Good Bye Manny

In Memory of

MANUEL A ALBITE

We always tell our kids not to talk to strangers and to be especially weary of those we do not know on the internet, but how much of that advice do we follow for ourselves?

Last summer when rockets flew into populated Israeli cities, I became an active voice in support of Israel in the comments sections of multiple news articles. At these sites, a handsome young man often had my back in these wars of words. Upon one of these word volleys, I noticed a particular rat becoming overly

offensive; however, my partner at war developed a pleasant conversation involving the sharing of experiences as a soldier. Then came the message along with a Facebook friend request stating how he wanted to tell me something about this man and to please accept the friend request so he could private message me. I was curious as to what he had to say about him, but it turned out not be be anything I hadn't already figured out.

Now, when it comes to Facebook, I have a rule. I usually will only friend people I know personally. I've broken my rule a few times, mostly with authors, a few times with fellow bloggers, and of course to the woman who I've never met personally, but she's cool because we hail from the same planet. And then, meet Manny.

Not the best speller sometimes, yet on other occasions he'd do just fine, thank you very much. I guess it depended on how much fun he was having at a particular moment. He was a good contrast to my perfectionistic self, who secretly corrects everyone's grammar and spelling. His laid back attitude was refreshing. I'm very much a type A personality, but Manny didn't appear to stress. Also, he was vocally active for causes I agreed with. I loved reading his political statements and arguments with people who didn't share our view.

As my FB friend, he was always quick to like my posts or add kind words. He

not only donated to my daughter's dance marathon, but he also reposted the link on his page and asked others to do the same. 

However, through all this, there certainly was something strange about dear Manny. He always posted old pictures as he'd regularly replace his profile pictures with other eighty style photographs. Cute Bon Jovi hat. He also had some photos posted with young girls with their feathered hair, a tell-tail eighties giveaway. 

Noticing the age of these photos, I once asked him to post something recent. I figured he'd gained weight or not aged well and was holding onto this youthful appearance. He never responded to my question, so I did some research. I found two people by his name in Miami--a father and his 54 year old son. I figured he was the 54 year-old posting his young photos. After all, there was nothing terribly old about the writing of this stranger.

Then came the day when I finally posted a pretty good, new profile picture. I received seventy-three likes, which is probably a new record for one of my pictures. Even my husband, who doesn't usually notice Facebook liked it, but no "Like" from Manny. Strange. So, I visited his site where I saw the following message: "Rest in peace mi tio" Not knowing what a "mi tio" was, I sent a confused message to another stranger who confirmed that Manny had indeed died suddenly. After asking, "How? When?" I received no answer. 

Let's face it, I'm bummed about my friend's death. It's amazing how we can feel connected to strangers on the internet. You gotta love one who seeks out friends on the internet while keeping his mind alive with great conversation. As for his "soul mate", he'd only say, it was "complicated." I don't know who she is but pray she finds comfort at this difficult time. Rest in Peace, Manny. I will miss you, and thanks for all of the chuckles. God love ya!

#WW: Passover Plagues

#MM: April 6, Happy Birthday to My Favorite Son

Today, my son Daniel turns 27 years old, 

which means I had him at age two!

He was such a cute baby. 
Please watch his Bar Mitzvah video that is 
filled with songs and memories.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava’s Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

I'm April A-Z Free

For the past three years, I've jumped into the A-Z Challenge with both feet on the ground running. I'd organize myself by listing possible ideas for letters and would spend every Sunday completing a week's worth of posts. I'd stretched my funny bones throughout the alphabet and had fun, but visiting all of the other blogs got to be a bit much. I'd never have enough time, and April blogging would take over my life. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Gifted-And-Talented-Materials-By-Joyce-Lansky

I am glad I decided to skip it this year. My focus has been geared toward projects that pay, such as Teacher Pay Teacher. I have a store with 329 products, and if I do what's planned, I'll have 331 products by tonight. Business -- that starts with the letter B -- has been great. I've also gotten into using Pinterest to advertise my products. I now have 135 followers, which is pretty good for a social media outlet that I ignored for years. All of this takes time, as well as the day job. 

I also like to work on my novels, which unfortunately take the back burner all too often. But, I'll be able to dump the day job in another two years. Perhaps then, I'll go back to the A-Z Challenge. Maybe once I retire, I'll get the books published. Maybe I'll make so much from my creative products on TPT that I won't need my teacher's salary. Don't laugh. Deanna Jump has made over $2,000,000. I plan to join her.

#WW: April Fools

#MM: Songs From When I Was Sixteen

Although this is a great topic, it does open me up to show just how old I really am. I was sixteen at a time of some of the best songs ever written. "Grease" came out that year, and many of those musical numbers climbed the billboard charts. When looking for these songs, I "Youtubed" the year and scribbled ideas on the back of a Back Yard Burgers receipt that I was supposed to use for a survey. I took the survey and submitted only to realize I was scoring with the great Firehouse Subs in mind. Oops. They'll really be surprised when they learn that the restaurant gave us free cookies. I don't think they have chocolate chip cookies on the menu.

As for the songs, I don't like to post more than three songs a week because I know we are all busy; however, it's going to be tough to narrow my list down to just three.

They don't make them like they used to, so enjoy some "Old Time Music" by Bob Seger.

And of course, who could forget the Village People? It was tough knowing whether to post Macho Man or YMCA, since they both came out in the same year. YMCA got a higher ranking, but being Jewish, we don't go to the Young Man's Christain Association. So, here's to those Macho Men. And to think, back in high school, it didn't even dawn on me that these guys were gay.

Now the last post is a tough decision. Do I go with Rolling Stones, "Miss You" or maybe The Jacksons singing "Shake Your Body Down to the Ground"? How about a little Cheap Trick? I originally saw this one as a 1978 hit, but then someone posted it as a 1979 favorite. Research tells me it was released on Halloween, 1977. Which just goes to show, I was listening to it at age 16.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava’s Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

No More Time to Think or Work on my WIP

I'm writing this post for Thursday, which means I'll be back in the trenches with no more time to think. That may not be a bad thing after the last two Thursday posts. I had a wonderful and relaxing Spring Break, spending much of my time either at the dog park with my best friends or writing. 

Although I've written five novels, there is one that is dearest to my heart, and I keep coming back to her after seven years. That baby has seen more rejection than Rodney Dangerfield; she's been around the block more times that Miley Cyrus, and she's received the reception of a president during a depression.  However, I think I've finally tweaked her to a new level . . . or I'm setting myself up for a huge disappointment. 

Last fall, I attended the SCBWI conference in Nashville. At the conference, I met a book editor who had a way of ticking everyone off with her quick NOs to our first pages. By the end of the conference, I was so angry that I didn't even bother to write down her submission requirements. But now that I've had time to cool and think, I realize that she gave me some of the most valuable information I'd ever gotten. I'd like to thank her.

I attended her session on dialogue. I always felt like dialogue was my strength, and maybe it is, but perhaps I have looked at dialogue all wrong. This editor told us that dialogue should not be what's moving the story. In fact, one should be able to remove the dialogue completely and still have a solid plot in place that the reader can follow. So, dialogue's job is to enhance what is already on the page. With that in mind, I revisited my baby looking for ways to tell Ben's story without too much dialogue. What I've noticed is a much deeper voice with a true insight as to what's in his head.

I believe this has taken my book to a new level and has given me the confidence to fork

over $30 to the Claymore Award competition. As a rule, I typically only enter free contests, so that when I lose, I chip away at my pride and not my pocketbook. However, I've taken a leap of faith. What makes this contest so appealing is knowing that those reading my first fifty pages are junkies of my genre. Furthermore, one does not have to win to win with Claymore. Any manuscript deemed ready for publication, winner or not, will be suggested to an appropriate editor. So, I hope someone sees what I see in my work. 

Now that I've passed my manuscript on, I've gone back to revising book two. Yes, I have a completed sequel to my book that's never been published and half of a third book. I quit working on these after someone suggested that writers not work on sequels to unpublished books.

For those who are interested, here is my first paragraph to that book that will one day become a best seller and a major motion picture. Oh, how I wish.

            I tried to focus on Ms. Link’s history review, but it was pointless once I’d spotted the fat guy outside my classroom window. He had stood under a tree less than twenty feet away for the past half-hour with his bug eyes aimed straight at me. I rubbed my hand over my stiff neck and noticed that my shoulders had inched upwards. Knowing I had to stop this stare down, I got out of my chair and headed toward the window. Maybe if I closed the smudged thing, he wouldn’t be able to see inside.

#WW : Worn Out

I watched her repeatedly drift to sleep, start to fall over, 

and then snap herself back awake.