Columbia, SC - With the push of a button, Richland Library is bringing one, threeand five-minute doses of literary joy to local readers.
Three Short Story Dispensers are now on display at our Main location (1431 Assembly Street), and eventually, these dispensers are making their way to other library locations and designated community spots around Richland County.
How does it work? The dispensers distribute a randomly printed story from a
catalog of thousands, covering a range of genres. Then, people can save their
short stories, share them with family and friends or leave them in places for others to find. Also, keep the stories going by sharing photos, using SetStoriesFree.
Richland Library is one of four libraries to receive Short Story Dispensers
as part of Public Library Association's (PLA) Fostering Creative Community Connections project. The other three libraries are:
Akron - Summit County (OH) Public Library
Free Library of Philadelphia (PA)
Wichita (KS) Public Library
Currently, there are 150 Short Story Dispensers installed or about to be installed with a goal to promote reading, community engagement, library programs and services, and creative expression from diverse writers.
Stay tuned, Richland Library plans to release details in fall 2018 on how local writers can contribute to future content in the Short Story Dispensers. For questions, please contact Emily Stoll at 803-587-3637 or email estoll@richlandlibrary.com.
About Richland Library
Richland Library is a vibrant, contemporary organization that provides resources
and information that advance the Midlands. Offering state-of-the-art technology, a variety of literary and cultural programs and 11 bustling facilities located throughout the county, Richland Library offers a truly customizable, modern library experience for residents and visitors alike.
"If history repeats itself, we are on the verge of tremendous opportunity, as people awaken to reality, becoming increasingly resolute and informed. In other words America's, and consequently, the world's plight is serious indeed, but it need not be ruinous if we focus on the real problems.
We will endure hardship, the magnitude of which few Americans alive today have ever seen, in the near future based on actions in the past.
We cannot avoid significant pain at this point. However, we can take the system down together, safely and intelligently, and rebuild it to something better than ever before. Alternatively, we can deny reality or muddle in despair until the psychotic ruling class destructively run the world's greatest culture into the ground and take everybody else with them."
- From Endangered Species: surviving the attack on America's middle class, by Steve Maslar.
We are currently looking for a publisher, editor, or literary agent.
Contact me for more information or for a copy to read. This book is not just the author's opinion, it is full of documentation and facts.
Benji is 5 1/2. He celebrates two birthdays annually, one for the whole number and one for the half fraction. When he figures out there are multiple fractions, we will be in trouble.
I'm concerned for Benji because he has a lot of worries going on and he's too private or shy to address them. So they simmer. Then they blow. But there is a type that doesn't blow, it simmers and comes to a rolling boil of anxiety we know nothing about. Or so I suspect.
In the past, he has learned that a genuine promise from an adult he trusts still might not come true. I can see him mentally walking a tightrope determining if what I say could possibly fail. And I just want to hug him.
His other grandma, "Gammy" and I were going on a cruise together just over a year ago and Benji was disturbed that Gammy was going to fall overboard, never to return. We insisted that would not happen, we promised she would return. She didn't fall overboard, but she didn't return, either, due to a fatal car crash. I look back and wonder why he knew she wasn't returning, he was very adamant about her falling overboard. Maybe because she limped. That makes sense. But there's a part of me that thinks he has some spiritual insight and that would explain the extreme worry.
So he's turned 5 1/2 and he has discovered another BIG worry in life. Not only do adults make promises that can remain unfulfilled, but God Himself can be shaky. He can decide NOT to give you what you pray for.
Kids assume if you teach them to pray, that God will answer their requests exactly as requested. Isn't it odd that I never thought about this.
He and I prayed the other day and subsequently I mentioned how much fun it will be IF God gives us what we asked for - I think it was that his daddy would come home early. Benji was stunned. He narrowed his eyes at me and said, "But we prayed for it, so God will do it." Then I saw every failed tenet on playback in his brain.
Now I was the surprised one. Really? We never taught him about unanswered prayer?
We then discussed it. Benji was concerned at first, then he saw some benefit of a God who can see the future and not give us what we ask for.
I'm over-thinking our encounter. I fear I have burdened him even more. Look at me -- worrying about his worrying. Join me?
1. I think I've hit the final stage of grief - Acceptance.
In a 5-year period:
I was a stay-at-home mom and my grown kids moved out
I was diagnosed with blood cancer
My 30-year marriage dissolved
I was in a car wreck in which a friend of mine died from her injuries, she's also my grandkids' other grandma
My father was diagnosed with cancer, had a tumor removed and radiation and is still fighting it, now with a chemo protocol.
My life has changed completely, very little of my old life remains visible. All these losses have left me alone most of the time. It's been an extraordinary experience. I'm grateful for all the blessings I have - the kids are married and happy and successful, they live close and I see my grandkids a lot, I remain on the family property and while I struggle to pay bills like everyone else, I'm not devastated financially, my cancer has a fairly long shelf-life... probably, my dad is doing OK and is in his mid-seventies and has my mom there to help him.
Today, when the poet Derek Berry from Charleston wrote me a poem on a 72-degree sunny, beautiful day on the spring grass under a blooming dogwood tree in front of the statehouse Sherman and his troops bombarded, but did not destroy from his position in West Columbia across the frothy Congaree on his March to the Sea...... you get the picture? ... when said poet wrote this and I was able to smile instead of cry:
Well, I figured I finally hit Stage 7 of grief, the final stage.
2. (The Second Thing I Learned Today {in case you forgot where we were with this}) When I go out to photograph the wildlife in my woods, I need to lock Bogie, my cat, in the garage. While I smiled at his frolicking after birds, I never dreamed he could really catch one. With my 300 zoom lens to my eye and the staccato sound of the Canon shutter speed in my ear, Bogie caught the brilliantly red cardinal I was photographing, caught two in one bite, in fact.
Yes, I photographed the whole demise. With a scrunched nose. And audible reprimands to the cat. It was fascinating, really. But in the future? Boag stays in the garage.
The synergistic effect of the CDC's aggressive vaccine schedule HAS to be studied for safety. It's catastrophically unchecked & I dare say negligent. Our kids are in peril. #soangry
Before 1991, there were only 29 doses of 3 vaccines. After 1991, there were 46 doses of 16 Vaccines. My children born before 91 had no issues and my child born after 91 had a mysterious allergy the Dr attributed to dust and eczema. Since the late eighties, vaccine manufacturers cannot be sued. But in 2008 the Vaccine injury compensation program was developed. It has since then paid out 3 billion dollars. Look up the Hannah Polen case.
Are we really going to wait until the autism rate is one in two? Or that every single child has a chronic illness by age 3? (Food allergies, Eczema, seizure disorders, GI issues and learning disabilities)
This is one problem. The second problem is the escalating rate of cancer among adults. I believe the studies are being suppressed here as well so that we can continue to have cell phones, WiFi, dirty electricity, gmos, plastics and a variety of toxins literally everywhere.
I am at a loss on how I can make a difference.
If you would like to learn more, I point you to Miller's Critical Review of Vaccine Studies and The Vaccine Friendly Plan.
We had a lot of fun New Year's Eve and don't we look tough in this picture?
I devoted last year to wellness and trying homeopathic and integrated options. Some things I have kept in my life on a regular basis (dandelion root tea, gall bladder wrap, essential oils, etc), some things I have discarded (turmeric tea, yoga). I had every intention of writing more about it for you but I did not feel like blogging.
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This year, I have decided my focus will be relationships. Won't that be interesting? Infusing my relationships with intention.
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I have added a new and very interesting client and I'm changing my role with another client. One I expect to be fun while the other will be a challenge and, I anticipate, not much enjoyable. It is not the direction I wanted to go with my work and probably will not like it. But… one should always try. I might be surprised.
I've a growing concern about the health damages we incur from increased cell phone and WiFi use, the carcinogenic factors from the RF and EMF radiation. More and more studies are coming in and proving this to be true. Environmental Toxins Information
In this past week's Thriving Child Summit, Dr. Libby Darnell, DC gave us some practical tips for reducing our health risks from. EMFs. I'm going to summarize them below for you. Following that, you can see a video from 2014 wherein Dr. Devra Davis, author of Disconnected, presented the scientific data supporting this claim about wireless radiation. Worst Wireless Products
Baby Monitors. There isn't a safe one on the market. If you really must have one, try to have just audio and not visual which has a stronger signal and keep it as far away from your baby as possible.
Computers. Try to have them wired, not WiFi. If not wired, say on a laptop or chromebook, etc, don't use it when it's plugged in, that makes it worse. When plugged in, you're using a worse type of current. Your cell phone is worse when it's plugged in as well. Using a laptop is safer than using a desktop because desktops have to be plugged in. Using a laptop with WiFi turned off is even better. If you have to use a desktop, there are filters you can buy to clean dirty electricity. Use two filters per desktop.
WiFi. The ideal situation is to have everything wired and skip the WiFi. If you must have WiFi, go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get an outlet timer. Plug your power cord for your WiFi into that timer and set it to be off at night when you're not using it. Give your family a span where it's not transmitting. Also, have the router as far as away as possible, especially away from your kids.
Cell Phones: As much as possible, keep your cell phone in airplane mode with the WiFi turned off, especially for your children. Why do they need a cell phone anyway? The radiation penetrates their brains much deeper, much worse than adult brains. If your kids are playing games on the cell phone, you can have it in airplane mode with the WiFi turned off. Always use head sets, never use Blue Tooth. There are actually warnings deep in your phone's settings about not using your headset. Laws are being drawn up to ensure cell phones must be sold with headsets.
Keep your cell phones away from your body as much as possible. Keep it near a window so every time it looks for a signal, it is not pinging your body. Studies are proving that cell phones stored in a woman's bra have directly led to breast cancer. Studies are proving that cell phones in men's pockets are leading to infertility.
Teenagers seem to be especially difficult to convince to take this issue seriously. As a parent, do what it takes to protect their health. Dr. Libby's advice? Bribery actually works. Monitor their phones. Each time you find it in airplane mode with the WiFi off, you reward them.
If you are pregnant and need to use your cell phone a lot, there is a uterine cover you can purchase
Electric Meters. Most electric companies now use Smart Meters to monitor your electricity usage. These smart meters transfer information a set amount of times and each time it is responding, it is dangerous to your health.
Look at your electric meter.If you have 5 clock looking things, you’re ok, it's still analog.If there’s a number, digital number, you need
to take action. If you have a digital meter, call the electric company.Find out how often that signal is transmitted,
and is it transmitted through space or through wire?Then you can purchase a material, similar to tin foil, to put around the meter, wrap it, look for videos on how to do it
– don’t want to focus it to your neighbors, either, encase the whole thing.Some companies come out and do it.You, legally, aren’t supposed to touch the
meter.
Also, you could call and see if you can opt out,
swap your digital meter for analog, which might require a small fee.I recommend paying the fee to have someone
come out and read it.
Where is that meter located?Do you have a child sleeping next to that wall?Move them away right now.Same thing with major electronics.Fuse boxes and main energy sources, get
kids away from them, a WiFi router – get it away from blasting yourself.Fridges give out a lot of dirty electricity as well.
Light Bulbs. Light bulbs have become an issue for dirty electricity now as well. Just use the old fashioned ones, they are a lot safer. LED Bulbs.
Microwaves. Just don't use them. If you must use one, stand as far away from it as possible while it is in action.
Here are some tips for cleaning yourself from your exposure to EMF and RF radiation. First, test your house and buy filters. Then, take an Epsom bath daily or several times a week. Spend a few minutes each day with your bare feet in the dirt. Spend a few minutes each day simply standing on tin foil. Yes, this works, all that excess energy flows out into the foil. Do it at night while brushing your teeth.
Should you use those expensive grounding mats or grounding sheets?If you're in the US, England or Australia – don’t do it.If you do it, you’ll be bringing IN that
dirty electricity.You’re plugging in a
very expensive fabric covered tin foil.You plug it in, then you’re bringing that electricity into it and then
you lay on it.That dirty electricity
goes through it.If you stand on it NOT
plugged in, it works.But it works just
like tin foil!Just buy tin foil. Check your symptoms of radio wave sickness here.
Once you are protecting your children at home, what should you do about school or the dance studio or wherever they spend a lot of time? Find out where their WiFi routers are located and make sure your child is not near them. Then offer to buy filters for the classroom. Talk to the principal or school superintendent. Arm yourself with research from Stetzer Electric. Once they are aware of this, they may offer to test the rooms for dirty electricity and put filters as needed. Some people get shielding clothing for their children, but this is usually difficult for the children. France has already outlawed dirty electricity and more places are outlawing WiFi in public schools.
The following research is from 2014. I'm sure there is updated information elsewhere, but this can get you started. The labyrinth of YouTube is exhausting to me. Besides, I need to go get my feet in the dirt right now. Love you, mean it!
“I’ve had times when I really didn’t like what was going on
with my points,” Glider Pilot Sarah Arnold said, “but I’ve never had a scary situation.I mean, you have to plan ahead.If you don’t find a thermal, you have to land
in a field below you.I’ve landed in
lots of fields, but I can’t say that I’ve been afraid of them because I planned
well.”She confirmed what I had been
hearing, that Thursday in the 2017 R5N contest was an ambitious task, that five
pilots landed out and that some didn’t get back to Perry until 7:00.
Arnold runs a flying school near Chattanooga, TN, the
Chilhowee Glider Port.“Pilots all over
the country know where Perry, SC is because of Al and Rhonda Tyler,” Arnold
told me.She enjoys the challenge of
gliding, how every day is different and a glider pilot in competition never
knows what conditions they’ll be facing on the course.
In this area of SC, 4,000 – 6,000 feet altitude is expected for a
glider.In this contest, 4 – 5 hours in
the air is typical.Everything depends
on the weather, the thermals.The pilots
have an estimated start-time each day, but it all depends on the weather.
The Region 5 North contest has four different classes for
competition, mostly based upon wing size.The Open Class has the biggest wing span, 20 meters.Then there’s the 18 meter class, the 15 meter
class and the Sports class.Each class
has a daily winner.Add up the daily
points and the cumulative points for the week is the winner in each class.The Soaring Society keeps the records and a
pilot’s ranking helps them get into the busy contests, like Perry’s.
Each day, a task is given in each class.The task is to get inside the radius of each
designated location which is then recorded on the pilot’s GPS.Each pilot has to complete his task in a
certain time frame.Going below the time
frame results in a penalty.With a Turn
Area Task, the pilot just has to touch inside that area to count.If a pilot is not confident in the weather,
he can just touch each area and go, but if a pilot is confident, he can fly to
the back of the designated area and fly a longer distance.That is what differentiates the pilots.The task is scored by the total distance and
the speed.The speed is the pilot’s time
divided by the distance.Maintaining
time is part of the challenge, figuring out how to stay up there.The pilot who flies through the strongest
thermals and flies through the most rising air from other sources is the pilot
who will win.
Pilots are passing each other often, navigating mostly with
their eyes.Pilots have to infer where
to find rising air based on the clouds or something on the ground that might be
a source of thermal, but if they see another glider circling and rising, they
can just follow and not poke around looking for a thermal.
Gliders are fairly low weight and carry water as a ballast.It helps to be light while going up, but once
they are up there, it helps to be heavy, to go farther.In some cases, pilots are dumping water
early, but normally they try to keep it as long as possible for the advantage
of being heavier -- higher speed due to more mass.
Sarah Arnold was the only female competing at Perry this year. She is preparing to compete in the Women's Glider Championship in the Czech Republic next month and she has medaled in a previous WGC in France.
