Health Care

I am going to use this forum to spout off about health care. I know, it has nothing to do with writing, but maybe in writing about it, I will at least put it out there. I may not exorcise any demons, but others will be aware they exist.

We have a health care crisis in this country. The crisis is that the insurance companies have become our doctors. We have taken health care out of the equation. It is strictly a business deal for the insurance company. They deny claims for those who are really in need.

Imagine you suddenly are exhibiting signs of cancer. Your energy level has dropped, you are having cramps in your belly, and there is blood in your urine. Now it could be endrometritis, or a simple infection. Your doctor wants to do an ultrasound to find out. In the meantime, you are not able to sleep from the cramps, your job is suffering because of your lack of energy, and your home life has fallen into disrepair. Dishes have piled up, and laundry is just too much effort.

The doctor wants to do the ultrasound to check on your uterus, but he has to wait. He needs permission from your insurance company. So for two weeks the pain and the panic grow.

Who made the insurance company God? Politics.

Now imagine this same scenario and you have no health insurance. You don't have the money to pay for an ultrasound. You are without any recourse.

For many Americans this is a reality. Our quality of life has taken a nose dive. How can we say we are the best nation on earth, when we so clearly lack in this area?

I love my country. I love my neighbors. Lets fix this problem!

WIFI

Today I joined the ranks of writers sitting in coffee shops and typing away as if the noisy world around them doesn't exist. I received my laptop on Thursday, and took it to my son so he could teach me the necessary things. Now, armored with that advice, the firewall he put on for me, and the ability to find a wifi signal, I am typing away as if the noisy world doesn't exist.

I can completely ignore the grinding of coffee grounds and hubbub of people talking. I am immersed with the aroma of coffee and fresh baked goods. Cold sweeps over me every time the door opens, and I love every second of it.

I am finally mobile! I can whip out my computer and write wherever I want. I can check spelling and let my imagination run rampant down new streets and avenues. I can sit beside a lake and watch a sunset.

Hold on you say, couldn't you always do those things with material of the real world? Notebooks, pens, pencils and dictionaries have long been the standard aids to wordsmiths. Yes, until now, those were my tools of choice. My desktop computer at home was the means of saving and printing. I found over time, that I wrote better on my home computer than I ever did on paper. I could edit on the fly, and not leave messy scribbled blotches where the previous word just didn't make the cut. Now my work looks finished and neat on the page. I can type much faster than I can write so that my trail of thought doesn't leave me behind as it meanders the creative avenues.

The laptop has freed me further from the bounds of earth. Now I fly. I sing to the wind and dance in meadows. Freedom in not just another word, when you find yourself leaping over rocks than hitherto blocked your path.

Community Journalism

There are those times in life when you find something that engages your interest, holds your attention without work, and makes you sit forward in your chair to catch every word. That is the way I felt tonight as I sat through a Journalism Seminar. I must admit, I went with all of the wrong ideas about what I would learn. I expected to hear the formula on how to organize a news story. I thought I would be regaled with editor stories and deadline headaches. Instead, we learned that the new Journalism is now online. We were given the tools for that, instead of the newsprint exercises I expected.

Ross Williams and David McDonald, both of Grand Rapids, gave a free class on Community Journalism on Feb. 7, 2008 at the computer commons of CLC in Brainerd, to teach students about the KAXE Radio's idea of creating a community sharing of ideas, news, community services, opinions and local happenings.

Ross Williams started us off by explaining Community Journalism to us. KAXE Radio is creating the forum for a community of blogs, local services and local experts. It includes stories about the impact on local events and emergency services. A collective effort of the community would be the basis of the website. We now live with a worldwide view of life, and often our local events are lost by the sheer magnitude of Internet content. This coalescing of local information can find a local audience. You would be able to go online to see that the small store down the road actually has a website, or the church down the road is having a lunch that you are invited to if you bring a hotdish.

Since content would need to be updated daily, a variety of input would be most welcome. The audience is quickly bored and wants new information. If each person adds one thing per week, then the newest stories could be put at the top and there would always be fresh reading.

Ross did give us the old basic of journalistic writing: the 5 W's. We all know them from elementary school, Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Try to cover all of these questions in one sentence. My second paragraph covers the five W's in this story.

We were given wristbands with the website www.kaxecommons.org on the side. We were encouraged to go to the website and see for ourselves what was offered there. The website is still growing as more find out about it and add their own flavor of comments or contents.

We were challenged to create a blog and write a story. I dusted off this older blog that I had started and abandoned. I think I am going to enjoy renewing my interest in this.

While Ross kept us on task and was quick to explain any questions, David McDonald leapt back and forth on subjects, but was also very engaging with his enthusiasm for the subject. He expounded on Multi-Media presentations of our stories, which can include: text, photos, audio, video and animation. First get to know your software, then edit and present. Just writing a story is so last century. We live in the age of You Tube which communicates effectively to society without text.

He broke us down into two groups, Native and immigrant. The younger population has grown up with technology at their fingertips and are much more native in their response. It is a normal part of their lives. Immigrants, or those of us who came to it later in life, may not be quite so nimble.

David entertained us with stories of his time working for Reuters as a reporter for the BBC. His point was about ethics. We must be aware of how our stories will affect those involved. Could someone get fired for telling us something, and then we report it? He gave us an example of a doctor he interviewed in Sudan during a coupe. There was demonstrations in the streets and upheaval with the government. David interviewed the doctor, who blasted the current leaders. David submitted his story to the BBC. The story went out over the wires and later David heard that the doctor was arrested.

He reminded us that anything on the Internet is public domain. Anyone can read it and anyone can have an opinion of it. Ross spoke up and said the phrase, "Security by obscurity." Together they brought home the lesson that if you put it out there, it is out there for all to see. Just because you are one small person, you may become suddenly famous for something you thought no one would read or see. Employers have learned to check My Space websites of prospective employees.

David also gave us a lesson on journalism by telling us to decide which direction we want our stories to take. We can go the "objective" route, and give both sides of an issue. We can do the "PR" route, and give a one-sided view of a subject. Usually you would do that when you are being paid to show the good side of something. The third option was to do the Art, or subjective view.

David talked a bit about using consent forms. It is a good way to protect yourself from future litigation, and may be required by some medias that you might work with. David says to use your good judgment about anything you write. Gain access to your information in an ethical way. When you write you are responsible for your words.

The entire night we learned quite a bit about Citizen Journalism. We each belong to a local community and it is ours to talk about, blog about, take pictures of and share with others who belong to our same community and are as interested as we are. The point was made that in five years the media will be far advanced from what we see now. Look how far we have come already. David predicted that there would be no static websites in the future.

David said to only go down three levels into the story, or you run the risk of the story going all over the place. State clearly if you are being objective or subjective.

Ross told us we are all publishers.

In the future KAXE will bring other great free seminars for us. Doug McGill of Rochester may come to teach us how to write a great story. He has written for the New York Times and Blomberg News Service Bureau Chief. Scott Hall may give a seminar on how to write and produce for radio. So stay tuned for those. While you are waiting check out www.kaxecommons.org website and start sharing your local fare.

After the seminar I heard comments that proved others enjoyed it as much as I had. E. Hoskins said, " I am so glad that I made the decision to take part in the meeting. It was very informative and interesting. I had a lot of fun. "

G. Hoskins said, "This was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed learning the new skills. You never know when you will need them in the future."

Al Martin said, "It wasn't what I expected, but I really enjoyed it and learned a lot of unexpected things."

In conclusion I would like to repeat a line you will find at the top of the website. "Community Internet is like Community Radio. It takes a medium that can reach the world and focuses it on building local communities."

Hope to see you in the blogs.

Dog Attack Creates a Hero

Sixty year old David Deziel was walking near his home on a beautiful summer day near Deerwood, Minnesota, when two pit bulls and another small dog leapt out of the woods. They pulled David off his feet and mauled his legs. In an interview with The Brainerd Dispatch David said, "It was so frightening. I couldn't comprehend this and I still can't. If a wild animal would have attacked me I could have handled that, but two pets?''

Deziel had just made the turn for the return walk home when the first pit bull rushed out at him. Deziel believed it had been stalking him from the woods. The large pit bull clamped down on his knee. A second pit bull, smaller than the first, arrived and attacked the other knee. The smaller dog began chewing on bits of Deziel's flesh as the two larger dogs tore it off.

Deziel tried to hit them and force them off his body, but nothing worked. They mainly damaged his legs but also bit him in the face and ears.

This could be just another dog attack story, except for one thing: Teresa Catlin was driving by. Teresa, 37, saw the dogs attacking David. Though she lived in the neighborhood, she and David did not know each other. Teresa felt she had to act. "I pulled the van over, put it in park and looked around for something to use on the dogs and I found a flashlight,'' she said. "I ran out of the van yelling and waving the flashlight and one of the dogs backed off. I got right between the dog and David and called 911.'' She knew David didn't have a chance if she didn't help, and she didn't have time to be afraid.

Teresa was not attacked by the dogs, perhaps because of the flashlight, perhaps because of her assertiveness. The dogs lay down, panting from exertion as if nothing had happened. Teresa sat down beside David and they prayed together.

When emergency personnel arrived one of the dogs ran away. The other dog was shot so aid could be given to David. They transported him to the Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby. He was then taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment. David came close to death on the fourth and fifth day when the trauma from his wounds, over 200 punctures and rips, began to take their toll. The pain was extensive.

Deziel is still full of scars, but so thankful to Teresa, who braved three attacking dogs with only a flashlight. Teresa knew the dogs from other incidents involving them. Her son had his pants ripped by one of them when he rode his bike down the road. A neighbor lost his dog, inside it's kennel, when one of the pit bulls broke in and killed it. Although calls had been made to authorities about them, they were still running free on the day they attacked David Deziel.

Diziel said, "How do you repay someone for saving your life?' What is a human life worth? There are no words to describe my feeling about her. I'm so proud of her, she's my hero. I don't know how to thank her.''

Heroes can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be afraid, but help anyway, or perhaps fearless in the face of overwhelming odds. Teresa Catlin is more than brave, more than exemplary; Teresa Catlin is the kind of hero that we should all strive to be. If she had stayed in her van and called 911, then David Deziel would not be healing today. We all must ask ourselves what we would have done in the same situation. Would we have been a Teresa that day? Or would we have done the safe thing?

Join a Writing Group

http://www.nfsps.org/
Joining a group in your area can boost your knowledge of your craft. Some areas do not have groups, so consider starting one. If you are looking there is a good chance that others in your location are looking also.
There are different types of groups and the personalities of the members decides how they work. If you find a good group they will not only sit and nod at your reading, but will give good critiquing. There is a huge difference in good and bad critiquing. Bad critiquing will just knock down the writer. Good critiquing will make you see what you need to do to improve your work.
Critiques are not meant to rewrite a person's work. To change the voice of the writer is to destroy the writing. Critiquing is the process of helping the writer see a better way to write what they've written. The opposite side of critiquing is that you have to be willing to listen to the advice, and act upon it.
With snow expected tonight I know I will be spending the weekend writing. With any luck I will have some jewels drop off the page. I belong to three groups, two local poetry groups, and a writer's group that focuses on novel and article writing.
The National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Inc. is a good place to start. The above link will show you where groups are in your area. They have contests with prizes, but best of all they have smart competent writers that you can learn from. With a well respected group, you can move yourself forward with your writing. Keep in mind, you have to want to.

Words

I couldn't find my password/user name for a bit, so I haven't been on. I finally figured out they wanted my email, not my user name, though that is what they asked for. It just goes to show how important a single word can be. Can a single word affect the world? If the word "slave" had never been invented would it have saved massive suffering throughout history?

I find myself drawn to certain words. I love the words "etch", "filigree" and "lambswool". They have a feeling right off the tongue. They have their own flow and meter, even though each is a different syllable count.

What words can you taste? Which can you feel? Try out some and see how you feel about them. Then place them into a poem. Do they help or hinder your message?

Overcome Writer's Block (for poets)

This method works with any type of poetry, free verse or rhyming. The process I use is writing a "List Poem" also known as the "Catalog Poem". At first glance this may look uninteresting and how could something so benign bring out the Dylan in a poet?

Some of my best poetry has come from this process. I gave a half hour program on this at a local poet's group, and they all agreed it was a wonderful catalyst. The poems written that night were outstanding. (and this is in a group with a state poet laureate, a national poetry president and a state poetry president in its midst).

The basics of the List Poem are as follows:

1. You are not just making a word list. You are listing all of the elements of a subject. Pick the subject first and then begin thinking of every facet of it.
2. As the writer you want to tell others the fascinating thing about your subject. "Look at this" or "Think about this".
   
3. Let the title sum up the whole.
   
4. Put in a beginning and an end, make a story of the list poem. Your last line should wrap up the whole concept.
5. The beginning of each line should have the same (or implied) beginning. You can either leave in the same beginning, which can get repetitive (which with the right poem can give it oomph, but not all poems can handle this) or let the title imply the beginning words to each line.
6. If you put in the repetitive words at the beginning of each line, when you are done with the poem try going back and removing them to see how the poem sounds without.

The Assignment: Write a list poem with one of the following headers:
Yesterday
I wished
The Party
He said
I thought
On my summer vacation
My kitchen
Children
Dragons
Labor Laws
Bush

EXAMPLES:

(a prose list poem)

A List of Things to Do This Winter
by Kathryn Lomer

Take your father's farm-worn hand as your own; choose symbolic uses for the fine array of fingers; curl tarsal and metatarsal about a newborn's shell-like fist; read the palm with its attenuated hachures, lifeline fading out, snaggle in the line of health like tangled catgut, head and heart as intertwined as the love knot he tied in a sapling tea tree (stem pliant as a young woman's waist) on the bank of the Rubicon, retrieved years later sanded polished presented to his wife still woodenly reminding his loved ones...

(a repetitive list poem)

Things I Wanted to Do Today
by Tao Lin

I wanted to join a water polo club.
I wanted to buy a white T-shirt.
I wanted to walk around for one hour staring amiably at people’s faces as they passed by on the streets and sidewalks.

I wanted to join a water polo club.
I wanted to buy a white T-shirt.
I wanted to walk around for one hour staring amiably at people’s faces as they passed by on the streets and sidewalks.
I wanted to say hi to strangers and smile big at them until they smiled back.
I wanted to let my appetite go and go and then when I felt hollow and good I wanted to buy a corn muffin and a coffee and a soup and sit in the park on a bench and take my time eating and feeling the sun on my arms.
I wanted to get in touch with old friends.
I wanted to take the initiative and make plans for as many Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays as possible for the rest of my life.
I wanted to buy a small vacuum cleaner and a small fold-up desk and I wanted to put the vacuum cleaner on the desk and then carry the desk on my head down the street towards my apartment.
I wanted to run into a friend sitting on a stoop to my right.
I wanted to stand there listening to what they’ve been up to and then when they asked if I was uncomfortable standing there with the desk and vacuum cleaner on my head, I wanted to say something to indicate that I was, but that it was worth it to listen to them tell me about what has been going on in their life.
I wanted to offer to vacuum their house.
I wanted the friend to be someone I knew in fourth grade who said she liked me.
I wanted to go in there and vacuum her house and then when she offered me lemonade, I wanted to compliment her hair and maybe her teeth.
I wanted to keep on complimenting her until she was giggling and sitting at one end of her large couch and touching her hair and glancing up at me, all the while giggling.
I wanted to set up the desk in the middle of her living room and put the vacuum cleaner on top of it and then stand arms akimbo and say, well there then.
I wanted to sit on the other end of her large couch and ask her from across the length of the room what she was doing on Friday.
I wanted the TV to be off but the fan to be wooden and on and making a faint sandy noise like a quiet beach.
I wanted her to crawl over her couch towards me.
I wanted to stand up while she was crawling towards me and then vacuum her couch.
I wanted to vacuum her hair.
I wanted to say, can I try something to you?
I wanted us to take turns doing new and interesting things with the vacuum cleaner.
I wanted us, at one point, to be standing on the desk together trying to gain control of the vacuum cleaner from the other.
I wanted her to go into to the kitchen and then come back in the living room with a steak knife and I wanted her to chase me around with it.
I wanted to leave her house when the sun was big and red and the sky was orange and whipped like a peach smoothie.
I wanted to see a three-year-old boy with black hair and blue eyes playing with a small white dog on the way home.
I wanted to shower with hot water and then cold water and then walk around naked.
I wanted to do one hundred jumping jacks to build my stamina.
I wanted to cut up a papaya and eat it.
I wanted to package some of my books and send one to my mom, one to my brother, one to a friend.
I wanted to do nice things for everyone I’ve ever knew.
I wanted to lie on my bed and put my ear on the pillow.
I wanted a mysterious noise outside to wake me up.
I wanted the window to be open and a light breeze coming in and I wanted it to be dark outside and cool in the room when the mysterious noise woke me up.
I wanted to feel sleepy and happy and comfortable.
I wanted to fall back asleep wondering what the mysterious noise was that woke me up.

I hope this has helped you through a writer's block. Please let me know if it has helped. I would love to see the results.

Snowi