Pain **It's a sign given so you know something is (seriously) wrong.** *A huge problem of pain is how to handle it. There are so many pains - mental and physical - and with a part, we have to live because there's no cure and painkillers hardly or don't help.* **It's not easy to live with pain.** A fact is what is painful to one is not painful to others. We can not feel someone else's pain. How intense pain is felt all depends on the personal pain threshold (how fast you feel…
Peanut rocks Chocolate. I love the dark one most and what I made is so easy. Some shops sell "peanut rocks", only a few Corinas (cornflakes covered with chocolate) and it's expensive. You can make this yourself with cornflakes, muesli, raisins, and... (peanuts). `What is best of all is you can use your old cornflakes or nuts too. No waste we eat it all.` What you need Dark chocolate (1 piece of 100 grams) Something to add to it (I used peanuts and raisins, 100 grams) A pan…
Hobbies **Do you have one?** My grandmother collected stamps (mainly for others), made crossword puzzles, and played Yathzee. My other granny knitted and searched the newspaper for who died. My grandfather was always busy. He kept many animals, was repairing everything in a large shed and a businessman. Most likely his hobbies fitted great to his work. My father kept bees and me? As a child, I collected sugar bags and cigar bands. Both I found in a large amount in my…
Saving water It's amazing the amount of water I use. *Do you know how much you need daily?* **For drinking only I need 4 liters a day.** With five wolves around I need **50 liters** more. If it's hot they like to jump in the pond but there's no water. The pond is empty over one year by now. I never refilled it since my water comes from my own well. There are only two plants in my house. They can survive without much water. Once in a month **one mug water** is enough. Those…
Red rose The red rose is lucky. People seem to find it special. Special in the name of love. Love must be painful have you noticed the thorns roses have? I wonder why the red rose is the one people like most? What is wrong with pink, yellow, black, or white? Red might stand for love but it's the color of blood and red stands for aggression if we may believe the color experts. I am not really a fan of roses and not flattered by a bunch of flowers. It's watching something in…
Spam kills Spam **How annoying it is don't you agree?** The first time I was spammed was as I started with Hotmail. It's years ago. Hotmail had something to fight it and I joined. The end of the story is I gave up on my Hotmail address. It was a relief to have one without spam, where I could find back the few e-mails I needed it for. `Spam is all kinds of (false) advertisement you are not looking for. It's an aggressive way of asking for attention, a way to sell, and in many…
Bad moms **Bad moms raise bad kids.** Really? No, but we love to blame someone for those nasty, little devils that are a burden to the society. It's human to blame and as long as we are focused on someone else's "little" devil there's no need to focus on our own misery. **You are a bad mom if:** Your children have a big mouth and do not show respect. It's the number one and you can count on it if your child cannot lower its voice you are labeled as anti-social too. If you…
Prompt I wrote it on a small piece of paper, the two prompts given for a daily freewrite. These days I am always late if it comes to writing. I have other things to do and I promise myself I catch up later. I do catch up especially if I have no time to focus on something else. A story for example because stories I like most of all. If it comes to stories you can wake me up for one and if it's good I fall asleep before I hear the end. **A storyteller.** How I would love to…
Fearing nature Nature. *Many love it or are at least are fine with it. Humans are used to be surrounded by trees, grass, flowers, birds, dogs, cats, bats, flies, bugs, fleas, etc.* Nature lovers keep all kinds of plants and some even hug trees. The animal lovers among us keep fishes, horses, birds, bees, snakes, dogs, skunks, spiders, and even snails to brighten up their life. By now we are aware nature does good and has a calming effect. It's a good reason to go outside. We…
Once *Once upon a time... Yes, all stories start with these words if it's not "A long time ago". It's hard to be original if you like to share a tale and give it the bit extra only these words can but please, read on.* **So... Not long ago or who knows it was long ago there was a couple and they wanted a child.** It wasn't a weird wish since humans just like animals and plants try to reproduce themselves. He blamed her because there was no one else to blame and she felt…
295! *I thought let's have a look at the communities...* Have you noticed it? By now read.cash has 295 communities and if it goes on like this each (active) member of read.cash has his/her own community. There are all kinds of reasons to start one. You might want to give others a hand or miss the community you like to see. Perhaps you simply started one before you scrolled through the endless list and were not in the mood to read them one by one. `If you ask me it's getting…
Dear diary After all these years I still see you. My mother took me to a tiny shop in the city and there you were. A big disappointment. Since nothing else was available I took you. Orange, so not my color and we never became friends. The color hurt my eyes. Your paper wasn't great to write on and sharing my feelings with you, knowing others would read it, was the last thing I intend to do. I gave it a try and wrote what I had for dinner. **Dear diary,** **I had a great…
Missing person The amount of missing people is extremely high. Some countries are famous for their missing adults, tourists, and/or children. There are all kinds of reasons why someone leaves and the question is how those left behind deal with it, what do they feel if the message is given to them their beloved one is missing? **In many countries, you can not report someone missing within the first 24 hours.** The police aren't fond of making these reports. Once they start…
School If I walk to school I have to pass the house of a big boy. He's huge and fat his parents and brother are not. The boy is a bully and still wants to play with the little children he bullies. He cheats and takes all your marbles. I think his mother knows the children are afraid of him. She has a strange look in her eyes. She scares me too. The teacher isn't kind. I have her for two years because there are too many students. The real teacher is kind and young, mine is…
How to Improve your writing? I believe you like to write. I assume you do because this is a place where we read and write. You might say you are here for the earnings in the first place. Might be but if you do not write this is not the place for you to be. No matter if you write yourself or just comment you have to write here unless you read in silence. You only make a chance to be noticed if you write and if you write something good. You can not write? You say you have no…
I am lost again It's Wednesday. Today school ends at noon. A girl in my class asked me to come over to her place. I am not sure if her mom knows. Can I just go over there? We walk the way to her house. She knows the way and I follow her. I never saw a mom like hers. She wears a bikini and her hair is tied up. I think she forgot to comb it. Perhaps she was in bed. My mother sleeps at day time if she had to work at night. Francoise's mom is kind. She asks if we want an omelet…
How disappointing **Strange how easily we are getting fooled.** **We hear and see one thing but behind our backs, something else goes on.** We have some changes here, on this platform I mean. Changes in reading.cash which I apparently missed. I know how you get rewarded if you join a community and new more rewarded if you write good original content. **For communities, there's a reward in it too.** If you are the first adding a post you win and have that extra point. If you…
Foster parent I was a parent, a foster parent. *I thought I would do something good, something good for a child in need. I had many children and they all stayed longer as expected.* Here you can only be a foster parent if you did some course, passed it and if the organisation for foster parents agrees. If they don't like you you can forget about it. If you are white the rules are way stricter as when you are black. I was a foster parent and I did the job alone. I was young,…
I am proud **to be...** You say that frequently? Perhaps you shout it out? You are proud to be... To be what? A parent, an adult, a wealthy man, a VIP perhaps or ... Is there a reason to be proud? What exactly does proud mean? The dictionary says: "Proud is a feeling. A feeling deep of pleasure or satisfaction. This feeling is a result of one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions or those of someone with whom one is closely associated." This means I can be proud of…
Introvert, extrovert or? **They say you are shy and shy is not good?** They say you are dull and should open up, you are an introvert? It can be but not necessary. Not being talkative doesn't mean you are an introvert you might simply not like the person who wants to chat with you or do not like gossiping. **They say a lot and most of what they say isn't true.** Introverts are no losers, they are intelligent and do add something, if not a lot, to the society. Security is a…
Polishing shoes It's Thursday. On Thursdays I can wake up at 6 am. 6 am is better than 5:30 am. This week it's my turn to polish all shoes. I have to do it in the morning after I made my bed, got dressed, and before breakfast. My mother is still in bed. I don't know where my dad is. I sit in the hallway and all shoes are lined up. Most of them are brown or black. I rub them in with a little brush, use the piece of cloth with the same color, and do the next shoe. My mother…
Moderator(s) at work Strange language? *What if you cannot write in English? What if it takes days to translate every word you wrote in your native language into English? Should this be a problem here at read.cash or any other platform?* **I don't think so.** If a platform gives the opportunity to write in every possible language this is something we, as a member, should not fight but accept. I do speak more languages, I can write in a few more but it might not be perfect.…
Leftovers *Today I have to get out of bed at 5:30 am.* *I don't know why but my mom wants it. I have to on Mondays and Fridays.* School starts at 8:30 am and it only takes me 5 minutes to walk. Frequently I am just in time. My mother always keeps me busy. It is better if she is not at home or stays in bed. I have to make my bed, get dressed, and polish all shoes again. It doesn't matter if they are used or not. Most shoes are not. My mother has as many shoes as a shoe shop.…
Life of a moderator June 12, 2020 **When I wake up she is already 6 hours at work.** Not only at work but moderates too. Things she noticed she writes to me. As soon as I have time I read and answer her messages and I start my share of moderating. It wasn't easy for the past two days. Read.cash is under construction and from one moment to the next things change. For two days we deal with extra work. More checking and for sure some posts are added which are plagiarism. We…
Complaining parents **Snot** Some parents deal a lot with it. Some children always seem to have snot on their faces. Dirty dripping noses are not attractive. Not for the child, not for the parents, not for teachers and not for society. Some children always have it and they cannot help it, at times it is even green that runs out of one nostril. It makes you wonder if parents never wipe it off and if something can be done against it. It can't be a healthy thing. **Allergies…
Frogs **On Saturdays, we all clean the house.** I don't think our house is dirty but my mother says it is. Perhaps my father says it's dirty? We are always cleaning. We do not wear shoes inside the house. If we want to go upstairs my mother vacuums underneath our feet. She says our feet, the socks we wear are dirty even if they are clean. We take a bath twice a day. I have two towels. One for the upper body one for the rest. If the towel is used it is dirty and will be…
You have talent! *Are you one of these persons saying you are talentless? Do you envy those creative ones? People who can draw, paint, sing, bake the greatest pies, and show off with it?* **Interesting to know is we most likely all have the same skills.** A talent is something you need to develop. Some have the opportunity to do so at a very young age, most people do not and need to find out by themselves what they are good at. This might take time but if you really want you…
Sunday is a bad day. **Sunday!** I do not like Sundays. They are boring and I am not allowed to play. I have to wake up at 6 am. The house needs to be cleaned and my mother wants breakfast in bed. I have to make it. She tells me exactly what she wants and if it doesn't look good she is mad and throws it through the bedroom at me. Sometimes my dad helps. I have to carry the tray upstairs. Two long stairs. My mother is a queen and sits in bed. My father sits next to her.…
Corrupt communities? **Life of a moderator.** June 15, 2020 *Should I share my thought? My thoughts about a part of the communities here or can I better shut up? Ignore the facts anyone can see if he/she reads as many posts and comments as I do in 24 hours' time? You do not need to be that smart to discover a certain event here. It concerns me and by sharing my thought I know I will not make friends here. Should I care?* While my days and nights are filled with moderating…
That single parent... *Are single parents such bad parents? Are children raised by a single parent doomed? Do they grow up as a criminal, a burden to society? Do they really have a lower IQ and EQ than children with two parents?* If we believe what they (the society) say this seems to be true. On what exactly is this opinion based? If we search deeper the only answer is *nothing*. The child of a single parent is not stupid. There's not one single scientist which can prove…
Hairdessers I am not very familiar with haircuts. I do not pay them a visit weekly like a part of my society does. I never really liked them plus I do not need one. So why visit a hairdresser? What I need I can do myself. Main reason why I do not visit a hairdresser: I do not like strangers touching me and messing up my hair. Hairdressers say they are specialists but my experiences say something else. Yes, I have been to several hairdressers in the past. They all messed it…
We change the rules Life of a moderator June 15, 2020 **We are doing this together, moderating I mean. We like to improve ourselves and our communities.** At the moment moderating seems like an endless job. It's overwhelming how many posts want to join our communities. I ask myself why because the subject of the content has nothing to do with the topic of the community. The community Diaries is not the place to post your recipes. I start thinking most writers simply click on…
Family **If I want to write I need to hide.** I always liked to sit in the corner hid behind the long curtains. It's a good place to be. They easily forget me. Only if my mother sees me I need to greet strangers. They want me to shake their hand, say uncle and aunt and they kiss me. I do not like it if those people touch and kiss me. I don't know them and they are not family. My family looks different. I do not see my family frequently. No one really likes my mother. She is…
Block user. **Life of a moderator.** June 18, 2020. *It's amazing how fast read.cash finds solutions to problems moderators deal with.* *From today on the moderator doesn't only have help from the OC tool because it finds plagiarism and nonexclusive content faster than any moderator can do but we have some great extras.* **An author can be muted in a community.** It's a great help if you have more than one moderator at work as we have. It's possible too to mute, remove…
One, two, three... **My friend is here.** I call her a friend but she isn't a real friend. It doesn't feel that way. She is in my class and sometimes she asks me to visit her. She never really plays with me at school. Today she visits me. I had to ask and my mother agreed. I can never ask the housekeeper. If I ask her my mother gets angry. There's no school on Wednesday afternoons. I feel nervous and miserable and try to ignore my mother. She acts weird again. Television…
It's not the right time. *I never understood them. Those people who said it's not the right time to start with children.* *Is it something for grandparents or people who envy you to say?* Each time I heard someone saying these words I thought "if it comes to it the time is never right". Is there a right time? Humanity survived wars, revolutions, dictators, viruses, deals with bacteria, the environment, and diseases that run into the family, bad DNA. The economy at this…
Say cheese. I have good teeth. Still, I need to visit the dentist. Ours lives in a big city. His name is Bear and he is as huge as a bear, a brown one. He's a grizzly. I saw one on tv. A grizzly looks sweet the dentist does not. I am not afraid because he only looks. It can be he is kind but he smells. I do not like it if people smell. The dentist smells out of his mouth. My grandpa smells like Old Spice and my dad after pipes. My granny only smells if she used the pink…
A hurt child, a hurt mom. *A mother can feel easily hurt if someone does not treat her child well. Some are blind for their child's character, mistakes and only see the perfect being.* *I am not one of these mothers. I am also not a person who says "I like all children". I do not think all babies are cute. I like some children, some adults, some dogs, some cats and most cows. I can see the good and bad. What a person lacks and his skills.* **Yes, I am that parent who says…
We write Life of a moderator June 20, 2020 **We had a meeting. We the moderators of several communities.** Some of us feel confused, some feel like our days here are over. Some like to give up on read.cash. Some want to learn how to write. Some are enthusiastic and are busy changing the communities. Some do not feel the need to change a community no matter if it will be featured. Some lost all inspiration to write on because they will never be able to write like an…
The biological clock. *It exists, hides in the brain and it makes one feel great or miserable. It's in charge of the habits of and organism. Habits if it comes to sleeping, eating, etc. Next to this central clock each bodycell has it's own biological clock too.* **It's the biological clock telling us how we feel.** We all heard of, some even experienced it, the jetlag. Flying to a different time zone confuses the brain and this is the reason why one wants to sleep at…
How to freewrite? It only takes 10 minutes! **Freewriting is a great way of forcing yourself to write.** It doesn't need to take long and if you have a mobile phone you can do it everywhere. I spend a lot of time waiting. This waiting time is great for practicing my writing skills and gather my thoughts. Believe me, it's always busy in my head and it's good to let these thoughts out. If you don't take the time to do so you will be one of these stressed-out people not able to…
Hospital visit **I am tired. I wish I could sleep longer but it's not allowed.** Yesterday I could not write. I had to go to the hospital again. I hate it. First of all my mother drives me. If she drives I always feel sick. It's a long ride. Next, I had to wait for at least one hour. I hate waiting. It's warm, it smells in hospital, all those voices hurt my ears and I am in pain. I have no idea why I am here because no doctor will cure me. They just look at me for a few…
Crooked as a barrel of fish hooks. *A lie has no legs and the truth will come out?* You most likely heard of those idioms people use to brighten up their language with and use to teach you (a lesson) as well. One of them is *honesty is the best policy*. Whoever came up with this one and is it true? **You might say it is but if you like it or not it's not true.** In reality, we are hardly able to recognize a lie. Even a bad liar gets away with it. The problem is in principle…
No voice **Slowly more people start to think.** Think about what is going on in our country. We had a sort of lockdown. It meant: borders closed for people outside the EU or after a certain time at night. The prime minister said *"We have to do it together. We do it for those who are more vulnerable than we are."* More vulnerable are the elderly people (70 years or older), those with immune diseases or live with organs donated. "*We have to do this together*", the prime…
Una nueva norma **Valores**. Todos lo tenemos, frecuentemente se habla de normas y valores. Estas dos palabras gobiernan nuestra vida y la de otros. Muchas veces forzamos a las personas a vivir como queremos nosotros.Con nuestras normas y valores etiquetamos a las personas su modo de actuar. Las etiquetamos cómo buenas o malas. De esta forma se siente más seguro. Las normas tienen que ver con el comportamiento. En mi país saludamos a los que conocemos, también nos…
Spare us, please. Life of a moderator June 22, 2020 **Moderating isn't as easy as it sounds.** It takes hours of reading, figuring out what exactly is told, commenting, and if the content is rejected telling why. It doesn't make fun to reject but each community tries to stand for something. Something which will make our community look good, makes us feel proud and gives the outside world a good picture of what read.cash stands for. As I just joined this platform I wrote in a…
Washing a mouth with soap **It's Father's day.** I did not make anything at school but I think my father doesn't care. He smokes a pipe and we buy something for his pipe at the tobacconist. It is a small shop. They sell pipes, tobacco, and whatever people who smoke need. Some little soft rings, wires you can bend, and things I never saw. I don't like the smell of pipe but some tobacco smells nice if it's still in the package. My father says he is happy with his presents. I…
Money doesn't make happiness. *A tale tells about a single father with many children. It's Christmas and they have nothing to eat. A neighbor feels pity for the father and offers help. He can bring them food and take care of one of the children, is willing to pay for its needs and education. This way it can help the father to provide in the needs of itself and the siblings. The father refuses. According to him, it's better to be poor and die for hunger together instead of…
Nauseous **June 22, 2020** It's Monday. Today I am ill. It is Summer but I have to stay in bed. I wish the curtains were closed. The light hurts my eyes. I did set the table at 6 am and went to school. I felt miserable but I thought if I sit still it's no problem. No nose bleedings today. The teacher says we will have a test. I really need to learn the tables by the head. I only remember three, 1, 5, and 10. I will put the paper underneath my pillow perhaps I know them when…
Drug use makes smart? **Are you a drug user, an addict perhaps?** Some people are against drugs, others have no issues with it. Some are only against hard drugs (cocaine, LSD, and so on) and not against soft drugs (cannabis). It is not said that those who are against drugs ever used it or know how it feels to be high. In several countries, it is recognized as a painkiller and you can even get it on prescription in the Netherlands. What exactly is the problem people have with…
A dog's life June 25, 2020 **Life in bed is fine.** My mother never visits me and my dad is not home. I don't think I miss anything. I have water and some biscuits on my silver plate. It's my own plate my names are curved in it. I think it was a gift as I was born. Perhaps my grandparents gave it although I don't know which one. I have two pairs of grandparents. I should say had. One granddad died. He was my dad's dad. Now I have one granddad left. He only visits us if…
Living in fear "God-fearing" I just read the expression again and thought it is a good subject to write about. What does this expression "God-fearing" mean? Why should anyone fear God? It sounds negative to me. It doesn't make sense to fear what stands for love and forgiveness. Why do people say they are in fear, fearing God? **Do you fear God?** I don't. I lived in fear for many years, I feared my parents, for my life but not God. He's a figure somewhere up in the sky, one…
What to write about next? This question keeps many busy. Some have great ideas others can not think out anything. **"It's hard to write about the topics of the communities**" I just read. Well, that might be hard but there's no longer any need to do so. The communities might stand for a certain topic but you can do without them. It doesn't really improve your life unless you love to read and love to read about a certain topic only. You might get disappointed if you start…
30,000 euro needed. I talk about euros not dollars. *It's 30K euros you need per child to be safe.* It's a headline in today's newspaper and before I read the article I said to my child: *"It's easy anyone can do that".* *"By not saving on a bank account?"* **How come we ended up in a world where the government states each child is born with 100k debts, having children is for the rich only and no longer caring parents count but the bank account does?** Dutch people were…
The little red rides. Once there was a girl, a mother, and a granny. How or what happened to the father no one knew. It was a long time ago the villagers saw him and even a long time ago the mother did. Perhaps he died or went for some cigarettes or a drink at the pub but more likely he left because he wasn't in the mood to take care of a wife and child and sailed around the world. The mother would love to travel too but men said it would bring them bad luck so she did what…
Time changed everything. *Did I live in a time long, long ago? A time where values, norms, and principles still counted? What is left of all I was raised by?* **The table was always set.** We used a tablecloth and napkins. No paper napkins but those made out of cloth. Cotton or linen, no synthetics (which is plastic) or paper. We prayed before and after each meal. Children were not allowed to speak. After we finished dinner a part out of the Bible was read. We read in turn…
No one cares. *Is it safe to keep a diary? I am not sure how many children keep one. If it needs to keep secret you cannot tell about it. A secret is no secret if you tell it to anyone else.* I woke up early. The sun shines and it hurts my eyes. I hear the birds outside, some pigeons. Pigeons remind me of one of my grannies. There are many pigeons where she lives. Perhaps they like the berries in the huge tree or like to look at the birds in the cage my grandfather build…
Investing in a child's future **A part of raising children is to teach them how to save.** I still believe in saving for what you need or like to buy instead of taking a loan. Important is that children understand that if you need money the plastic card cannot give it to you endlessly and neither will an ATM or bank. **Mine are old enough to receive pocket money once a month.** It's not much but they don't really need it either. Each month I save a bit on their account and…
Much better **I feel much better and it makes me nervous.** What if my mother comes to my room? The last time I saw her was past Friday. I had to clean my bed and after that, she left. It's better if she forgets me. I can go to the toilet by myself and she will not scold at me or make me repeat what she says for over ten times or more. I can't help but if she starts talking my ears close after the first words. I cannot repeat what she said in the same way. It makes her…
Join, write and win! **The community Freewriting and** @Read.Cash **start a contest this week.** *Freewriting is a great way to improve your writing skills. Freewriting means you write within a certain time about a topic/prompt given.* **We want to help you to improve your writing skills!** **Stop the excuses and take time to invest in yourself. Learn how to write better, faster, and about interesting topics.** Write about something real. Topics we all, the whole world,…
Canned Party Self-service `Example freewriting` It only takes ten minutes to write about self-motivation and use the three given prompts: **cooking**, **laughing out loud**, and **cps**. Actually, it took me not even two minutes because as you can see I already used those words in my first sentence. Does it count? Yes, it does. Try to think out of the box although this freewrite should take ten minutes which means I need to write on. If you ask me some self-motivation is…
What do you share with your children? *How do you explain to your children touching is suddenly not allowed? It cannot play with other children and the teacher at school has to keep distance? How do you explain to your well-raised child it is no longer allowed to help pick up something an elderly person dropped by accident?* I **am grateful my children are older and keeping distance is a part of them.** They don't feel the need to hug and kiss everyone and my youngest was…
How to motivate me? No **cooking** for me today I want to write! NaNoWriMo starts again. Perhaps I join later. I still have to edit one book. The whole day on I've been busy arranging things, things I don't like which means I need to motivate myself to do it. The good news I was able to get out of bed without telling myself if I get out I am allowed to go back later. My brain knows better but I still fall for this cheap trick. Once out of bed I never go back. This trick I…
Soot "Monday, Monday how good to..." It's a song and I am not sure if Monday is good or bad. I'm not sure if I have to go out of bed. Monday means out of bed at 5:30 am and it's my turn to make all the beds. It's early and I don't know what I have to do. It's better to get dressed, sit on my bed and wait. My mother will be angry and call me lazy if she sees I am not out of bed yet. My dad had a quick look at me and asked what I am doing. I said I wait to go to school. I try…
@wakeupkitty