Welcome to the latest (and late) issue of Write for You News & Notes with some words of wisdom on writing, business, and life. If you'd like to share any books or favorite links with our readers, send us an email. And remember -- on paper or on-line, when you need words that work for you, I can write for you! Nancy Passow
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You Never Know Where You'll Find a Friend
| Last week, especially Friday, was tough. I found out earlier in the week that a friend I'd made through one of my Meetups, who I haven't seen for several months, died the week before. Jimi was a techie through and through. He patiently answered simple techie questions from me (so, should I buy this computer or that one?). I was thrilled that, at least for a while, we had the same smartphone. We were planning on working on some projects together, but the timing never seemed to be right.
Friday I was running a meeting where (originally the successor Meetup to the group in which we'd met, now a LinkedIn Group that meets every Friday morning) almost all of the potential attendees knew Jimi. I arrived early at our Starbucks meeting place and discovered, after I got out of my car, that my key ring had come apart and although I was clutching a bunch of keys in my hand, my car key and house key were missing. I found the car key lying nearby. The house key has apparently vanished into a blackhole in the universe. (A quick phone call to my son, who'd just left our house, got him to head back home and hide a spare key on the back porch.)
I went into Starbucks, settled at a table, and looked around. For the second time in the past month or so, I saw a middle-aged man who I'd known almost 20 years ago. He is developmentally challenged and, with the group home residents where he lived, used to attend services at my former synagogue. I'm sure he doesn't remember me but he's very friendly and says "Hi" to everyone. So he gave me a big "hi" and told me to go get something at the counter. Once I was settled he came by to make sure I was putting away the sunglasses I'd left on the table (he was afraid they'd be stolen) and asked if I had breakfast -- I pointed out my oatmeal. He told me he liked my rings. I wished him well at work and off he went. And I sat there bemused by the wonders of life. Here was Brian, worrying and fussing about me, just when I needed it.
So a sad farewell to my friend Jimi. A big thank you to my friend Brian. And to all of my friends out there -- whether we see each other for real or only virtually, thank you!!
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My Gas Tank is Where?
| Here is one of those strange tips that you might not have known (thank you to my friend Gini for posting this) but can be very helpful (especially if you're in a rental car). Look at your car's gas gauge. Usually there is a symbol of a gasoline pump. There may be a little arrowhead next to the pump. If there is, the direction it is pointing is the side of the car where the filler cap for your gas tank is. Who knew? I've been looking at that forever and had no idea. I don't know how new your car has to be to have this but check it out.
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Need Books for the Beach Bag
|  Summer is almost here. That means the June newsletter (which should be on time unlike this one) will have my "What's in Your Beach Bag?" book column with recommended books for summer reading. But my beach bag is almost empty! Any suggestions for summer reading? Please send me an e-mail and let me know what you're reading at the beach this year. (That is Magen's Bay Beach, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.)
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Words Working for You
|  How's your website content? Have you updated your brochure recently? Do you need help telling the story of your business? There are many ways I can help words work for you!
E-mail marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your clients and colleagues. I can help you get started -- whether it's set-up, writing the content, or managing the entire process. I'll even remember to pay the monthly bill for you. I can set up your contact lists, help you choose a template (and customize it with your logo and website colors), and develop your e-mail schedule. To learn more, click here. LinkedIn is still making changes. Need help figuring out where things went? Trying to hide some of your endorsements? Wishing your profile was more descriptive of who you really are? Let me help you! Even with all of the changes, LinkedIn is still a great way to be found on the web and to network. |
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phone: 201-541-9702 (o)
phone: 201-362-3404 (m)
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Author of the Month ... Maya Angelou
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A truly wonderful woman, poet, author, actress, chef and cookbook author, keeper of our conscience, died last week. To read more about Maya Angelou, click here. And here is one of my favorite poems:
"Still I Rise"
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
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| Quote of the Month |
"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit" ~ Henry David Thoreau
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