RiseUp!

Posted on July 3, 2008 by moonbridgebooks

There is a new weekly newspaper insert appearing in some of the major papers, especially in the Midwest. The website states “By celebrating both our differences and commonalities, RiseUp aims to help build stronger communities, cities, nations and a stronger world.” I love it. This week’s insert in my local paper carried quite a few interesting articles on various subjects, including one on DNA and race.

The June 27-July 3 publication also carries Toy Story, by Diane Nichols. Unfortunately it is not available online. The article grew out of a bumper sticker, “He Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins,” that Ms. Nichols saw on the expensive Cadillac Escalade ahead of her old Toyota. She began to reflect on the meaning of success and her own life’s journey – what meant the most to her.

No matter our status in life, she notes, we all face the same end. Our obituaries will not mention all our wonderful or impressive possessions, rather they will list our family ties, our churches, the causes we supported, our service to others and our country. The greatest legacy is that of love and caring, leaving the world a better place, leaving our families and others with good memories. Nichols wishes she could write a new bumper sticker for the Escalade driver:

“He Who Dies With The Most Toys Should Have Had A Yard Sale.”

Hope you’ll be collecting fun family memories as you celebrate July 4th!

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in death, multicultural | Comments Off on RiseUp!

When I Die

Posted on June 26, 2008 by moonbridgebooks

This has been a sad month of celebrity deaths. Karen Alaniz of the blog Write Now noted in a June 14 post how the media announces that so-and-so died at age XX. I did a quick search and noted how media headlines blatantly shout announcements such as “Tim Russert – Dead at 58!” Karen commented how nice it would be if it were instead announced that someone LIVED to be age XX… “She LIVED to be 101!” That little twist of words changes a death into a celebration of life, and hopefully each of us is living a life to be celebrated. We don’t have to be celebrities or do something notable, but only to have enjoyed life and perhaps helped others along the way. She lived. That sounds like a person worth remembering. And that reminds me of a well-loved poem:

“To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a
Redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived,
This is to have succeeded.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in death, inspiration | 2 Comments

Back Up Your Files!

Posted on June 21, 2008 by moonbridgebooks

One of my relatives had her house broken into and the thief stole her and her daughter’s laptop computers. I think this is about as bad as having your wallet stolen – maybe worse depending on what you’ve got loaded on your machine. Yikes!

Well, today I’m reminding readers to BACKUP YOUR COMPUTER FILES! If you are really on the ball, you’d regularly dump your files onto a flash drive – and maybe even store your most personal files on a special flash drive that you hide away in a drawer… I say this as I see my flash drive sitting out in plain view. Ideally, when important files are complete and will not be changed you will copy them onto a CD or DVD, maybe making two different sets and storing them in different places. Of course, you will need to keep an eye out for technology changes and re-copy those files onto new CDs or who knows what other kind of storage methods will come in the future. There are even archival quality CDs and DVDs to help prevent aging of the media. By the way, remember to label files as well as outsides of the storage media so you can easily find whatever you may need to look for. Consider also the value of keeping a hardcopy of your most treasured files, especially photos which can last up to 70 years if commercially printed and if stored properly.

All my mother’s memories are loaded onto CDs – the original Word file of our book Cherry Blossoms in Twilight, all the illustrations and photos, audio clips, the book trailer plus my more important business files. Personally I’m more worried about a glitch in the computer or a virus attack rather than a thief, but you never know. Once my daughter spilled milk on my keyboard and I had a panic; fortunately after a couple days of drying out, the computer worked again.

So remember to keep up with the computer backups so you don’t lose your own written or photographed memories of who and what’s important in your life.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in memoir writing | Comments Off on Back Up Your Files!