted of four men and we always bowled 3 games against our opponents. We won all three games that night and I left the bowling alley at about 3:20 a.m. during a snowstorm.
I drove my Chevy Malibu towards my home and decided to stop at a convenience store to buy some milk and donuts for the next morning. When I entered the door I heard a woman screaming for help. As I quickly scanned the inside of the store, I saw a fiftyish male with a beard standing at the magazine rack, flipping through a magazine. He made no reaction to the scream. I found this suspicious but moved towards where I heard the female voice.
It came from the back of the store where supplies were kept and supplies were loaded from delivery trucks. I crept behind the counter and approached the open door, fully expecting a Hulk Hogan type of a man I’d have to confront.
At the time, I was an athletic 175 pounds and played semi-pro football so I was in pretty good shape and made a decision to take my chances against whoever was attacking the woman. I'm no hero, but I have morals that dictate that I do the next right thing.
A third scream of “Help!” came from the back. She also screamed, "Get off of me!"
I stood at the door and peeked around the door jamb, again expecting not only a large male, but one who might be armed with a knife or a gun. Instead, I saw the above-mentioned man attempting to pull the woman’s jeans down as she struggled to stop him.
Rather than charge him, I yelled, “Hey, get the hell off of her! Now!”
Startled, he stood up from the cement loading ramp where he had her pinned down. There was only one way out – through me.
The man charged me as I stood in the doorway. We were about the same weight and height, but as he was running and I was blocking the door, I knew he would run me over.
At the last second I pulled back from the door and stuck my foot out to trip him. It worked.
He fell into a candy rack, spilling M&M’s, various candy bars and Tic Tac’s all over the floor. As he attempted to stand up, I body slammed him into a potato chip rack and we wrestled for a few moments.
I heard the woman screaming again and thought there might be another man involved. It turns out she was just screaming from fear. It was when I had looked at her that the man escaped and ran out the door, pushing the glass doors open with both palms of his hands. The first thing I thought was, fingerprints!
I grabbed the phone on the counter and called 9-1-1 to report the crime. The police arrived 2 minutes later. I knew the cops, they knew me. This is because I owned a race car and a street hot rod and had run afoul of the law for speeding and a couple of fights.
“What did you do now, Scott?” Officer Jones asked, hand on his gun holster. His partner was scanning the store.
“Hey, Jones, I called *you* guys,” I replied.
The female clerk spoke up. “He stopped a man from raping me.” She continued to sob softly.
I wanted to comfort her but feared I might make it worse if I touched her. She zipped up her jeans, forgetting to have zipped them up after pulling her pants up in the back room.
“Do either of you know the guy? Can you describe him for us?”
“I’ve never seen him before,” the young clerk said through tears.
“I don’t know him personally, but I’ve seen him where I work.”
“You know where he lives by any chance?” asked the other cop.
“I do,” I affirmed.
“Let’s go. Ride with us and show us his place.”
We rode about 2 miles down the road. In the meantime, two other patrol cars came for backup. We pulled into the housing area and I asked the officer to slow down. Two cop cars had turned off their headlights. I pointed to the house a 100 feet away.
Officer Jones got on his police radio and had the other two patrol cars block off the road at the back of suspect's house. Then we pulled up and two cops got out and knocked on the door as I watched through a backseat window, rolled down enough so I could hear the police and the suspect’s conversation.
“Police! Open up the door!” No lights were on in the house and none came on. “Open up or we’ll kick the door in!”
Both officers pulled their guns. A light suddenly came on and the front door opened up. Out stepped the man I’d fought with at the store. The police immediately put the handcuffs on behind his back and placed him in the second patrol car next to the car where I was sitting. They took him straight to jail.
The next day I had to sign a witness statement at the police station. Two months later, the man who was out of jail on bail, went to court. Unfortunately, the woman did not want to be identified in the newspapers so the State of Ohio reduced the charges to simple assault. He was fined $100 and was freed.
I couldn't believe it!
On the way out of the courtroom the guy threatened me with violence. “If you come within 20 feet of me or my family, I’ll put a bullet in your head,” I advised.
He then threatened to sue me for breaking his hand and roughing him up. I wasn't worried about that.
Though I saw him a few times after it all, he never said a word to me. He became a pariah at work, nobody liked him.
Oh, and the man at the magazine rack? I found out later he was the uncle of the criminal. He was never charged.
Go Karting Fun in Boracay
Before the pandemic arrived, my gal and I typically vacationed in Boracay twice a year, sometimes three times if our writing workload was clear. Station 2 was always our area of choice since it was in the middle of the island, and a closer, 700 meter walk to d’Mall, and because we were a mere 100 meters from the glorious white sands. But my favorite activity among the many was racing the go karts.
We always left from our condo in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and took the 2 Go ferry out of Batangas that left at 9 p.m. and arrived at 6 a.m. By the time we arrived at our room it was a little after 7 a.m. If you go, book a cabin. You have a private space for 4 with a TV, refrigerator and comfort room.
The Calypso is fantastic but a bit pricey at 5,000 pesos ($100 plus) a night, especially when most of the time is spent outside the room.
While we sometimes stayed at the Calypso Dive Resort right on the beach, it was eventually sold and the new Italian owners also bought the Pinjalo Resort 120 meters away. Thereafter we stayed there for half the cost as the Calypso.
They have nice grounds and there are of restaurants nearby, and the staff is quite friendly and accommodating.
After arranging our things in our room and checking for any important work emails, we’d take a speedboat around the island. I forget what it cost us but it was a blast.
Afterwards, we would head for the go kart track. I always liked to start in the back, and as a former race car driver, had no trouble passing everyone at least twice. Note the attached GoPro on the helmet.
After a few rides, we would head back for a quick swim and some relaxation. Our room had a nice patio overlooking the pool.
Later in the evening we would dine at a Spanish restaurant and at night drink a few beers and watch the fire dancers on the beach.
The rest of our typical 5-day vacation consisted of riding the go karts again, sun tanning, eating, buying souvenirs for friends and family members (in the US and Philippines), and then riding in a sailboat.
Of course, strolling from station 1 to station 3 was always a pleasure, as was shopping, taking a lot of pics with the camera and a GoPro Hero, and just enjoying life.
Before leaving, we usually made reservations in advance to take advantage of a bigger discount for our next vacation.
My Training as a US Army Paratrooper/Infantryman
The beginning of the U.S. Army’s Airborne Creed reads: I am an Airborne trooper! I jump by parachute from any plane in flight. I volunteered to do it, knowing full well the hazards of my choice. I volunteered for the US Army at age 17. Though I had A grades in high school, I dropped out to serve my country (later obtaining my GED and eventually earning a Master’s degree).
The US Marines attempted to recruit me but I passed on their offer because they could not guarantee me a chance to become a paratrooper, so I enlisted to be a combat infantryman with a special status as an elite paratrooper, providing I could pass the grueling course.
After basic training I flew to Ft Benning, Georgia to report for Airborne school. Temperatures were 33 Celsius and humid. The first week is called Zero Week. This is where the weak are weeded out. All we did was exercise and run all day. All day!
We typically ran 10-12 miles each day during this 5-day period. If you dropped out of any run, you were booted from Airborne school. The Army gave no second chances.
I passed Zero week and the first week of actual training began. Aside from a 5-mile run and exercising every morning, we jumped 30-40 times from a 34 foot tower.
This training prepared us for the jolt of a parachute opening when you jump from an airplane going. We also passed extensive physical exercising and learned how to land by jumping into sawdust pits. This was called parachute landing falls (PLFs).
Once I passed the first week, I moved on to the second week. Of the 1,200 plus men, only 650 or so remained. This week featured the same grueling runs and exercise, plus a 250 foot drop from a tower.
It’s like jumping from a 25-story building. I estimate that another 100 plus men dropped out because they didn’t have the courage to jump from 250 feet. I thought it was pretty darn cool.
The third week began. Again, each morning we had a 5-mile run, sometimes 10 miles. In order to earn your parachute wings, you had to complete five jumps from a C-130 or C-141 aircraft. Now I don’t care how brave you think you are, but the first jump will have any person's nerves rattled.
Boarding the plane is exciting.
The C-130 Hercules was flown by two Air Force pilots. I was seated at the rear of the aircraft. Then came the command from the experienced jumpmaster.
“Outboard personnel stand up!” The men next to the fuselage stood up. This is called a stick, a line of soldiers who will jump.
“Inboard personnel stand up!” The Soldiers on the inside rows stood up, the aircraft wobbling in the turbulence.
“Check equipment!” Here you make sure your parachute is strapped in tight and your 18 foot static line is not wrapped under your arms or tangled with your other equipment.
“Sound off with equipment check!” the jumpmaster boomed. I couldn’t hear, just followed along. Here we checked the man in front of us to ensure he was ready to jump.
The C-130 began to slow to about 200 miles per hour. When the red light turned to green, we would jump out from 1,250 feet.
“Get ready!”
My nerves were tight, I said a silent prayer. It was now or never.
“Stand in the door! The first man in the stick on each side of the plane stood in the open door of the C-130.
Then the command final came. “Go, go, go!”
I shuffled behind the men in front of me and out the plane I went, my legs flying into the air near my head in a wash of turboprop wind. Exhilarating!
Suddenly my T-10 parachute popped open with a hard jolt and I was floating to the ground. The scenery was beautiful. I almost cried it was so awesome.
And then I prepared for my landing. It didn’t go as well as I planned. I hit like a sack of potatoes falling off the back of a grocery delivery truck.
The wind began to fill my parachute and drag me across rough terrain so I cut it loose and rolled and then slid on my back till my momentum brought me to a halt. I’d made it! My first jump was complete. Only four more to go, if I survived.
Unfortunately, some men were injured with broken bones and most dropped out as a result. Others ignored their injuries. True Soldiers! All I had was a few cuts and bruises. No big deal.
The second, third and fourth jumps were easier. By the 4th, the nerves weren’t so taunt. The landings were not necessarily easier dependent on how strong the wind was blowing that particular day.
Then came the final jump from a C-140 Starlifter, basically a cargo jet and much faster. Once I stuck my leg out the door of the plane I was sucked out! I landed safely with no injuries.
Later that afternoon we had an emotional graduation ceremony. Tears welled up in my eyes when the music played as 432 of us stood at attention. An officer came by each of us to pin our parachute wings on our chest. He placed it on my chest and punched it, drawing blood.
I was ecstatic, I’d done what my friends and family said I couldn’t do, I graduated as one of the elite Army’s fighting Soldiers.
To this day, I maintain the same discipline the Army taught me as an elite paratrooper/infantryman. Strong as a bull, I went on to serve for 2.5 years until I was severely injured landing in a tree, but that’s another story.
10 Amazing Facts that are Pretty Frightening
It seems the world grows crazier by the day and we observe weird events on Facebook, television, TikTok, and a host of other media platforms. But nothing is as scary as the truth we don’t know. For example, approximately 4-5 fast food workers are killed on the job each month. I don’t know, but you might want to find a job elsewhere, like working as a trapeze artist without a safety net at a circus.
Here’s a weird one. Take a guess at what book is stolen the most. No, not Dr. Seuss books – they’re banned already. But if you guessed the Holy Bible, you’d be correct! Maybe the thieves will read the 8th commandment in Exodus chapter 20: “Thou Shalt Not Steal,” and turn their lives around. But maybe they are stealing the Bible to put on their coffee table. That way when visitors drop in they’ll think the person is pious, you know, like most people who display their bibles for everybody to see.
There’s an old saying that goes: You are what you eat. Did you know that some people eat razor blades? I didn’t either. But hey, not to worry. The human stomach has acid so powerful that a razor blade is able to dissolve in about a week. Here’s hoping everything comes out all right. Can you just here the guy at Burger King asking, “Yes, ma’am, I’d like the Whopper meal with no tomatoes, and could you throw in a Schick razor blade with that?
Do you wear a ring? I don’t because I’m not much of a jewelry fan. But for those of you who do wear a ring or three, did you know the amount of germs under just one ring equals the entire population of Europe. That’s approximately 742 million people, but who’s counting, right? Might want to sanitize your hands – with gasoline. Just saying.
Smelling something nice like perfume or flowers before you go to sleep will cause you to have sweet dreams. No kidding. On the other hand, foul smelling fragrances cause bad dreams or nightmares. I guess it would be wise to refrain from watching horror movies while munching on salty fish. “Honey! I had a horrible nightmare! I dreamt a zombie was eating my arm.” “Sorry, dear, that was me slobbering on you while I snored,” replied the husband.
Here’s an utterly gross fact. Over 45% of the world has no toilet in their home. Yuck! They are forced to empty their bowels wherever they can find a place. Can you imagine having an emergency and having to run into the woods or the jungle only to be stopped by a friendly jogger asking how far you’ve run that day? Sorry, have to run!
Fame. Many people crave it. Convicted murderer John Evans was electrocuted for his crime in Alabama. The first electrical jolt sent sparks flying out of the hood covering his head. The executioner gave him another jolt for good measure. That’s when the doctor who was present found Evans to still be alive. Well, not wanting a job to be half done, the unnamed executioner fried John one more time, resulting in his death, after 14 painful minutes. So much for John’s 15 minutes of fame; he was shorted a full minute. Do your own drum rim shot here.
Feel like you’re lucky or unlucky? Don’t answer. Wait, you did, didn’t you? Well, here’s a fact that is frightening. About 5,000 bolts of lightning strike Mother Earth … every single minute. Tampa, Florida is the most likely place to be hit and killed by lightning. Oh, so now you’re thinking: “I don’t live in Florida,” right? Well, ahem, where do you think those thousands of other bolts hit? Word of advice: be especially careful outdoors if you don’t attend church except on Easter and Christmas.
Thinking about travelling to Africa one day when the pandemic ends? You might want to think twice before taking a safari if you do. That’s because the black mamba (no, not our heroic Kobe) can grow as long as 14 feet. It’s also faster than Superman and is the deadliest snake in the world. Yes, worse than my ex mother-in-law.
Are you one of those people who find Italy romantic? Would you like to have lived in ancient Rome and ridden in a chariot? Sounds cool. But here’s a startling factoid for you: Back in the good old days of the Roman Empire, your Dad could legally sell you as a slave. That gives a whole new meaning to “You better behave or else!”
Simple Life Hacks during Brownouts
Life in the Philippines is fantastic but gosh darn it, brownouts are disruptive and annoying. They always seem to occur on days when you have special plans, like bonding with the family or friends or on the day of a birthday party. But simple hacks during brownouts are a way to combat the annoyance. Let’s have a look at some things you can do when the power goes out.
When brownouts last into the evening or when a tropical storm or typhoon knocks the power out, life becomes a little more difficult. You only need to bump a knee against a wall once before you realize you need light to get around safely. Yes, there are flashlights and candles, but what happens if you run out of candles?
You make a lantern! Take a clear plastic jug and fill it with water. Tape or fashion a flashlight on top of the opening of the container and light will spread and fill a room. For additional light, grab a mirror to reflect more light around.
If you run out of candles and can’t get to a sari sari store, take a few of your kid’s crayons (the ones they don’t use much, if at all) and light the pointed end. Once the wax drips down, stick it to the melted wax on a plate or safe area for light. You can also use a candle to heat up a cup of coffee, tea or baby’s milk or a pot of water to cook rice.
Of course, you can use your smart phone as a light source as well. If so, place it on airplane mode to save your battery life and turn off your apps. Once the battery drains, plug it into your laptop for quick charging. Heck, you won’t have Internet anyway, right? You should be good to charge a couple of phones. You might want to turn them off to conserve power and use them only when you need to communicate.
We need our cell phones in the event an emergency occurs. But if the battery is dead, we’re out of luck unless we can find a way to charge it. Here’s a smart hack that will do the trick.
Take an ink pen and remove the spring. Grab a 9 volt battery. Connect the spring to the negative node of the battery with tape. Now, take your car charger to the positive node and tape it, too. Finally, plug in your cell phone cord to the car charger and boom – it will charge!
Let’s say your flashlight runs on AA batteries but they are dead as a door knob. Do you have some AA batteries? They will work! Here is what you can do. Place your AA batteries into your flashlight. Since they are smaller there will be some space that needs to be filled in order to make a connection to create light. Grab some aluminum foil and make small balls. Insert one or more into the gap and presto – you have power again.
Remember those LED lights that kids love to play with that you see at the local market or malls? Keep a half a dozen or more on hand in case of a brownout or another type of emergency. They will put off enough light to see your way around the house.
They are also portable and can be carried around like a flashlight, and they are cheap to buy! Be prepared!
Glow sticks work great as well, and they break up the boredom.
**Here are somethings you really never want to do.**
Do not run a generator inside your home. It will emit carbon monoxide and either render you unconscious or kill you and/or your loved ones. Always keep it outside and under some shelter so it doesn’t conk out in adverse weather.
**Don’t** store gasoline to power your generator near the generator or other source that may cause it to catch fire. Be wise.
**Do not** start a makeshift fire in your house. Gusts of wind or someone accidentally knocking over a homemade fire can wreak havoc and burn you or your home to the ground.
Eventually a brownout will occur, either because your electricity provider is upgrading or because of natural disasters. Prepare in advance like a good Boy or Girl Scout and use the above hacks to provide light and communication. Your life may depend on them.
Hackers are Stealing Crypto – Stay Safe with Bitcoin Cash
The world is changing daily and not necessarily for the good of all humanity. That’s a sad fact but nevertheless true. As various cryptocurrencies emerge on the market, frauds, scams and manipulation run rampant. This is precisely why I remain with #BCH and only a couple of other trusted cryptocurrencies. You should as well. We need to trust our investments.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is the booming trend nowadays, and despicable hackers have shifted their attention to it because it is far less regulated, but unscrupulous characters are still attacking and hacking various exchanges and wallets. Unfortunately, the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic has seen an increase in the theft of cryptocurrencies.
Scams were prolific (and many remain) which take advantage of the kindness of cryptocurrency users to give their currency away to alleged worthy causes. However, behind these schemes are hackers and illegitimate fraudsters who are stealing currencies and never giving it to their listed charity.
While blockchain fraud has diminished, holders of crypto lost nearly $400-500 million between 2019 and 2020. That’s alarming. The black hat actors and other fraudsters lack morals and will do anything necessary to steal your cryptocurrency. Caveat emptor!
Fortunately, some cryptocurrencies are enhancing their security protocols to guard against theft. These are the ones you should trust, rather than any Johnny-come-lately, fly-by-night coin.
**The safety of #BCH**
Enter our beloved Bitcoin Cash. The technology is so advanced that it is virtually impossible to hack. That's great news for us on read.cash because we can rest easy knowing our #BCH is safe. Two main factors provide us with a safety net. One is the fact that no single user is able to mess with your transactions and fund transfers. Why? Simply because unanimous approval is required of all nodes! Ta-da!
Another factor that comes into play consists of cryptographic encryption. Say what? In simple terms, and without going into difficult to understand technological terms, cryptographic encryption is the key we use to login, that is, our **seed word**s. I’ve seen people complain about having to type in their seed words every day. Pay no attention to them. The encryption is for **your** security! Dedicated wallets as provided on read.cash are yet another level of security.
**What lies ahead for cryptocurrencies?**
With so many scams and frauds occurring, much of it comprised of money laundering drug money, countries are in the process of taking steps to combat fraud with new strategies. For example, in the United States, President Joe Biden has appointed a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head by the name of Gary Gensler. The aforementioned has vowed to eliminate fraud and manipulation, but quite frankly, that is going to be a difficult task. Hackers and scammers always seem to be one step ahead.
One way he plans to attack the fraudsters consists of identifying every individual who is exchanging or transacting any type of cryptocurrency. This would be consistent with international bank transfers that are already in place.
The foreseeable future of Bitcoin Cash is great. Our wallets and crypto are safe and secure. As developers continue to enhance security, #BCH will only become safer.
So sit back and relax. Give #BCH to other users on read.cash and avoid any suspicious characters or adversaries looking for a donation. Do what you do best: write and comment.
Darts, Arrows and Games Gone Horribly Wrong
The Hughes brothers were no strangers to mischief in the otherwise tranquil town of Lemon Grove, California. However, it was not uncommon for the local police to pay the neighborhood a visit and check up on the young teens when something went awry. But both Greg and Vernon would soon find themselves in handcuffs over what began as a friendly game of darts.
“Dad won’t let us go down the street because of you stealing a newspaper from old man Johnson’s porch,” Greg lamented.
“A few days house restriction is nothing; you got us two weeks for shooting the porch light out with your BB gun at the Benson’s house,” Vernon retorted.
The energetic boys always seemed to find trouble wherever and whatever they did, much to the chagrin of their father, a US Navy officer based in San Diego. His style of military discipline never went over well with his sons, noticeable to the extent that they grew ever more rebellious.
It’s not that they were dumb. Greg had straight A grades and was in the 9th grade, while Vernon maintained a B+ average. Greg never studied, as he did his homework in class. Vernon never really applied himself, preferring to pass notes to the hot girls. He passed because of his great memorization skills.
“So how about a game of darts?” Greg asked his brother.
“Boring, like watching paint dry on a park bench,” Vernon replied.
“Oh, not the game of darts I invented.”
“I’m all ears, Mr. Hasbro. What are the rules?” Vernon folded his arms waiting for what he believed would be another lame game.
“Here’s the deal. Simple, really. You grab 20 darts in one hand and throw them *all* at the dartboard in one throw. Then we add up the score and the first one to 1,000 points wins,” Greg explained.
“All right, let’s do it. Bet $5 I win,” Vernon added.
“Bet!”
Vernon, or Vern as he preferred to be called, flipped a coin to see who would toss the darts first. Greg called heads and won as the dime landed on heads. The dartboard was on the back of the garage door, a ping pong table separating the space and serving as the line from which they would throw.
Greg heaved the colorful darts first and they counted the score. Then Vern threw his 20. After a few throws, the score was somewhat lopsided and Vern as far from happy. He threw the sharp missiles at the board and then as Greg was counting, disappeared from sight. Thinking Vern had gone out in the backyard, he tossed the handful of darts haphazardly to catch up with his brother. In midflight Vern stood up from under the ping pong table. Several darts struck him in the back, and one lodged in his right ear lobe.
"You're all ears now, dude," Greg mumbled to himself.
Greg scooted out the garage door and into the yard, headed towards the cement wall that separated the Hughes house from the Downey’s ranch style home. Vern snatched a bow and arrow from near a water heater, then launched the arrow at Greg as he scaled the wall. Miss! The arrow has barely missed hitting Greg's head.
Greg peeked through a redwood gate. “Holy crap, you hit the Downey’s swimming pool! The arrow is stuck five inches below the water line!” Greg jumped back over the five foot wall and they both dashed back into the garage. “Now what, genius?" Greg inquired.
“Simple. I grab the arrow, pull it out, and nobody will be the wiser,” Vern answered rather confidently. He hopped over and did just that. The teens went about their playful habits for the next few hours until it was dinner time and their mother called them to the supper table.
The family gathered for their meal. Just then, old man Downey, balding, perhaps in his mid-60s, appeared at the wall staring. “Honey," mother said, “Mr. Downey wants to talk to you.”
“I swear I can never eat a meal in peace around here!” Dad pushed back his chair, opened the sliding glass door open and strode to the wall. In moments he turned around and gave the boys his infamous 1,000 yard stare. Trouble!
“What did you boys do now?” their Mom asked suspiciously.
“Nothing!” they blurted in unison. Then their Dad returned quickly. He was hot as a BBQ grill, his face red as a freshly picked beet. “There’s 2 inches of water all over the grass over there and a hole in the lining of the pool,” he began, “who did it?”
Greg ran from the dining room table, Vern on his heels. They were much too quick for their father. He whistled and yelled for them but there was no reply to be heard. They had scattered to the winds. Meanwhile, Mr. Downey called the police because the father of the boys said he wasn’t about to pay for the damages.
Two patrol cars pulled up at the Hughes house and the nosy neighbors came out to “water their lawns.” The cops began their search for Greg and Vern, knowing them very well from previous incidents. Officer Brown found Greg hiding under a speedboat and cuffed him. Officer Diggs found Vern hiding in an oak tree three houses down, the elderly woman neighbor having ratted him out.
The officers brought the teens back to their house and informed the parents that the boys were being taken to the local precinct for questioning. Their Mom sobbed softly, their father just stood silently with his hands on his hips.
“Hey, Officer Brown, bet you couldn’t catch me if I would have run,” Greg crowed.
The cop laughed and said, “Yeah, why is that?”
“Because you stuffed your face with 11 donuts on the way here.”
Three hours later the teens were picked up by their father from the police station. Mr. Downy agreed to let the boys off the hook if they would mow and trim his front and back yards for six months. They got off easy. Again.
On the drive home, Greg and Vern knew they were in for a belt lashing. Greg asked, “Dad, how do you tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile?" He paused as his Dad drove in silence.
"You will see one of us later and one of us in a while.” With that, the teens jumped from the car and didn’t return home until their father went on a mission overseas.
An Alternative to You Tube that Pays Cryptocurrency
You Tube remains the most popular video hosting platform since its debut in 2005. I have a couple of channels but they pay me absolutely nothing. As a consequence, I began to look around and find out if there were any alternative platforms that paid in cryptocurrency, and lo and behold, I found one last December.
**The good things about You Tube**
The popularity of You Tube remains strong, and with the right content you can become wealthy, but the odds are highly stacked against you as more and more channels appear daily. First of all, you need to have 1,000 subscribers. That’s a bunch, plus you need 10,000 hours of viewing before you can be monetized. Good luck with that!
The bad is You Tube’s censorship. If you post certain content your videos will be removed and you will lose your money (demonetized). That blows chunks! In short, you have to follow a certain narrative, if you get my drift.
**Rumble** pays but it isn’t really worth the time and it’s relatively new. Perhaps in the future they will work something out where you can earn a digital currency of some kind.
Furthermore, there’s a host of other video sites such as Vimeo and others that are far less known, but you can do your own research and see that the vast majority do not pay you anything at all.
Unfortunately, most video hosting sites don’t pay you, but let’s take a look at the alternative that I found.
**Odysee**
Yes, that is the correct spelling. I’ll tell you right off the bat that you might not get rich off of this video hosting site, **but you can and will make money for just watching videos**, whether short or long. The more you watch, the more you will make. Some of the bigger names in the media business are on there making money. It’s 100% legit and you receive a daily LBRY reward for watching just one video. It's fast; your reward is posted immediately to your wallet.
**You must access the platform from a desktop right now**.
LBRY is a “decentralized digital content protocol and marketplace.” There no third-party folks, the type who typically object to content and censor it. Big bonus there. You can post nearly anything but nudity.
Additionally, if you post videos viewers can reward you with the sites digital currency called LBRY (LBC). You can post videos, songs, books and more. The best part is it is not censored whatsoever!
The above-mentioned currency has been fluctuating recently, as have other cryptocurrencies. It was at a high of 21 cents per coin, but as of this writing it is 15 cents. However, the predicted 3-month forecast is 25 cents, and the long-range forecast is 68 cents.
While that might not sound like a lot of money to some of you, ask yourself this: how much are you making from your social media platforms that host media? Zero! Guess what? *They* are the ones making the money off of you because they sell your data. Not cool.
**The good things about Odysee**
Aside from what I mentioned above, you can watch movies for free. Sure, it’s not Netflix or Amazon Prime, but there are some really cool films on there. Additionally, there are a variety of categories that will suit anyone’s desires.
LBRY does not interfere with read.cash which is another good thing. Like I said, you can spend a minute or two every day and earn, then get back on here and make money writing. No harm, no foul, right?
Odysee has its own wallet connected to your email. Easy. Simple. Automatic. If you invite someone you also get rewarded.
People that like your videos can give you coins. Ka-ching!
I’ve pretty much abandoned You Tube because of its cancel culture and censorship. I primarily watched it for politics and kid’s videos, but those are on Odysee, too!
Anyway, feel free to check Odysee out. It is risk free, doesn’t cost you anything to create an account, and you will make money. What could possibly be wrong with that?
Stop Procrastinating, Get Motivated, Make Bitcoin Cash
Not making enough money because you are not writing? Procrastination steals valuable time and adversely affects your wallet or purse, or in the case of read.cash your digital wallet. Your lack of motivation is your enemy. It steals your future and that of your loved ones. Let’s look at some tips to avoid procrastination, enhance your motivation and earn you more #BCH.
Avoiding procrastination tips
Finish today before beginning your tomorrow. What? This simply means that you should plan for the next day before you go to sleep. It’s really easy to do.
Grab a pad or piece of paper and write down **the biggest thing** you want to accomplish the next day. Next, write down what you have to do no matter what else occurs the next day. For example, you might list down praying, exercising, spending good time with friends and family.
For me, I keep my list next to my laptop or taped to my iMac where I can see it. My biggest thing for each day is writing a read.cash post before the sun comes up or shortly thereafter. Be sure to write these notes down or you will remain in the same rut you’re already in.
**Write a post or do nothing**
Some people just put off writing because they don’t know where to begin or how to choose a topic. Here’s how to fix that. Promise yourself that you don’t have to write, **but**, if you don’t write within 3 hours, you cannot do anything else, like watch TV, read a book, go on Facebook or Instagram, etc. Social media is fun but you won’t earn money, so it’s a waste of time if your goal is to earn more Bitcoin Cash on read.cash.
**Remove your distractions**
It’s as easy as it sounds. Dogs barking? Traffic and noise pollution driving you up a wall? Keep looking at your smartphone? Eliminate them! Turn your phone off. Find a quiet place to write and do it.
**Limit your decisions each day**
This kind of ties in to the first tip. Perhaps you, like most of us, face a number of decisions you have to make each day. Decisions force you to answer those questions and burns up precious time and energy. Fix it by making a schedule. For example, exercise on Tuesday, limit your social media to an hour a day, choose what to wear the next day by putting your clothes out, and always schedule the one thing you must do daily: write.
**Motivational tips**
Many people wake up and drink coffee to motivate themselves. I do it. But the caffeine can also become a distraction that sends you everywhere else but on your one big thing to accomplish for the day: writing on read.cash. Look, if you’re going to make some money here, you have to maintain your focus!
To gain motivation you have to first and foremost **know what you want**. Many people really have no clue. Is it a lasting relationship, a new car, money? Success? Financial freedom? A home business or attending university. These are all great goals, but unless you *really* know what you want, you’re going to continue to procrastinate. Make a decision and decide in detail what you want **today**.
Someone once said action leads to motivation. I agree. I typically awaken at 4 a.m. and begin my day with prayer, then crank up my laptop and iMac. While doing that I say to myself: “Let’s do this! Make it a productive day!” Then I rub my hands together, take another sip of coffee and begin writing.
Identity politics are the norm these days, right? Why not identify as a self-motivated person? You’re not stupid, but we all make stupid mistakes. Chalk it up as a lesson learned and don’t beat yourself up over the mistake. Identify positively with words like: “I **can** and **will** do this!”
**Never limit your potential for success.**
Aim high! Push yourself. When you set small goals you accomplish little. On the other hand, when you set a big goal or goals, you will perform more actions leading to the achievement of your goals. Again, aim high and push forward. Each goal is a step or steps away. Take those steps and refuse to procrastinate.
Someone else said that when things are vague, the motivation will fade. Truth spoken! The fix for avoiding procrastination and developing motivation is to make habits, and here I mean **good habits**. Drinking a six-pack of beer a day is obviously not a good habit. Agree?
Make your bed when you wake up, shave or brush your hair, do something daily until it becomes a habit. Bad habits come naturally, good habits compel you to work at them. Do it. Why? Because you can! Keep your motivation moving forward by tapping into the power of your habits. Once you do, you’re going to observe not only much better motivation but more writing here on read.cash and wherever else you write, and of course earning more Bitcoin Cash.
Don't wait until tomorrow. Act now.
New to Cryptocurrency? Know These Terms
The novel read.cash platform continues to gain new users, some of whom are completely new to cryptocurrencies. You may know what Bitcoin Cash #BCH is but be unfamiliar with common terms used in the digital currency world. While there are numerous terms (words used), let’s take a look at the more common ones you should know.
A **hot wallet** is a digital wallet that is connected to your Internet. Simple enough, right? We have that capability here on read.cash. Use it.
On the other hand, there is a **hardware wallet**. This is actually nothing more than an electronic device used to store your cryptocurrency keys. We all have these: USB devices. Be sure to use a reputable USB if you are going to store your currency.
One thing to watch out for is what is called the **pump and dump** scheme. This works when swindlers spread fake information for the purpose of increasing a cryptocurrency’s value (this is the pump, as in pump me up), and then cashing out their currency (the dump). To avoid this, be aware of false news you hear or read and check serval sources to determine if it is true.
Whale is the term for an individual who owns quite a lot of cryptocurrency. We have a few on read.cash who are very generous.
**Mooning** is what we are looking for with Bitcoin Cash. This occurs when the value of #BCH is quickly rising over a small period of time. It also applies to all cryptocurrencies. Right now we have seen most cryptocurrencies experiencing a **dip**. This is when the price is falling. Wise advice leans towards not selling when this occurs but rather buying more! This is called **Buying the Dip**. If you cannot afford to buy #BCH then by all means **hodl** it. In other words, keep what you have. It’s just a slang word for hold.
**Mining** is the term for using your choice of computer hardware to process and validate cryptocurrency transactions. Some people use multiple computers or highly expensive networks of computers to mine for cryptocurrency. Of course, your electric bill will skyrocket accordingly. And it isn’t wise to mine for low value cryptocurrency.
Another term is **fomo** (fear of missing out). Fomo can have several causes, but probably the most common one is not being aware of what’s happening with your cryptocurrency. With this a person does not know whether to buy or sell. Its cousin is called **FUD**. This refers to fear, uncertainty and doubt. Mass media platforms typically print or broadcast bad news about a cryptocurrency which can cause panic among owners of coins.
As new digital currencies come into the market, the term that is used is **airdrop**. Most of the new ones give free coins away to early users. This is a simple marketing strategy and low risk because you don’t have to buy anything, only sign up, and create a user name, email and password. I signed up for a new one today (by invite only) and received 6,197 coins which will debut in 2022 for $1 each.
In your spare time get to know as many terms as you can so as to become more knowledgeable about the digital currency world. In this way when you invite your friends and family you will be able to speak with some authority on the matter.
Real Life Close Encounter with a Mass Murderer
1984. Not the novel by George Orwell, but the actual year. July 19. Bored in San Diego, California, I was thinking of what my girlfriend and I could do to *kill* the day. We had done so many things together we’d run out of ideas. We had been to the famous San Diego Zoo several times, watched a play in Balboa Park ("My Fair Lady"), and had slept under the stars on the beach (among a multitude of other things). I decided on a trip to Tijuana, Mexico.
We were at the zoo and were bored. I talked to a bespectacled man who seemed rather agitated. Making attempts to be upbeat fell on deaf ears. I walked away.
At any rate, Patty was game on for a trip to Mexico. We bought a 12-pack of Coors, placed the cans in an icy Styrofoam cooler, and headed south from downtown San Diego, California. I related to her how good the food was as well as how prices were really cheap.
I drove my Chevy Impala at a casual 80 mph to keep with the flow of traffic. Californians drive fast.
I advised my girlfriend further about the food in Mexico. Some of it was fantastic, even the street food, and some of it was so bad you could sit on a toilet for a week and wish you were dead. Yeah. It could be *that* bad.
Patty suggested some quick food at a San Ysidro 7-11. It's a border town and it sounded good to me at the time. But then I saw a California Highway Patrol cop parked next to the open spot where I was going to park. I parked anyway. And since I was drinking, I thought it best to wait in the car until the officer left the premises.
The decision more than likely saved my life. We waited a full 5 minutes before we entered.
McDonald’s was across the street, and she had originally wanted a Big Mac, but I opted for a chili infused, super duper spicy beef burrito with queso (cheese). They were the bomb in more ways than one, if you know what I mean.
“Hey, babe, I’ll run across the street and pick up a Big Mac while you nuke your burrito in the microwave. Cool?”
“Hang on and I’ll go with you,” I replied.
Inside the convenience store I heated my burrito while Patty looked around. Mexican souvenirs were everywhere, and a lot of the signs were in English and Spanish. I can read, write and speak Spanish so it was all good.
As we walked out of the 7-11 to get in the Chevy and drive to McDonald’s, we heard popping noises. “WTF was that?” she inquired, quite alarmed. They were loud.
“Ah, not to worry; they’re probably still celebrating Cinco de Mayo or are getting a head start on another holiday.”
The pop, pop, pops continued.
“You know what, freaking McDonald’s blows chunks and sugar, so let’s eat dinner in Mexico. Heck, be like Columbus and take a chance! Right?”
At the midpoint of the road, we turned back, but not before I saw a pre-teen girl crash her bicycle in front of the restaurant. I thought nothing of it. Stuff happens all the time. Right?
We arrived at the border of Mexico 10 minutes later, raring to go.
The line at the entry checkpoint was short. I hid my can of beer as we rolled up. A white male in his mid-30s dressed in a green uniform spoke to us through my open window. “¿Cuál es su propósito al venir a México?”
I was deeply tanned with black hair, so he likely mistook me for a Mexican. “My purpose is to get a haircut, eat some great food, catch a bullfight, and have some night life fun,” I answered.
“Enjoy your stay, senor!”
We drove on on a paved road which a half mile down turned into a bumpy dirt road and then we were in Tijuana. The jefe (boss) at the car lot wanted $1, but like in all things Mexico, I attempted to bargain.
"Fifty and a can of Coors?" No deal. The heck with it.
I paid, walked to the main drag, bought a hand grenade (no kidding) and a slew of fireworks and clothing. We partied, caught the bullfights, ate some food, and had a great time. But we wanted to get out of town before dark. That's when the gangsters and the rival cartels come into town to "play" cowboys and Indians.
We hit the checkpoint at the U.S border and had to wait so I turned on the radio. The news was reporting that James Huberty had murdered 21 people and wounded 19 other people at...get this, the McDonald's where we were going to eat! We were tripping like we were on an LSD trip.
Huberty was killed by a police sniper some 80 minutes after the massacre began.
You can use your favorite browser to check the facts. All I know is that we missed death by mere moments. You never know when life as we know it makes the unexpected jump to death. Enjoy life while you can.
Left-Handed Smoke Shifter and other Cool Pranks
I enjoy pulling pranks on other people, but typically only people I know and who can take a joke and be the wiser for it. Unlike some prank masters, I don’t pull pranks that are potentially dangerous, rather I prefer the funny and simple ones.
Here are some you can use on your friends.
Try this one. If you own a car, send your victim into the auto parts store to buy some blinker fluid for your “bad” turn signal. The guy or gal at the counter has heard this one before. If they are feeling friendly, they’ll play around and look for it. Worst case scenario is that they will let eh person know they’ve been pranked. Either way you can’t lose.
Snipe hunt. When I was a new Boy Scout on my first camping trip, I was pranked on this one. What you do is get a person or two and ask if they want to go on a snipe hunt. If they ask you what it is, make up your own description. Take the person into the woods, jungle or other location and give them instructions.
For example, you can give them a paper bag or a net or just anything that you think is suitable for catching the nonexistent animal. Now tell the person you’re going to look in another area. Then leave them there alone. Eventually they’ll get the hit and realize they have been pranked.
If you own a restaurant (resto) you can send a new employee out to a store or another restaurant to buy a bacon stretcher. Restaurant owners in on the joke may send the person to another eatery where there is sure to be one.
Some other common fool’s errands are sending someone to buy some blue steam, looking for a glass hammer, buying a bucket of compressed air, finding some horizontal tent pegs at the hardware store, a liquid magnet, buying striped paint, asking someone to buy a roll of film for your digital camera, purchasing a left-handed fork, and a buying new cursor for a laptop.
One of my favorites comes in two forms. End your friend to the market to buy ant milk. Tell them if they are out of stock that gnat milk will be fine. And if the store doesn’t have either one, be sure to tell them to try several stores.
Try one or more of the above and have a great time.
Going Pro as a Treasure Hunter
Ever since I found a coin as a kid I’ve been infected with the treasure hunting bug. And once it bites, it never relents. I bought my first metal detector when I was 22. Since then I have amassed a boatload of coins and jewelry, not to mention a mass of relics. You may never get rich as some individuals have, but you will make a lot of money finding coins, gold jewelry and ancient relics.
Guaranteed. Ah, but there is a caveat! You really need to ***learn*** how to use your metal detector.
I started out with a White’s Coinmaster. It cost me about $299 at the time. My wife thought it was a waste of money. The very first thing I found was an antique toy from the 1930s. My ex likely still has it, but I digress. I also found several coins that day, a couple of them silver (1964 minted coins and below all contain silver, except the penny and the nickel).
I set up a practice garden in my back yard. There I buried coins at various depths. When the detector went over a coin, I remembered the sound each coin made. In no time I knew what to dig for and what trash was and not worth digging for. You’d be amazed at how many bottle caps are under the ground! And junk!
After a few years I was really good at finding coins. My best day I found over 500 coins and got a sunburn. The community had drained a shallow pond where kids went swimming. They likely drained it because of the drownings that occurred every summer.
The ex and I spent 6 hours in the driest part of the pond and could barely move before we had to dig. Watches (a few still working!), gold and silver rings by the handful, necklaces, wristbands, bracelets, toys, trinkets and more came alive from under the still moist soil. I made about $3,000 that day alone, returned the next day and made the same.
On the third day water was back in the pond! The city had received so many complaints from the public that they caved to the pressure and made the pond open for swimming again. My darn luck, as I had only covered perhaps one percent of the pond. There’s still a load of treasure there.
My wife became convinced that first day and so I bought her a metal detector. We also bought season tickets to the Cleveland Indians pro baseball team, a couple of cars, guns, a camper, truck, race cars, and a host of other niceties.
Treasure hunting was paying off quite well for us. I scoured the local library for news articles about the Civil War, old fairground sites and more. Researching paid well. We also subscribed to a few treasure hunting magazines to stay up with new tech and related gear. My $300 investment paid off handsomely over the course of a few years. And one time I found a gallon of coins that some unfortunate kid lost. I picked up over $700 and went home!
Then one day we saw an advertisement that looked promising. Professional Treasure Hunt, the banner read. I ate it up like a starving vagrant. But was I good enough? I questioned by skills despite by experience, then decided, yes, I’ll go pro. And I did.
We drove the truck and camper rig to an extremely large patch of land. Hundreds of campers showed up for the weekend. Some had their finds on display for sale. I never thought about that! Okay, strike one on me.
The first hunt was 30 minutes. Buried were Lincoln head pennies, silver dollars, and prize tokens. I was excited. The flare gun went off and we were off, about 80 of us. I’d say. I found only a handful of pennies and no silver dollars, but I did find one token. I went to claim my prize; it was a 0ne-year membership to the Civil War Hunter’s Club in Nashville, Tennessee. Strike two on me.
Six hunts and a weekend later, I had a respectable haul. My $75 entry fee returned about $300. It basically made me break even. But what a blast! I learned some great tips from *real* pros, which I admitted I was not among them. Strike three.
Racing cars got in the way of my treasure hunting and it dropped off dramatically as I travelled around a couple of states to race on dirt tracks, then there was the divorce because of racing costs and a couple of bad crashes.
To this day I still find coins, jewelry and relics. If you ever get the chance, start looking at the ground where you walk. It will make you more aware of your surroundings, and your eyes will pick up valuable things most people walk over on a daily basis. Trust me, you don’t have to be a pro.
Shootout at Borrego Springs
There’s fun and there’s dangerous fun. Mick and his best buds typically played precariously and hence injuries were pretty much the norm. Clinic and hospital visits, too. When guns and alcohol were involved, death was ever imminent, but by sheer grace nobody had ever died.
Mick hammered the accelerator on his 1965 Pontiac GTO. The lurching car caught Danny off guard and momentarily glued him to the black bucket seat. When Mick shifted into second gear Danny had been wise enough and quick enough to anticipate it and grabbed ahold of the dashboard. “Dude! This thing’s a rocket!”
“She does 11 seconds flat in the quarter mile,” Mick boasted. “I came in second place at National Trails Raceway last year. Made a few bucks and snagged a trophy. Lost to some nimrod from Philadelphia driving a T-bucket roadster.
“Cool beans, bro. I was still in Afghanistan and missed out on everything.” Danny sighed, peered out the window, and shook his head free of the memories of war. “Beer?”
“Do politicians lie?”
Danny smirked and handed him a cold beer as the GTO motored along. “Hey, I heard a good joke when I landed in the states last week.” Danny sipped the foam from the top of his beer.”
“If it’s corny, I’ll pop a slug in your neck.” Mick grinned as he patted his side holster sporting a Glock 19. It *was* loaded.
“Hold up, bro and don’t play stupid. By the way, Yo mama's so stupid, when they said, ‘Order in the court,’ she asked for fries and a shake.”
“Hadn’t heard that one, Mick said, then retorted, “Yo mama's so stupid, she went to the dentist to get a Bluetooth.”
Danny spit beer on his lap. “Yeah? Well, yo mama's so poor, she chases the garbage truck with a grocery list!”
They both laughed. Beer and jokes went as well together as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Danny spoke up. “So when do we meet up with Gonzalo, Terrence and Jamal at Borrego Springs?”
“Jamal’s driving his truck and picking up some beer and grub at the market first. Their probably a half hour behind us, but we’ll meet up at the huge no trespassing sign.”
“Gonzalo calls it, what was it?
“El Supermercado. Spanish for the supermarket. Mick slowed the GTO down to avoid a tumbleweed blowing across the highway.
I’d have never guessed, Einstein. “Another beer, Mick?”
“My limit is 20 and this makes two.”
The part of Borrego Springs desert they were headed to was off limits because it had previously been used as a live fire site for one of the US Army’s artillery units. Live rounds were scattered here and there. You would not want to walk around at dark.
“Been a while since I’ve been. How many bullet holes does that sign have now?”
“Last I saw a month back there were probably 200 plus. Someone blasted it with a shotgun and blew the top left corner off.” Mick braked, downshifted and wheeled the GTO into a gas station to top of the gas tank.
You did not want to be stranded in the California desert. Blazing hot days turned into frigid nights. More deaths occurred from the intense heat, however.
Tank full and fresh ice on the beer, they reached Borrego Springs an hour later. Mick dragged the cooler into the shaded area by a large boulder. Danny found an Indian arrowhead.
A cloud of dust and a thundering Ford truck with a hole in the muffler signaled Gonzalo’s arrival 20 minutes later. While Gonzalo did a donut in the loose sand, Jamal leaped from the bed of the truck and almost rolled into a cactus. “Holy guacamole! Arriba!”
Six beers each, they arose from a rock formation and looked around for arrowheads, rifles slung over their shoulders. “Who wants to climb that hill with me?” Gonzalo asked, pointing. It was perhaps 1,000 feet tall and jagged. Someone had placed a Canadian flag atop, now ragged from the desert winds.
“I’m down,” Jamal chimed in.
Terrence also volunteered, but Mick and Daddy stayed back to “guard the food and beer.” Danny cranked up the BBQ and used some dry mesquite wood for fuel. An hour later Mick saw the trio through his binoculars. They were half way up the hill and a good 600 meters away from him.
“Careful of the scorpion over there,” Danny warned.
Mick handed the binoculars to Danny. “They’re at the top waving.”
As he looked, Danny let out a yelp and dropped the equipment like a hot charcoal brick. “Flipping rattlesnake bite!”
The diamond back rattler skittered away. Mick fired three shots before killing it. “Bro, we need to get you to the hospital ASAP.”
“Call the guys back and let’s beat feet to the emergency room,” Danny said calmly. It would be an hour before the poison would kill him, dependent on how much venom entered his bloodstream.
Cell phones were useless as was Danny’s shouts. He picked up the binoculars to see where the three men were. They sat drinking a beer, a Mexican flag above their heads where the Canadian flag had been. Mick had an idea. Turns out it wasn’t so great after the fact.
He shouldered his Ruger model 10/22 rifle and placed a shot two feet away from Terrence. All three hit the dirt and then returned fire. A half dozen rounds spanked the sand by Mick and Danny. Danny fired his rifle and a round hit at the feet of Jamal. The trio unleashed a hail of bullets. The shootout at Borrego Springs was on like Donkey Kong!
“We need to get out of dodge, man!” Mick hollered to a crouching Danny, still shooting but intentionally missing the men on the hill.
“Let’s ride!” Danny shouted. Just then Mick went down, writhing in pain.
“I’m hit!” A bullet had hit Mick in the lower leg. Blood seeped from the wound. Danny’s war training kicked into high gear and he had the bleeding slowed to a trickle in under two minutes. They hid behind the GTO to avoid any more stray bullets. “Listen," Mick began, “you drive and I’ll ride. Now give me beer for the pain.”
“Here. Whiskey might be faster.” Danny handed him a silver flask from his backpack.
“Holding out on us, eh?” Mick maintained his sense of humor.
“Nope. I was saving it for later. Let’s go!”
“Wait. I have one thing to do before we split. Hand me my rifle.” Danny obliged. Mick lifted it and fired. The right front tire on the truck went flat with lightning quickness. “Let them figure it out from there,” Mick said in a huff.
With that, Danny drove the Pontiac off towards the highway, headed for the hospital. The shootout at Borrego Springs was another dangerous game for the record books among friends.
When You don't feel like Writing, You Should
Been there. Done that. Didn't buy the t-shirt. I've been writing since I was 8 years old, and I haven't stopped since, some 50 years later. As a writer, you're going to *always* see the days when you just don't want to write, but I advise that you do it anyway. ***Anything!***
I write here on read.cash and make what I would make on a mere paragraph on my writing business platform. I write anyways. Sure, you're not going to get rich here on read.cash but you can make a few BCH dividends. Think of it as a community where we all are able to voice our opinions, reality, and our fiction. We are a collective of words. We matter. *You* matter. Be encouraged.
Vent your frustrations, your whims, your talent, your future glory.
I have written. and produced, films, TV commercials, commercial blogs, podcasts, academic theses, PowerPoint presentations, blog topics, press releases, resumes (they pay great!), novellas, novels and more. Additionally, I have had the privilege of editing books you would likely be familiar with. In short, I never grow weary of writing or editing. *I am always on call.* My phones are on high volume 24/7. I make money.
It's in my blood. Writing that is. If you're a writer, you have the very same blood. One thing I have learned over the decades is that you must be committed. As for me, I awaken at 3:30-4 a.m, and I sleep around 10:20 p.m. Yes, I have it down to a science. If per chance I awaken at 5 I feel as if I have lost a half day.
I had my first newspaper when I was 9. I never made money from it but I loved writing the community content. I don't make a lot money here, either, but I try to write twice a day posts/articles.
Here's a big deal i the writer world (as far I am able to observe), people often complain about **writer's block.** In my opinion, writer's block is pure fiction. The problem as I see it is laziness. Yes, sometimes we awaken and have the blah's. We don't want to get out of bed, much less write anything but a couple of Instagram or Facebook posts and be done with it for the day.
But I will argue that writing *anything*, a line or two, some freestyle, anything, will give you an idea to write on something beneficial. An impetus, a motivation if you will. You have to be self-motivated.
Sometimes my clients request this or that. I rarely decline, but at times it is out of my expertise (statistics, and calculus). At any rate, they provide me a with a due date and then at times I have the inclination to stall the writing. But I have made it a habit of ***not*** allowing my procrastination get in the way of making good money. And one other thing: I have never, *ever* missed a deadline.
That's commitment.
Another thing, the more you read, the better your writing will be. For example, I typically read 5-10 books a week, simultaneously. That's crazy! Actually, no, because it builds one's focus. Read, read, READ. Do not be afraid of taking chances, thinking outside of the proverbial box.
**Write!**
The only thing holding you back is procrastination (laziness). The old adage that time is money holds true.
Get off your bum. Write. Write angrily, write happy, write freestyle. Write spiritually and factually. Perhaps copy your social media posts and add to your posts. There re myriad ways to write. But *never* plagiarize.
Write. Do it. You can do it. Again, be encouraged.
Smears, Fake News, Rumors and Cancel Culture
Contemporary society has changed and not necessarily for the better. It's sad when we live in a world where our God-given and Constitutionally protected rights to free speech are being muffled by cancel culture. At the rate we are headed there is nothing to prevent civil wars and a new world war. History proves me right.
Have you even been smeared for voicing the wrong opinion? How about suspended on Facebook for not following a Marxist narrative? I have. Smears are but one way leftists are attacking good people with morals and Christian values.
Do you take the time to check to see if a news story is real or fake? I do. It's necessary because the danger of not doing so it that we perpetuate a harmful lie. It doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum you are on, fake news is damaging to any culture.
Another method to silence people is to attack their character. Hello? We all have flaws and they can be easily exploited. People who utilize cancel culture take extreme steps to silence people, looking at their social media posts and finding any comment they deem offensive.
If character assassination, fake news and smears are not effective, destructive rumors are spread. Rumors are lies, dreamed up out of hate. They have the capacity to ruin reputations if one does not speak up and defend oneself. We must defend ourselves, because history demonstrates that silence brings about more of the same vicious lies.
Reality is no longer reality. Evil is called good, and good is called evil. This is a sign of the end times, my friends and colleagues.
Free speech is crucial to maintaining any democracy. This includes speech we may not agree with. But it is important to hear what others have to say and let our conscience decide what is acceptable to us. We don't cancel the speech we disagree with but rather we speak up and provide another voice regarding an issue.
Maybe you've been a victim of cancel culture. If you haven't, fasten your seat belt because it is inevitable.
Keep in mind that we are not obligated to bend a knee or ascribe to political correctness. Again, we should follow our conscience and stick to our values and morals. In the end, we are all on trial. I for one refuse to be found guilty. You should as well. Speak up!
I'll take some time off to mourn the loss of my best fried, Muffy. She was a fantastic dog and always loving and gentle in nature. I bought her 5 years ago. Today when moving, a neighbor left the gate open and she got out and was hit by a speeding car on MacArthur highway. I cried and will drink myself to sleep. Have a fantastic day.
Six Types of Love and their Meanings
Love. It's a ubiquitous word tossed around by the vast majority of people without regard to what it means. This is because the English language is unsophisticated when it comes to the use of the word love. But the ancient Greeks had six words (some say 8) to describe various types of love.
Let's have a look at each one.
**Eros**
Most of us think of romantic love or sexual passion when we use the word love. The Greeks used the word *eros* to describe a type of love that could place people in imminent danger. This type of love usually meant a loss of control in one's life, the very type that individuals like you and I seek in our relationships.
However, as we have also experienced in our lives, this type of love has smitten us at least once in our lifetime and made us wonder what love really is. We can say without argument that love (eros) is not always a positive experience, because it fails. It can be tough on us and cause us to fall into a deep, long-lasting depression. But even where eros fails, there is another kind of love.
**Agape**
Agape love is synonymous with a love for everyone, everywhere. Oops! Mot of us don't express this type of love. We have enemies and "frenemies" we just can't like, much less love. I heard a pastor talking about sin once and how to stop it, and he basically said: "Let the Holy Spirit convict you and deal with it in His time. I'm spending most of my time trying to love everyone as I love myself."
Wise words, right?
Interestingly enough, we derive the word charity from agape when translated into the Latin word *caritas*. Unfortunately, as the world in which we live grows colder in heart, charity and love for everyone is in short supply. We should strive to love one another.
**Philia**
Say what? This Greek word for love is rather simple. It seems to me that each of us demonstrated this kind of love. It is the love that profound friendship we share with others through loyalty. We also make sacrifices for these friends by putting their needs before ours at times.
Take a look at your social media accounts. Do you have 5,000 friends on Facebook, Twitter, Gab. Instagram, or others? Well, logic dictates that while they may be "friends," you likely have never met most of them. There goes philia out the window! Thankfully, we do have friends that are loyal to us and whom we are loyal to. And then there is One is sticks closer to you than a friend: Jesus. Get the idea?
**Pragma**
This is the type of love most of us seek. Pragma is a mature love that lasts a very, very long time, like we observe between couples who have been together for 25 years and more.
This kind of love not only sacrifices for the other person in one's life, but additionally a real love given to another. It is a love of action. Relationships fall apart because of a lack of pragma. Pragma in action exhibits patience, compromise and exceptional tolerance for another person. Do you have it in you?
**Ludus**
Aha! We all have this one on our side. Finally! This is the type of love showed to others when we're kicking back with friends and having a good time eating, bonding, partying, playing and having a good time.
It's also the kind of love that teenagers exhibit when they are dating or going steady. In short, if you want a better picture of ludus as a form of love, look no further than kids playing together gleefully.
**Philautia**
Roh-roh! We all have too much of this one. *Way too much*. Philautia is a love for oneself. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but for many it surely is.
We already know we love ourselves. But wait you say, I hate myself! No, you hate your circumstances. If you truly hated yourself, you wouldn't care. Simple logic.
Far too often we focus on self rather than others. We want this, we buy that, we neglect the needs of others to fulfil our desires. That's narcissism! We should strive to avoid this and aim for a love that is capable of loving others. The proper amount of self-love allows us to love others.
We see from above we have a lot of work to do in our lives in order to love properly. Let's get started.
An Excerpt of my Novel: "The Reluctant Thief"
1.
*“Now is the winter of our discontent.”* *(Richard III Act 1, Scene 1)*
Bounding over a chain-link fence meant to keep the honest on the proverbial up and up was a simple task for even a hungry man who hadn’t teased his craving taste buds, save for a cheeseburger gleaned from a dumpster behind a MacDonald’s, in nearly a fortnight.
Sinewed forearms propelled Fritjov Nilsson up and over the fence and onto the lush grass of the country club, the hangout for the elite of society who feasted while his stomach churned. He knelt in the darkness, flashlight in his trembling hands. Leaves crackled and swirled from a cold, brisk wind out of the north.
As he turned his ear to the gusts, he recalled the time he was busted in the supermarket in Cincinnati by a butcher for stealing a pocketful of goodies: Tootsie Rolls, Necco Wafers, M&M’s and a lemon pie, his favorite. Sweets. Sugar. Energy. Perhaps on this frosty evening after Thanksgiving, there would be a few extra leftovers inside the ritzy compound. All he wanted was food, but that cost money he didn’t have.
His buds called him Fritz, his antagonists, Schizoid. He dreamed of being rich and famous, perhaps a rock’ n roll star, the CEO of a multinational corporation, or maybe an entrepreneurial innovator who brought the joy he lacked to the world. Fact was, he was a hustler out of necessity, that is, ever since he had chased his father from the family home with a shotgun after knocking his mother out cold in one of the latter’s many drunken and violent frenzies.
His newspaper route didn’t pay squat, but the side benefits of unlocked cars with unknown treasures, and items left for the pickings on porches and unguarded sheds, were entirely beyond his wherewithal to avoid. Besides, the power tools, fishing poles and tackle, boots, wallets, knives and guns, were all easily and quickly sold at the flea market on weekends. They fed the hungry mouths at home that belonged to his two siblings and his cancer ridden mother. The world was truly unfair.
A twig snapped like unexpected thunder under his Convers tennis shoes, previously purloined from the Moody’s pickup truck after their late night of grunion hunting at Pacific Beach, before the family relocated to the frozen tundra of the north, a move he despised his father for. He stopped and listened. Crickets. Nothing more. He followed the tree line to within a long football throw of the edifice that was the club, now dim except for a menacing yellow light bulb illuminating several wooden steps. Rich folks didn’t have creaky wooden steps, so he didn’t sweat it, but let it. That was his modus operandi.
From the back of his waistband he withdrew a wrist rocket slingshot, also stolen from a grungy backpack left by some kid who had left it outside the front door of his dorm. Digging into the right pocket of his tattered jeans, he retrieved a marble-sized stone, pulled back on the rubber, and let the missile speed to its intended target. The snap and the *wizzzzz* cut through the threatening night.
Miss!
Cursing under his breath, and exhaling misty evidence of his presence, he reloaded the slingshot and let a new stone fly.
Hit!
“Lights out, you elite scum,” he thought to himself, although with some semblance of remorse. In the pitch blackness, he considered turning back, but the needle on the gas gauge of his 1963 Plymouth Valiant was a tad under E. He’d be lucky to make it home, if indeed his mission for the needy from the greedy was indeed successful.
A shivering Fritz placed two winter mittens that belonged to an older sister on his numb hands, pulled down a Bengals NFL beanie, and then made a mad dash for the stairs.
Arriving in a huff, as snow flurries fell from an unseen clouded sky, he crouched and then slowly stood and peered into a nearby frosted window. The place appeared empty. His MO for burglaries was to throw a brick or a rock through a window and then enter. Only God and creatures heard the shattering of glass. Fritz lifted himself up and into the club, quickly turning on his flashlight in search of the alarm box he had triggered. Would eight seconds alert the authorities? Not taking a chance, he quickly looked for an escape route, located it, and then made his way to the expansive kitchen.
The flashlight began to dim. Previously placing the batteries in a freezer had only provided him with a three minute recharge. A worthless hack. He lit a burner on a stove for light, lowered the flame, and opened the industrial refrigerator. A veritable bonanza widened his pale blue eyes.
Assorted covered plates of turkey, ham and what appeared to be duck, made his stomach rumble. A ravenous Fritz chomped into the cold, dark meat from a turkey leg. He held the leg in his teeth as he surveyed the fully stocked fortune inside for the taking.
Mournful howling snapped him from his beastly reverie. Dog? Wolf? Wolfman? His imagination ran wild, but there wasn’t enough time to worry when he had mouths to feed. Snagging a potato sack from a storage closet, he stuffed every tidbit he determined to be worthy into the cavernous bag. He raided the pantry, and, for good measure, lifted a bottle of Johnny Walker Red some drunk had stashed on the cool, taking satisfaction in being the local Robin Hoodlum.
The animal wailed anew. Fritz didn’t need the attention. He peered through the once unblemished pane and dispatched the mutt with a harmless shot to the rear with his slingshot. Snow was now covering the grass and he knew he’d have to cover his tracks lest a police dog follow his scent.
“Ten percent chance of snow, my eye,” he hissed. He strode towards the bar, dimly lit by an aging neon Little Kings beer sign. A fine selection of name brand whiskeys, rums, vodkas and assorted liquors adorned the shelves. Behind the bar, he opened a door leading to a storage room. It was full of cases of beer, wine and booze. Against his better judgment, he hefted a couple of cases and set them down next to his gunny sack of food. He then took the LED TV above the bar over the liquors just for giggles and grins.
His older sister, Amy, was always hogging the idiot box and watching lame movies on the Lifetime Channel. He thought about disconnecting the cable he’d illegally hooked up before making the first trek across the snow covered grass to the Plymouth.
Within 20 minutes the car was fit to burst.
Several trips back and forth to the club compelled him to disregard any notion of covering his footprints. He cranked up the begrudging six-cylinder slant engine and made his escape into the blustery night sans headlights. Near a main road, he hit the high beams and headed to Owen Judge’s house which he shared with his alcoholic father.
Momentum, Energy and Financial Success during Times of Economic Difficulty
If you're anything like me, you have found the last year of the pandemic to be particularly challenging. Travel, visiting family, eating - these are all difficulties, but earning a steady income has been the most daunting task for multitudes of people.
Let's see how we can turn things around in our lives and make our writing, blogging and businesses reach their objectives instead of the virus beating us down.
Momentum and Energy
Sun Tzu ("The Art of War") contends that momentum can be transformed into an advantage in tactical maneuvering when the momentum of the group is applied as a single fighting force. He explains that the impact of a group is exponentially bigger than the impact of any skilled individual.
A skilled general (business or blog owner) knows how to utilize the collective power of a united fighting force which has a greater effect than the efforts of a few talented warriors. This is because when an army is united, it generates momentum. In turn, this momentum creates power and force that is difficult to counter. He likens the power of a united army to the kinetic power of rolling logs and rocks down a slope.
In chapter five of his bestselling book, Sun Tzu explains the value of energy to military tactics and maneuvering. Energy is both still and in motion. He advises that military tacticians utilize the energy of their soldiers wisely and collectively. Sun Tzu argues that a wise general would take advantage of the “combined energy” of his men to synergize their individual power and abilities. In turn, this creates a bigger and more powerful mass of energy that is significantly harder to counter.
This is also applicable to your business or blog.
Application and Examples
Let's have a look how you and I can apply the above-mentioned momentum and energy to create more income. I've already observed substantial results.
The application of the principle of energy and momentum is seen in Jeff Cox and Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s *The Goal* and Howard Schultz’s *Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its* S*oul*.
In *The Goal*, the protagonist, Alex Rogo, faced the daunting task of improving the productivity of the UniCo Manufacturing plant in his hometown of Bearington. In the middle of the novel, Alex consolidates his team and uses their various talents and abilities to reach the goals of the company.
Alex discovers that the use of robots in the plant reduced productivity. He was able to identify other constraints in the plant with the help of various employees from the accounting, production, and inventory departments.
In the same manner, Alex was able to identify the various bottlenecks of the plant by collaborating with the employees. By collaboratively working with various departments of the plant, Alex is able to apply Sun Tzu’s principle.
He is furthermore able to determine the cause of the plants lack of productivity by eliciting the help of various departments. Consequently, he uses the energy of the employees to turn around the performance of the plant and correct the unproductive practices to reach his objectives.
In the same manner, Howard Schultz explains how combined energy was instrumental in achieving the overall goal of his organization during the recession of 2008. In the chapter “A Galvanizing Moment”, Schultz describes how the Starbucks Leadership Conference was instrumental to Starbuck’s survival during the difficult and challenging period of economic downturn.
He states that improving the morale of its managers was essential because it was an: “…invaluable, reinvigorating deposit” during tough times.
Ring any bells during this pandemic-related uncertainty?
Schultz describes the challenges that he faced planning and setting up the leaders conference as well as the details of the conference and the effect it had on the attendees. The effect of the leadership conference on the attendees was significant, but it was essential during difficult times. Schultz highlights the importance of **consolidation, collaboration, and motivation during times of economic difficulty.**
Details of the conference illustrate how the morale and dedication of employees are important to sustaining momentum within the company when facing difficulties. Most CEO’s would cancel events such as this to show austerity to shareholders, but Schultz understands the value of energy and momentum among his employees to reach his goals.
Like Sun Tzu, he understands that the importance of momentum and how it is able to push employees (or business owners) on to reach their objectives. The leadership conference was instrumental in creating energy among managers to revitalize the morale of employees and help them push harder to achieve the organization’s objectives despite challenging periods in the economy.
Using these strategies can increase the potential for success of your blog or business. Why not begin implementing them today.
Public Relations Branding and Proper Engagement
So you own a business or are considering opening one? Great! Obviously, during this ridiculously long pandemic, buying a lock and key (ready to open) business may we a wise move, but expensive. Maybe your business idea is geared toward blogging. Whatever your business venture is, you will need to know how to develop public relations to make your brand name known and ultimately successful.
Branding
Branding is essentially the process whereby a concept, logo or an image is marketed so as many individuals as humanly possible come to recognize and identify with a particular service or product when other businesses are offering or providing the equivalent service or merchandise.
Keep the above paragraph in mind when here on read.cash and are making a logo and essentially selling yourself to the reading audience.
The purpose of branding is to get people to identify so strongly with your service or product that it is their go-to brand above all others. In other words, branding is the strategy of putting your thought into people’s minds.
Branding is important because it builds value for a business. With the advent of the Internet and intense competition in a globalized world, branding is vital in order to stay ahead of the competition with innovative ideas, marketing, and reaching out to individuals around the world to set a company apart from similar businesses.
Branding is not the same as it was in even a few years ago. Before the Internet came along, businesses needed capital, some semblance of social status, were pretty much related to using TV and print ads to attract consumers, and were forced to offer better products or services than their competitors.
Wise business owners always want to obtain a competitive advantage!
Branding is different nowadays as a result of the use of ever-evolving technology. Branding is now a matter of being able to connect with people, even if you do not have the massive financial capital like large businesses. In other words, any person with a great idea and social media savvy can build a brand and achieve success if they are able to connect with people.
Engagement
When engaging people in a conversation, there are certain advantages and disadvantages for any business venture. Some advantages consist of utilizing social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. By using these tools, businesses are able to immediately interact with consumers to mitigate a problem, are free to create any content they prefer to engage their audience with, and by staying in tune with consumers build brand loyalty.
On the other hand, some disadvantages consist of the ability of consumers to post negative comments about a product or service. Also, a communications specialist has to stay on top of things to mitigate any negativity, and oftentimes there is just not enough staff or time to keep up with every social media post.
The responsibilities of a communications specialist (you as the business owner or an employee) are to ensure that consumers or client needs, complaints and/or suggestions, are taken into consideration and answered as promptly as possible. Blowing someone off can prove disastrous, because word of mouth spreads rather fast on social media platforms and on the mean streets.
Common sense guidelines consist of not allowing one’s emotions (anger, frustration, etc.) to dictate a response to a consumer or client, interacting in a timely manner, maintaining professional courtesy, and ensuring that matters that are crucial to a brand are resolved in a timely fashion. In this manner, negative feedback does not go viral and crush your sales and/or reputation.
Finally, it is important to be on top of audience engagement because “…investing time into social media can help a business create lasting relationships with customers that will keep them coming back for years to come.” According to Hutchinson (2014), communication specialists are the conduit whereby successful engagement is achieved. Taking the time to interact means going out of one’s way even when it doesn’t appear to be profitable. In the end, all people are equally important.
Build your brand through public relations and you will see your business grow. A failure to stay in touch with your consumers can lead you into bankruptcy.
@Scotty17
