Quote To Love Linked In By

Gracious Lord!  If you don't want on my Linked In site, then bail.  There are so many request, and my brain refuses to ponder over each one, and I realize this is sexist, but my husband learned that it really annoys me when I allow the internet to cause me rage, and when it comes out that I'm ready to pitch it down four stories to the San Francisco sidewalk, he is amused by the expression, "Don't let this whole thing get your knickers in knots!"  Then it comes time for one of us to leave the room, and I'm going nowhere.  I spend a lot of time on Linked In, and my profile, hopefully welcomes most, "LI" devotees.

LI is not a social club, but I've met people from marvelous friends of faith to agnostics and/or atheist.  There are Rikki sorts, TM, Buddist, and those contemplating, "The Big Bang," but you will also find those awaiting, "The Big Bang Theory," though most agree they prefer the encounter happen in a billion years or two.  Those  wiccan's write beautifully of spiritualism, and only in a few statements they may digress into a little conversation that one might feel as a Christian that we are not always cooking in the same pot. 

Why on earth in this great big pond of water separated by humongous clumps of dirt  called continents would we desire to be labeling human beings as, "Other," for we make relationships through communication--In this case--going on trust when people mean what they say.  After writing so long--I love in a pure and glorious manner.  I love my Wuhan, China interpreter with whom I feel so honored and even maternal after watching him go from college and now to a sales person who is assigned to most of Asia as the representative for his company.  I feel pride, and I feel the joy of a  young man with whom I am an LI other Mom.

I've fully fought a life's battle, and by responding as a, "Friend," on Linked in, I've had the good wishes of those who send me the best of wishes, there are others who place me on prayer list, and one physician answered a question that I just was not finding answers which made sense to me and to my husband.  I'd never take advantage of him with an,  "Organ Recital," but this highly trained retired physician and I have been reading each other's work for some time, and writing as we do --Then I felt merciful and helpful advice from a person I've never seen, so had I marked him as, "Other," I would have never been able to find such advice without travel, but thousands of miles--I reached a loving soul who stopped and thought  about me with the knowledge that my work life was as a health professional.

I have a bevy of writers with whom I keep contact with, and their lives such as a UN spokes person for a 3rd world country, also a renowned archeologist, one in the same--This person is like a good brother, amusing, someone who has brought Laos in to opening to the world as of 2016--I feel unworthy to clean his shoes, but he may not call it love, but it is love in action after some years of writing that we can talk on LI trading his expertise, certain expertise which I have, but we are writers now--My one Movie Option Book, "Pinkhoneysuckle," and his career choice writing from, "The Plain of Jars studies where he is the official expert on a place we hardly know about, for The War In Vietnam involved Laos where the Plain of Jars is located, and also left them with so many Individual Unexploded mines that it will take a century to see the last of them.  He does not know what love and compassion, my rock star,  a mentor, my encouragement to go on and to make my writing a fully new career, for he  believes I have a gift that I'm not using.  This is a love, and reasons to  dare take the leap in to Linked In--What a treasured and unintended consequence.

Another author on the farthest north of islands in Scotland is such an amazing writer that I"m all but begging Raymond Walker to get in to the market of the USA, for his writing is everything Amazon looks for in the books and short stories along with poetry are second to no writing class which I ever have taken.  He lives in Harry Potter's land near the only primordial forest as it looked when man first dwelled upon such land,  so I've learned how so many landmarks of Scotland which served as the inflated vision  encountered by Ms. Rawling  to the bedtime stories which she made up for her children and which ended in what is apt to remain the greatest of series which became the movies, "Harry Potter," but he does not deny her genius--Rather, he has written for years in a manner in which the magic is life, the characters often find themselves in dark places, transcendent though with sweet humor, though you will never know when the mystic and the myth will be so abstract that reality might be missed as the stranger on the magician's stage.  This is not a plug for you to purchase a book, for I could never sell  anything having been brought up to give away, but it surely is to note you might encounter how we can  let fear lead us away from the chance to marvel and to love.  Ray is another from whom I seek lessons regarding what is expected of writers.  My book is so different from his style that  I will ask him most things except  to critique my writing, for how can I compete with perfection?   Where else could I have ever run in to this writer with the golden pen?    Two giants who are big brothers  within my heart  were never, "Other."  LI has been the path to cherish Rob, Ray, Doc. and for me to discern love fell into my arms.

Women hold equal importance, and we can go from our writing conversations to the every day life, and each of us in our sharing of what women share that are out of the realm of men's understanding--To say, "I love them,"  An author such as Marty Barth and her book called, "The Shattering,"  takes me into a prison we were once both locked in to, the hurt children, walking shadows of one another.  Her instruction and commitment to ministry coalesce, and thus there is bread for the journey.  "God Is Love," the first lesson for any child of the old home church.  Writers like Mary bring the message home.  To include all names and books would be impossible--But most of us share an encounter with God with the large, "G."

In "Pinkhoneysuckle," I tell the story of hand fans given out in church, so when your little and the adults tell you you'll go to heaven someday, then how unfortunate the fans often had pictures of men and women lounging on the grass, and  it was  all flowery, ever springtime, and they'd be passing bowls of fresh greens on which to much.  That was a huge error, for had they shown a bunch of people stoking hell's fire with their picks and eternal damnation, then I would have imagined that a hotdog and a marshmallow on that pit prong might be just a little too much for me to refuse.  Also, all of those clothes, the dresses with hooped skirts appeared miserable than running around half naked when fire could keep one warm.  There's faith sharing that goes on here.  Many Linked In people like to talk religion, though we will not bring it up unless the interest has been shown.  We cannot separate Faith and Love--but heaping religion on people is your sure sign that you've just fallen on deaf ears.

Face it that love and your work go together if one is among the religious, but few of us have the Charisma of Pope Francis who immediately made it clear that he felt that he was a servant to the largest church legion over the entire world.  Anita Caruthers, Author of, "The Red Tent," gives all women, not just Jewish women a lesson based on Judaic women's responsibilities as a wife living in the glory of a Monotheistic God, how women lived, washed bathed, took care of their young and dreamed as women dream who love men, and who love one another in the pure sense of the time in the world where a Christ was to be born.  One comes away with a religious education and an understanding of why some proscription of that day makes sense to us even now.  Fr. Joseph Bernadine decided to make his death passage a book of hope from others in their dying, so his last day, his last entry in to a diary was service to others, and as Archbishop of Chicago, he could have ended the book with some great edict, but in the end, he left his signature with abiding love as, "Your Brother, Joseph.  Such Charisma and  life's work abides with love.   Before Billy Graham simply could minister no more, he stated that he felt as if he had failed in his mission,  for he could not bring more unity and more people to Christ.  To my knowledge his last sermon was 1995, and I fell victim to an internet hoax that as his beautiful wife Ruth, that he had expired, and feel such gratitude that  an LI friend pointed out the error. 

Linked In serves the religious inadvertently, but it is not a part of its marketing,  and there is a business component to managing the herculean needs of church and outreach.  I've found some great inspiration on this issue with Linked In having such diverse members and willing members who contribute.  I'd like to congratulate Dr. Wayne Norton on his letters to me--A pastor ready to take off with a, "Center of Positive Thinking," which has a religious affiliation, but I was drawn in to Dr. Norton's site, for just a posting of sheer joy popped up one day, and that day I needed whatever he had written about.  Love moves in its own pace; Sometimes it slows down and grabs us.  I am appreciative of this in abiding trust.

Linked In is not for everyone.  We are many, international and without the conversational level of Facebook.  There's no gifts for handing out a recommendation now and again for someone you feel is deserving other than an occasional letter of, "Thanks," and it's not going to get you to Amazon's top 100 books out of a few million or more books being published, but I find that there are rewards for me personally.  I had been thinking about love in its many forms and how bereft we are at times in valuing another's opinion,  speaking up and saying so, how I find the first to shot, "Bigot," and to accuse people of being guilty of bigotry  usually are not only unpleasant, hateful, and provincial to the point they can hardly leave their own homes without looking themselves in the mirror and congratulating themselves on their ability to put on their fit-in mask.  I seem to be lucky, for on Linked in this far I've run in to only a few of this type.

 I want to end with a thanks to some producers who have given me some words of encouragement, for to give courage equals a sequence of love.  Thanks so much to Bruce Haring owner of DYI productions, a producer, writer, and who has guided me to the book competition where, "Pinkhoneysuckle," began a, "Take off," my LA Superman.  I thank author David Wolverton, a writer and brilliant teacher whose students go out and get jobs in writing.  He has also become a producer on the western front, David Zucker, who kindly gave me a call about my book, but Producer, writer of excellence,, Now owns his own production company--Double thanks to Terry Chase Chenowith who gave me a shot with a movie option.  I will always feel gratitude that Kathryn Raaker, a producer and star of her own multiple gifts for bringing Chase and I together  with a, "Film Option.  Linked In, we keep in touch, and yes, we would all love to see, "Pinkhoneysuckle," benefactors, but with words of love spoken here, My friend Bruce wrote me heart healing words; "It is not a matter of whether it will be funded but, "When."  I will sew those words on a piece of the finest silk and save them over my heart.>

I think Linked In is growing to the point changes are ahead of us, but I leave you to ponder the question of, What is love?"   In a very pure way, this Linked In sight reminds me of a great school whose walls were covered with the message, "Love spoken here."   Carnal love certainly is to be found in the stories and the books many of us have written, for in all of its forms, it would have been of great help to those of us who did not understand very much of what it was all about, for teachers around where I'm from would have gotten kicked out of school for broaching the subject.  How different so many of my high school friends lives would have been had we known about such things when we were the kids graduating high school with some of us headed for college.  No longer do 17 year olds leave  for college so afraid of the issue of romantic love without a clue--I laugh out loud each time I get love interest notes; Once one reaches evening news age and Viagra and Depends sponsor the programming and five children plus six grandchildren are your every day loving concern--Those relationships are for the sincerely lonely.  Once I heard a comedian talking about his last date being with himself, and dinner ended very romantically--Years do bring some changes, and those of us with 45 year marriage histories thinks we should get a tax break for not taking the court time--I think you get the picture.  I end by suggesting  block me or anyone out, but you might learn more  than  business and share in a  new world love filled in  a very special trust, and there  in lies simple and kind friendship called "Love."  Walking on thin wires of having people never forgive me, because I cannot include all of the incredible kindness which has fallen in to my spirit as people who are so knowledge filled and to whom I cannot fail to hold out these arms for their brilliant writing and for sending me courage when my fears and doubts endeavor to kill the muse in me--

May I pay homage to friends:  William G. Simpson, OBM and his publication of, "Sabre of Honour" for his humility and life's labor and for his humility that he will not share with us how hard he's worked to be honored by The Queen of England.  I've cherished author Robert Pickles whose books like, "Dear Son Stay Safe," an empirically educated man whose  knowledge of  The Great War tells us these stories utilizing their letters, sketches, photographs and notes from the line, and a brain packed with history from the period he absorbed like a sponge.  I could have only dreamed before I wrote, "Pinkhoneysuckle," that I'd have such  educators as my UK, "Angels," to even reach out to a woman who needed  a seedling when, behold they have give me a rose garden packed with the essence of caring and learning from writers who need not ask, "How."  It is their gift.

Linked in writers who have touched me cross the spectrum.  Where ever could I have received guidance from K. B. Schaller, among the most influential of 100 Native American women.  She is a woman of great faith and can combine the majesty of the Jesus child's book to include all that is ancient and wonderful from the perspective of an Indian woman.  She knows the identity struggle of the native American child and problems for those who are well aware that this United States and all of North America was once their home, and we visitors and travelers took far more than we could give back in anyone's lifetime.   Think of, "Journey Of The Sackcloth Moon,"  and think of child and parent reading this together.

No one has paid me to advertise for any of these beloved people, but I feel that I have this privilege to do so,  and with the loss of the more personal contact of publisher and author accounting for far less publications that what existed over these past few years--I ask you to understand that Amazon, Kindle, and Create Space are publishing as much or more each year, so if you are going to stick to publishing house books--Then you are about to loose touch that Amazon is taking on almost a world of published work,  and if you wish to limit yourself to pop and political reading, the, "All Tell," and Romance Story book series then we are not going to be a very educated lot.  Most of the time you are receiving quality work from people who never had the chance to walk the Avenues with a manuscript to publish.  The difficult task will be selecting just how incredibly great of one million you are apt to give away.  We feed off of one another, and the good writers are finding their greatness.  Talk to an author on Linked In, and if we/they do not appeal to you--There's hundreds of thousands more.

Self publishing does not add up to mediocre--It does reflect that we have faced the truth that we must live in the new world where the old rules of who could be a published author, and those of us born when the big computer at UC Berkeley was as big as a house.  We cannot stop progress when it is dancing on the graves of , "How things were some years ago," and that goes for every age group.  May we rise up to the challenges,  respect how technology is changing our lives or it is apt to be lonely waiting for the next circuit rider to bring in the mail.  I'm too restless to sit that long.

Peace And Safe Journey,

Barbara

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