BLOG ARCHIVE 2015

Thursday, 31 December 2015:
While you're celebrating, having a nice dinner and a few toasty cocktails with friends and family tonight, keep in mind:
There are veterans out there, some-where, in the cold, laying on ice-slicked pavement.
Do you KNOW what they're going through? It's all here... They're living "Journal Days".
But that's none of your business.
Happy New Year.

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Buy: Click Here

Monday, 28 December 2015: Helping The Homeless - Winter 2015-2016 With temperatures finally reaching "Winter" lows, and snow storms, squalls and ice storms in the forecasts, there are those whose hearts turn warmer toward the Homeless in their towns and cities and those who want to do something to *help*. Well, surprisingly, it really doesn't take all that much to make a world of difference, provide protection against the snow and ice and cold. I can tell you, from personal and direct experience, the following "little" items can put more warmth into the body and heart than imaginable. You can, if you want to, start with a simple back-pack. It doesn't have to be "high-end" or costly. Sometimes you can pick one up at your local "Dollar Store" or those "Deeply Discounted" stores. I've seen (and gotten a reasonable pack for about 5-7$ and you can believe me when I tell you: it does just fine). What to put into it? Well, here's a "Starter List" as suggestion. Where you go from here is entirely up to you, but this is truly the basic that all too many Homeless people truly do miss because, whether you choose to believe it or not, just because somebody's Homeless, you should NEVER assume s/he doesn't care about him/herself any longer. 1. Toiletries: You know those little samples or "travel size" tooth-paste, mouth-wash, soaps and shampoos? Well, toss in a dollar tooth-brush, a face cloth or even a dish-cloth, a hand or tea towel and a "travel size" deodorant and you're not only doing the person a kindness, you just might be doing your town the same. Put it all into a zip-lock style bag and TAH_DAH! Homeless people want to be clean and presentable too. Yes... it's true. 2. Clear, Heavy-weight, LARGE trash bags; at least 2 (two) but 3 is really quite wonderful: "RainGear"... (Takes 2 bags). Open the bottom seam of one bag and it can be pulled up over the legs and tucked into the trousers something similar to a skirt. It provides water-proof protection from feet to waist. On the second bag, a hole can be cut on a side, toward what is the closed end, as an opening for the face. When this is put over the head, it should (this is why I stress "LARGE" size) cover from the head over the waist line. With or with-out arm holes, it provides weather-proofing fro head to toe. Clear is best because it looks less like "trash" and more like "genius fashion". The third bag? Well, it can serve as a "sleeping bag"! Either a cover for an actual sleeping bag or, if blankets, clothes or even rags and paper are put into it, it's water/weather-proof and holds a surprising amount of body heat. 3. Peanut Butter: Great calories to keep the body nourished and energised to keep moving against the storms, and it doesn't go bad quickly. (It's also good for controlling Diabetes, just in case.) 4. Plastic knife, fork, spoon. Remember something here... IF a Homeless person is fortunate enough to receive Food Stamps, they do NOT buy HOT FOOD! But they WILL buy tins of "chunky" style soups, yoghurt, peanut butter, even ice cream. BUT, they will NOT buy the cutlery needed to EAT these foods. So put 2 of each in a zip-lock style bag. They can be re-used many times and you'll be helping to ward off hunger at a time when hunger is no small deal. Another suggestion: Public Transport (bus/subway) pass cards! Put a few trips on a card or, if it's not TOO terribly costly, put enough time on a card to carry somebody through the tougher storms. Even if it means having to change buses along a route or changing routes through the day, even 30 minutes or an hour out of the wind, the rain, the wet, the cold can make ALL the difference in the WORLD to someone! In cities where subways don't close, a night on a subway or a day out of the elements can give more joy to a Homeless person than you might think possible. It can even break a running bout of depression. And who knows? With the time to sit and rest for a while, YOU might be the one who's responsible for the idea that will help a Homeless person off the streets! So there's your starter kit. Can't find a cheap back-pack? Dollar Store totes... A BUCK! ONE BUCK! and there you go. You can add to this or modify in what-ever manner suits your climate and purse the best. But no matter what you do, even the gesture can change an entire WORLD for a Homeless person because, more often than not, just saying "Hello" can save a life. Even if you can't stop to chat, which is something most Homeless people honestly welcome, simply saying a kind "Hi" is truly precious. And keep in mind that... NOT ALL HOMELESS PEOPLE HAVE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES (other than depression.. but then... isn't depression to be expected?). NOT ALL HOMELESS PEOPLE HAVE CHOSEN THAT SITUATION. SOME MAY BE SILENTLY STRUGGLING TO GET BACK ON THEIR FEET... AND YOU MIGHT NEVER KNOW IT. (For more thought-provoking in-sight, get a copy of Journal Days, about the "Working Homeless"... and please, discuss the matter... with friends, family and yes... your children.) Preview Journal Days with a click Here Get A Copy Here

Thursday, 3 December 2015:
JOURNAL DAYS IS COMPLETE AND *** AVAILABLE *** EARTHQUAKES, HURRICANES AND ALL!
GET YOUR COPY - CLICK HERE
At long, LONG last, the nicely readable journal of every day in a shelter, for ALL audiences, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS a reference graphics. For "readers" and even on lap-tops! It's been MONTHS of 20-hour days, but THIS was SO well-worth every moment of exhaustion... WELL-worth it ALL!
And for those of you who order and read, I thank you, with heart and soul because, as one fellow put it as he watched the Journal being written:
"Man! You can WRITE! This isn't just your story... this is ALL our stories. PLEASE! Promise me you'll do something with it."
(I promised... and here it is.)
Thank you all... for caring enough... about "ALL" of us.
Preview a bit of the book with a click HERE. Or check a *CHRISTMAS* excerpt with a click HERE.

Tuesday, 1 December 2015:
WELL! This one is taking a bit longer to get ready and presentable. I thought I'd have it done and out by now, but, unlike the previous works, this one is more involved. "Pictures"! (You know the saying: No video? You didn't do it.") But the one really big item is that it's loaded with details, and the images pull everything together. Most of the images are originals... sketches and photographs alike. Any that aren't are manipulated and tweaked and such and are public domain, used just to give readers a better understanding of what's going on.

And for those of you who might be wondering: YES... names are named.

There was a silly little notion posted on a "web forum" a while back, by somebody who claimed to have read a previous work (but obviously never got past the pretty picture on the cover) and was trying to incite a "class action" law-suit! Oh... "LOL"! It truly is impressive, just how proud some people are of their ignorance. But alas... that's the way of the world. Meanwhile, "Journal Days" will be out and available before mid-month. It's consuming 19-20 hours a day of late, but it's news that must be told, and it was promised. (I ain't got money, but I got ethics.)
Check the Farcebook and Twitter pages for the latest up-dates.
Oh! And I want to sincerely thank y'all for the advance orders on this one! It keeps my fingers dancing (and the instant coffee manufacturers occupied). THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Monday, 9 November 2015:
Bit of a blurb on the progress of the "new book" which I hope will be "published" not later than month's end... It's actually been an amazing "Hell" going through the "edit" of this one. It truly is fascinating and amazing to see how much our minds can hold and keep so "fresh" in our memory. Such fine details from as long ago as 7 years... sounds, voices, colours, odours, even temperatures of the surroundings as events took place. I edit, in relative silence, and yet, in my head the voices of others and my own voice are as loud today as they were then. And, as I type today, the shouts that were suffocated back then come into my mind with all the volume and ferocity that I stifled at the time.

There's a new "twist" coming for this "e-book". Instead of publishing for "digital readers" of special types, THIS volume will be published in "PDF" format! Anybody with a computer, lap-top, PDF reader of any kind or sort, even some phones, will be able to read this one. AND, it can be shared easier in this format! Just as we "old folks" could buy a book and pass it along, this version will allow SO many more people to read it, and, "pass it along". It's a "new old fashioned way"! Even better, I do believe... this one will have "illustrations"! Pictures that will bring the text closer to the Reader! I'm excited about this new format and I hope it will bring more ease to the readership.

I've posted an excerpt of the most recent edit for others to preview. I hope that "Social Workers" in particular get to see this, and those who work with the Homeless in ANY manner or fashion pay strict attention to what is written here because it isn't just an isolated incident. Unfortunately, it is common, and needs to be addressed and corrected. It's the top of the page that you can click-through to right here.

Meanwhile, thank you for coming by and keeping up and to those of you who have been so kind to take the moment... THANK YOU for corresponding! It means SO much more than you can imagine! THANK YOU!

I'll be posting here and on the social media when this is done so do stop by as often as you can. (Hey! And drop a line. I dedicate most of my day to the writing, but it's always wonderful to see feed-back and input from all of you.)

Thursday, 29 October 2015:
Good news at long, LONG last! These past months have been extremely busy, as you can see by the lack of postings here. But here's THE NEWS... The first edit of the next book is now 45% done! YES! NEW BOOK COMING SOON! Still on the topic of the "Working Homeless", this new tome is more "reader-friendly" and written to reach a broader reader-ship to bring the message to a wider audience, including young adults. The timing is rather good since it seems, from the statistics, that even though some cities round the world are actually "eliminating" Homelessness amongst veterans, the general Homeless population is on the increase. As just about any Homeless person will tell you: It can happen at any time, in any circumstances. So this is a good time for parents to be educated and to have serious discussions with thier kids... especially the ones who are about due to hit the "Independence Trail". BETTER NEWS? This volume will have images! Yes indeed! So there will be visuals of some of the places referenced. And in colour! BETTER-YET NEWS? THIS volume will be available as a "PDF" file!!! THAT means you don't have to have a Kindle or any special sort of reader. You'll be able to purchase it, down-load it to your tablet, lap-top or desk-top or, if you have one that handles PDF files... your PHONE!

It's also up-dated with more current referrals and stats for further reading and information.

I'll be posting progress notes here and on the "Facebook" page as often as I can. If you have a "Facebook" account, look me up there! (I might not be on there much longer though since I've learnt some rather disturbing tid-bits about it, the staff and what Facebook does when their "Apps" are installed on computers and phones. But check HERE first, and there too. And if you DO get to the Facebook page, say "Hi". It would be great to communicate and correspond! And don't forget: There's a "Comment" page here where you can leave thoughts or any such message. You can use a real name or not and you don't have to put your e-mail address unless you want to. Others have used the following (as an example):
firstname@mymail.com
If you use the "Direct Contact" form, your valid e-mail address is required how-ever.
In any case, drop a line and keep in touch. Watch here for the notice of publication of the new book and always keep warm and dry, get in touch, and if you know of somebody who is Homeless, invite them in... it's the very kindest act you can do. If you can't invite them in, check you local "Shelters" BEFORE suggesting them to anybody... and NEVER take anything for granted... especially Homeless Shelters. SOME are great... Others can be brutal.
Until next time... Thank you for stopping by to read the news! See you again... sooner than has been the case.
Be well... Be Domiciled!