So the long awaited verdict on quota is out. But what amused me the most is the fact that how, for many of us, the Supreme Court’s verdict has been a reason for celebration. This amply indicates the fact that as a nation, we have been subjected to so much adversity that we have started celebrating mediocrity. I say so because the apex court’s verdict is just an interim order; and that too it is just a stay order against the ‘quantum’ of quota and not a verdict against the very fundamental essence of quota. I don’t find any reason for celebration; more so because, interestingly, while giving the verdict, the Supreme Court has put forth an intriguing observation (perhaps not in these exact words) that ‘probably nowhere else in the world, there is a race among the people to prove themselves backward in their eagerness to get listed for quota accommodation’. This observation cruelly and blatantly states what policy makers have done to the people of this country. Moreover, what followed as an aftermath of the verdict in Tamil Nadu puts forth a more fundamental question. And that is, whether we are a nation driven to destruction by ruthless and myopic politics, or a nation that is not yet fit enough for self rule? Probably both! This gets exemplified by the near total strike that paralysed the whole of Tamil Nadu, proving that as a nation we are far from being one. A verdict, which apparently brought celebration to a certain section of people, became a sore throat for some others. All this because political parties like DMK, Rashtriya Janata Dal, LJP, whose survival depend on the politics of exclusivity, have created such a mental divide among people that they are completely blinded towards the larger good. In fact, it is ridiculous that instead of accepting their hypocrisy, policy makers have resorted to a near 75-year-old census data (and that too of an undivided India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) to draft a course for the future of more caste-based systems in an already fragile society. It is no secret that even after sixty years of Independence, our policy makers have not been able to create an equitable society. And worse, that none of them have any intentions to create one. Instead of doing that, politicians have blatantly propagated and brainwashed ignorant and innocent people of this country that they have been kept outside the ambit of access to quality education solely because they belong to backward caste. A blatant lie! The truth is that political parties, over the last 60 years, have consciously kept masses illiterate, so that neither could they understand the predicaments of Indian politics, nor could they question it. It is no secret that most of the 600,000 villages in our country have been purposefully kept deprived of every possible social and physical infrastructure, as is validated by our shameful performance in the UNDP Human Development Report. The fact is that those 400 million below poverty line, who do not even make two square meals a day, have only one caste. And that is the caste of poverty and lack of purchasing power, which had always prevented them from giving their progeny a decent education. If India has to genuinely make its society equal, then there is only one solution
Archive for September, 2007
The main objective of copywriting is to communicate effectively with the targeted audience about the product or the service offered in the site. Large or small online business, need the services of good professional copywriter or team of writers to boost their online sales. Any writer who wishes to work on freelance basis or join a writing company as a full time writer needs to adopt correct writing tactics to enhance his or her image. Proofreading Before submitting an article it should be double-checked for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Errors in the content point towards the unprofessional approach of the writer and dilute the interest of the clients in hiring him or her for writing projects. Hence it is important to proofread well the content and remove any mistakes so that the client can have a good reading experience as he or she goes through the content. Maintaining the Natural Flow The article should contain a rich and naturally flowing content that is nicely sprinkled with right words at right places. The content matter should be streamlined, precise and able to engage the readers by relating well with their needs and preferences. Region or Country Specific Basically copywriting is about promoting the product or service online by employing written form of communication. It is important know about writing styles because they change from one country to the other. So if the product is to be promoted in United Kingdom then UK English must be used in the article. If the country is USA, then US English should be used in the promotion of the product or service. Changing the writing style so that it appeals more clients is one of the correct writing tactics. Meeting Deadlines The ability of a writer to meet the deadlines speaks in volumes about his or her capabilities to complete the writing projects as per schedule. The capacity to submit the articles with in the deadline shows high professional attitude and good understanding about the value of his or her clientâ??s time, because time is of an essence. Reasonable Pricing The present day competitive atmosphere of freelance or full time writing has brought down the rates. The writer should neither quote very low or very high rates as this will put a big question mark on his or her capabilities to deliver the goods as desired and cast an image of greedy writer, who wants to make a quick buck. Offering competitive rates that are comparable to market rates is the right approach. Depending upon the level of quality needed one can adjust his or her pricing. A high quality Copywriting job will certainly fetch more money. Projecting a Professional image Instead of employing cheap tactics to capture their attention, it better to adopt correct writing tactics of displaying the writing skills in form of samples and testimonials from the satisfied customers. Good testimonial can work wonders for the job prospects of the writer and help him or her win confidence of the client. Communicating well through personal website or email address with prospective clients and finding quick solutions to their problems helps a lot in building a good reputation .Finally sorting out the payment terms and conditions well before commencement of writing project indicates the professional approach of the writer. We are one of the top rated Copywriting Services and Search Engine Optimization expert on most of the outsourcing portals. Please visit .bluebirdwritingservices.com for all your outsourcing needs.
Article marketing works. There’s no doubt about it. And, to make money online as a freelance writer, it is one of the easiest services to sell to clients. Many freelance writers either overlook this easy way of making money online, or don’t know how to market it effectively. This article explains why article marketing works, and how to make money online as a freelance writer selling the service to clients. Make Money Online: Why Article Marketing Works In order to convince someone to buy something, you have to first convince them that it works. In marketing, this is known as pointing out the benefits to the buyer. In succinct terms, the benefit of article marketing is twofold: (i) it generates long-term traffic; and (ii) it increases on- and off-line sales. How Article Marketing Works to Generates Long-term Traffic Article marketing generates long-term traffic because when buyers conduct research online, they’re searching first for information. If they run across an article you wrote for a client site, for example, that answers all of their questions, how likely do you think they’ll be to make a purchase. If you’re an optimist, you said, “Very likely.” If you’re pessimist, you said, “Not very likely.” For the pessimist, I counter with, what if you found a repository of articles on a site. While one article may not do the trick, 3, 5 or 10 might. And, this is one benefit freelance writers can point out to potential clients
• Each of the foregoing letters has something different in its form and, therefore, in the interpretation to be put upon it. Often the same meaning can be derived from several different letters in one person’s handwriting. This is because the same characteristic form can appear in different letters. The reader should now be able to discern the meaning of any letter simply by knowing which form it should fit into. • Each of the foregoing letters has something different in its form and, therefore, in the interpretation to be put upon it. Often the same meaning can be derived from several different letters in one person’s handwriting. This is because the same characteristic form can appear in different letters. The reader should now be able to discern the meaning of any letter simply by knowing which form it should fit into. Here are two examples of how it works: • Consider the letter A. This letter has two factors that we are concerned about. It is a capital, and it is quite thin. The capital letter reflects the ego of the writer, and because he “thins himself out,” we say that he is shy. The same interpretation would be true of, say, a capital H: This thin capital also implies that the writer is shy. • Picture the lowercase a, the bottom is open and the letter is oval-shaped. Therefore, the rule that applies here applies to any oval-shaped letter with an open bottom–perhaps the letter o. • The letters a and o are both middle-zone letters, but upper zone and lower zone letters also belong to this category, providing that they have round parts in the middle zone; for example, the letter d. • Once you understand the principles, it should be easy to interpret all the possible variations in letter shapes. • What the graphologist is really seeking in analyzing handwriting are the writer’s personality traits. A personality trait is usually composed of many different factors. For example, if the writing indicated a lack of self-control, passion, impulsiveness, and violence, the graphologist would sum up the personality trait as temper. Should self-control, passion, and violence be present, without impulsiveness, temper would still be indicated, but if violence were the missing element, the graphologist would hesitate to say flat out that the writer has a bad temper. He might admit, however, that the possibility of temper exists. • A similar situation exists in interpreting letters. Before the graphologist weighs the form of a letter into a total analysis, he looks for consistency. In other words, he must find the same form often enough in the writing to be significant before he includes its meaning in the total analysis. Here is the usual rule of thumb: If all the major components are present, we say that the personality trait most definitely exists. If all the major components but one are found, there is a strong possibility that the personality trait exists. If only one major component is found, the writer has a tendency toward this trait. • Small minimum letters (i.e., middle zone letters) show the concentrating, frugal, and masculine worker. Small and carefully executed minimum letters have been seen in the handwriting of first-rate research workers, teachers, scientists, and thinkers, who keep themselves under the strictest self-control so as to be able to accomplish what they undertake (Nietzsche, Einstein). However, it should be noted that inferiority feelings and temporary depressions also express themselves in small minimum letters. • A letter may not only be tall or small or deep, but also wide or narrow; it may widen itself in a left tending or right tending direction, or shrink from these directions; it also may widen itself to a reasonable extent or at the expense of its neighbors. • To judge, for example, the width of a letter in an individual handwriting, we must know the penmanship models on which this handwriting is based. In Palmer’s models such letters as e, i, o, a, and s are supposed to be taller than they are wide, the m, n, and w wider than they are tall. Only deviations from these norms can be considered “wide” or “too wide,” “narrow” or “too narrow.” • The wide letter, the letter that takes up more than its “allotted” space as it moves to the right, is typical of the spontaneous, broadminded, and “large” writer, who is sociable and sympathetic, eager to share with you and willing to let you share with him; he is “extroverted.” But if the letter is “too wide,” if it seems to spread and unfold, as it were, at our expense, the writer is obtrusive, impudent, or simply an intruder. • The narrow letter, the letter that has surrendered part of its “allotted” space, is characteristic of the inhibited, uneasy, narrow-minded, economical writer, who is not sociable, who is prepared to share with you nor desirous of having you share with him; he is “introverted.” But if a letter is “too narrow,” then our subject is timid, seclusive, suspicious, and avaricious. A narrow initial letter of a word betrays particularly the socially timid. • We often see narrow letters widely spaced, or wide letters closely following each other. Obviously, this is a coincidence of two contradictory tendencies: narrow letters widely spaced reveal one whose sympathy and generosity are either simulated or forced upon him by circumstances. Wide letters narrowly spaced betoken the liberal and sympathetic person who simulates the economical and concentrated worker either voluntarily or because of circumstances. • The letters between the first and the last letter, the body of the word, so to speak, portray the process of thinking that leads the writer from an intention to an accomplishment, a decision, an act. A clear, well-proportioned last letter indicates a clear and trustworthy decision; an illegible, neglected, or omitted last letter is a warning. A disproportionately tall last letter is characteristic of the person who not only has an opinion, but insists on it-because he has character, or because he is arrogant, opinionated. About The Author: Joel Engel is the author of “Handwriting Analysis Self-Taught” (Penguin Books) careertest.ws .learngraphology.com If you would like to view the images to this article, please send a blank email to engraphnetvision.net.il
Creative writing ideas can hit you anytime. It can hit you while you are nonchalantly doing your everyday household chores or while you’re doing your normal tasks. But there are also times that creative writing ideas, no matter how hard you try, just won’t seem to form in your head. When this happens to you, you can count on the methods and techniques below to help your mind easily come up with great ideas to write about. Pick Out A Scene This is one of the simplest techniques to come up with creative writing ideas. You start out by thinking of a scene. If you still can’t think of a specific scene on your own, then stick your head out your window and observe the people around you. Pick any of the activities they are doing and stick with it. Now that you have your first scene, you need to explain it. For example, a scene you have chosen is an average looking guy briskly walking down the street and suspiciously scanning the area around him. You then explain why this certain person was walking this way. It is possible that this person was part of a gang who just robbed a store and was acting as a decoy for the police to follow. Then you just explain further and add random scenes as you continue the story. From the scenes you have created, you can then build a creative story from it. A Combination Of Different Stories Another effective way of coming up with creative writing ideas is through a combination of different stories - the more absurd the combination, the better. A good example would be combining the story of Noah and the Arc and the story of Star Trek. You can come up with a story featuring one whole family who survived the demise of their planet by escaping through the spaceship that they built. When will they be able to go back to their home planet? Another good example would be combining the story of Romeo and Juliet and the story of King Kong. A human has fallen in love with an ape who has the ability to speak. Unfortunately, the norms of society wouldn’t allow their love to flourish. There are a lot of innovative writing ideas you can come up with by combining different stories. It’s All About You You can use yourself as the source of creative writing ideas. Be aware of your interests and preferences. Get to know yourself better and know what truly are your opinions about different subjects and topics. You can use your emotions to stir up your writing juices. Whatever you can think of, write about it. Pick a topic say, politics. Write what your opinions are and the emotions about the current issues in politics. List everything you can think about it and make a list. You can then pick a topic from this list to come up with your creative writing ideas. Want to earn a 5-figure monthly income through freelance writing jobs? Go to .20daypersuasion.com/5figurewriter.htm and discover how to earn massive amounts of money by becoming a freelance writer.
Author Vaughn Alaine-Marshall is not an author by training. In fact, Alaine-Marshall is a chiropractor. He was running a thriving chiropractic business, so why on earth would he leave his business to write about reality TV? Alaine-Marshall left his practice behind for four and a half years in order to focus his energies on writing the compelling new book, Uberstar. Uberstar is a spellbinding novel about the world’s biggest reality TV show. Alaine-Marshall could have written an expose with all the firsthand accounts he had access to, but instead he decided to write a fictional piece to protect the identities of everyone with which he spoke. Alaine-Marshall had the opportunity to hear the stories of everyone from the hot shot producers behind the scenes to reality TV show contestants on big shows like Indian Idol, American Idol, and X Factor. It all started when Alaine-Marshall received a call from a close family friend. She was a contestant on a major Australian reality TV show, and she begged for him to listen to her story. However, Alaine-Marshall was initially reluctant to hear her out. After all, he was busy running his chiropractic business and didn’t have time to hear the saga. However, after listening for a bit, Alaine-Marshall grew shocked and appalled. His friend revealed to him inside information about what really goes on behind the scenes of reality TV shows. After speaking with his friend, Alaine-Marshall was approached by several other people involved in the reality TV industry. Many of them broke their confidentiality agreements in order to reveal the truth behind reality TV. Alaine-Marshall knew he was onto something. He locked himself up for hours on end in order to put these people’s stories on paper without disruption, putting his chiropractic business on hold so he could focus on his novel. What Alaine-Marshall learned through all of these interviews and conversations is that reality TV shows are essentially a franchise of nastiness. The bullying, teasing, and taunting that happens on stage is only a small sample of what takes place backstage. Furthermore, the act of bullying as a form of entertainment is very damaging, both emotionally and psychologically. As such, many of the contestants on reality TV shows end up traumatized after their experiences. However, they are so hungry for their fifteen minutes of fame that they do anything possible in order to reach the top. For them, even if reaching the top means insulting their peers and bringing them down in any way possible in the process, they do it willingly. Alaine-Marshall is well aware that those who are bullied typically have problems such as depression and anxiety. These problems can affect all facets of their lives. Reality TV only serves to make bullying worse because it makes it a form of family entertainment. The judges insult people on stage and publicists search for scandals in order to humiliate contestants. Ultimately, reality TV magnifies the taunting and teasing that takes place on school playgrounds around the world. Alaine-Marshall realized after speaking to so many people who were involved in the business that it was necessary to get the truth out. As of now, few people realize how damaging reality TV actually is on our society and our children. Children emulate the behavior they see on reality TV shows , which in turn contributes to an endless, vicious cycle. Uberstar is a fascinating novel based on truth that is hard to put down. Alaine-Marshall put the perspectives and experiences of everyone he has spoken with into the book, so you come to understand the inner workings of reality TV and the entertainment industry at large. Many powerful people would have prevented this book from coming out if it were in the form of an expose. To avoid such troubles, Alaine-Marshall wrote a novel. As a result, Alaine-Marshall was able to protect people’s identities while getting away with publishing something that could have amounted to a scandal otherwise. If you love a good book and you want to know more about what takes place behind the scenes of reality TV shows, look no further than Uberstar. Alaine-Marshall’s debut novel provides an in-depth look into the psychology of reality TV. Read this book and you’ll think twice about watching reality TV. Whether you’re a fan of reality TV shows or not, you’ll be fascinated, if not disturbed, by this book’s observations about humanity, society, and entertainment. Author Bio: Australian author Vaughn Alaine-Marshall releases Uberstar from Hendlin Books, an explosive look at the reality television. Based largely on reality shows such as American Idol, India has Talent and other successful reality shows. The author’s research included interviews with participants, producers and insiders from the world’s largest reality television shows. for more: .uberstarthebook.com.au/
Do you aspire to know extra in this area making money online with articles using the Mass Article Control method? This is a traffic generation strategy that has been used for a prolonged moment in time and has proven to still be successful until now. It could not yield the fastest results, but it is certainly able to turn out inexpensive and prolonged period traffic without difficulty. It is highly recommended with the intention of Internet marketers firstly start with reduced or uninhibited traffic generation methods preferably than paid methods such as pay per click advertising. 1. What Are the Advantages of Using Mass Article Control to Create an revenue Stream Online? Opening an online company would require the vendor to establish up their own websites and buying all the learning resources to educate themselves on the various strategies inhabitants operate to manufacture money from their sites. All these processes can cost quite a quantity of money, and all these occur even prior to the principal deal is yet generated. Largely brand new marketers waste a fortune of money to apply the incorrect strategies, eventually forcing them to confer up as they finish up thinking that trying to manufacture money online is solely not worth the time and effort. 2. Functions of the Software in Mass Article Control The software inside this package will help you generate hundreds of unique articles as sustained as you control fed it with the primary version. It allows you to select the various expressions you desire to modify and at that time it consequentially changes the whole part for you, spiraling them into hundreds of unique and highly readable articles. An extra terrific element is that it can help you log inside to all your article marketing membership sites much more quickly. It additionally allows its users to save all the general synonyms and as well break down the articles into various niche categories. 3. So What Are the Drawbacks of Mass Article Control? There will still remain times as a minute part of the articles generated are not straightforwardly readable. This is why it is a helpful conception to proof-read them at least formerly prior to submitting. Would You Like To Have The #1 Article And Link Building Software Out Their? Make $8,198 In 30 Days With:Mass Article Control Or Get Free 2009 Edition Of:Article Marketing
This year, UGG Australia has just announced its new line of boots for the coming season. These boots are ready to protect your feet from the season’s wet and chilly weather. Why wait until winter to wear UGG boots when you can start wearing them in the fall? New arrivals deliver the same quality and comfort that the UGG brand has always been known to have. Fall boot styles often suit the varied tastes of women, men, and children. The following are a few great choices of UGG boots for women. If you would like boots made of merino wool to match your best sweater, this is the perfect style for you. If you examine these boots, you should see prominent and very colorful stripes that say in fashion. Like most of the pairs in UGGs classic collection, this pair has insoles built with foam surrounded by true ugg sheepskin. The outsole has a molded EVA light and offers comfort every step of the way. The merino strips are a combination of wool and polyester; nylon binds these materials together-Classic Tall Stripe Cable Knit This pair comes up to your calf, and is made of what UGG calls twin-face sheepskin. The company took this style one notch higher by adding a wooden logo button and a flexible band. You can wear it stretched upwards or folded (cuffed down), depending on your dress or pant length, or your mood. The Bailey Button is made with comfortable insoles that make walking in them a breeze- Women’s Bailey Button This style satisfies the need for ultimate comfort, without sacrificing style. The heel is reinforced and the seams are natural. This is UGG Australians answer to luxury. The heels are only an inch high and come with heel guards. Unfortunately, only whole sizes are available. The women’s classic mini can easily absorb moisture since it is made with real sheepskin. The outsole is lightweight and there is no restrictions-UGG Australia Women’s Classic Mini - Sand Sheepskin UGG Australia designed boots with comfort and style as the main features. These boots allow women to feel more freedom in their movements, and they may enjoy its versatility as well. Women need treat own better, buy comfortable ugg boots for yourself! Internet reference: .articlesnatch.com/Article/Ugg-Boots-For-The-Fall-Season/741170 Editor: Lily
Are you searching for a method to promote your website or business? If so, read on to discover a website promotion method that costs virtually nothing to implement. Article writing provides you with an excellent method of increasing the PR (page rank) of your website. The only expense to you is a little time to write short, informative articles that have value to others. The articles you have written can then be submitted to some of the best article directories such as Articledashboard.com, ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com, isnare.com, and articlealley.com Article marketing is a great way to increase the flow of traffic and visitors to your website. If you are a business person and have a website, you may have heard the term SEO or search engine optimization. Article marketing is a very effective way to promote your business or website. In simple terms SEO uses tactics such as keyword optimization to achieve a better placing in the search engines, resulting in more visitors and hopefully more sales for your business. Google operates a site ranking system commonly known as page rank. Page rank is partially based on the quality of your website content but also looks at how many other sites are “back linking” to your website. A website with more back links should hold a better search engine placement and in turn receive more visitors. Once you have written your articles, make a list of article directories where you wish to submit your articles. Most directories will ask you to create a free account before articles can be submitted. Once you have your accounts in place, you can begin your article submission. Article directories must approve your submitted articles before adding them to the article directory. Try to make your article interesting, factual and useful to others. Do not just write a 300 word advert for your company or service as it will most likely be declined. Make sure the title of your article accurately describes the content of the article and contains keywords associated with your subject. Layout the article in short paragraphs, do not bunch all the text together as it looks terrible and web users will rarely read large sections of text. It is a known fact that web users have a very short attention span and tend to skim over large sections of text, so make it easy on the eye and easy to read. Most article directories provide a resource box into which you can place your name, a little information about you or your business and - this is the important bit - a hyperlink to your own website. This link creates the back link to your site and will help to improve both visitor numbers and search engine placement. The more back links you have, the more traffic you will receive. Do not link directly to affiliate sites as they will usually be declined, instead link to your own site and include your affiliate links there. For more useful tips & hints, please browse for more information at our website :- .instant-marketing-articles.com .articlemarketing.reprintarticlesite.com
What I really like about the United States of America is the chances one has to go to school and learn many things. Where I come from -a country in Central America that I won’t name, but you can guess- most people are illiterate, but I went all the way through the third grade and I know how to read and add and subtract in both Spanish and English. But this story is about Mrs. Poumier -not I- and I want to put it in paper right quick while I still have this sadness that is gnawing at my guts and heart. If I write it out I feel I will get it out of my guts, heart, and mind. And get some peace. It is not that I want to cure myself from this melancholy, nor that I want to lessen my guilt, or much less lay blame on someone-no sir, or madam; not at all. It is that I want to pay my respects to Mrs. Poumier, the only Anglo friend I had in this great country that I love as much as I love my own. In one bit you’ll see why I am so sad: Mrs. Poumier -my sweet dear friend- died a day after Thanksgiving. For those who might be wondering how a person like me -with low education and low wits- would dare attempt to write a story, I will say that I read a lot. I’ve read somewhere that Cervantes, the author of Don Quijote -the novel I would rescue from a burning building- also went only to the third grade; but he read every piece of paper that came into his hands. So, that is what I do: read everything! Not only I read at Barnes and Noble, Borders, and other bookstores, but I am familiar with every public library in Manhattan. Reading is my passion. And so was Mrs. Poumier’s. In fact that is how we met. In the summer, during my lunch break, as I sat on the stoop of the building where she lived and read One Hundred Years of Solitude, she floored me when she looked at the title, exclaiming with great relish: “The best novel of the 20th century!” And that was the beginning of our friendship. Later in our developing friendship, Mrs. Poumier revised my stories, corrected them, and gave me advice: “Watch how you begin your sentences. Sentence openers will clue the reader. Too many words ending in ‘ly,’ too many adjectives go on a ‘which’ hunt.” Being an orphan I was raised by an aunt and my grandmother. Despite the fact that a number of years have gone by since my grandmother-’abuelita’ Guadalupe- died, her image is so fixed in my brains that I can say she is very much alive in my mind and heart. When my gramma died she left me a medallion with the image of the ‘Virgencita de Guadalupe.’ Superstitious as I am, I feel that as long as I have this sacred token, nothing bad could happen to me. Because Mrs. Poumier resembled -in looks and spirit- my grandmother, I made it a point of befriending her. For almost two years I’ve been employed in this catering service on 1st Avenue, near Sutton Place. But just because one mentions Sutton Place doesn’t mean that everyone around here is wealthy. No Sir. In fact, Mrs. Poumier, who lived half a block away from One Sutton Place, was poor-poorer than me! To be blunt, her social security check and a small annuity is all she had left, after her son -a big shot stockbroker- lost her portfolio which he had loaded with Internet stocks. That is what she tells me, but I suspect something more sinister-a dishonest son. Yet in spite of her poverty she never said anything bad about her children. When her portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds was managed by Smith Barney, she did well and was able to send her son to Harvard Business School, and her daughter to Columbia Law School. Joy and pride would spark in her eyes when she spoke of her children. One day she intimated to me that most of her income went to pay for her rent and that she had very little left for other things, including food. “Not that I am a miser,” she said to me. “It is just that I have to watch every penny.” Yet, she would go meal-less for a day or two so that she could buy the NY Sunday Times. “That’s something I cannot do without-onerous as it might be!” she told me once. I loved to listen to her. I loved the cadence in her voice; in her voice I found a refined diction; in the diction elegance, an elegance that revealed nobility, and in that nobility the milk of human kindness that more than kindness was love for neighbor. “We girls had to practice good diction and write well,” she told me once. “I went to Mount Holyoke College, you know,” she mentioned once as if I would know what she was talking about. And I could see in her bright eyes that those might have been the best years of her life. Of course I did a little research later and found out that Mount Holyoke College is an all-women college reputed for producing excellent writers. To reciprocate her goodwill one fine day I gave her my ‘Virgencita de Guadalupe’ medallion. “Nothing bad will happen to you as long as you keep this,” I explained to her. Knowing about Mrs. Poumier’s thin budget, I spoke to Sadeek, the attendant in the candy store two doors down from where I work, and he agreed to sell me the blessed newspaper at half-price. When I told him it was for Mrs. Poumier, he reduced the price to one dollar. And we cooked up a plausible story to tell her. That Sunday when she came to buy the paper Sadeek told her that if she came back at 12 noon, she could buy the paper for only $1, since by then all the customers had picked up their copies and the leftovers could be sold at a lower price. He would set it aside for her. Of course Sadeek asked her to keep mum about that or he would be in trouble with other customers. Where I work we prepare gourmet food, which we sell for the most outrageous prices. Emiliano, the first cook, fixes this ‘arroz con pollo” -listed in the menu as ‘poulet de la maison du roi’- which we sell for $29 a meal. Go figure. And people from Park Avenue to Sutton place call us for the delicacy which to tell the truth costs less than a dollar to prepare. And if you throw in the labor (minimum wage, no benefits), rent, and overhead, you can add another dollar. Nice business. Nifty profits. The owner of the store, an immigrant from Romania, is a good man; very strict, a little humorless, but kind-hearted. Because I speak English better than he does, he lets me handle the customers, the fax, e-mail, and telephone orders. And in the afternoon and evenings I deliver the orders of Emiliano’s exquisite dishes. I don’t want to digress but I must say that Emiliano was born to cook. Our wealthy customers -many of them celebrities I recognize- can’t get enough of his creations. Yet, the man can barely read and write and never uses written recipes! When any of the machines -ovens, freezers, refrigerators, cash register, coffee and espresso machines, and other objects- breaks down, I fix it. No machine has been invented that I cannot fix. So, the man is happy with me. As a result he only comes a few hours a day, but mainly to balance the receipts for the day and to do some bookkeeping. During my lunch hour I would bring Mrs. Poumier a full meal of the special of the day. Nothing -that is absolutely nothing- in my life gave me more pleasure than to see Mrs. Poumier enjoy her meals-all for free. For her birthday (late August) I swiped a bottle from the cellar of a $40 white wine, and we all -I brought Emiliano and Sadeek with me- had a few glasses. How glorious she looked that day: her delicate features glowed with happiness when we sang the ‘happy birthday’ song. Once in a while a pang of morals would jolt me and tell me that I might be stealing from my employer; but I would quickly counter the pang with the thought that just fixing one freezer I save the establishment two or three hundred dollars, and if you multiply this for six to eight times a month, you can well see that $2 (cost of the meal) will not set my patron back that much. Ah, humanity and inhumanity! One sad day, Mrs. Poumier told me that I should not bring her any more meals because her daughter -a partner in a premier law firm- had come to visit her and told her to stop spending her money in extravagant meals. “I know the prices these people charge,” she had yelled at her. Not only had she yelled at her, but she had threatened to sue us - my catering place- for taking advantage of a poor senile defenseless old woman. The nerve of those people! Furthermore, she had threatened to put her in a home. Fearful that I might lose my job I told Emiliano not to fix the meals for Mrs. Poumier anymore. For many days I felt despondent and hard as I tried to understand where I had gone wrong-I could not. During the month of October and November I saw Mrs. Poumier around the neighborhood a few times; she looked unkempt, the spark of vivacity in her eyes gone; gone also was the lilt and sweetness of her voice. Knowing how much I cared for the sweet lady, that Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, my friend Plutarco -the doorman- came running to tell me that my good friend had collapsed in the lobby; that the paramedics had pronounced her dead. “This lady is way undernourished-skin and bones!” the paramedic had exclaimed. As Plutarco gave me the sad news, he also gave me my “Virgencita the Guadalupe’ medallion, which Mrs. Poumier had dropped when she collapsed. Plutarco knows I am a man not given to tears, but that day he saw me cry my eyes out; even Sadeek came out of the store and sat next to me and tried to console me. More than tears for the loss of my good friend, I raged at my suspicion that Mrs. Poumier had not wished to die the day before and spoil Thanksgiving Day for her son and daughter and grandchildren; the two families own houses in Long Island. Uncared and unloved by both son and daughter, she’s now with my Virgencita de Guadalupe who will give her all the love that she didn’t have here on this harsh concrete and asphalt shore that is Manhattan. Nothing bad will happen to her there-really. Before I close let me put into practice her advice by removing the adverbs ending in ‘ly,’ go on a ‘which hun,’ and watch my sentence openers. 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
