Quillbilly Haven

The election may be over, but the citizenship controversy is not...at least according to my inbox. Here are a few questions posed in a recent email.

If Barack Hussein Obama arrived in NY without money for a room, how could he afford a ticket to Jakarta and Karachi one month after he landed?

During this international flight, what passport did Barack Hussein Obama use at Customs and Immigrations? The email offered these statements. Barack Hussein Obama could not use a US Passport, because, in 1981, Pakistan was on the "no travel" list maintained by the US State Department. If he used a British Passport, he was born in Kenya. If he used an Indonesian Passport, he gave up either his US citizenship or his British citizenship, when he was adopted by his Indonesian step-father.

I did not do any research to confirm or deny the email statements. I'm interested in your opinion about the citizenship issue. Do you care about it?

My friend Writer Queen Bee just had a story published in a local magazine. The story is called "Fairy Dust," and is complete with her picture and biographical information. Getting published is quite a feat. Ask any writer you know. If any say it's a piece of cake to get in print, I'd like to have his / her email address for a mail to mail chat.

Queen Bee has one of the most creative writing minds I've ever met. She can think of more story lines, plots, and characters than stars in a Montana night sky. She's talented. She's published. She's in my writing group. She's my friend.

Congratulations, lady. Keep up the good work.

This post is difficult, because it's personal. I've put it off too long. It's about elder abuse, which is closely related to child abuse. Both are toward weaker human beings who can't defend themselves.

Oftentimes, we think of elder abuse as taking place in nursing homes or other health care facilities. And it can. But, elders can be abused at home, too.

Any one who controls an elder's access to family or the outside world is an abuser. Any one who curses, manipulates, yells at, threatens, or humiliates an elder is an abuser.

My heart is aching for a close friend who is not allowed to visit her 85 year old mother. The mother lives with a son who is controlling his elder mother's visitors and access to outside contacts. He must approve every visitor. This man is an abuser, and the caller is not the only sibling denied visitation. The mother has another daughter, grandchildren, and great grandchildren who are denied visits.

If you speak to a suspect abuser about your concerns, do not believe their excuses or explanations. Report the suspect abuser and let qualified trained professionals investigate.

I encouraged the caller to report this abuse. I hope she does. Elders deserve to spend their remaining days or years in peace and tranquility. The type of abuse described above is NEVER justifiable. Join the fight against elder abuse. Please. To report abuse in Tennessee, call 1-888-277-8366.



 

I like using alliteration in my writing. Not a lot. Once or twice in two thousand words. It's a technique to get into the minds of readers, and stay there. How? It's poetic, rhythmic, and can draw attention to a comparison or contrast.

It's a legitimate writing skill, underused in my opinion. It's right up there with assonance, analogy, and allusion.

We sat sad-eyed and sorrowful as we sang songs of sympathy.

Maybe that one sentence isn't the best writing. Maybe you wouldn't buy a book with that opening line. But like it or not, alliteration has a place in literature.

In my worldwide crowd of writer friends, at least one doesn't like alliterations. Perhaps the consonants have trouble tumbling from the tongue; the mind mixes the mood of the message; my writing makes a devastating display of the delivery.

Whatever the reason, alliterations are not out of place in a story. And I'll continue to use this skill. Not a lot. Once or twice in two thousand words.