coming events

Many of us don't realize the efforts to which our soldiers go to help the children in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sadly, only the bomb blasts seem to get reported in the newspapers. I'd like to tell you of an organization started by one woman who cared, and her idea has spread around the U.S. with helpers in many states. The effort is called Victory Boxes. Each person who wishes to participate is given a military overseas shipping box to address to a specific military person currently stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The donor then fills the box with small inexpensive gifts a soldier can carry in his or her pockets to give to the children he or she meets during the day. Small packs of colored pencils, chalk, small notebooks, individually wrapped hard candy, (chocolate melts too much), combs, lotion, tooth brushes, tooth paste, t-shirts, socks, underwear, small toys, marbles, balls, etc. Each of these little items brings a smile from both the child receiving it, and the GI who can give it, and it is of very small mailing expense or trouble to the sender.. Special bonds are formed from shared smiles of these children and their GI friends. If you would like to do a box yourself, or you would like to have boxes and information as a special project for your club or organization, please contact the person who started this project two years ago and now runs hundreds of groups doing Victory Boxes around the country....Mary Margaret at halleck@mac.com If you live in the Colorado Springs area, our local contact is Jason.Gross@Peterson.af.mil

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	I'll make an attempt here to let you know when events are taking place that may be of interest to those who enjoy books, art, music, and the sweet things in life. Some of these events you may like to attend, or look up on the internet, or just wish all the writers and artists well in your good thoughts. COMPUTER WOES My computer crashed in a blaze of glory just before our summer trip, and the computer shop I paid to fix it only succeeded in destroying the links between programs and the data they carried. My future son-in-law, Felix Roldan, managed to find most of the programs for me and get them back running, but the programs were "empty" because the computer shop had "lost" the links someplace. We are busily trying to get the programs and data to "talk" to one another again, one program at a time, and it is a time-consuming job. For the moment, I couldn't get my tools to connect to my website, so that meant long telephone calls to cousin Woody in Albuquerque to help me find all the website links. He helped me put up this website in the first place, as I'm clueless about computers, so I call him when the website plays tricks on me...like now. Woody is a watercolor artist and retired art teacher. Should you be interested in art shows, watercolor paintings, gift cards, learning to do a website, or you are a teacher looking for new and creative Art Lessons, go to Woody Duncan's website at http://www.taospaint.com
	IF YOU LIKE MUSIC and will be having an event anytime soon, contact said future son-in-law, Felix, as he is an experienced musician (as well as a computer rescue person) and can serve you up a great performance for song, your dancing pleasure, or your need for a country or Elvix or any kind of pop "fix." You'll love him, as we do, since we love to dance. Phone for Felix, the "Lone Wolf" is 719-266-0334
	ARE YOU IN A BOOK CLUB? I love people who love to read. It's amazing that with all the new gadgets, games, and media around the world, Book Discussion Groups are still going strong. Like the rest of us, most people enjoy having a good read handy. Should you or someone you know belong to a book club, please let me know about your group. I'm always happy to meet with a local group in person, or with an out of state group by long distance speaker phone to either lead a discussion or to answer questions. People always have lots of questions, don't they? It's fun for me to get together with folks for a lively discussion. Please invite me. I also love to speak to groups about World War II or the Cold War, or teach classes in writing for groups. Click on "Contact the author" should you need a speaker for your group. Contact me if you would like a Book Club kit with discussion questions and other useful information about any of my books your group would like to choose. Special rates on my books are available for purchases of five or more books. Locally, I can deliver books. If you live further away, I can ship the books to you. Simply click on "Contact the Author" from this website and let me know about your group.	I
	The new book is out ! If you enjoyed any of the previous books, you might enjoy my new novel. It goes back in time a little, to the late 60's, when drugs and gangs were beginning to infiltrate among school age kids. It explores the culture clash that occurs when a straight-laced, conservative family takes in a thirteen year old drug addict when she asks for their help to kick drugs. Can these disparate value systems live side by side, and have the teachers made a mistake in bringing this foul-mouthed, drug addicted, gang member into their home? The title is Street Smart on a Dead End, and lots of friends helped me find the title, always the hardest part for me. Thanks to CMNC, DoDDS, my critique group, and the people at the East Library Book Bash, where Mrs. Spiller halped me find at least half of it, so she won a free book.
	To help our troops overseas be good ambassadors Many of us don't realize the efforts to which our soldiers go to help the children in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sadly, only the bomb blasts seem to get reported in the newspapers. I'd like to tell you of an organization started by one woman who cared, and her idea has spread around the U.S. with helpers in many states. The effort is called Victory Boxes. Each person who wishes to participate is given a military overseas shipping box to address to a specific military person currently stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The donor then fills the box with small inexpensive gifts a soldier can carry in his or her pockets to give to the children he or she meets during the day. Small packs of colored pencils, chalk, small notebooks, individually wrapped hard candy, (chocolate melts too much), combs, lotion, tooth brushes, tooth paste, t-shirts, socks, underwear, small toys, marbles, balls, etc. Each of these little items brings a smile from both the child receiving it, and the GI who can give it, and it is of very small mailing expense or trouble to the sender.. Special bonds are formed from shared smiles of these children and their GI friends. If you would like to do a box yourself, or you would like to have boxes and information as a special project for your club or organization, please contact the person who started this project two years ago and now runs hundreds of groups doing Victory Boxes around the country....Mary Margaret at halleck@mac.com If you live in the Colorado Springs area, our local contact is Jason.Gross@Peterson.af.mil
	This Fall watch for a new set of classes on writing Memoirs for family and friends through District 38 adult school. I'll be teaching writing classes for people to learn to capture their memoirs for family and friends as well as coaching some for publication. These classes will be for those beginning their effort, with a second class for those on the way, needing some critique and feedback to be ready to publish. Contact MCapp@lewispalmer.org for further information or enrollment. Come learn how to capture those memories before we are all gone and they are lost forever. Focus this fall will be on World War II memories as the defining event of the 20th century.
	May 7 - 22 - Our cruise of the Danube with Grand Circle Tours was terrific. Great food to put on a few pounds, ugh! but all in all a really informative trip behind what used to be the Iron Curtain. In Budapest we were able to see our friends, the Solymos family, with children and grandchildren. What a wonderful day in the old Village Outdoor Museum by horse cart! Then to the ship to sail down the Danube, through Croatia and Serbia (the two will NEVER be able to get along with such deep divisions) to Bulgaria and Romania (who are both proud members of NATO now and are half way to becoming part of the Europoean Union) to the Black Sea with its enormous seaport now basking in a lack of ships. The extra four days in Transylvania were wonderful too. The mountains there look almost exactly like the Austrian Alps, and they have skiing too. It was close enough to make Eric and I homesick for our Alpine skiing. We went to Count Dracula's castle to research a few vampires, but none could be brought home without a visa. Peles castle was also among the visits, and that must be the most beautiful castle in the world. I could easily live there with a staff of at least 100. I would advise everyone who plans to fly, to wear support stockings as a precaution. Twenty-six hours of flying made my ankles the size of my calves, and broke lots of blood vessels with the danger of clots, so DON'T do that to yourselves. Those "sexy" support stockings may make you feel like Ma Kettle, but it seems they are a good precaution I didn't heed. We'd gladly recommend this trip to everyone, though....lovely terrain we couldn't visit all of while the Border divided Europe.
	Soon - Pillar has asked me to do another follow up session on "Capturing a Life in Words" for it's educational members sometime in June. There were 24 enthusiastic writers who joined in for the Nov. 1st class, and all voiced their enthusiasm for doing another such class near the first of the year. Contact www.visitpillar.org for details.
	Soon: The Yuma Military Heritage Center now carries Shadows on an Iron Curtain, since it is about the only story written so far about the Cold War activities of the Army Cavalry on the BORDER. All other writers seem to have written about the Berlin Wall, instead. This museum specializes in the history of the American Cavalry, and is certainly worth a visit. I'll hook up a link to their website as soon as they are up and running. Should you know of other museums, either World War II for Mutti's War, or Cold War museums for Shadows, or groups who speak of relationships in the military for Between Duty and Devotion, or history reenactment groups, please "contact the author" and let me know about them. Thank you.
	Stuttgart/Ludwigsburg American High School Alumni Reunion at Breckenridge, Colorado was super. The next reunion will be in 2010 in Baltimore, and in 2012, the alumni and teachers will travel back to Stuttgart to our old stomping grounds which is now a German Hochschule. More information will be on the www.StuttgartLudwigsburgHS.org. alumni website. These alumnae honchoed the Overseas Teacher's Reunion in Louisville, Kentucky, this year too, and it was wonderful for all us old DoDDS teachers.
	July 1-6, 2008 -The Vietnam Helicopter Pilot Association (VHPA) Reunion - San Antonio, TX - If any of you pilots missed Phoenix in 2009, you missed a good one, and we will definitely see you next summer in Philadelphia, and the year after in San Diego. Keep up with the news on the website at www.VHPA.org. We partied all over San Antonio this year and hope to set the Liberty Bell ringing next time.
	July 2009- Overseas school teachers Department of Defense Dependent Schools reunion - will be in Las Vegas.We hope to see you all there, and anyone wanting books can find me in the Hospitality Room. Thanks to all my colleagues who encouraged writing by buying books this time in Louisville, Ky. The fourth and newest book was ready, and well received. It is based on the true events of the sixties upswing in drug use among teens. Get more information about the reunion at http://www.doddsworldreunion.com Sign-ups have started, so don't miss this one. It promises to be wonderful as always. A touching tribute has become a tradition each year--the white rose ceremony for all DoDDS teachers who have passed on during the year. As we age, the count is going over one hundred now, each year. In 2008, we sadly passed on a white rose for Ruth McCampbell, my dear friend "Emily" in Shadows on an IronCurtain, from Bamberg School, and John Behrendt, a member of our wonderful Stuttgart High School faculty, as well as PZ, our Colorado Do DDS organizer. They will all be missed..
	August 7th - Rotary International has invited me to speak to their Southeast Denver group on the Cold War and DoDDS, teaching on the Cold War Border. This will be held at breakfast at the Cool River Cafe, 8000 E. Bellview, e. of I-25. E:mail me for information.
	October 3rd and 4th, 2008, many local authors will be teaching classes for the third Manitou Author Fest in Manitou Springs, CO. I'll be teaching three classes and enjoying the usual Manitou atmosphere of camaradarie. E:mail me for information.
	Last week: International Flying Farmers What a lively organization this is. They asked me to speak and bring books at their luncheon in Colorado Springs, and they promptly bought them all. Haven't seen so much joy and enthusiasm in a long time, but these loving, laughing people made me feel so very welcome. Great going IFF, and many more years for you to fly.

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