Weeks drifted by with no sign of Ariya, or anybody else for that matter, but the silence was eerie, compelling me to look over my shoulder more often now. I was back where my enemies might find me, and my life was definitely in grave danger. They knew that I was still alive. One morning just before dawn, Ariya appeared for last time during this early phase of my journey. “I see you are still safe, my great king!” She said, as she swooped down in front of me from the treetops. “But you must be vigilant. The horse will protect you in my absence, as well as others yet unknown, but don’t let your guard down.” She stopped speaking for a long moment while she seemed to gaze into my heart. “You have made yourself worthy by staying true to your quest during these first five years of isolation,” she continued, “and now your battle begins in earnest. Your heart and intuition long for the Source, but your strong mind and logic doesn’t; they hate the Source because they want to be boss, and therefore will oppose the quiet, still voice of your heart every time. “Your mind and logic desperately want to remain in the physical world, so naturally they want nothing to do with this quest for the key. They will attempt to convince you that your intuition and deep inner urgings are foolish, yet they will have only contradictory answers or solutions of their own to solve your fear and frustration. Since you have freewill, nobody can know how this battle will come out between these two opposing factions of logic and intuition. The victor remains to be seen.” “I have no misgivings,” I replied, “My heart has prevailed for five years.” “Five years is a mere blink of time,” she said, “and soon you will learn how difficult it is to distinguish between your heart and your mind. Only with more experience will you see that urgings coming from your heart are consistent, peaceful, and sure. Urgings from the mind, on the other hand, are impulsive, fearful, and frenzied. You feel that you must act immediately or something valuable will be lost. Keep this in mind and delay any important decisions until you can discern clearly whether the choice is being made by your heart or by your mind, for given time; a decision from your heart will remain stable, while one from your mind will slowly weaken.” “There were times,” I replied, “when my resolve was weakened while I was in the forest and I almost returned home, Ariya, but after a few days, my heart kept me going.” “Yes, I know,” she said, “and you have done well, but the struggle ahead will be far greater. It will be the most difficult thing that you have ever attempted, with an entirely unknown outcome. But you have fought this spiritual battle many times in the past, and, alas, each time you have obviously failed since you are still trapped in human form. The ones who fought these battles in your previous lives will not be remembered by your mind, but they were nobody but you, only in different bodies and minds. All that carried forward between your various lifetimes are the residue of every past action. So be forewarned; your actions follow you like tracks follow wheels.” “But I have done many regretful things just in this lifetime,” I said. “How long will they continue to haunt me? Many questions such as this remain unanswered.” “I know of a little man who lives deep in the forest,” Ariya replied. “He will go into all of this with you at a more profound level someday, if you are fortunate enough to meet up with him. I can see a meeting happening, but again, with your freewill I cannot be certain. In the meantime, remember that there is a storehouse of goodness in your heart, so try passionately to listen to its subtle voice at all times; it is your true teacher, and if you learn to follow it, you will find your key as surely as wind whispers. “My great king, you have no idea of the inconceivable power of which I speak. I speak of Reality, the tiniest part of which dwarfs the entire material and immaterial existences in all the worlds. Reality is the basis of all existence; Reality supplies the consciousness for all things in all the worlds, and therefore existence itself cannot be real . . . for it is not Reality. Existence shifts about and changes constantly; if it didn’t, we couldn’t experience existence because experience requires movement. And that’s why we can’t experience Reality. We can know Reality when we touch it, but we can never utter a word about it. “Your logical mind will therefore sneer at Reality, laugh at it, perhaps become angry about it, and go about its shortsighted business of its own; the quest for pleasure and the flight from pain. So as you come closer to the key, my king, always remember that your mind will tenaciously resist Reality, a resistance that will dwarf any previous battle you have ever fought, making previous battles seem as child’s play. Therefore, be prepared, because more than just this present lifetime is at stake now. Are you ready?” I had no idea what she was talking about, as usual, but I replied that I was indeed ready, and that I would find this key no matter the hardships, willingly surrendering my life if need be. I swore to her that I would never give up. She didn’t reply to my promise, but slowly drifted into the treetops toward the subtle light of dawn that was filtering into the forest awakening the dreaming trees. But as she was almost out of sight she called out, “Whenever you stop soaring, look closely at your broken wings.” Ariya’s visits always left me alert and rested, as I absorbed some of her incredible strength. I could never understand all that she would say, but what she said made me feel good. So with renewed faith and a glorious day ahead of us, we were soon on our way again walking toward the west and into the unknown. The wind sighing through the trees almost sounded like whispering voices, and I distinctly thought that I had heard something, but it was so soft and ephemeral that I merely shrugged it off as an overactive imagination. . . . (”Be careful what you love, it could kill you.”) (To be continued) E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, .SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit .AYearToEnlightenment.com

We hear a lot about Web 2.0 these days. It sounds neat and it’s trendy to talk about blogging and social media. But does it really affect our businesses? Is Web 2.0 just for kids or is it something we business owners should use to help promote our businesses? I can’t say if Web 2.0 is right for your business but I can say it’s something to be aware of. Ignoring it means ignoring a possible tool that could be valuable in helping you get more customers. So, to help you get started in thinking about Web 2.0 for your business, here are some points to ponder. 1. Have a plan. Don’t dive in just because it’s cool or because you read an article about it. Be clear about what you’re trying to accomplish, how much you’re willing to invest and what time frame you are working on. Like any aspect of your business, as in management planning

Five years ago, blog posting didn’t even exist as a popular freelance job. Now, it’s one of the new media jobs that’s growing in popularity, and one I added to my list of services as an SEO writer because clients kept asking me for it. But, how much should you charge for it? That depends. Following are some things to consider when you are trying to decide what to charge for blog posting. 4 Guidelines for Setting Blog Posting Rates 1) Per Post: This is perhaps themost popular way to charge. Rates are all over the place, generally ranging from $5 on the low end, on up to $25-$30. A post on LinkIn here confirms this, stating, “Acceptable pay rates range from $10-30 a post, depending on the depth involved.” Before you go this route though, keep the following in mind: 2) Type of Content: Speaking of “depth involved” for more technical posts that require research, you’re going to want to charge more. Recently, I did a series of blog posts on routers for one of my clients - a company that sells network hardware. This is a highly technical niche that, unless you work in the industry, you will have to research - even if the post is only 300 words (which can seem like 3,000 if you have to research to gain an understanding of it). 3) Word Count: Speaking of word count, blog posts generally range from 50-200 (considered short posts) on up to 350 words (250-350 words are considered longer posts). They’re shorter than the standard article, which tends to be between 450-600 words. However, as noted just in Tip #2, a 300-word post can take you a couple of hours to write - easily - if the subject matter is foreign to you. So, keep this in mind when you are setting rates. The rate per word can mirror what you charge to write articles, or more. For example, I charge 5 cents/word for article writing. However, I charge more for blog posting. My rates are as follows: You Provide the Topic: $20/per post. Up to 350 words. Posts longer than this revert to a per-word charge (6¢/word). We Provide the Topic: $30/post. Up to 350 words. Posts longer than this are billed at 9¢/word. Why is this? Because time is money. When I take on a project, I like to be assured of making a minimum amount of money, no matter how small the project is because I still have to schedule that project into my day. And, every hour of my time is worth a minimum amount. Understand? Just to provide some measure of how widely rates differ, I found the following quote over on the Digital Point Forums: “My normal rates for blog posting are from 0.02 per word. However, I’m willing to negotiate (within reason).” 4) Flat Rate: Many clients like flat-rate fees because there’s no surprise. As evidenced by my fees listed above, I use a tiered flat-rate system (eg, $20 if they provide the topic, and $30 if I have to come up with it). I charge like this because it’s much easier to write - for me - when I am assigned a topic. I don’t have to think about what to write and then go and research it. I can get right down to the writing and/or research if I know exactly what my client wants me to write about (more evidence that writing is more cerebral than many think; it’s the thinking that’s the hard part). There are many clients who will want you to contribute a number of posts to a certain blog per month and prefer that you quote a flat rate. For example, one of my client asked me how much I would charge to update a mortgage blog he had 5 days a week (250-300 words/post). That’s how I originally came up with my rates. So, in that case, it would have been $400/month. I found this post on BloggingTips.com from a contributor who charges flat rates. Kris Larson from Carthage wrote: “I write a blog about a web service, where I write 25 longer posts a month (about 350 words each), and it does require some research. I get paid $125 a month.” As blog posting is a relatively new type of new media job, it will probably take a few more years before we see concrete posting rates. On the other hand, this is freelance writing, and the industry has yet to have a “standard” rate scale for any type of writing. But, we can all hope, no? About the Author: Yuwanda Black is a freelance SEO writer. She blogs at InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com and is the author of How to Make $250+/Day Writing Simple, 500-Word Articles.

You might understand what you`re writing, but does anyone else? When you write something, are you confident you`re getting the message across effectively? How can you be sure? Well, you can`t. Not completely. But one step you can take to give yourself the best possible chance of being understood by your reader is to write simply. Don`t tie sentences and paragraphs up with long constructions that leave the reader wondering what your point was. Don`t use big, multi-syllable words just because you can. In short, write like you speak! Readability is what you should be aiming for at all times. If your reader doesn`t understand what you`re trying to get across, it`s not their fault. It`s yours. So before you post a blog entry, send an email or submit an essay to your college tutor, check through to see if it`s possible to make it simpler, more brief and easier to follow. But isn`t that dumbing down? Isn`t that just bringing everything down to the lowest common denominator? No, it’s not. Not at all. Mark Twain, the writer of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, once wrote `I didn`t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.` Brevity is difficult. Writing something that`s simple to understand is not at all, well… simple! But it`s worth it. Plain-language trainer Willam DuBay wrote about readability in 2004 and quoted the following rules of documentation writing. You can use these rules for everything you write, whatever the medium: - Use short, simple, familiar words. - Avoid jargon. - Use culture-and-gender-neutral language. - Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. - Use simple sentences, active voice, and present tense. - Begin instructions in the imperative mode by starting sentences with an action verb. - Use simple graphic elements such as bulleted lists and numbered steps to make information visually accessible. And here’s one more he didn’t mention: - Don’t use clichés. They just make your writing look tired and unimaginative. And I haven`t finished yet! Even a writer as great as George Orwell was moved to write about the `Rules of Writing`. Two of his rules are directly relevant to this article: - Never use a long word where a short one will do. - If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Given you something to think about? Here`s a really useful (and free) online resource to check how easy your writing is to understand. Cut and paste your text into the top box, press `Submit` and in a couple of seconds you`ll get a report on how well you`ve done. The metrics it uses are all U.S.-based, but still completely relevant for English-speakers from other countries. .editcentral.com/gwt/com.editcentral.EC/EC.html Get simple! Daniel O`Connor is a top freelance business writer based in the UK. See his satisfaction-guaranteed website’s copywriter profile. He`s worked for some of the biggest companies in the world — including NTT and Mitsubishi Electric, not to mention the 1998 Olympic Winter Games — as well as some of the smallest. And he can do a job for you, too. Daniel is supremely qualified at explaining complicated things in a simple way. There`s nothing you can throw at him that he won`t have dealt with before. Because it`s all about one thing: the words. The right words for you and your business. Blog articles. SEO for websites. Direct marketing. White papers. Flyer advertising. You want words? Daniel O`Connor has words. Want to try out his writing before getting in touch? Check out his business blog. See this article in its original context and many others by going to the Articles section of Daniboy`s website.

You know getting articles published on article directories builds back-links to your website and increases your exposure so you can get more visitors to your site. And, you know this will translate to more sales. But what are the perks of getting republished by publishers who find your articles on article directories. 4 Ways You Will Benefit from Getting Republished on Other People Websites, Ezines & Blogs 1. You reach a very targeted, specific audience. Most websites, ezines and blogs are very specific in their topic and target market. So if your article is picked up for publication, you have the opportunity to directly reach prospects who are interested in what you’re writing about. 2. You reach people you normally do NOT come into contact with. For example, people who read your article in an ezine did not have to do a search for your article topic in Google. They simply subscribed to a particular newsletter. Then the newsletter containing your article showed up in their inbox. The reader did no work to find your article other than subscribing to the newsletter. 3. You benefit from the branding and credibility of the site that publishes your articles. When sites and ezine editors publish your article they are introducing you to their audiences and giving you theirs stamp of approval. You have instant credibility because of their branding. 4. They can bring a dramatic surge of immediate website traffic. Publication on a major website or in an ezine can bring a surge of traffic over a few days. Of course, every time your article is picked up by an ezine editor your resource box is included along with a link back to your website. How much traffic you receive depends on how much traffic your article receives or how big the ezine editor’s list is. But even if the traffic and ezine subscriber base is on the small side, it’s still exposure to a targeted readership, and every little bit counts! In fact, those small sites might have the most loyal followers

But here’s the problem: I see many of them trying to sell their e-book, tutorial, etc. on a regular Web page. They list a paragraph about the info-product and give the price, and they expect a slew of sales. Wrong. You need a special sales page that has a “slippery slope” sales letter. Remember that game Chutes & Ladders? If you landed on a space that had a chute on it, you just went down, Baby. No turning back. That’s how your sales letter should be - a “slippery slope” that pulls in the reader because it’s so compelling and interesting. Here’s a basic outline of the 13 elements you want to include. To see an example of them all in action, visit MY own sales page at .BoostBizEzine.com. 1. Limit your navigation. The visitor should not be distracted by links that take her to your bio, other products, etc. The idea is to keep her on this page, reading your copy and leading her to order. So on this page, only have navigation that relates to the product (e.g. FAQs, Order now). 2. Give a powerful headline. Your headline can make or break your sales. If it’s not compelling, your visitor will click away. Here’s an easy headline formula: “How to _________ So You Can ____________.” Make sure the 2nd part gives a big benefit, for example, “double your business” or “gain peace of mind.” 3. Discuss the problem the prospect has, or incorporate your own story. Marketers call this “pushing the ‘ouch’ button.” First discuss the problem or pain that the reader has, and then lead in to how your product will solve it. Or share your own failure-to-success story that the reader can empathize with. 4. Tell us who you are. If I’m going to buy your stuff, I’d like to know why you’re qualified to write about this topic. Give me the feeling that you’ve learned a lot about this topic and want to share it with me. Even add a picture of yourself and an audio greeting, like I did. These help the reader instantly feel like she knows you better, increasing the “trust factor.” And people buy from those they feel they know, like, and trust! 5. Use bullets like mini headlines. Lay out everything I’ll get from your product. Don’t just list your table of contents verbatim! Turn each point into an exciting secret. For example, suppose your e-book features 5 tips on how to save money on groceries. That bullet could read, “Revealed: 5 ways you can save hundreds of dollars on your monthly grocery bill.” 6. List plenty of testimonials. Show your prospects they won’t be the first to buy. It’s more effective to weave-in testimonials throughout your sales letter than to have a separate section for them. Give each person’s full name and Web address, and for extra power, post their photo and an audio testimonial as well. 7. Tell us why your product is such a great value. How does the price of your product compare if I hired you one-on-one? For example, your manual is a great value at $49 if an hour consultation with you would run me $250. 8. Throw in a few great bonuses. Offer special bonuses (preferably created by you) that are so good you could sell them alone if you wanted to. It could be a list of resources, a collection of articles, extra tips on a certain subject, or a free consu1tation. 9. Give an unconditional guarantee. This puts your prospect at ease, giving her no reason to NOT buy. A few turkeys will take advantage of your generosity, but the amount of sales you GAIN from this strategy dramatically outweighs the risk. 10. Request immediate action by having a limited time offer just click online newsletter service. Some sales pages use trick scripts to make it seem like the offer always ends on that day at midnight, but I find these insulting. If you really will be raising your price soon (and you always should be), list the exact date and stick to it. Otherwise just say it’s an introductory, limited-time offer. 11. Make it ABSURDLY CLEAR what to do next. Nothing bothers me more than when I’m at a Web site, I have my credit card ready, and I can’t find the $%#& order link! Make your order process idiot-proof. Example: “Cl1ck below to 0rder n0w on our secure server.” Also sprinkle in order links throughout your page — some people will be ready to buy before they get to the bottom. 12. Make one last plea. In your P.S., right after your signature, emphasize that I should act now. For example, “Don’t miss out on this great 0pportunity. Remember, you can buy n0w and change your mind at anytime.” 13. Don’t forget your contact information! Readers WILL have questions, so provide an e-mail address on your site that you or someone else will check at least daily. Also, don’t you feel better buying from a Web site that lists a real address and phone number? Want More Detailed Step-by-Step Help, With Examples You Can Model? See my quick-start audio program, “The Secret, Simple Formula to Writing Web Copy That SELLS”. Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” publishes the award-winning ‘Straight Shooter Marketing’ weekly ezine marketing with 20,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at .EzineQueen.com

Your life story is unique. You have been through situations, events and emotions that no-one else has in quite the same way. These memories are worth recording. Even if you’ve lived what you consider to be a normal, uneventful, even boring life, I can tell you that there are aspects of your life that will be of interest to many other people. Especially your offspring if you have any, and even close relatives will want to read it if only to find out what you’ve really been up to! What makes your particular story interesting are the events that you have lived through together with the way in which you and those around you have reacted to those events. It’s the response to situations and the emotions that accompanied them that people love to read about. Another aspect is that if you are of any age you will most likely be writing about times that the majority of people have not lived through and don’t remember. Your descriptions of people, places occasions and even everyday occurrences will be of consuming interest to many people. So in committing your biography to paper here are the things you should concentrate on: 1. Record as many events in your life, both big ones like births, marriages and deaths, and smaller ones like your first trip to the zoo or the theatre, or maybe that first childhood kiss with the girl/boy next door. Can you remember the days before central heating? Talk about them. About the freezing cold bedrooms in winter, the hot water bottles, Jack Frost patterns on the window panes and so on. 2. Emotions and reactions. Describe your emotions and reactions and the way your family and other people reacted to the events you’re describing. Have you or any of your family been in a war situation. Tell us how you felt when someone you loved had to go to the front line. How did people left behind cope with it? What was the atmosphere like when the loved one came home? Or maybe didn’t come home. 3. Describe everything! The pram or buggy you were pushed around in as a toddler, the houses you have lived in, the towns and streets you have lived in, the clothes people wore, the food you ate, the weather during a particular event. Descriptions bring a story to life. Start by making notes, either using a lined pad or a computer, and as quickly as possible jot down things you can vividly remember in date order. The idea is to get an overview with the highlights that are foremost in your mind, then later you can go back and add more or flesh out the items you’ve jotted down. An alternative to the time-line approach is to break up your notes into sections. For example: Early childhood, School, Holidays, Leaving home, Marriage, Career and so on. You might find it easier this way to concentrate on one section at a time. But don’t forget to record as many dates and times as you can remember. Bear in mind that you won’t write your biography at one sitting. Keep your notes or Word document somewhere you can find them easily so that every time another memory pops into your head you can quickly jot it down. So, will your story ever make a best seller? Don’t laugh because it is possible. If you’ve lived any kind of life that was unusual, or if you had a remarkable family or upbringing, then you could have a winner on your hands. Remember Gerald Durrell and “My Family and Other Animals”? The bottom line is, you do have a lot to give, and frankly one of the main beneficiaries of getting it all down on paper will be you! Just see if I’m not right. Mervyn Love is the webmaster of ,writersreign.co.uk a web site providing the writer with help, encouragement, resources, links, competitions and more. Sign up for the excellent free WritersReign Article Writing Course here: .writersreign.co.uk/articlecourse.html

The internet is rife with information. Unfortunately, a large majority of the Infos are either diluted or pure fabrications. Research has shown and proven that while the websites with low quality content may have their day, only those with top notch content will eventually outlast them. If you own a website and have been thinking of buying article spinners, or just rewriting articles, you are making a big mistake. Why? 1. Poor Quality Content Kills Your Reputation If you are hosting spam blogs also known as splogs then you do not need any high quality content. If on the other hand, your website is genuine and important to you, then you should know that the only thing that gives you leverage above other websites and a solid reputation online is the quality of content on your website. Nothing compensates for unique, top-of-the-range content on your website. It is the key to getting repeat traffic to your website. 2. People Distrust Your Website Have you ever visited a website where you found information that was so generic or even outrightly wrong? What was your reaction? I bet you simply thought it was a waste of your time. And if the information you got was injurious, you basically vowed to never go to that website again. That is what poor quality content does to your website and your business. When people repeatedly find info that is not useful on your website, none of them is likely to come back. People are getting smart. Gone are the days when you could just spam your content all over the place and people would still tolerate the poor quality. Now, poor quality content is synonymous with obscurity. Think about that! 3. You Lose Business Since website traffic is the lifeblood of any online business, it is very crucial that you know how to keep your visitors. This you can do by offering them information that they are not likely to get anywhere. And even if they can get the information elsewhere, do it in a way that is unique so your website stands out. Remember that people have increasingly short attention span. This means for you that you have less than 30 seconds to grab your readers’ attention and retain them. If you cannot do this within that short time frame, forget consistent website traffic. You should therefore learn how to write and craft excellent articles, blog posts and web copy. If you cannot, you have quite few options. The first is outsourcing it to a web copy or copy writing expert. You might also want to consider allowing a reputable search engine professional do the content on your website. Since they have the knowledge of not only crafting excellent, captivating copy, but can also do it in a way that will help retain visitors on your website; you can be sure that any money spent on hiring them will be definitely worth it; not to mention that your ROI will be profitable. Sunita Biddu is an expert author and CEO of professional copywriting company Content Axis, Inc. that offers premium quality creative copywriting services and article submission services. While providing top rate SEO services, she also writes on excellent SEO strategies. To know more about the services, please visit Content Axis Inc.

What are SEO Articles? An SEO article is one that is keyword-rich and provided useful information to users. The main goal of an SEO article is to increase search engine rankings and to direct traffic to improve sales. Talking about keywords to be used, they must be used in the right proportion/no of times it is used i.e. Keyword Density. This keyword density is evaluated by various search engines using their own algorithms. Once SEO articles are written, they are submitted to various article directories like EzineArticles.com and Articlesbase.com to attain back links. Let’s us find out what they are and how they can help. Back links

While Nick Carraway is the only narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jordan Baker -a secondary character- is an ocular witness and agent in the turbulent history of the Buchanan’s. Jordan is not only Nick’s main source of what happened back in Louisville, but also an agent provocateur in the lethal drama that involves Tom, Daisy, Myrtle, and Gatsby. In chapter 1, when Nick visits his cousin Daisy Buchanan, he immediately perceives Jordan: “The younger of the two was a stranger to me. She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless and her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall.” As Nick focuses on her, he admits, “I enjoyed looking at her,” and immediately describes her: ‘She was a slender, small breasted girl with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet.’ A wisp of a recollection crosses Nick’s mind, which at the end of the chapter becomes clear that Jordan Baker was a famous -but maliciously talked about- golf player. Later on Nick tells us that she had been involved in a golfing scandal, and eliminated from a golf tournament because of cheating. In the end, Nick admits that she was “incurably dishonest.” At a party as Gatsby’s Nick comments: “I noticed that she wore her evening dress, all her dresses, like sports clothes-there was a jauntiness about her movements as if she had first learned to walk upon golf courses on clean, crisp mornings.” By now Nick is shaping up Jordan Baker’s profile not as that of a flapper, nor that of a coy and delicate woman, or a flirt-but that of a lesbian. Given that in the early 20th century allusions to sexual orientation were taboo, Nick could not be expected to insinuate such a thing, much less to say it. And incidentally, it wasn’t until Truman Capote published Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1958 that a novel openly used the “L” word or others even worse: “Incidentally, she [Holly Golightly] said, “do you happen to know any nice lesbians?” “Of course people couldn’t help but think I must be a bit of a dyke myself.” However, the implications that Jordan is indeed a lesbian are all there. Take the imagery: “erect carriage,” and “cadet.” Who can deny the tomboy description? In those years a young cadet could only be a male soldier apprentice. Jordan is male-like. A tomboy. And that ‘jauntiness about her movements,” can only signify that she’s unfeminine. Yet Nick and Jordan become involved. This is difficult and sterile relationship which surely leads to a dead end. Nick -as I’ve commented elsewhere- is bisexual. And if Nick is bisexual and Jordan is a lesbian, all else in their relationship cannot be taken seriously, despite the fact that Jordan intimates they had a relationship. At the end in their partings -which were no sweet sorrows- she accuses Nick of “throwing her over.” Jordan fits in the group, as she advances Fitzgerald’s theme of the decline of morality and the corruption of the American Dream. Besides being dishonest she’s careless and selfish. Not only does she drive in a reckless manner, but she expects others to get out of her way. No wonder she befriends the Buchanan’s. “They’re a rotten crowd,” says Nick, and they were. Tom, Gatsby, Daisy, and Jordan were all Westerners-not New Yorkers. Retired. Former investment banker, Columbia University-educated, Vietnam Vet (67-68). For the writing techniques I use, see Mary Duffy’s e-book: Sentence Openers. To read my book reviews of the Classics visit my blog: Writing To Live