ELDER FRAUD

This is a very tender subject for me, as I must be the most gullible elder in the world.

Quite frankly, I have been sucked up into so many internet come-ons just because I did not understand the language the businesses were talking. I was just stung the other day when I did a survey for Amazon.com and was told there would be gift offers available in return for my participation in the survey. I was delighted to do so because I love Amazon.com and their products have proved to be of outstanding quality, have low, or no, shipping fees, and you receive the product in good condition, and very quickly. So, I did the survey which was quite simple and was in turn offered three different products from three different companies at no cost for the gift, but you paid a minimal shipping and handling fee. I read and read the small print, looking for a hidden gimick-having been stung several times before. I could see nothing that said there would be a further cost for the product and there was no phone number given for the cancellation of anything. I thought the product must be a promotional item to interest you in their product line and I went and charged the $5.99 for shipping on my debit card. OH WRONG!  SO VERY WRONG!!

There had been a word, the word TRIAL, that I thought meant that you could return it if you didn't like it. OLD MEANING! The business meaning of the word is that this is implied by the use of it: 1) You had 30 days to accept it or reject it; 2) Before the 30 days are up you must either accept the product or call the business to cancel your order and then return the product; 3) After 30 days the business will deduct $95.00 out of your bank account without advising you of this before they do; 4) Further, the business will then deduct $95.00 every month from your bank account until you learn that you must call and cancel this whole process.

Meanwhile, your bank account has been bombed. You have only a Social Security income and there is absolutely no room for any extra expense. You carry only a "pad" of $5.00 in your account each month. Your account is overdrawn and $35.00 charges start to pile up. You have no money to cover these charges or that $95.00 charge and you are in serious trouble. Your children have no money either, so they aren't able to come to the rescue.

Fortunately my bank is very protective of its elderly customers and has a wonderful fraud division which cancelled all of the charges while they deal with the business that was selling the product and do an investigation of the whole way that the company advertizes its product. I may have to pay the price for my gullibility and end up paying this business for the product that they sent to me-they won't accept the product back-but at least I have some time to come up with the money.

So now I am older, but wiser, and I absolutely refuse to get sucked up into any more internet come-ons. My debit card will be used for food, medicine, and household needs only. Please warn any of your loved ones, who may be a little like me, to watch very carefully as they maneuver the internet. Some businesses advertizing on the internet do not always spell out what the consequences of buying their product are. They use terms like "trial" to cover up their true intentions without spelling out CLEARLY and VISUALLY the entire process that you are getting involved in.

                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I invite you to visit my website at: www.outskirtspress.com/thegodgames
I would also invite you to read my new book, THE GOD GAMES: Legend of Kor, available on the website and at amazon.com; Barnes & Noble.com & bookstores; and at www.outskirtspress.com

MALACHI: MESSENGER OF JOY

My dear friends, I am so sorry for the gap in postings. Shortly after the High Holidays I became ill and went to the hospital to discover that I am in acute renal failure. Of course, I am not taking this lying down and have changed my diet once again to try to improve kidney function. A dear friend has purchased a fruit and vegetable extractor/juicer for me and I am drinking lots of fresh beet juice and the juice of several green plants such as spinach, kale, parsley, celery, and chard. I have high hopes that this will begin a rejuvenation of the cells in my one operative kidney and perhaps even help out my left kidney which has calcified due to an overabundance of Ibuprofin which was prescribed for years by one of my doctors. Beware the NSAIDs and use with caution because they can cause a great deal of damage in some people-maybe most people-if prescribed at a high dosage for a long period of time.

William is still thriving and growing like a weed. The continued use of steroids to control his health problems has caused his body to put on weight, but William was so thin before that a little weight is welcome. They are weaning him down-slowly-and are also decreasing the amount of an anti-auto-immune medication that is pretty rough on the body. I have had the joy of seeing him respond to this treatment and begin to run and skip again, and even jump up and down. I know that might seem trifling compared to other children his age who are healthy and take part in sports and P.E., but for William to do this is a real miracle seeing as he had passed from life not four months ago and had to be resuscitated and then kept on life-support for two weeks. The other point of worry was when he returned to school this Fall and was among other children who might have colds or the flue beginning. He has not become ill and is very active with his friends, so a whole lot of prayers have been answered. Thank you!

On Sunday, the 22nd of September, the family was blessed with a new little person whom his parents- Walter Self and Lourdes Acosta-named Malachi William Self. Poor Lourdes had a very difficult delivery as she is a very tiny young woman and Malachi weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. She suffered so greatly that she had to finally have a C-section under total anesthesia instead of the usual epidural only. She had the epidural but it was insufficient as Malachi had gotten stuck on her pelvis bone in an almost-born position and the pain was overwhelming. Despite the pain that she is still very much in-the baby being so low in the birth canal they had to do a very long, vertical, incision-she is still going forward with nursing the baby herself. I love this young woman who is so strong and so passionate about caring for her baby even though her pain is still so great. She is going to make a wonderful mother. Walter is also distinguishing himself by waiting on Lourdes hand and foot and by taking total care of the baby while she is in so much pain. He loves being a father and adores his son whom he holds almost constantly. I'd say that this little boy is a very fortunate little guy.

Also, Lourdes was born in Puerto Rico and so we now have a little Hispanic baby in our very diverse family. Malachi is Black, Jewish, Puerto Rican, Native American, English, Scotch, and Irish; truly a child of the World. He is also a very calm and happy baby, but I am sure that part of that is because both of his parents give him 100% of their time and attention. Malachi means "Messenger of God" and I have a grandmother's intuition that this child will indeed be a messenger of love to the world. Want to thank the good Lord for the blessing of this child, and the love of his parents.

Thank you so much for hanging in there for me to write again. Sales of my first book in THE GOD GAMES TRILOGY are going profoundly slowly although it is receiving great reviews. I will shortly begin giving free readings of the book at libraries in my area and I am really looking forward to that. If you have not bought a copy of the book in either e-book or paperback form I encourage you to look it up at its website (www.outskirtspress.com/thegodgames) or on Amazon.com where the reviews are written. It is also available through Barnes & Noble.com (or in their bookstores). Thank you very much.

I am back on course and we shall be discussing many other topics in the next weeks. This week we shall be discussing those that prey upon the elderly poor; and gullible. Particularly the pitfalls of internet usage and the terms of offers made to seniors. Have an excellent day and thank you for your support and understanding.

KOL NIDRE (cont.)

History of our family Hirsch...

The Hirsch family has been frequently thrown out of country after country. Where they were allowed to live at all, they were made to live and carry out their businesses in ghettos which were usually walled completely around so as to contain the Jews to a certain area. They were allowed into the general towns and cities only to ply their trade and then had to return to the ghetto. Being considered as "Christ Killers" they were blamed for every illness that turned up, including the Black Plague, and were suspected of poisoning the wells and killing young Christian children-sometimes even of cannibalism. They were considered as a scourge and all evil deeds and unfortunate occurrences were laid at their doors; they were the scape-goats of society. After trouble in a land, there would be destruction of Jewish property and usually the Jews residing in the town were thrown out into the wilds of nature with only what they could carry. And so the Hirsch family migrated from Israel > Italy > Spain > Germany > Russia > America escaping the constant pogroms that were inevitable. The move from Spain to Germany was to escape the Inquisition where Jews were forced to be baptized into the Catholic Church or to be tortured and burned alive at the stake, or boiled in oil, if they would not convert.

The Kol Nidre is chanted each evening before the start of Erev Yom Kippur to remember the forced vows of the oppressors and disavow them or any other vows they may have unwisely made during the past year. It underlines the reason that we all need to repent of the sins and omissions we may have committed during the past year and do teshuvah (turn away from our sins, which is the correct translation of the word "repentance" [teshuvah] in the Torah).

The movement of the Hirsch family from Germany to Russia was brought about by increased persecution in Germany followed by an offer from the Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great, to re-locate Jewish farmers to Southwest Russia and farm vast open fields to help her improve Russia. (Not many Russians were living in that area-kind of like our prairies before the pioneers arrived [which is probably why when they came to America they chose the prairie states/territories to settle in].)

A generation back from great-grandfather, Henry Hirsch, there was a marriage-by his parents-of second cousins (both families were Hirsch's but from different families). The family has a tradition that they are related to Rabbi Samson Abraham Hirsch, the great leader of the Hasidic Movement in Germany. (We have a book by him that will belong to Skeeta II, who was given his name for his Hebrew name. There is a picture of Rabbi Hirsch in the back of this book, and the book currently resides in my library.)

Aunt Becky used to have a dream where she was from a Spanish family and I was actually her child. She used to love that dream and felt that we must be descended from a Spanish family. I think she is remembering a past life game and not that her father's father was Spanish (of course he was during the middle ages) in this life game. My apologies to anyone in the family who is invested in the thought that Grandpa Albert Hirsch is not their real grandfather, because he definitely is.

Let me wish everyone who reads this an excellent Yom Tov (Good Day, usually a sabbath or special religious day's greeting). This evening at sundown begins Yom Kippur which is an entire 24 hours devoted to repentance (teshuvah) and fasting, as we prepare ourselves for this New Year by recommitting ourselves to our growth towards righteousness and praising the glory of God. May you all be blessed this year of 5774 as we await the arrival of Malachi William Self, who is due to arrive on Simcha Torah (Joy of the Torah) to his parents, Walter Self and Lourdes Acosta.

Our Hirsch family is growing by leaps and bounds and thanks our Heavenly Father for being preserved as a unit filled with love and attracting others of different faiths, beliefs, and descent.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

Davida Ruth bat Avraham Aveenu

KOL NIDRE

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME AND TO ALL OF MY DESCENDANTS:

Regarding the premise that your grandfather, Charles Albert Hirsch, had a Spanish father and not his father, Albert Martin Hirsch.

All of my children's grandfather, paternal side, is Albert Martin Hirsch, son of Henry Hirsch and Karoline Schafer Hirsch.

If you need any proof of this, go to Alpena, South Dakota, and look up one of your many, many Hirsch cousins. You-all of you-look exactly like them. I mean, you will think you are looking in a mirror. Your grandfather is Albert Martin Hirsch. You are from German Jewish stock and that includes the darker complexion, kinky black hair, and dark brown eyes.

Albert Hirsch was as great a grandfather as grandpa Pearson, and grandpa Pearson was a living saint-filled with love-so you understand the comparison I make. Grandpa Hirsch was such a loving and supportive father to me and we love each other very much. Some of you never got the chance to meet him because he died before Charlie was born, but he adored Debby and Becky and always carried one of Debby's barrettes and one of Becky's pacifiers in his right front pocket. When he died, your grandfather and I placed the barrette, the pacifier, and one of Charlie's diaper pins into the earth-we dug a little hole- at the left side at the head of his coffin and buried those three items. Your grandfather was so anxious to have grandsons, and he was anticipating Charlie's birth when he passed. Albert Martin Hirsch is buried in the cemetery at Ruthven, Iowa where he was a mechanic for John Deere and later worked in a garage as chief mechanic. He was voted Iowa's "Mechanic of the Year", but I'm not sure which year-either in late 1940's or 1950's.

As I was saying, your cousins in South Dakota know they are Jewish, but are of the Lutheran faith. The Hirsch family founded a little Lutheran Church in a small town in the area somewhere around Alpena. Your grandparents, Henry and Karoline Hirsch immigrated to South Dakota from Russia where they had been driven out after a pogrom. Southwest Russia. Neuarizia and Puterstahl were the names of the towns. They were farmers and tailors and, of course, Hasidic Jews. Their story is told in the movie, Fiddler on the Roof. To understand their lives, I highly recommend watching this movie, then you may understand why when they-and many other Jews-came to America and dispersed from Ellis Island to the northern Mid-West (SD, MN, IA, NE, ND), they then claimed to be German (not German-Jews) and converted to the Lutheran Church which is a Church with origins in Germany. (The Reformation-the beginning of the Protestant Movement and covers everyone except for Catholics and Mormons.)


Tomorrow we will look at our Hirsch family over the centuries, as we prepare for Yom Kippur and the Kol Nidre.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

UPDATE ON THE 12-STEP PROGRAM

Well, I have fallen off the wagon twice now. Each time because I let my goals slip past me and didn't follow through on the program. Last night was the second time I folded and overindulged in sugar. I'm a little scared to look at my blood glucose this morning, but I write my numbers down so I shall have to look at this morning's number for a long time and it will remind me to proceed with caution in my diet. How can I have will power in some areas, and almost none in others? I still have a lot of growing up to do.

Another thought has been racking my mind. I am operating in a bubble as to how many, if any, books I have sold since June 2013. There are absolutely no records as to what has been happening with the book and I am becoming quite worried. Many folks have told me that they have bought the book, but I don't know if it was an e-book or a print book that they bought. That is the only problem I have had with Outskirts Press, they don't let you know anything for about the first three months about how your book is selling. I guess I must just have to have patience, because after that initial three months you do learn regularly how the book is doing. I have days when I believe the book is doing well, counterbalanced with fear that not a single book has been bought by anyone. Now, after reading my second review and having a professional reader say that my book is offensive to her, I worry that I may have offended others as well. The people who talk to me about the book all seem to love it and have started asking for a sequel-which is being revised as we speak. If you would care to read the two reviews that my book has generated-one a five-star review that raved about the book, and the second that really took exception to my book-gave me three-stars but said that I had offended her mightily. Anyway, if you are interested, you can find the reviews by going to amazon.com/books and then search for "THE GOD GAMES: Legend of Kor". When the book description is given there is a place for reviews from your readers and you click on the number of reviews and it takes you to the review page. I would sure love to hear about your reactions to the reviews, or your thoughts about how the book has affected you.

Thank you for bearing with me in the more depressed times as well as the good news times. You give me the inspiration I need to keep on the path of positivity. I guess that I'm having fear and doubt when I should be creating positive messages from what has already come to pass. Thank you for your continued support!

Would you care for the url that takes you to my book's web-page? There you will find a reading from the book and other information:  www.outskirtspress.com/thegodgames

Have a wonderful day, and may it all be positive!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

IT IS NOT A SIN TO THINK

Recently it has been brought to my attention that there are a goodly number of people who earnestly believe that it is actually a sin to think past a certain point. And that that point is established by a person, or institution, in great authority over the person who is attempting to think. For instance, as a child I belonged to a fundamentalist evangelical Christian denomination. I was taught that God would never allow man to go to the moon; that it was against His will to even try; it was a sin to even think those thoughts. Centuries ago it was an automatic auto-da-fe (being burned alive at the stake) for anyone unwise enough to think thoughts that were not part of the Church's written dogma. In my church it was an automatic shunning for anyone who dared to think out of the box, or question a point of doctrine. Unfortunately for my finding any place to rest my beliefs in, I went from church to church seeking new insights and challenging my former beliefs, only to find that I still had questions and had found no one to answer them.

But what I did find was a very personal relationship with ONE. ONE expressed as the greatest Force of all, LOVE. To this Force of Love I opened my mind and the questions started to fly and have not stopped yet. I question everyone and everything seeking to find the answers to my questions and the entire Cosmos has exploded around me and it is vast and beautiful; filled with peace and love.

To think is the pathway to knowledge of all creation. ONE created us with huge brains, of which we average about 6% usage here on Earth. Start questioning and developing your own thoughts and you will be surprised at what pops up. Those brief thoughts that flew through your mind in childhood and young adulthood, that you never spoke of because the thoughts were too precious to take a chance on someone throwing mud on them. Dare to think those thoughts, study what others are thinking, open your mind to new subjects-subjects that are supposedly off the network. What will happen if you dare to think for yourself? The world will open up to you and you can begin to make good decisions about where you are headed to in life; good choices.

Most humans attempt to box God into a belief system with very rigid boundaries. They despise science because science dares to ask questions and think out of the box. What harm is there in allowing science to challenge current thoughts about creation-for example? What real difference does it make what science finds to be true, because whatever science discovers it will be the unfolding knowledge of God's mind. What is, is ONE.

Science discovers what makes things tick and questions everything it finds for answers as to how everything is put together and what makes it all work. They are the thinkers of great new thoughts and ideas. Ideas that they turn into useful and life-saving products for all of the planet.

It is not a sin to think or to leave your mind open to the flow of ideas and concepts. You don't have to change your beliefs unless you choose to; but to leave your mind closed to new thoughts and ideas is to strangle your expression of life and live a half-life. ONE gave you a good mind and often puts thoughts in your mind that would open up your experience to new levels. Finding a truth for yourself that makes your heart sing with joy, that is the great adventure of life. In the end we judge our own selves and we are our own worst critic. Will you be proud of the way you met your challenges? Or will you cringe in the shadows of knowing that you were a poor steward of the treasure that the Master had left in your care; your mind?

ONE has never given a commandment to stop thinking; instead ONE has given man a boundless curiosity from birth to death and beyond. Thinking is actually a sacred obligation to become aware, to question, and to grow.

Never give up the right to think; it is your basic human right.