I’ve been hearing the term Friendsgiving recently. My assumption is that this is an alternative celebration for those who cannot or do not want to be with family. I have never been unable to join my family for this holiday. My wife and I have always been close to our parents and siblings or later in life, our children, and grandchildren.
Family is within a drivable distance for us. I know this is not true for everyone. After our family gathering, I am considering how difficult it would be to not have your children, parents, and siblings to share holidays with.
I had one Fourth of July when I was over a thousand miles from home and spent the day by myself with church friends and their families. I wish I had been with my family that summer. I had chosen to work with a mission organization earlier that year. I had started at a new college and saw this opportunity was available in the early fall. I had never been away from home for that long.
I feel the concept of sharing a holiday with friends is an excellent idea. One Thanksgiving our family invited our new pastor and his family to join us because they were not returning home for the holiday. We had a great time and I think it made my relationship with their family stronger.
My problem is with the name. Thanksgiving says what the gathering is about. Friendsgiving includes part of that but does not include the term thanks. If the original was family-giving, the new name would fit. Thanksgiving can be used whether you join with family or friends.
My daughters brought friends home with them when they were in college. One Easter we introduced a friend to dyeing eggs. This young man had never experienced that in his family. New experiences are what life is about.
Friendship is often an ignored type of relationship. Friending is a skill that is not usually printed on a resume when you are looking for a job. It is one of the most essential characteristics an employee or business owner can develop. I say develop because you can learn how.
In high school, I learned to be a better writer, to speak in front of crowds, and to improve my skill of being a better friend. Earlier this year our graduating class had our fiftieth-class reunion. We renewed some friendships and made new friends with people that we never really knew in school.
Some of our classmates remembered high school as a time they did not wish to revisit. I am thankful that I did not miss the opportunity. Many of the friends I enjoyed at that time were from younger classes. Those in my class were not popular and many failed to come to any of the events. I would like to encourage you to strengthen your ability to make and keep friends. Push hard to accomplish this. Always be friendly. Attempt to make everyone you see each day smile. That has been one of my goals for many years. I hope you will make it yours.
I just viewed the movie “Up in the air” with George Clooney. If you have never seen this film, I will try to tell you about it without spoiling the ending. The Clooney character works for a company that specializes in helping others downsize their staff.
He travels a great deal and is asked what his goal in life is. His answer is to reach one million miles on his frequent flyer miles. This would make him the seventh to reach that milestone.
I used to travel for my job. For three years I would visit customers every day of the week through southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. I spent two nights away from home to cover part of my territory once a month. I do not know what it would be like to travel all over the country constantly.
My family grew up knowing that I would be home almost every night. My children have not been traumatized by not having their father involved. This is the first thing I am thankful for this year.
The second is that my wife and I were married before I had to move away after graduating from college. Our relationship survived a ten-week separation shortly after we were engaged. I am thankful that we have been married for forty-six years.
I am grateful that Jesus saved me and called me to be a minister of His gospel. That has included over forty years of serving at Hamlin Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. My ministry has been leading Bible studies for youth and adults. I am also a member of their Deacon body. My work has also enabled me to be a workplace servant.
Our daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren have also been tremendous blessings. As I watch them grow and mature into decent human beings, I am proud of who they are becoming and have become.
Another thing I want to share is that I am proud to be an American and thankful for those who protect us daily in the armed forces and as first responders. I do not want to become one who says that our country needs to become great again. I also am glad that our laws are such that many of us vote for those that we wish to lead our constitutional government.
Our country may not be perfect. Our lives are not always what we want them to be, but we can make changes and choices. Life can be much worse as we are constantly reminded when we watch the news. Remember, life is as good as you make it and part of that is based on your attitude. Happy Thanksgiving.
“There’s a package for you on the entry table,” came my wife’s voice as I opened the kitchen door from the garage. “It’s marked ‘urgent,’” she added as she wiped her hands on her apron and kissed me hello.
“When was it delivered?” I asked as I headed to the front door.
“I don’t know. It was lying outside the front door when I went to check the mail.”
Not unusual. It was an express mail package & I zipped it open quickly. Inside were the files I expected to have on my desk in the morning. Interpol printouts, investigation reports from all over the world on probable killings by Mike Richards, etc. Grainy surveillance photos, numerous other items, and a handwritten letter. It was “the note writer.”
It started, “Be very careful. Manny has not left the area. You were supposed to find David Weber. He will take action if he learns you believe he is involved. Quietly investigate the research Carl Freeman has been doing on his own time. Contact his wife at the funeral home through an intermediary. Do not let anyone know that you are looking for Manny or you will be the next victim. I’ll be in touch.”
After a quick dinner, I was back in the office. I usually don’t get spooked, but this case was getting to me. I looked at my mirrors closer than usual, checked to be sure my piece was ready, and made sure I walked in with other officers I knew. I was very cautious.
I accessed Interpol. The pages I had looked at were exactly what was currently posted. “Note writer” must have access to Interpol. He must be another officer or an excellent hacker. I called the funeral home and found out what time Mrs. Freeman would be there tomorrow. David Weber was more cooperative after I told him who the man was in the mug shot, he had identified. When I told him I was going to charge him with possession of stolen goods, so I could hold him, he seemed relieved.
Sleep did not come easy. Too many questions kept coming to mind. What was Freeman working on? Why did it cost him his life? Who was the Note Writer? Could I keep David Webber alive, if Manny wanted him dead?
When the alarm went off at 6:00 a.m., I was still asking myself questions. Today promised to be as strange as yesterday.
By 10:30 I had already checked for additional information on Mike Richards, aka Manny, and was at the funeral home. Mrs. Freeman was surprised when I asked if her husband had any “special projects” he was working on.
“For years he has been working on a new car engine. He applied for a patent a few months ago but found out recently that his design is already patented,” she told me.
“Has any of the stuff in his shop been taken?”
“Not that I can tell,” was her response. “I rarely go out there. The only thing I am sure is not missing is the car with the engine in it.”
I made arrangements to meet her that afternoon to look at the shop. I still did not see why this was important. I drove back to the station and was almost hit in the parking lot as I left my car. Some people even drive like maniacs in the parking lot of a police station.
When I came back to my car to go meet Nicole Freeman, The Note Writer had struck again. “Manny has made you,” it began. “He knows you have Weber. You should watch your step in the parking lot. Next time he won’t miss you. Do not contact the Freeman woman again directly. If Manny thinks you are interested in the car, you and Weber are both dead.”
Could that car that almost hit me have been driven by a paid killer? It made me think. I went back to my office and called a friend to go see Mrs. Freeman. I needed to know all I could about that car and engine.
Mike Richards was a very interesting man. Suspected murders in over twenty countries. Last ten years he had almost been caught at least five times. No indication in my information of who had been close to catching him. No one knew who he killed for, and all the murders seemed random. No known link had been found, yet. That was the Interpol report.
The other papers were clippings that described the deaths of an FBI agent, several police, and assorted citizens. Many were in the U.S., but close to half were from other countries. A few of the articles mentioned experimental work on engines or alternative fuels. Some were murders, but most were accident reports or obituaries. If The Note Writer was to be believed, Mike Richards must be very wealthy, indeed. Between these clippings and Interpol’s report, he had killed over a hundred people. The official score was twenty-two.
I found the reported suicides of three police officers, the accidental deaths of four more, and the killed in the line of duty of two and the agent to be the most disturbing. Each of the officers and the agent was investigating an unsolved death at the time of their deaths. One clipping had a photograph of a group of uniformed officers at the scene of the fatal shooting of another officer. One of the faces was circled. An arrow drawn from the circle pointed to the name “Manny” written on the side. With this clipping was an artist’s sketch entitled “Manny today.”
The articles on the death of the FBI agent described his family, and his partner and showed a map of the area where his body was found in his burned car. Thomas Winston Riley was a twelve-year veteran of the FBI, former military intelligence, and trained hostage negotiator. His partner, Sam Wilkens reported nothing unusual in their cases that would indicate anything other than an accident. The investigation concluded with the statement, “Death due to severe trauma inflicted during an automobile accident.”
There was ice, the guard rails had been taken out by an eighteen-wheeler two days earlier. He ran off the road and the car rolled down an embankment and burned due to a punctured gas tank. Due to the snow and ice, there were no marks on the pavement. All the tires melted in the fire. There was no way to tell if the accident was the result of a blowout.
I know that it is the tenth of November and that I was going to start writing on the first. I wanted to share with you what I have written. This is the first chapter.
The clock read 1:33. Four rings, maybe five . . . six . . . seven.
“Yeah.”
“Detective Sammon?”
“Yeah.”
“We have a homicide.”
“Where?”
“4212 S. Larson Boulevard.”
“I’m on my way.”
I’ve developed my technique to the point I can dress and be out of the house in five, or ten minutes tops.
“Another murder?” my wife asked.
“Yeah. I’ll call you later this morning, O.K.?”
“K.”
At 1:40 in the morning, most of the lights are blinking, but when you’re a cop, you don’t stop. The dashboard clock blinked at 1:59 as I pulled in behind the third patrol car.
“Who was first on the scene?”
Sam Wise, a twenty-year veteran on the force answered. “I was.”
“What’s the story?”
“Neighbor on the south saw a car pull away about midnight. She thought it unusual. Her husband came home after 1:00 and told her the front door was open and a light was on the inside. He came over and saw drawers out and I had her call it in. I found the body in the kitchen.”
“Burglary gone bad?”
“Looks that way.”
“Anyone else lives here?”
“A wife. She’s out of town. Neighbors don‘t know where. We found an address book. The wife‘s sister, Elaine Newton is in the book.”
Less than an hour later, Mr. Newton had called his wife at the hotel where she and her sister were. They started on their way back. All Nicole Freeman knew was that she needed to go to the local hospital to see her husband. There had been a break-in at the house.
It’s part of the job, but not an easy part, to meet the family at the hospital and tell them the bad news and escort them to the morgue to identify the body. Mrs. Freeman was genuinely surprised to hear and see that her husband was dead. Or maybe she’s that good of an actress.
Nothing was unusual about this case. Mrs. Freeman left two days earlier for a weeklong shopping trip with her sister and some friends. Carl Freeman, the deceased, had worked until his usual 5:00 p.m. at a local factory. He had prepared a frozen meal his wife left for him. Worked in his shop till 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. Watched the news, and went to bed around 10:30. The neighbor saw the lights go off while she read and waited for her husband to get home. The late model car she saw left, could not be identified by anyone and no one saw the driver.
Mrs. Freeman did an inventory of the house. All her jewelry was gone. Most are not worth much. The most interesting missing items were three guns. One, a .38 pistol. A single .38 slug was taken from Carl Freeman’s head. Shot between the eyes. Not the way most burglars would do it. This case was going to be hard to solve. Or was it?
When I went to my car at about 2:30 that afternoon, I found a note under the driver’s windshield wiper. Addressed to “Detective Sammon” it read “FEX237 dirty brown 1998 Honda Civic.”
No one had seen anyone around my car when I inquired later. I went back to the station. David Wever was the owner of the 1998 Honda Civic with the FEX237 tags. 243 W. Main Street was the listed address. The car was parked in front of the dilapidated house. It smelled of everything you could imagine and so did Weber.
“Mr. Weber?”
“Who wants to know?”
“Detective Alan Sammon.” I showed him my badge.
“Yeah, I’m Weber,” He didn’t seem concerned.
“Where were you last night?”
“Right Here?”
“All night?”
“Yeah.”
“Anyone with you?”
“Nope.”
“That your car?”
“Yeah.”
“Was it there all night with you?”
“Yeah.”
“You did not make a trip to Larson Boulevard about midnight?” Did he just take a deep breath?
“Nope. Stayed here all night.”
I wanted a search warrant but knew I had no chance. No one could even I.D. the car, except the note writer. I went back to my car.
Had Weber seen the note writer? Maybe? He had struck again. The note said, “Patsy’s Bar from 10:30 to 11:30.” I was headed up to the house again when I heard the back door slam. I caught Mr. Weber before he could get all the way over a privacy fence in his backyard.
I cuffed him and called for backup. White we waited, I read him his rights. Then I asked if he would let us search the house.
“Hell, no!”
While I was going back to the station in my car, I requested a search warrant be issued on probable cause. He had bolted after initial questioning. That didn’t make him guilty of murder, but the judge thought he must be running from something.
David Weber sat in a holding cell with two other guys while I went to Patsy’s Bar and the uniforms searched the house. Derek, the bouncer, and Bob, the bartender, knew Weber. He was there last night and left with another man around 11:30. They could not give a good description of the other man. I thought it might have been Carl Freeman.
Weber’s house had many items that did not appear to belong to Mr. Weber. Why would a man who lives alone need twelve televisions, six-CD changers, and five DVD players? Nothing found there matched any of the items missing from Freeman’s house. No guns were in the house or the car.
I could only hold Weber for 24 hours without proof he committed a crime, but he helped me on that one.
“I know you left Patsy’s with Carl Freeman around 11:30 last night.”
“Is that the guy’s name?” was his response. “All I know is he asked if I wanted to make a quick heist and I said sure. He gave me the address in the parking lot and told me to take whatever I wanted. I didn’t know he had killed a guy and wanted me to take the fall.”
I was surprised. “So, the man at the bar wasn’t the guy we found dead at the house?”
“No. That’s probably his wife’s boyfriend. He told me to take whatever I wanted out of the house because the judge had just given it all to his wife in a divorce. He had left the doors unlocked and no one was home. It sounded too good to be true.”
“Had you seen the man at the bar before?”
“Not before last night. He was there earlier and asked me to hang around. Told me what he wanted me to do, but said he needed to be sure his wife and the boyfriend were gone.”
“When was that?”
“About 10:30”
“What was he driving?”
”Didn’t see.”
“Did you go back to the bar after you left the house?” I knew the answer to this one.
“No. I just went home. It shook me up bad.”
I had him look at mug shots of locals and even some known contractors. After the first hour, I thought it was hopeless, but then he spotted one. A worldwide contractor known as Mike Richards, Richard Michaels, R. Mann, Manny, and the list went on. No confirmed, true, identity.
I requested an Interpol search, filed the paperwork to hold David Weber as a material witness, and went home.
Many believe that old saying. How do you know when a politician is lying? When their mouth is moving. It seems like this is most true during an election year. The commercials that most of the candidates are running are loaded with untruths.
Some think that not telling the complete truth is not a falsehood. I believe that failure to share exact knowledge is tantamount to lying. You may agree with Bill Clinton that changing the meaning of a word is all that is needed to prevent having to admit that you are speaking lies.
One candidate accuses another of being the person responsible for the Missouri abortion law taking effect after the repeal of Roe versus Wade. He lumps her in with every other Democrat. Another candidate doesn’t talk about the issues. She tells how her campaign is grassroots centered. We don’t know where she stands. How can we unless she tells us?
The Attorney General of Missouri had to put into effect a law that was passed before he was elected to his office. To fail to do this would have been breaking the law. His opponent lumps him in with all Republicans as supporting the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.
Most candidates are attacked based on what the other party normally stands for. Especially for those who have never held office. It is difficult to denounce the voting record of someone who has never voted. Guilt by association is the rule.
Speaking of those who have never voted. Can they claim they are not politicians? Do you have to be holding a political office to be a politician? The definition is: “a person who is professionally involved in politics, especially as a holder of or a candidate for an elected office.” If you are running for an office, you are a politician.
Candidates use the money contributed to their campaigns to purchase advertising. You do not mention the name of your competition unless you are trying to discredit them. When they are not a threat, you don’t pay to mention them. One Senatorial candidate speaks against both of her opponents. Third-party candidates are not usually even recognized by the Republicrats or Demicans. Maybe this year we may see another party emerge victorious.
I am not mentioning the names of any of these candidates because I want you to make your own decision on who to support. I also want you to choose which side of the ballot issues to choose.
The ads about the legalization of marijuana talk about making law enforcement’s job easier when the sheriff’s associations in most states consider legitimizing any illegal substances a terrible idea. What some of you do not know is that all the current illegal substances were openly used at one time in our country. Laws were passed to protect those that were addicted to them.
These commercials give false information about the financial benefit of changing our laws. They do not consider the cost of the problems that will be caused. Where is the information from the nineteen states that prove what they are claiming? Maybe those statistics don’t confirm the promises made.
Do your own research on the amendments and the candidates. Decide how to vote. Come to the polls on Tuesday and participate in your democratic republic. That may be where those party names came from. Who knew?
Sounds wrong, doesn’t it? Sunday, we had a guest speaker. Our pastor has been sharing the book of Matthew. He began with the upside-down kingdom that Jesus described in the Sermon on the Mount.
Our guest minister told us that we should not be focusing on Friday when our work week ends. We should wait for Monday when we get to work and be with our co-workers for the week. That is topsy-turvy at its best.
I remember when I began a new job after twenty-five years with one company. It was my dream job. I was called to be a workplace minister while in college. I told everyone how happy I was to be at work even on a Monday. I had reached burnout at my last employer.
I did not know what that was. All I knew was that God wanted me to be a full-time gospel minister.
I knew I wasn’t to be a music minister. I can’t sing. I have trouble playing the radio. I love to talk. One-on-one is my favorite crowd. In high school, I forced myself to take speech. My first talk almost killed me. I thought that five minutes of talking about myself would never end. In three years, I learned to be extroverted and speak to any crowd.
My listeners may not enjoy it as much as I do. I had to experience public speaking to allow me to be more comfortable when I was called to be a minister. All I knew was preaching and singing. If I was not willing to be a preacher, I would not have viewed myself as a minister.
Now, I can proclaim a call to every Christian to be a minister in the workplace. My friend Jim told me years ago that he had asked God to call him to youth ministry. He was told no. He has spent over fifty years owning his own business. He shows his customers, vendors, and employees what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Where is your place of ministry? We all need to find our calling and where we are expected to serve others. Those will be both believers and unbelievers. Servants must find their pace to be of use. I have heard this for years.
It sounds strange to thank God for Mondays. We should be excited to share our faith. Not just in certain circles or at church. Our jobs are where we spend a third or more of our time. We should also be witnessing, serving, and ministering in this arena.
Time is considered precious by all of us. We must work while we have light. The darkness can be overpowering. When we do our part, the world will be a better place. Enjoy your Monday.
The first time I saw “To Dance with the White Dog” was in 1993 in the Hallmark Hall of Fame. That was when it was broadcast on CBS on Sunday nights. Since then, I have viewed it many times. If you want to see it, I watched it recently on Hallmark Movies Now.
The story of a married couple celebrating their fiftieth anniversary in 1966 is powerful for many reasons. First was the love story between an elderly couple. In 1993 my wife and I had only been married for seventeen years. It was difficult to imagine that we might make it to our fiftieth. We are only four years away from that landmark date.
An African American friend of this couple is shown as being treated as one of the family. At first, you may think that she was hired as a cook, housekeeper, or nanny. That does not appear to be the case as the story unfolds. This is significantly different from another movie, “The Help,” set at the same time. Both films are set in the southern US.
The families are shown to be what I would call Christian or religious. They are not shown in any church. The male lead character points out the discrepancies between the Bible and horticultural science. His wife points out that the scripture is not a science text. While many scientific facts appear in different chapters and verses, I believe this is a true statement.
When his wife dies, he has difficulty adjusting to being alone. A white dog appears, and his children and grandchildren do not see it when they come around. Most days the waking hours are occupied with the changing of the guard as the families alternate staying around his house and orchard.
The old man decides to take a trip to a reunion for the college where he and his wife met. The dog travels with him. He does not bother to tell anyone in the family where he is going. One grandson knows. He is asked not to tell anyone unless there is an emergency. Of course, one comes up.
I’ll stop with my explanation of the plot and sequence of events. If you decide to watch this film, I hope I have not spoiled any of the drama and mystery. The lesson of the movie is to cherish those that we love. At any moment they may no longer be with us.
It is coming up again. I have not participated in a National Novel Writing Month before. If you are a wordsmith, you may have tried this before. It has happened every year since 1999. I first heard of this through the “Writer’s Digest.” I have subscribed to this magazine off and on for years.
The premise is to write a minimum of 5,000 words of a novel or memoir in thirty days. The month that has been accepted nationwide for most of this time has been November. If you’re a writer or want to be, join me.
The question to answer first is what story you and I have in mind will become our subject this year. This is the perfect time to bring out the unfinished objects that you had every intention of getting to eventually. They may be no more than an idea written on a napkin or scrap of paper.
I believe I will pick up a manuscript that is the first of a trilogy that sweeps through three genres. This first story is a crime drama that takes place in a medium size city. The next one will be science fiction about a businessman that develops new technology in the energy industry. The final installment will be a political thriller. I have a few ideas for each book.
I have working titles for each of the three. I don’t want to share these because a title cannot be copyrighted. I wrote a short story years ago and was surprised when a famous author used that same title. The book was not one of his best. The plot line was nothing like my story. Someday I hope to rewrite it and I can use the same name.
If you want to begin on the first of November as I plan to do, there is the preparation that can be done. Note any possible plot points, make an outline, record possible character names, and even write their backstories. I’ve done much of this already and will rethink any changes I want to make.
My plan is to publish these pages on a regular basis here. When I complete the first draft of this novel, I will be able to move to the second and then the third of this trilogy. I want to thank you for following me and giving me the incentive to continue writing.
That is one of the keys to being an effective author. Sticking to your writing can be challenging. It is easy to become frustrated that any one idea does not want you to complete its story. As we encourage each other to keep plugging away maybe we can all finish one of our UFOs. We’ll meet here again on the first of November and compare notes.
For all of you Nay Sayers, America is still great. The Donald said that he would make America great again. His negativity convinced many of you that the Demicans had caused our country not to be great. As usual, he lied.
The President and the Congress cannot change what makes the USA great. Our people and Constitution make us different from other nations. Trump wanted to make America his. That is why he wanted to overthrow the legally elected president. He is a spoiled baby. Wake up Trumpicans or all the Demicans will win in November.
When the original thirteen colonies joined together to revolt against the British, they did not want only the freedoms that Great Britain gave their subjects. The rights that were denied by the English were the ones the Colonists wanted. They risked their lives to move to this continent to distance themselves and their families from tyranny.
They pledged their fortunes and lives to gain what they wanted. You may call yourself an American. What have you given to making this country great? If you were in the military, your service is not ended. If like me, you did not join any of the military branches, what can our job be?
First, lose the negative attitude and speech. Stop talking bad about our government. I recognize that many of our administrators, lawmakers, and judges are just professional bureaucrats. They only want to be re-elected or support the one who will keep them in their jobs.
There are some who are trying their best for the rest of us. Many are self-serving or like us, they work for a living and have no ambition beyond making more money. We need to use the means that we as citizens have to unseat these ineffective ‘servants of the people.’
Our government is “of the people, by the people and for the people” according to President Lincoln in his address at Gettysburg. “We the people” are the ones who vote. We can and should remove these Nay Sayers and anarchists from the paid employees’ ranks.
An anarchist is a person who actively attempts to overthrow an established rule in exchange for a lack of control. Many Trump supporters failed to think it through in January of 2021. Stopping the process of accepting the results of the 2020 election would not have kept the defeated incumbent in office. His staff knew this and tried to get him to understand what he was trying to do to our nation.
When you go to the polls in November, remember what these Trumpites wanted to accomplish. Remove them from every office and replace them with Americans. Not Republicans or Democrats. I’ll be there. I hope you will be as well.
I did not know what FOMO was either. It is the acronym for fear of missing out. I have heard of hydrophobia, acrophobia, and other fears over the years. This is a new one for me. It is like the bucket list and other thoughts shared by celebrities and others who have more money and time, than brains.
I have gotten past the age where I was supposed to buy the sports car, divorce my wife, and marry the trophy wife. I get the idea that some men want something other than what they have. I am sure this concept is not limited to men. Women also have a problem with the greener grass in other pastures.
I want to be like the Apostle Paul. “I am always content in all circumstances.” Philippians 4:12 This is the official Chuck version and is a short segment. Contentment is being satisfied with what you have. Most of us want more. Some of us will never have enough.
After college, my first three jobs lasted around six months. I left the first because of problems with management. The second was better. Not really what I wanted to do. I wanted Monday through Friday from eight to five. An office job sounded better than what I had so far.
My next position was as marketing director for a small privately owned company. They were expanding their product lines and moving into a new industry. I shot some photos for a new catalog, and they offered me a full-time job.
I accepted it and spent the next six months developing the new advertising materials for the next two years. We even made a ten-year plan. The day I delivered the proofs to the printer was when I was laid off. I never learned how our plans worked out.
My next opportunity was as a retail salesman. In a few weeks, I was promoted to management. Then to the wholesale company that owned the stores. They gave me a chance as an assistant manager. Shortly after that, the purchasing agent resigned, and my two previous bosses recommended me for that position.
I agreed to take it and liked it so well that I left them for another company that needed a PA. This gave me another chance to move up. I stayed with that firm for twenty-five years. I was PA, office manager, salesman, customer service representative, and operations manager. I left there and returned to purchasing.
I retired as a purchasing manager for a manufacturer. I never pushed for a position or pay increase. When I went to a new position, I always expected more money for taking on additional responsibilities. Money has not been a motivating factor for me.
I have been asked why I do not charge for my writing. To this point, I have not added any premium material and charged a fee for those items. This will be changing soon. I have books that I have written and others I am in the process of finishing. I am creating videos and study materials that are costing me to produce. If I accept payment for what I produce, I will be able to afford to be more creative.
I have learned much in my business life as a purchasing agent, salesman, and management. One thing that I am certain of is you get a better product when you pay than when it is free. Another truth I have found is that if something costs you nothing you see little or no value in it. Unfortunately, I have also been overcharged for services and products.
When you subscribe to the premium material, the sooner you sign up, the less you will pay. It will take me some time to load everything that I have already produced. Some of it will be finished at the time of publishing. Other stories will be growing as I work on them, and you will be watching that creative process. I will continue to offer materials for no charge. Keep checking this site as I try to offer what you enjoy.
Charles (Chuck) Kensinger 