Visual Job

On May 8 I’m going over to Birch Hill up the road and pay a visit to 89 year old Ace Parker. We’ll chat a bit about his experiences as a gunner on B17’s and maybe we’ll likely have a cigar together. Before I leave, I’ll be sure to thank Ace for all that he did during WW2. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Back almost 61 years ago on May 7, l945, Germany surrendered. On May 8, V-E day (for Victory in Europe) was declared. Winston Churchill broadcast to the British Empire and to the entire world that “The evil doers are now prostrate before us. Our gratitude to our splendid allies goes forth from all our hearts in this island and throughout the British Empire”. The news of the German surrender spread like wildfire, and the world erupted in celebrations, dancing, singing, parties in the streets, toasts and just plain wildness. Europe went crazy with joy. Massive celebrations took place, notably in London, where over a million people celebrated. Times Square and Piccadilly Circus in London were mob scenes. President Harry Truman dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, because FDR had been so committed to ending the war. Roosevelt had died less than a month earlier. While the celebrations in the US were not as wild as those 90 days later when the Japanese surrendered, they were still pretty uninhibited. However, the War in the Pacific had been more personal, its outcome had not yet been resolved and fear still lingered.

On April 25, the German Army had been decimated as American and Soviet forces met at the Elbe River. Five days later, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin. His successor, Admiral Karl Doenitz, sent General Alfred Jodl to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces detachment in Rheims to seek terms for an end to the war. At 2:41 a.m. On May 7, general Jodl signed the unconditional surrender of German forces on all fronts, which was to take effect on May 8 at 11:01 p.m. After six years of unmitigated horror and countless millions of lives lost, the war in Europe was over.

But eight months earlier, on September 5, 1944, beloved Stars & Stripes columnist Ernie Pyle, who had been such an inspirational and moving force with his reports from the front, wrote his final column in Europe. What made him so special was that he wrote about people rather than war. He returned to the U.S. For health reasons, but shortly afterward, went back to the Pacific where a Japanese sniper killed him on the island of Shima on April 18 at the age of 44. He had just been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for journalism. In his pocket was the draft of a column he intended to publish in anticipation of the war’s end in Europe. It reads as follows: (from Ernie’s War: The Best of Ernie Pyle’s World War II Dispatches, edited by David Nichols, PP. 418-19).

“On Victory in Europe

“And so it is over. The catastrophe on one side of the world has run its course. The day that it had so long seemed would never come has come at last. I suppose emotions here in the Pacific are the same as they were among the Allies all over the world. First a shouting of the good news with such joyous surprise that you would think the shouter himself had brought it about. And then an unspoken sense of gigantic relief and then a hope that the collapse in Europe would hasten the end in the Pacific. It has been seven months since I heard my last shot in the European war. Now I am as far away from it as it is possible to get on this globe.

“This is written on a little ship laying off the coast of the Island of Okinawa, just south of Japan, on the other side of the world from Ardennes. But my heart is still in Europe, and that’s why I am writing this column. It is to the boys who were my friends for so long. My one regret of the war is that I was not with them when it ended. For the companionship of two-and-a-half years of death and misery is a spouse that tolerates no divorce. Such companionship finally becomes a part of one’s soul, and it cannot be obliterated. True, I am with American boys in the other war not yet ended, but I am old-fashioned and my sentiment runs to old things. To me the European war is old, and the Pacific war is new.

“Last summer I wrote that I hoped the end of the war could be a gigantic relief, but not an elation. In the joyousness of high spirits it is easy for us to forget the dead. Those who are gone would not wish themselves to be a millstone of gloom around our necks. But there are many of the living who have had burned into their brains forever the unnatural sight of cold dead men scattered over the hillsides and in the ditches along the high rows of hedge throughout the world. Dead men by mass production in one country after another month after month and year after year. Dead men in winter and dead men in summer. Dead men in such familiar promiscuity that they become monotonous. Dead men in such monstrous infinity that you come almost to hate them.

“These are the things that you at home need not even try to understand. To you at home they are columns of figures, or he is a near one who went away and just didn’t come back. You didn’t see him lying so grotesque and pasty beside the gravel road in France.

“We saw him, saw him by the multiple thousands. That’s the difference …”

V-E Day followed Ernie’s death by just three weeks. Some 90 days later, victory over Japan was announced and World War II came to an end at long last.

This May 8 again marks the formal celebration of the Allies’ victory in Europe during World War II. It is a day when we can thank those valiant warriors who fought for our freedoms. It is a day for us to think about those who have now passed. For me, it is always a day of somber and solemn reflection.

In his draft, Ernie Pyle wrote, “……In The Joyousness of high spirits it is easy for us to forget the dead. Those who are gone would not wish themselves to be a millstone of gloom around our necks……….” As an offspring of that wonderful generation, I promise Ernie Pyle that we will shall never forget the dead nor will they have to worry about being a millstone around our neck. We will never, ever let that happen. Nor will we forget to thank those surviving veterans who served so valiantly. So please, if you know someone like Ace Parker, visit him or her on May 8 and thank them.

“I’ve been immersed in it too long. My spirit is wobbly and my mind is confused. The hurt has become too great” Ernie Pyle

Ted Sares, PhD, is a private investor who lives and writes in the secluded White Mountain area of Northern New Hampshire with his wife Holly and Min Pin Jackdog. He writes a bi-weekly column for a local newspaper and many of his other pieces are widely published.

In a world that is spinning out of control; with consumers being bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages per day in a variety of mediums, it is imperative to develop an understanding of the consumer’s thinking to develop an edge in advertising.

Consumer’s get confused with excessive stimulus. Consumer’s also become very selective in their perceptive processes given the amount of advertising to which they are exposed. This leads to a dulling or tuning out of any advertising that takes extra effort to process.

Also, consider that consumer’s selective perception leads to a filtering out of branding that is complicated or includes excessive products or services. Thus, focus and simplicity in marketing are keys to developing consumer’s attention and loyalty as well as maintain that attention and loyalty.

In a recent Keynote report on the state of online retailing, it was noted that those retailer’s who focused on one product or service were more successful than those companies who offered multiple products or services. This is in part due to how folks on the internet operate. They want ease of access; they want relevant information; and they want speed. A retailer with multiple products or services must have a very simple, easy to use search process and purchase process if they are to maintain a consumer’s attention and loyalty because the consumer will tend to lose focus and leave their website if it is confusing or difficult to navigate.

What does all this mean? It means “keep it simple silly”. The best marketing, whether on tv, through the radio, or via online rich media provides simple, factual information that evokes an emotional response. This hooks in the consumer while at the same time meeting the thinking needs of the information seeker.

It also means that all your marketing, in all your chosen media channels needs to be congruent so as not to confuse the consumer and lead to them filter out your marketing message. Use the same colors, message, wording, and graphical presentations in all your marketing contact to maintain focus and allow the consumer to track you through all media channels.

Finally, maintain simplicity in your brand development. This will also allow your consumer to maintain focus and not become confused when processing your marketing message. Try to focus on one concept as you create your brand and then develop it. Use big concepts that elicit perceptions of benefits. People purchase product or service to, in part, save time, improve social status, increase efficiency, improve self-perception, or to improve safety and security. Focus your brand around one of these foundational concepts and then stick with it over the long term.

If you focus on presenting a simple and well-focused marketing message, you’ll have more success than if your marketing is complex and generalized. Take time to examine your marketing message and simplify where necessary to grab the consumer’s interest and keep it.

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Darrin F. Coe, MA holds a master’s degree in psychology and operates “The Center For Understanding Consumer Thinking at http://www.consumer-thinking.com He is available for consulting. Contact him at darrinfcoe@consumer-thinking.com or 719-275-5907 after 5:00 PM mountain standard time.
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Play a bigger game with your book sales by expanding your audiences at local or nonlocal book fairs, festivals or trade shows. Can’t afford a booth or table, rent a space on someone else’s table and volunteer to be back for their book. In fact, rent a corner at various different tables in the same fair or show and triple your exposure.

The place on the net to go to find out what’s upcoming in your area, or an area you want to travel to, is at the Library of Congress’ website: http://www.loc.gov.loc/cfbook/bookfair.html. When you visit, the listings are in alphabetical order or by state. You will find shows for other countries, including Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. International events, including Canada, listings available. Travel for a month, write it off for your taxes, and include several different fairs and shows while you there.

Since I live in Virginia and travel frequently to Washington State, I plan my travel and schedule around these two areas to start.

Virginia

Fall for the Book | Fairfax | Sept http://www.fallforthebook.org/

Hollins University Annual Literary Festival | Roanoke | Mar http://www.hollins.edu/news-events/litfest/litfest.htm

LAUGHS: Loudon’s Annual Unforgettable Gigantic Hilarious Storyfest http://www.laughsfestival.org/ | Sterling | June

Newport News Celebrates the Book | Newport News | Oct http://www.newport-news.va.us/library/

Virginia Book Festival http://www.vabook.org/ | Charlottsville | Mar

Virginia Storytelling Alliance Gathering | Glen Allen | Mar http://vasa.communitypoint.org/archives/events/vasa_gathering_2004_call.html

Washington

Bellingham Storytelling Festival | Bellingham | Nov http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~rvohs/storyfestival2001.html

Bumbershoot http://www.bumbershoot.org/ | Seattle | Sept

Forest Storytelling Festival | Port Angeles | Sept http://www.dancingleaves.com/storypeople/forestfestival/index.html

Northwest Bookfest | Seattle | Oct/Nov http://www.nwbookfest.org/

If you prefer to view the list by date, visit: http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/bkevents.html.

The National Book Festival, Washington DC, an extremely large event, held every October on The Mall. For more information: http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/natl.bk.fest.html.

Take a few minutes, visit the Library of Congress’ web site, and find the ones that fit into your schedule and location. Get bold and stand out, do book signings at Wine Festivals too (no matter what your topic).

You can even contact table renters in other locations and offer a commission for selling the books and you don’t even need to be there. Look for people with integrity and give them a complimentary copy of your book. Write a “dedication” to them in the front.

For other possibilities to expand your book sales, visit your local and state government web sites for events, libraries, school district events, business organizations, civic or private clubs, bookstores at museums (private or public). Also, consider the arts and craft festivals and fun fairs.

Nonfiction Author Natalie Goldberg used to write instant poetry at booths at New Mexico area carnivals — including the school carnivals.

If you are a technical writer look for Technology fairs and exhibits. Business Expos are the place to be if you are business writer. Are you a children’s author, ask to sell your books at Parent Day events at the local schools. Christmas shows are great for children books too. Did you write a historical book? Include all the history events on your tour for 2004.

Well, we shared some new places to find events to sell your books at in 2004. Don’t stop here, be creative, and try anything at least once, if it is financially conducive. Stretch your imagination and your opportunities and watch your book sales soar. Most important — have fun doing it. In addition, don’t forget to write a book about it!

(c) Copyright 2003, 2004, Catherine Franz. All rights reserved.

Catherine Franz, a Business Coach, specialized in writing, marketing and product development. Newsletters and additional articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Buying a home is not an easy task, and it can be daunting at times requiring a lot of effort. You’ll have to do extensive research and planning. You will also need help from experts to get the best deal and the home you’ve been dreaming of for years. Being a first-time homebuyer, it is advisable for you to know the basic aspects involved in buying real estate. If you’re planning to own a home but don’t have enough funds, first homebuyer mortgages may help you.

Nowadays, it is common to buy homes through mortgages. With this process, you don’t have to pay the whole value of your dream home right away. There are lots of consulting firms and lending institutions that offer help in securing your first home. You have to be careful in choosing someone you can trust, because you are spending a large sum of money. Better to get through tiresome processes and succeed in the end

When you buy a home for the first time through a mortgage, you must learn all the basics and gather as much information as you need for a safe transaction. Since it’s your first time, you have to orient yourself to all the traditions and customs of buying property. Don’t rely on anyone’s advice. Instead, visit government offices that can give you advice on buying property.

Get used to the basics of first home buying. Employ the help of any qualified real estate agent and have discuss the pros and cons of obtaining a certain property that you have in mind. Make sure that the person you’re talking to is reliable and is from a reputable office or consulting firm. You may also opt for a bank officer who specializes in loans and mortgages, and a mortgage broker can also be a big help.

Ask questions. If you have thoughts and doubts about first homebuyer mortgages, you must ask questions.

Do a lot of research. Both online research and printed material about mortgages will help you better understand the terms and coverage of first homebuyer mortgages.