My Mother Lives In My Heart

Lucille Dickinson Ainsworth

My mother passed away January 29, 2010. Since she hated to tell her age, I won’t tell it either. Let’s just say that she lived longer than the average person, but not as long as her father who made it to 100.

Born during the Roaring Twenties, Momma was a child of the Great Depression and a young woman during World War II. She, like so many other women of that era, went to war by working in factories and doing jobs that, previously, only men did. She helped assemble tank cannon shells at a munitions plant and later learned to be a telephone operator, a job which she loved.

When she and my father, a D-Day veteran, married, she assumed the role of wife and mother and somehow survived the misadventures of her 3 rambunctious kids. My older brother and I alone were probably responsible for every gray hair in her head. She excelled in what were then called the domestic arts. Her cooking could rival any chef, and her quilting, crocheting, and needlepoint were fine enough to be sold in stores.

Country, gospel, and early rock and roll music by Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, created the musical background of her life. From her childhood of singing blended harmony gospel music on the porch after dinner each evening to the foot-tapping, earthy music of Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams Jr., and Toby Keith, she loved it all. Along with music, she adored railroads and trains because her father had been a career railroad man. She never passed up a chance to ride on a train.

After my brothers and I married and left home, she grew interested in family history and genealogy. Over the next two decades, she published The Ainsworth Trading Post, a genealogy newsletter, and she compiled massive volumes of genealogy on her Ainsworth, Eubanks, and Shows family lines and authored Cemeteries of Franklin Parish: Private, Public, and Abandoned. All her books are in genealogy collections across the country including the Mormon Library in Salt Lake City and the New York City Public Library.

When my father passed away, I gave my mother a computer and Internet access. Eagerly, she embraced this new way of communication and research. She was never afraid to try something new and loved everything about this new electronic age.

My mother believed strongly in never telling her age and in never appearing in public without her hair fixed and her lipstick on. We all used to laugh about her vanity, and she’d laugh too. She was a hoot in so many ways, and we have so many funny stories the family can share when we’re together.

She was loved by not just her children but by all my cousins and their children too. She was the favorite aunt. And she loved all of us too. Her last words for each and every one of us were of that love.

With so many things to interest her, she never tired of life. In 2008, with my help, she completed her latest book Memory Lane: My Sentimental Journey. She was so proud of that book. She told what it was like to have very little in material possessions, but everything in love and family. One might think her childhood during the Great Depression was marked by deprivation, but it wasn’t. It was the happiest time of her life.

She had a strong will to live and keep learning and experiencing new things. If only that had been possible. There’s a huge hole in my life right now. She and I used to talk four or more times each day. I just can’t believe that I’ll never hear her voice again.

Takeaway Truth

Parkinson’s Disease is a scourge on humanity, and it’s an agonizing way to die. If you have money to donate, please consider a donation for Parkinson’s research.

Tags: family, mother, parkinson's disease

Home and Exhausted

Hello. I’m still alive. So is my Mom I’m happy to report. I’ve spent the last few days living at the ICU in a Shreveport, Louisiana, hospital, along with my brothers and their families and assorted cousins.

My Mom knocked on Heaven’s door, but they said: “Go away and come back later.”

The doctors officially said she turned the corner, but she remains in ICU. My older brother, my cousins, and I will be alternating hospital duty until further notice. I’m just having to work mine around the medical appointments for my daughter.  So today I’m scheduling who will be at the hospital when. Tomorrow, I pack, and Monday I drive 4 1/2 hours back to Shreveport for my turn.

I’ll be taking my laptop back since I found out the ICU has free WiFi so I can work, email, etc.  So feel free to comment or email.

Takeaway Truth

Life throws a mean curve ball sometimes.

(Cross posted on my other blog.)

Tags: hospital survival, ICU

EZ Web Host Research

Since we’re in the first month of the new quarter, and the new year, it’s a good time to review your business goals. If you’ve thought about starting a website or making changes to an existing website, now is the perfect time to research web hosting.

Review Your Service

If you already have a website, has your web host provider actually provided you with the level of service you expected? Do they give you the kind of customer service you need? Do they fit your budget or have they priced themselves into the stratosphere?

Newbie Challenge

If this is the year you finally start a website, you need to know some fundamentals in order to make the right decision about webhosting. All web host providers aren’t equal. Some are really good; some are really bad. How do you know which is which?

Resource

Luckily, there’s a resource available to help newcomers as well as experienced website owners who might need to change web hosts. Starting a new website or changing providers isn’t difficult, and it’s easy to find a company that will be a partner in your success if you check Web Hosting Geeks.com first.

Good Geeks

Web Hosting Geeks.com, a website that reviews web hosting companies, lists the Top 10 Web Hosts for 2010 on their home page. They keep this updated so it’s an “at a glance” reference to which web hosts are at the top of their game.

Look on the left side of the home page, and you’ll see these categories: Web Hosting Rating, Web Hosting Awards, and Web Hosting Reviews.

Under Rating, you can find the Top 10 as well as those who offer Free Domain Names or Multiple Domain Hosting. Or maybe you’re dedicated to the environment and are interested in web hosts that offer Green Web Hosting. You can find it there.

Web Hosting Awards list award-winning web hosts in 12 categories from Best Budget Hosting to Best Unix Hosting and more.

Web Hosting Reviews gives reviews by actual customers of the web host company. You’ll see the last 10 reviews, and you can even add a review yourself. Here’s where you’ll find the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Internet Higher Ed

If you need to learn more about the Internet and how it works, then you can get the basics along with web hosting news at their blog. You’ll find it listed on the left side of the home page too. If you’re knew to all this, be sure and read Web Hosting 101. It will help you identify your particular needs in a website and a web host.

Takeaway Truth

What you don’t know can hurt you when it comes to making business decisions. Do yourself a favor and get the facts.

Tags: Internet Dynamics, web host, web hosting

Caution: Cadmium In Jewelry

I’ve wanted all week to tell you about an article I read in my local newspaper, but it’s been a busy week at the Reeves hacienda with lots of doctor appointments for my daughter. Houston is a big town, and it seems as if the doctors we must consult are at the opposite end from where we live. Lots of driving involved.

What I hate is when a 4 o’clock appointment ends after 6PM, and we hit the freeways at the same time as the million or so other commuters. Unfortunately, when each day is like this, it leaves little time for blogging.

You Must Be Cautious

The Associated Press commissioned testing of jewelry made in China for the children and teen markets. Of 103 pieces tested, 12 contained cadmium, a cancer-causing element. Some of the pieces tested in the 80-90% range. The jewelry is sold at places like Claire’s in the mall, Walmart, and other high volume, low price stores. A Best Friends bracelet sold at Claire’s had charms that tested at 89 and 91% cadmium. Both Walmart and Claire’s, when notified of the findings, pulled suspect items. Good for them.

Why?

Why do the manufacturers use this dangerous metal? Because it’s shiny, malleable at low temps, strong, and cheap. The leading manufacturers said, they use cadmium because their highest priority is profit. Obviously, they don’t give a damn about the safety of their workers or those who buy their products.

Personally, I’ve decided to just avoid purchasing anything made in China. There have been so many dangerous deviations from safety in their products in the last two years, and that’s just the ones that we know about. It’s horrifying that kids could be wearing jewelry that may eventually cause them to develop cancer. Be sure and check any jewelry for manufacturer’s origin before you buy it. Be safe, not sorry.

Takeaway Truth

The health and safety of a human being should be the highest priority, not profit. No exceptions.

Tags: cadmium, chinese manufacturers, consumer caution, tainted jewelry

3 P’s of Internet Marketing

Promotion. Publicity. Public Relations. Those three are sometimes used interchangeably, but promotion is really the building built on the foundation of the other two.Do you know the difference between publicity and public relations? If you have an Internet business, then you darn well need to know the difference because then you’ll know how to drive traffic to your website.

Always remember: numbers, as in number of visitors, play a big part in Internet success.

Publicity

Publicity means free advertising. Publicity is gaining free exposure by using the services of others. For example, those who write articles for article content sites do so because they get a byline and have the opportunity to include their own URL in the article. They may be writing for free, but they hope to gain exposure for their own website and their name (their brand) in the byline. They also get a chance to post a bio which will increase the name recognition factor.

Public Relations

Public relations is promoting a product, i.e. your Internet business, your name, or your brand in order to create favorable reactions or positive impressions on the minds of the public. You do this with an effective website, and an effective website is one that pulls in visitors. You can ask any online marketing pro, and they’ll all tell you that the answer to pulling in visitors is content. You must have something interesting on your website that visitors need or want to read.

Help For Non Writers

If you’re not a professional writer, you can have decent content anyway by purchasing articles written by good writers. Article packages are affordable, and they come in every category from Arts and Entertainment to Writing and Speaking. Chances are they have articles in categories relevant to your website. If they don’t, you can contract for specific articles to be written. You can populate the content of your website easily and within your Public Relations budget.

Good writing is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website. The more visitors; the more visibility, and visibility means more public awareness. That will increase the positive effects of your other advertising and marketing efforts.

Takeaway Truth

Always think momentum. Anything you can do to increase your momentum is time, energy, and money well spent.

Tags: business, internet presence, online marketing, promotion, public relations, publicity

The Car Wars

The Great Car War of 2010 is over, and we won. I guess. Maybe the dealership won. Who knows?

My car nut of a husband and I have been test driving vehicles of various persuasions for several weeks. We’d made the difficult decision to replace our very old 4-wheel drive Tahoe. It’s been a great vehicle that helped us traverse occasional iced over freeways and heavy rainstorms with equal aplomb and safety. Big Jack will now be someone else’s dependable, cheap transportation.

What We Drove

Chevy Tahoe LTZ, top of the line luxury that just about drives itself. Terrible gas mileage stats but the ride is so sweet and the vehicle such a pleasure to drive that you immediately start rationalizing a possible purchase.

Ford Flex Limited, like the Tahoe LTZ in its luxurious appointments and comfort. The back seat could be considered a media room with the DVD Entertainment center, as is the Tahoe. Slightly better estimated gas mileage. Again, you rationalize purchasing one of these just because it’s such a comfort and delight.

Chevy Equinox, nicely equipped but definitely not in the same category as the previous two vehicles. This one is practical because of the estimated gas mileage. Everything is geared to the driver’s comfort with the power adjustable seat, not the passenger who has to make do with a manual lever for forward and backward and tilt.

Chevy Camaro, totally hot vehicle with a V6 that gets 29 mpg for an element of practicality. Even the V6 is 305 hp, and that’s enough to make any power enthusiast happy. Great comfortable seats.

GMC Terrain, basically the same as an Equinox but most dealers seem to order this version in the upgraded packages with more bells and whistles so it’s easier to find one with more options.

We looked at Chevy Aveo, strictly for the gas mileage; Cadillac SRX, comfort and luxury plus hoping for gas mileage; Buick Enclave, still looking for that ideal mix of comfort, luxury, good gas mileage, and SUV styling that puts you up above the rest of the freeway traffic thus making it easier to spot traffic jams ahead.

We didn’t even consider imports because we know that buying American really is important. We’re trying to do our part, however small it might be, in improving the economy of the country. So we always choose American.

(If our elected officials had wanted the automotive cash for clunkers program to be truly successful, they would have made the stipulation that the new vehicle purchased be an American vehicle. Don’t bother telling me about the Toyota plants in America. Where do you think the bulk of the money from Toyota sales go?)

What We Chose

We drove home in a GMC Terrain, Cyber Gray, a nice blend of comfort, convenience, and 32 mpg at a slightly higher ride than a car. I think we’ll really like it, and I hope it will serve us as well as Big Jack.

Takeaway Truth

The bottom line? We are a car culture. E. B. White, in 1943, wrote in One Man’s Meat: “Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.” Most of us like to get there in a car that’s more than just a means of transportation.

Tags: car shopping, gmc terrain, hot cars, sweet rides

And That’s The Way It Is

Yesterday, during the morning drive time, I was listening to Dean and Rog on the radio and was dismayed when they said the voice over announcement for CBS Evening News was being changed. They’d used a recording of Walter Cronkite’s voice for years, but they were changing to a voice over by Morgan Freeman for the future.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Mr. Freeman has a great voice, but, Walter Cronkite’s voice is the one I’ve listened to for years. You hear it when they show news footage from the past. It’s comforting.

The sonorous sound of his voice gave us the worst news of the day yet, somehow, the rich, fullness of his voice comforted us. It was like everyone’s beloved grandfather telling us that, yes, this is bad news, but we shall prevail. We’ll make it through just fine.

He wasn’t an actor. He was a journalist, a newsman back when that meant something. On television, he delivered the news. He gave it to us straight, with an intellectualism and a gravity that made us aware of how the day’s events were important. When he passed last year at the age of 92, we were left with only his voice to guide us through the murky reality of today.

Takeaway Truth

To Mr. Cronkite’s signoff, “And that’s the way it is,” I can only add, in the face of this corporate decision, a resigned, “It is what it is.”

Tags: cbs, morgan freeman, walter cronkite

Eliminate The Confusion

A few weeks ago I was reading the financial advice column in the business section of my local newspaper. The subject was Annuities. I realized I didn’t know very much about this. Like most people, I think of annuities as some kind of retirement investment.

Unlike most people, I immediately started researching the subject and found a website that gives you not just an Annuity Calculator but also a wealth of information, in easily understood language, about this form of investment that provides you with a steady flow of level payments.

Annuities, in the U. S., are commonly seen as an insurance contract. There’s a lot more to know, but fortunately FreeAnnuityRates.com makes it easy to learn. They provide you with the info you need about the many different kinds of annuities. You can use their annuity calculator to help you in a forecast. You can even get quotes from different companies through them. Best of all? It’s a free service.

Takeaway Truth

It’s never too late to start thinking about the future.

Tags: annuities, investment, Retirement

Think Big

Here’s some advice for small business owners: think big. If you adopt the habits of big business, you improve your chance of success. Big businesses do a lot of online marketing. So you should you, and small business internet marketing is probably easier than you think.

Learn From The Pros

If you’re scratching your head and wondering how to simplify something so complex, then you need to check out Orange Soda’s Small Business Advice Blog. They offer an article entitled “How SMBs (Small Businesses) Can Get Started With Online Marketing.” They don’t stop there. They’ve got articles that give you information about bookkeeping, creating a Google profile for your business, and more.

Subscribe

Be sure and subscribe to their feed so you’ll be notified when new articles are posted. As a small business, you need lots of skills, not just to survive, but to flourish, in tough economic times. Last year was one of the most difficult years for businesses of all sizes. Take advantage of this free advice offered by online marketing professionals. They’re there to help with that and with more when you feel the need to step up your marketing efforts. Chances are, they can create a package that will fit your budget.

The renowned marketing expert Peter Patsula, currently the Director of Education Technology at The Glenelg School of Abu Dhabi, once said: “Mass marketing is a little like firing a shotgun into a flock of geese and hoping to hit a few.” When you’re a small business owner, you don’t have the luxury of shotgunning the Internet in a haphazard marketing effort, hoping to hit a few customers.

Takeaway Truth

Sometimes, you just need a pro to help you formulate a better strategy.

Tags: online marketing, small business

Book Cover Art Contest

If you think you have a book cover that’s stunning, there’s still time to see if booksellers who comprise a panel of judges agree with you.

Enter the JABBIC (Judge A Book By Its Cover) by January 15. This annual contest is sponsored by the Houston Bay Area Romance Writers of America Chapter.

Reasons To Enter

1. Winning entries get great publicity.

2. Entry fee is modest.

3. Contest is one of the few that honors book covers.

4. Contest entry fees support a vibrant writing group.

Entry Deadline: Entries must be received by January 15, 2010.

Entry Fee: $15.00.

Eligibility: Book must have been published in 2009.

Entry Requirement: The cover of your book or novella published by a traditional house, ePublisher, POD or self-published during 2009.

Entry Format: Electronic files (JPG or GIF) only

Categories: Contemporary Series, Single Title/Mainstream, Historical, Romantic Suspense, Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Paranormal, and Sexiest Cover.

Judges: Booksellers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

Top Prize: Winners will be featured in a full-page color ad on the inside front cover of the April Romance Writers Report. the official magazine of Romance Writers of America.

For more information, an entry form and rules, visit Houston Bay Area RWA or contact Leslie Marshman at judgeabook at hbarwa dot com.

Takeaway Truth

Winning this respectable contest looks great on your resume.

Tags: book covers, cover art contest, houston bay area romance writers of america, jabbic