I'm backkkk

And she's back:)  My little sister Jewel, and oh yes she is a Jewel, told me that I'd better write this or else.  She lives in NY, I live in FL so what is she going to do if I don't write?  I know that she has my best interest at heart so I'm writing.

I have been in a rut these past three weeks, I don't know why I allow people to affect me this way but since I haven't heard from my older sister, I just haven't been up to writing anything.  

My book took me five years to write, and she was very much aware of it's content, so why she waited until it was published to tell me that I shouldn't air our dirty laundry is beyond me.  Well, it's done and I am not going to change it.  

My mother got her hands on the book and began reading it today.  I guess I won't be hearing from her any time soon, not that we had any kind of relationship before, we didn't.

Several people have told me that I was an inspiration and I do hope that proves true, that really was the point in writing the book in the first place.  

I am very thankful for all the good friends and good wishes they have sent me,  so to yous I say,

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

First lunch in the "Teacher's Lounge"

This week my granddaughter began her first 15 hours of observing an elementary school classroom.  I know, right?  How the heck is it possible that I have a granddaughter old enough to be in college, studying for her teaching degree?  I mean, when did I get so old? Somebody wake me up, I'm having a nightmare that I have a granddaughter my age!

For those of you who do not know,  I home schooled my namesake from the time she was in sixth grade.  We moved to this part of Florida to be in walking distance to St. Petersburg College when she was 18.   I wasn't aware that she would be required to go to GED classes in order to get her official High School diploma so we just waited the year to become eligible for resident status.  

Kat only had to go to classes for a couple of months, when she graduated with honors.  That summer she took three one credit courses at SPC  in a summer program for non-traditional high school graduates.  She made me proud by earning their highest honor,  a trophy and her first scholarship for being, "  Teacher's Choice"

This is Kat's third semester and she is well on her way to once again making the presidents list.  Next semester she will only need three classes to earn her associates degree and then begin earning her Bachelors degree in September.  

The school where Kat will be spending her 15 hours is a Fundamental elementary school K-5.  I never heard of it myself.  There are 290 students total and two classes for each grade.  The students are on a first come first served basis and are on a waiting list as they are at their maximum teacher to student ratio.  The parents must sign a contract promising to be completely involved with the student, and the student must sign a contract promising to give 100%.  The dress code is as strict as the one we followed when I was in grade school.  This school is among the few public elementary schools in Florida to receive a distinguished GreatSchools Rating of 10 out of 10.

So all my spiritual friends, please send up those prayers, because after spending just one day there, this is the school Kat wants to teach at when she becomes a certified teacher.

My First Review on Amazon.com

I just read my first review for my book, on Amazon.com.  OMG, while I must admit I did solicit the review, I never expected it to be such a glowing one.  Thank you so much Vala, you made me want to read that book:)  Many blessings.

An Open Letter To Teenagers

Dear Teenager:

Once upon a time, I too was a teenager.  I am here to tell you if a grown-up ever tells you that it's the best time of your life, it's only because they have forgotten how hard it was to grow up.   

I became a teenager somewhere between my ninth and tenth year.  Don't forget, my parents divorced when I was nine, so there was little if any supervision in our house until my mother remarried three years later. by then it was too late to harness me.  I came and went as I pleased.  I got myself in heaps of trouble too.

If I could impart just one seed of knowledge to the aching teenager, it would be this:
                         "  This too shall pass"

It may seem like it will last forever, but before you know it, you will be all grown up and on your own and depending on the decisions you make now, you may rule your universe.  

I think back to the day I quit school because my principal's daughter taunted me in class saying things like, "  Oh she doesn't know what she's talking about, she's crazy."    Why didn't I just let the principal handle it?  He could have switched me to two other classes, that's all I had with her.  He most definitely would have chastised her for her actions.  My life would have gone in a much different direction had I stayed in school.   


If life is unbearable at home, join every extra curricular activity you can, it will keep you off the street and away from home.  Volunteer at a hospital or go to the library and study, study, study.  Aim for A's, college is not out of reach if you have the grades.  If you have to rebel, don't be a rebel without a clue like I was, rebel in a positive way.  Show them all that you can achieve the American dream, you really can!



  

"Turning 15 in the Looney Bin" corrections

My dear sister Julie, stayed up all night to read and correct all the mistakes she found in my book, many were made when I transferred the ODT to PDF,  I believe there is a glitch that doesn't show up until the template I used is transferred to PDF.  

Thank you so much little sister,  I have made the corrections.  May God richly bless you for your unselfish ways.

Pg. 11, 61, 78 in two places, 106, 162 , 170, 188, >  titles/books

Pg. 23, 49, &  166> K. L. Hiattity

Pg. 44 Kathy?  What is a capos?  "Kathy you make sure you steer clear of the two capos(nurses?) at the door and Rita." ???????

Pg. 62  Beatitude 4 needs the word, "comforted." also on Pg. 62 remove "and" after magazine.

Pg. 65 Need to revisit  the sentence: "I never got found out, or tell...". (You told me!!!) Anyway doesn't seem right.  Shouldn't it be: "I never was found out or told anyone what I had done, 'til now." or "I never was found out or told anyone what I had done, well, outside of close family, 'til now.". Then it isn't a lie.

Pg. 85 close the gap between whisper. "Maybe later..."

Pg. 89 The hyphen in obviously

Pg. 90 After the sentence where Ronna is licking her hands and drying them on her pants:  need a "to" there between seem & hear.

Pg. 94 I was confused for moment.  How could you fail third grade and then skip to sixth.  Unless, instead of seventh you were placed in ...  I am dumb!  I need that explained.

Pg. 127 Iantha needs to be changed to Aretha.  Need quotation marks at the end of the sentence ...cops on the lot of you."

Pg. 130 I do not recall this "Kathleen" ???

Pg. 139 Quotation marks  Where Annie states it is important to trust you.  ...me.". As I took ...

Pg. 154 Close the gap in the sentence I just couldn't understand ...

Pg. 156  Brother Kevin IS Brother Joseph...ooops! 

Pg. 178 condemn

Pg. 201 Brother Joseph makes another appearance and sticks around to the next pages on 202.

Pg.  219 Close the gap bottom of page, With that, Dr. Smith...

Pg. 220 fix the sentence "Raising my daughter...either remove the "my" or change "her" to daughter.  Very next sentence case change S to s for shared.


The back of the book, on the back cover, starts to repeat.

I know you had a hard time reliving the past.  I do not see anything wrong with anything you wrote.  I would have liked more detail and those funny (snide) comments.  I also want to point out, though you say you are dumb, you really were quite brilliant!  Going out one window and in another...skipping school.  It amazes me how no one really knew what was going on.  The nurses got away with abuse and you got away with all your rule breaking...well, most of it!  I wonder if Skinner ever got hers... I pray it was with 7 fold!

 

Does It Ever End?

Oh Lord, does it ever end?  Got a message from my sister who drew the front cover of my book, her husband just saw her copy and hit the roof.  I'm not sure if he got mad that I didn't put her name on the cover or that I put it in smaller print on the title page, but he said I had to get his name off the book.  I told her that I just followed the template the publisher provided, and that she was the one who told me not to put her name on the cover.  So, I just uploaded yet another PDF file, minus her name and sent in.  Some day when I'm rich and famous, and when the movie has been made, I'm probably gonna hear about not giving my sister the credit for her art-work on the cover of my book.  Oh, don't you worry,  I am saving every bit of communication concerning the book.

My follow-up book is a work in progress.  Holy-jump up and down, wait till they see that one!  It's all about my move back to Catskill, and they are all in it.  Many of you are too:)

Who's Running This Country?

By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 8/5/11 6:51 AM EDT Updated: 8/5/11 3:57 PM EDT

President Barack Obama and many Democrats are talking about raising taxes on the wealthy, and data released this week by the Internal Revenue Service offers new details about the number of Americans who fit that bill.
People and households earning $1 million or more annually made up just 0.1 percent, or just over 235,000, of the 140 million tax returns filed in 2009, and just 8,274 returns were filed by people making $10 million or more. 

Though the tax rate for Americans earning a gross adjusted income of $1 million or more averaged 24.4 percent, up from 23.1 percent in 2008, that’s still lower than the 28.5 percent rate they paid in 2002 when President George W. Bush was in office.

And, the data show, the 235,413 taxpayers who reported earning seven digits or more in 2009 took in a total of $726.9 billion — yet 1,470 paid not a penny of income taxes. In 2007, 959 Americans earning $1 million or more paid no income taxes.
The returns filed in 2009 reflect income from 2008, the depths of the recession and financial crisis, and, under that backdrop, incomes fell sharply.
The vast majority of tax return filers — more than 97 percent — reported incomes of less than $200,000. The average income was $54,283, a drop of more than $3,500, or 6 percent, from 2008. That put the average income at its lowest level since 1997.
At the same time, the average tax rate declined from 12.5 percent in 2008 to 11.4 percent in 2009.
The amount of unemployment benefits claimed on tax returns nearly doubled 2008-09, the IRS found.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60717.html#ixzz1aU3tdzVZ

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60717.html#ixzz1aU3hj800

There is 1000 million in 1 billion.  Now I ask you, what can a person do with all that money?  Why are there starving children in this country?  Why are there so many people suffering from lack of anything in this country?  

Forbes 400

The Richest People in America

Browse The List

Rank	Name	Net Worth	Age	Residence	Source
1	Bill Gates	$59 B	55	Medina, Washington	Microsoft
2	Warren Buffett	$39 B	81	Omaha, Nebraska	Berkshire Hathaway
3	Larry Ellison	$33 B	67	Woodside, California	Oracle
4	Charles Koch	$25 B	75	Wichita, Kansas	diversified
4	David Koch	$25 B	71	New York, New York	diversified
6	Christy Walton	$24.5 B	56	Jackson, Wyoming	Wal-Mart
7	George Soros	$22 B	81	Katonah, New York	hedge funds
8	Sheldon Adelson	$21.5 B	78	Las Vegas, Nevada	casinos
9	Jim Walton	$21.1 B	63	Bentonville, Arkansas	Wal-Mart
10	Alice Walton	$20.9 B	61	Fort Worth, Texas	Wal-Mart
11	S. Robson Walton	$20.5 B	67	Bentonville, Arkansas	Wal-Mart
12	Michael Bloomberg	$19.5 B	69	New York, New York	Bloomberg LP
13	Jeff Bezos	$19.1 B	47	Seattle, Washington	Amazon.com
14	Mark Zuckerberg	$17.5 B	27	Palo Alto, California	Facebook
15	Sergey Brin	$16.7 B	38	Los Altos, California	Google
15	Larry Page	$16.7 B	38	Palo Alto, California	Google
17	John Paulson	$15.5 B	55	New York, New York	hedge funds
18	Michael Dell	$15 B	46	Austin, Texas	Dell
19	Steve Ballmer	$13.9 B	55	Hunts Point, Washington	Microsoft
20	Forrest Mars	$13.8 B	80	Big Horn, Wyoming	candy
20	Jacqueline Mars	$13.8 B	71	The Plains, Virginia	candy
20	John Mars	$13.8 B	75	Jackson, Wyoming	candy, pet food
23	Paul Allen	$13.2 B	58	Mercer Island, Washington	Microsoft, investments
24	Phil Knight	$13.1 B	73	Hillsboro, Oregon	Nike
25	Carl Icahn	$13 B	75	New York, New York	leveraged buyouts
26	Donald Bren	$12 B	79	Newport Beach, California	real estate
26	Anne Cox Chambers	$12 B	91	Atlanta, Georgia	media
26	Ronald Perelman	$12 B	68	New York, New York	leveraged buyouts
29	Abigail Johnson	$11.7 B	49	Milton, Massachusetts	Fidelity
30	James Simons	$10.6 B	73	East Setauket, New York	hedge funds
31	George Kaiser	$10 B	69	Tulsa, Oklahoma	oil & gas, banking
32	Len Blavatnik	$9.5 B	54	London, N/A	diversified
33	Harold Simmons	$9.3 B	80	Dallas, Texas	investments
34	Jack Taylor	$9 B	89	St. Louis, Missouri	Enterprise Rent-A-Car
35	Steve Cohen	$8.3 B	55	Greenwich, Connecticut	hedge funds
36	Harold Hamm	$7.5 B	65	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	oil & natural gas
37	Rupert Murdoch	$7.4 B	80	New York, New York	News Corp
38	James Goodnight	$7.1 B	68	Cary, North Carolina	SAS Institute
39	Philip Anschutz	$7 B	71	Denver, Colorado	investments
39	Andrew Beal	$7 B	58	Dallas, Texas	banks, real estate
39	Steve Jobs	$7 B	56	Palo Alto, California	Apple, Pixar
39	Patrick Soon-Shiong	$7 B	59	Los Angeles, California	generic drugs
43	Samuel Newhouse	$6.6 B	83	New York, New York	Conde Nast
44	Ray Dalio	$6.5 B	62	Greenwich, Connecticut	hedge funds
44	Edward Johnson	$6.5 B	81	Boston, Massachusetts	Fidelity
46	Charles Ergen	$6.4 B	58	Denver, Colorado	EchoStar
46	Richard Kinder	$6.4 B	66	Houston, Texas	pipelines
48	Eli Broad	$6.3 B	78	Los Angeles, California	investments
48	Leonard Lauder	$6.3 B	78	New York, New York	Estee Lauder
50	Pierre Omidyar	$6.2 B	44	Honolulu, Hawaii	Ebay
50	Eric Schmidt	$6.2 B	56	Atherton, California	Google
52	Ralph Lauren	$6.1 B	71	New York, New York	Ralph Lauren
53	Jim Kennedy	$6 B	63	Atlanta, Georgia	media
53	Blair Parry-Okeden	$6 B	60	Scone, N/A	media
55	Donald Newhouse	$5.9 B	81	Somerset County, New Jersey	Conde Nast
55	Ira Rennert	$5.9 B	77	Sagaponack, New York	investments
57	Charles Butt	$5.7 B	73	San Antonio, Texas	supermarkets
58	David Geffen	$5.5 B	68	Malibu, California	movies, music
59	Jeffrey Hildebrand	$5.3 B	52	Houston, Texas	Oil
60	Richard DeVos	$5 B	85	Holland, Michigan	Amway
60	Richard LeFrak	$5 B	66	New York, New York	real estate
60	Frederik G.H. Meijer	$5 B	91	Grand Rapids, Michigan	supermarkets
60	Thomas Peterffy	$5 B	67	Greenwich, Connecticut	discount brokerage
60	David Tepper	$5 B	54	Livingston, New Jersey	hedge funds
60	Dennis Washington	$5 B	77	Missoula, Montana	construction, mining
66	Robert Rowling	$4.7 B	57	Dallas, Texas	investments
66	Stephen Schwarzman	$4.7 B	64	New York, New York	investments
66	Sam Zell	$4.7 B	69	Chicago, Illinois	real estate, private equity
69	Rupert Johnson	$4.5 B	70	Burlingame, California	Franklin Resources
69	John Malone	$4.5 B	70	Elizabeth, Colorado	cable television
69	John Menard	$4.5 B	71	Eau Claire, Wisconsin	Retail
72	Charles Johnson	$4.4 B	78	Hillsborough, California	financial services
73	Ray Lee Hunt	$4.3 B	68	Dallas, Texas	oil, real estate
73	Bruce Kovner	$4.3 B	66	New York, New York	hedge funds
75	Micky Arison	$4.2 B	62	Bal Harbour, Florida	Carnival Cruises
75	Leonard Stern	$4.2 B	73	New York, New York	real estate
75	Daniel Ziff	$4.2 B	39	New York, New York	investments
75	Dirk Ziff	$4.2 B	47	North Palm Beach, Florida	investments
75	Robert Ziff	$4.2 B	45	New York, New York	investments
80	Sumner Redstone	$4.1 B	88	Beverly Hills, California	Viacom
81	John Paul DeJoria	$4 B	67	Austin, Texas	hair products, tequila
81	David Green	$4 B	69	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Hobby Lobby
81	William Koch	$4 B	71	Palm Beach, Florida	oil, investments
81	Roger Wang	$4 B	62	Nanjing, Jiangsu	retail
85	Leslie Wexner	$3.8 B	74	New Albany, Ohio	retail
86	Henry Kravis	$3.7 B	67	New York, New York	leveraged buyouts
86	Gordon Moore	$3.7 B	82	Woodside, California	Intel
88	Robert Bass	$3.6 B	63	Fort Worth, Texas	oil, investments
88	Jin Sook & Do Won Chang	$3.6 B	56	Beverly Hills, California	retail
88	Trevor Rees-Jones	$3.6 B	60	Dallas, Texas	Oil & Gas
91	John Arnold	$3.5 B	37	Houston, Texas	hedge funds
91	Dustin Moskovitz	$3.5 B	27	San Francisco, California	Facebook
91	Henry Ross Perot	$3.5 B	81	Dallas, Texas	computer services, real estate
91	John Sall	$3.5 B	63	Cary, North Carolina	SAS Institute
91	Charles Schwab	$3.5 B	74	Atherton, California	discount brokerage
96	Dannine Avara	$3.4 B	47	Houston, Texas	pipelines
96	Gayle Cook	$3.4 B	77	Bloomington, Indiana	medical devices
96	Scott Duncan	$3.4 B	28	Houston, Texas	Pipelines
96	Milane Frantz	$3.4 B	42	Houston, Texas	Pipelines
96	Bruce Halle	$3.4 B	81	Paradise Valley, Arizona	Discount Tire