IRS Doesn't Forgive The Forgiven

From credit card debt to student loans, any debt that is forgiven could be taxed by the IRS. The IRS considers forgiven debt a type of income. More specifically, the IRS defines this act as a cancellation of debt. According to the IRS, a cancellation of debt is any money borrowed from a lender which the lender later forgives or cancels. In these cases, the lender is required to file a Form 1099-C with the IRS. This form is also known as the Cancellation of Debt form.

So how do you know which forgiven debts are taxable? The Wall Street Journal addressed this issue, noting not only that the IRS keeps an eye out for taxable forms of debt forgiveness, but also that 1099-C forms can be filled out by lenders incorrectly. As a result, tax payers need to be aware of what forms of forgiven debt qualify for an exception and double check 1099-C forms for errors. These are not easy tasks. However, when watching for forms of debt that qualify, the following guidelines can help:
- Home. In some cases, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 can protect a taxpayer from added tax liability. This law was passed to help those who face financial difficulty due to mortgages used to "buy, build or substantially improve" a principle residence. The Act allows married couples to qualify for protection of up to two million dollars in indebtedness secured by the home.
- Bankrupt. If an individual is struggling with credit card debt and is able to come to an agreement with the credit company that the borrower will pay off a certain amount and the creditor will forgive the rest, the forgiven amount is taxable. If, however, a similar agreement is made during a bankruptcy proceeding, bankruptcy laws may protect the borrower from additional taxation. The IRS specifically notes that debts forgiven through certain bankruptcy proceedings are not considered taxable income.
- Insolvent. If the debt is more than the fair market value of the asset, the tax payer is considered insolvent. This can extend to include items like books, cars, homes, stocks and retirement accounts. The amount forgiven of an insolvent debt is generally not taxed.

These are just a few instances that can be exempt from taxation. Navigating through the various laws associated with taxes, insolvency and bankruptcy can be difficult. As a result, those who find themselves in these situations should contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney. This legal professional will be able to review your unique situation and help you consider which options are best for your financial situation.

Article provided by Parker & Associates
Visit us at www.ninaparker.com

Build Your Own Web Site

Build

Your Web Site

With WordPress!

FACT:  This is not just me talking, WordPress is one of the most widely used and the most popular blogging platforms available -- despite the numerous alternatives available.
This fact is established from data found on the recent poll of 100 of the most popular blogs as conducted and released by Pingdom, a company that runs service tests for website uptime.
The survey found that 48% of bloggers use WordPress as their preferred platform. They also commented on the system's importance and usefulness as a powerful Content Management System (CMS).
Of the 48% surveyed, 39% of them use WordPress software in-house, while others use the hosted service established at WordPress.com.
Many other surveys have yielded similar results as well. W3Techs, an Internet- based survey company, also recently released the results of its own poll, which showed that 54% of its website-respondents use WordPress as their preferred site building platform.
Basically all you need are 3 simple things.
A header image, or a banner, if you will
A background image -- or simply choose a color

ADD YOUR CONTENT

Yes!  That is it.  The header and the background will appear on all of the pages, and your content will be poured into preset packaging space.  You might think there are only 7 permutations to work with, but that is very definitely NOT the case!
First of all, there are tens of thousands of themes to choose from.  Each theme tweaks the manner in which your content will be displayed to your visitors.  And THAT is just the beginning!
There are widgets ready to go to work immediately to do your express bidding, and there are PLUGINS available that will provide you with some serious, minute manipulative powers.  You will have permutations and options coming out your ears, if you aren't careful.
Your visitors can sign themselves up for your mailing list and choose how to keep themselves posted on the important changes at your web site.  Plus, they can make comments to your posts, and even contribute posts to your site, if you choose to let them do so.  On top of that there are hundreds of ways to monetize your web site.
You can add pictures, audios, and even videos if you choose and where you choose.
Here's the Bottom Line.  WordPress is currently, obviously and literally nominated- by THOUSANDS of actual users - to be the most popular system on earth.  It is acclaimed by thousands of users from every conceivable station in life and every educational attainment level around the world to be the most functional and easy-to-use platforms available today.
Its users range from rugged mountaineers running family communication sites -- to powerful companies and organizations running massive portals of International commerce.
And once you are good at creating simple web sites, you are ready to reap the profit potential found in developing blogs and Then Flipping Them For Profit..."
The WordPress news is spreading rapidly.

Consequently, an astounding number of functioinal, pre-existing website owners are voluntarily switching to the WordPress Publishing platform every day.
Installing WordPress
As you and I have already discussed briefly, Simple WordPress installations are fast and easy.  Once you have worked out the essential permutations, you can perform the entire process in 5 minutes or less, occasionally!  Of course that only happens if you, or your client, already know what you want.
If you are using a web hosting service with tools like FANTASTICO it will facilitate the process even further with automatic installation.
Incredible as this may sound to you right now, ALL you have to do is log into your hosting control panel, navigate to Fantastico, choose YOUR Site's NAME and click install.  You will be given the option of installing WordPress into the main directory of your website or in a sub-folder which will allow you to have just as many -- multiple installations as you think you need.
Don't worry if your hosting doesn't support automatic installation. You can also install it manually simply by downloading the files to your computer, then uploading them to your web hosting. Make a few quick adjustments to ensure proper functionality and BOOM you are driving on the Internet.
Believe me, I am not exaggerating one bit just how incredibly easy this process is.
If you must install your WordPress manually it is still dead simple easy!  Simply migrate your browser to http://www.wordpress.org/download -- and you can choose to install the very latest release of this powerful content management system in a matter of seconds.
Best of all --

You don't even need a credit card! You don't need check or cash, either! I am talking absolutely, literally, and completely --  FREE!
Of course, if you prefer, you can choose one of the earlier versions, which you may already be familiar with. After downloading, unzip the package to a specific folder on your hard drive that you know how to find, and follow the simple instructions provided.
That is IT!
Here, I will show you how,
right HERE.  Listen UP!


- Setting up WordPress
After completing the installation process, setting up some basic aspects of your WordPress site will be necessary to make it look and function exactly the way you want it to. You will want to take some time to customize your personal or business profile information by clicking the ‘Users’ tab and going to ‘Your Profile.’
You will also want to go through each of the general settings so that you can customize the way your content and pages are displayed. from there you can add in the name of your site, a description, how many posts will display on your main page as well as set up static pages for specific information. You can do this by going to: ‘Administration,’ then click ‘Settings’ and ‘General.’

If you want to disclose information about yourself so you can build up your site’s credibility, fill in ‘About’ and ‘Contact’ with corresponding data. Just go to ‘Administration’ tab, click on ‘Pages,’ and select ‘Add New.’ To modify the appearance of your WordPress blog, go to ‘Administration,’ then choose ‘Appearance, and ‘Themes.’
And don't forget you can search the WordPress Theme Directory with thousands of available and applicable themes to choose from. You select and install a theme that is appropriate for your sites topic.
- Using WordPress Plug-ins

After going through the process of setting up and installing WordPress, it will be time to consider adding in ‘Plug-ins’ to make your WordPress site more useful and appealing to readers. These handy programs can add functionality and usability to your site with a few simple clicks. They can help you customize information, add editing or spell check features, manage updates, create custom posts, automate SEO, enhance social sharing and much more.

Choosing from any of the plug-ins listed in the WordPress plug-in directory is easy and will make your site much more interesting, appealing, and useful to readers. You can manage your plug-ins by activating, deactivating, editing, updating, or deleting them from within your WordPress dashboard.
Once you begin using WordPress and become more familiar with it, you will discover that the platform is simple to navigate as well as extremely powerful.
Building a business website with WordPress can definitely work to your advantage. This is especially true for small or startup enterprises simply because WordPress is free and so easy to use. it can be used to help companies, big or small to establish an online presence and target consumers faster than other site building platforms.
What a lot of people don't realize is that it is so powerful that it can be used for more than just blogging. as a matter of fact they are amazed to find out that WordPress is an extremely powerful content management system capable of creating large databases full of     information.
WordPress was originally designed as a blogging tool. Yes, but precisely because it is open source, also means that the brightest minds on the planet have found it immensely satisfying to produce new web site making tools with it.
I personally have 325 themes lying about that I can turn into personal web sites for others in less than 10 hours!

That includes everything

from storefront
to handcrafted buttons,
headers and backgrounds.

When I finish, the new owner walks in
and shuts me out.
S\he is through with me
and ready for business.

Phone me at, 1-405 872-5556   or write to me at talewins@gmail.com  and let's get something professional moving here, for you.  Prices start at 50 dollars for the first 10 hours. How fast we finish is decided by how fast you can answer my questions to your satisfaction.

Here are 3 copies of one sample

of my seamless backgrounds that interlockfrom side to side and from top to bottom

And, click on these 3 headers

to see them in full size!

There are also thousands of people in the internet world that create extensions for the Wordpress program.  worked with them and you can have the most beautiful website on earth created especially for you.  Their prices are even cheaper than mine.

I'm betting you can't imagine how many free themes and ratings, among hundreds of other options, are available to you for free.

Look in the right places and you will not have to pay the hefty price you would normally have to for a web designer because these extensions will allow you to do it for yourself.
Don't get me wrong, there are many other platforms.

I have one amazing theme that makes my web site resemble Pinterest.  It even lets my visitors PIN items on Pinterest without a moment of hesitation. Plus likes from Google Plus, FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc. are easy to make.  I can set up one for you in a matter of hours if you are interested in having it all done for you -- including buttons, headers, emblems and triple-deck SEO.

Therefore, you no longer have to use WordPress just for blogging anymore. With just a few updates, the right themes and plug-ins it can be used to build any type of website –
and do it faster than other, more traditional methods.

Just the fact that Wordpress was once upon a time, originally designed for a blogging platform gives Wordpress some compelling advantages. It is no the preferred web launching platform, because it is designed for easy publishing and changing your content whenever it is needed.

Now let's quickly go over some of the major advantages of using WordPress to build a business website: There are a few adjustments that you will need to make but overall there are several SEO benefits that Wordpress provides to your site, for free. This saves you a considerable amount of time and effort that is usually needed when you are creating your site to be SEO optimized.

Another great advantage of Wordpress for small business owners is that the content is easily updated and you will not even have to know any HTML to get it done either.
This is another great way for you to save money when you are first creating your site.  You can easily create new pages or edit your existing pages using the simple, rich text editor.
- It's easy to find help
If you happen to run into a problem or wish to add on custom features, it is very easy for you to find support as there are thousands of Wordpress developers available on the net. All you need to do is type in Wordpress support in your favorite search engine and you will be amazed at the results that you will get.
- It's easy to install and use

As we have discussed before one of the main benefits for small business owners is that Wordpress is easy to install and use. There are many companies that also offer help with your quick install to get your site up and running in no time.

Putting up a new site with WordPress requires making several decisions including choosing the perfect WordPress theme to use. Not surprisingly, this can be a challenging task, especially because there are literally thousands of free and paid themes available to choose from.

When it comes to choosing the right WordPress theme to use for your site be prepared because it may require patience, knowledge, and a solid understanding of which features are most important to you to make a final decision. To help narrow down your choices you should start by making a list of key features and designs elements you want to include on your site before looking for available options.

Contrary to popular belief WordPress is much more than a blogging platform. As I mentioned earlier, it is also a powerful content management system (CMS) enabling its users to easily customize the look and function of their websites with relative ease. It's ease of use makes it an extremely functional tool that can be used to design website virtually any type of according to user specific preferences.

Another thing that makes WordPress so popular is that there are thousands of ready-made themes and plug-ins available to help make building a site with it much easier than with other web design software. Ultimately making it the go to tool when it comes to design flex     ability and functionality.

Many WordPress competitors have been steadily losing their hold on top spots of blogging platform surveys for the last several years. For instance, Movable Type, the second most popular blogging platform after WordPress based on the 2012 list, was the blog of choice of only seven bloggers from 12 (preceding survey of Pingdom).

TypePad (another blogging platform) was used by only two blogs from 16 in 2009. Newer competitors are slowly gaining popularity, though there is no clear indication that they can be at par with the system. Drupal, which started in 2001, and Tumblr, introduced in 2007, are among those. With several other blogging platforms obtaining insignificant number of users.

Of course, the founder of WordPress was very pleased with the survey results and expressed no surprise about the findings. Matt Mullenweg remains confident that the rise in the popularity of this powerful system as a blogging and site building platform is expected to continue for many years to come.

In fact with the growing social media marketing trend more and more businesses are currently starting blogs to complement their existing websites to help facilitate consumer interaction, with many of them making the switch to the Wordpress platform completely.
With its ease of use and so many powerful features there is little doubt that WordPress will remain superior to other platforms developed and offered by competitors making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to develop their own fully functional and user-friendly website.

Bottom line, by using WordPress to build and manage your website you'll be amazed at the results you can achieve.

To find out even more about all of the powerful features that WordPress has to offer you can visit: http://wordpress.org

For the hosted version (which is great for beginners) visit: http://wordpress.com

WordPress is used by millions of people around the globe and is ranked the most preferred by individuals, businesses and organizations of all sizes. This is not surprising because this powerful platform is much easier to use and more functional compared to all other blogging and CMS systems available. Most users rave about how the platform contains everything they could ever want and need for creation and maintenance of their own sites.
And to make it even better this system is continuously evolving and growing, making WordPress more useful and functional everyday. This is largely based on the fact that this powerful platform is open source, giving it the power to grow limitlessly and making it more than an average blogging platform.

So, what else makes WordPress so great? WordPress is free for anyone with access to the Internet to use. You can simply go to WordPress.com, create an account and start posting, which is a great option for absolute beginners. Or it can be installed on your own domain with just a few clicks of your mouse, usually from within your hosting dashboard. Alternatively it can be downloaded and installed manually.

After you have chosen the most suitable way to install WordPress for your needs you can begin taking advantage of all of its powerful features immediately. To improve the look and feel of your WordPress site there are wide varieties of free themes and plug-ins that you can install and use to make building your site quick and easy.

For instance, there are plug-ins that will help facilitate sharing, bookmarking and sending e-mails to help promote social sharing of your content. Plug-ins that will help you manage content, display video, password protect and set up membership sites with ease.

There are also thousands free themes and high-end paid themes offered through third-party providers at minimal costs that provide a multitude of features for full customization. Once you begin exploring your options you will find that you can easily choose specialized themes according to specific topics, design and function.


You can also use WordPress widgets to help increase functionality. These handy little widgets can be quickly added to your websites sidebar to make your website more interactive for your visitors. The great thing about them is that you don't really have to know anything about how they work, all you do is drag and drop them where you want them and they do all the work for you.

And that's just the beginning, there are virtually thousands of options available that will give you the freedom and control you need to set up your site exactly the way you want it.
The basic administration interface makes WordPress extremely easy to use. Quick navigation features allow the users you approve to instantly post and schedule content from within the dashboard with a fully functional text editor, so that your posts can be customized to suit your needs.Quick navigation features allow the users you approve to instantly post and schedule content from within the dashboard with a fully functional text editor, so that your posts can be customized to suit your needs.

Don't be afraid to play around with the admin area. Once you have taken the time to get to know all of the options that are available you will find even more easy ways to customize your site. While it may seem a little bit confusing at first the more time you spend working with WordPress the more you will come to understand how powerful it can     be.

One extremely nice thing about working with WordPress is that help is never far away whether it be from outside users or from the WordPress site it self you can literally find help with any aspect of building your WordPress site.

Just perform a simple search and it will turn up numerous documents, courses, videos and step-by-step tutorials that can help you learn exactly what you need to know.

You can also join one of the many growing communities of WordPress users around the world. There you will find people openly sharing insights, tips and techniques about how to use this powerful platform.

As of 2011, over 15 million sites across the globe were powered by WordPress with that number growing every day. In fact, this powerful content management system accounts for more than 25% of all the new websites created!

The flexibility and adaptability sprouting from this system is the precise reason its popularity belching vigorous growth every place you look. With thousands of site developers and bloggers raving about how easy it is to setup and install WordPress there's little doubt that it is one terrific option for beginners and experienced users alike.

    +++
Now let's go over a few more tips that can help you choose the best WordPress theme possible:

- Consider the cost
There are many WordPress themes that are available for free. You can readily choose and apply any of those. However, if you want other themes other than those offered for free, you may choose from a set of themes that can be chosen and installed for specific tag prices. Many top-of-the-line themes should be purchased online.

Numerous WordPress users use both paid and free themes, depending on the design and layout of their online sites. If you are ready to spend for your blog, choosing and installing any of available paid themes can be considered as an investment. If you have the technical     expertise, you may also opt to design and create your own WordPress theme.

- Prioritize navigation

The best choice for a blog theme is not necessarily the one that looks fantastic. Be warned that many theme designers focus solely on the aesthetics without considering overall usability. Be cautious when choosing overly decorative themes or those that feature excessive graphics because those may possibly slow down your Website’s upload speed, which in turn may drive readers away.

Always consider ease of navigation when choosing WordPress themes. Online visitors to your site should find it easier to navigate within and around your blog. To be sure, check out each theme’s demo first before choosing and installing the one that fits your blog.
- Check browser compatibility

Many bloggers disregard and neglect browser compatibility when choosing and installing themes for their blogs. Do not fall for the same mistake. Some professional theme designers thoroughly test their designs on every browser available prior to releasing those across the Internet. Unfortunately many others do not even bother to do so.
Specific WordPress themes may look different when opened on various browsers. Those may not look exactly as you intended. To be safe, choose a theme that has been tested extensively for browser compatibility. And do not forget to check it yourself before applying any theme to your WordPress blog.
- Look for AdSense optimized themes
If you intend to generate revenue from your blog, look for and choose Adsense optimized themes. Those include spots that display AdSense advertisements that have been tested to entice readers. Such themes also make it easier to add AdSense codes, which would be most useful if you have limited knowledge about HTML.

Lastly, choose WordPress themes that would allow you to eventually introduce several changes. It is not surprising that many of those will enable you to do so. You may alter overall color schemes, background images, and number of columns even with just a few clicks of the mouse.

If you want your WordPress site to get noticed then you have to do everything possible to get it ranked higher on the search engines. It's not enough to produce and post informative and engaging content or making your site easier to navigate, read, and share via the social networks, like Google+ and FaceBook.

Driving more traffic to your site can be a challenge but with WordPress and a few of the following tips you can optimize your site and boost your search engine rankings.
- Use Self-Optimizing Titles


WordPress, by default, puts the site title before the title of the entry or post.  This works great for you if that's what you are featuring.  For example, ROSEROCKS is all you are selling and you have only 12 pages to your web site -- then that's what you want.

This may not be favorable if you want to place higher in search engine rankings for a variety of subjects.  Pink RoseRocks, RoseRock Sculptures, CityWide Events -- and so forth. Then an effective strategy to optimize your WordPress site is to put your blog post title first before anything else.

When the content of your post is more important than anything else you might want to organize by numbers, dates, tags or varieties.

There are advantages to doing so. First, most search engines like blogs where titles of posts come first. Such an order enables them to put importance to keywords that are usually present in titles.  Second, an optimized and descriptive title is a significant aspect of page search engine optimization. Titles enable search engines and readers to determine the content of the page before they visit the site.

- Using meta descriptions

WordPress automatically generates meta descriptions for every blog using the system.

However, you may want to make sure that your site will have effective keyword index for better SEO. To ensure higher search engine ranking, manually type a good description per post. Combine a keyword-rich title and matching description and see how the strategy boosts search traffic.

It is also a good idea to install and use a WordPress plugin specifically designed to enhance search engine optimization. One popular plug-in that comes highly recommended is "All In One SEO". It is designed to create and post a matching description for each title and post. It also helps optimize your meta descriptions.

- Describing post images

Use ‘alt’ and ‘title’ attributes when describing images or posting captions in your blog entries. Adding short descriptions of images using ideal keywords can bolster search engine traffic and ranking. It is a common mistake of many WordPress blog owners to neglect the use of such attributes when posting images.

When saving images, provide a simple and short name with a dash in between every keyword. Thus, if you have a photo of a California sushi bar, the image file should be named as: California-sushi-bar.jpg. Underscore can be used to replace the dash (California_sushi_bar.jpg).

- Use Permalinks

You need to be sure that you are using permalinks on your WordPress site. By default your WordPress software contains web URL’s which contain question marks and numbers inside of them. These links are hard for the search engine web crawlers to attach themselves to. As a result your site will not be indexed as fast as it would normally be. WordPress also, however, does offer you the opportunity to create custom URL’s for both your permalinks and archives. You will be able to find this option under your Administration panel. All you will have to do is to choose the options panel then click on permalinks.

- Optimize Your Titles

In the permalinks section of your WordPress marketing software you have the option of date and name based. This option will place the year, month, date, and post title in your URL. For the SEO web crawlers it is best to have the TITLE of your site appear in the front of this URL. So instead of using the basic URL you should choose the custom URL and create a link that has your site name appearing first.

- Pay attention to tags

Tags are a great addition to your site on a SEO standpoint. They will enable the search engines web crawlers’ crawl through your site more easily and also it will allow you to create specific pages for your tags and keywords. You can also install the Ultimate Tag Warrior for your WordPress.

- Creating Great Page Titles

You will need to make sure you have good titles on all of your webpages. Just as you put the site name at the beginning of your URL you will need to do the same thing with your page title.

- Post titles

The post titles that you choose should be clearly written. Do not stuff these titles with keywords that you are using to target your site or blog. Choose your keywords carefully when you are posting and get those words in your post title.

- Ping services

Each time you post or edit either a posting or a page your Wordpress blog can be made to notify a variety of different sites of the fact that you have updated your blog. It is very important that you use this step.

Once you have your web site set up, simply go to your administration area then move down to SETTINGS, then WRITING.  Drop on down to UPDATE SERVICES.  Add the pingers, just ONE PER LINE.  Save, and you're done.  EVERY POST YOU MAKE, and EVERY TIME YOU REWRITE A POST these servers will tell ALL their subscribers that you have done so, automatically.

- Google sitemaps

Google has a tool for you that are called Google Sitemaps. This tool will help you index your site and allows you to tell Google which pages are the most important.

- Using Categories To Drive Traffic
-- will help you organize your content. If you have your permalinks turned on, the category names will appear in your URL. This is why it is very important that you name your category names very carefully. Try and make sure that you use keywords to name your categories and do not be afraid to make loads of them. WordPress gives you the ability to use sub categories and sub-subcategories so make as many categories you can. This way you are able to down your focus on certain keyword phrases.

Creating a WordPress site that is SEO ready is fairly simple when you use the proper tools and follow a few simple rules. Using the steps we discussed in this issue can help you create a great SEO friendly site in no time.

Plug-Ins are a WordPress users best friend, because of their ease of use and functionality. Without them, a Wordpress site will be relatively empty, unprotected, lack functionality, and require much more maintenance.

Currently, there are over 21,000 available plug-ins in Wordpress’ directory that are free and easy to use. Generally, these plug-ins are created for a specific purpose and can be used to enhance the look and function of your site quickly and easily.

The way Wordpress is designed (open source) allows people to create plug-ins or add-ons that improve the interface or provide more control over how your site looks and functions. The right plug-ins give you the ability to shape your site into just about anything you want.
However, there are useless plug-ins and plug-ins that don't function well together. So you need to choose carefully, because the wrong plug-ins can slow down the load speed of your site and even stop it from functioning completely. That is why it's important to think before you activate. It's also a good idea to limit the amount of plug-ins you install on your site to only the most beneficial and necessary.

When choosing which plug-ins to install you should start by making a list of the features you would like to include in your site design. Then only choose plug-ins that will help you achieve those goals and work to enhance the function of your site.

In order to use a plugin, you simply have log into your WordPress dashboard, navigate to the add new section under "Plugins" on your sidebar and begin searching for the plug-ins you would like to install. From within the dashboard installing a plug-in is as easy as clicking on install now next to the plug-in you've chosen and then activating it.

Alternatively you can download, unzip and upload your new plug-in to your server under the public_html/yourblogdirectory/wp-content/plugins  directory. Then you log into your dashboard and activate the plugin from there.

Now let's go over a few simple guidelines that will help you identify which plug-in's will work best for your site:

- Know what you really need

Sort out the ideal-plug-ins according to necessity. If you are running an online store and financial transactions take place all the time, your website will be a sitting duck for hackers, so you might want to install a plug- in that prevents hackers from getting through and stealing the credit card details of your customers or one that detects suspicious log-ins.
- Check the credibility of the plug-in author

While, it is not hard to trust a person or a group that obviously has an established reputation on the web I always filter through the description to see if the author knows how to write well in English.  If they can't spell or use English properly, they could make coding mistakes that don't show up immediately -- but can do irreparable damage the longer you use the plug in.  I have bought my own plug-ins and urge you to do so as well.  The service I use is the golden membership provided by Resell Weekly.  Once you are a member use the links at the top of the page to click on PRODUCT SEARCH.  Search for PLUG-INS, and choose the ones you want most.  The newest plug-ins will appear at the top of the list.  The owner of this site usually grabs the best ones very soon after they have been created.

Before installing any plug-in it's a good idea to investigate its author, check out its reviews and make sure there aren't any complaints from other users. This way you can be sure that you're installing a plug-in that will not damage your site.

- Compare quality and ratings

Product comparison is the key to determining which plug-ins will work best for your site. Usually, you can narrow down your choices by comparing ratings and feedback that are provided in the plug-in directory. These ratings will help you gauge the credibility and popularity of the plug-in and it's author.

Just think of yourself as a smart online shopper and don't hit the ‘add to cart’ button until you have done your research and determined which product will work best for you and then remember the same caution must be practiced when ‘shopping’ for free or premium plug-ins.

While a WordPress site is already functional by itself, there are additional tasks that you can do to make it more functional.
- Do your half of the SEO

Most Wordpress sites have built-in SEO-friendly programs that aims to have your site indexed automatically once it goes up. However, this is part of the on-site search engine optimization. There is still one fragment of the whole package that you should take care of and this is called off-site search engine optimization.
Yes, making it more functional is in your hands now and you can add more traffic and exposure to your website by performing extra tasks like link-building, article directory submissions, blog commenting, etc. At the same time, you can add supplementary SEO plug-ins to make intensify your website’s performance.
- Provide added convenience

Adding custom contact forms is fancy but very convenient for your site visitors, members, or customers. Wordpress does have built-in contact forms which you can also customize but if you are meticulous, you can always install special plug-ins that lets you design your own contact forms. How does it make your site more functional? Attractive designs always leave a good impression on your visitors, credibility- and sophistication-wise. This would make them want to come back.

- Do not overcrowd your site with plug-ins with low ratings

Although plug-ins do not generally slow down the loading time of your website, they do mess up your site one way or another, especially the ones with very poor rating. If you must install certain plug-in for security and SEO, choose only the ones that have mass appeal. This way you can be sure that they are from credible authors and your site would work the way you want them to, and then some.

- Mind the tags, taxonomies, and descriptions

This is actually supposed to be part of the SEO work but most site owners regard these small details irrelevant, which is actually not true. Tags, taxonomies, and descriptions are the windows to your site. Major search engines depend their indexing methods through these. For example, title tags and descriptions with related keywords will be easily found and indexed by Google increasing your page rank and traffic.

- Regular updates

Many website owners hope to generate profit from their website without sitting for long hours in front of the computer. Setting up an SEO-friendly Wordpress website often gives them the impression that it would run on auto-pilot so they sit around the whole day and still expect a substantial amount of check at the end of the month.

Wrong! Constant updating is needed to make the Wordpress site ‘more’ functional. Sure, WP does its part but it only makes things ‘more’ convenient for you. That does not mean it would work for you. You still have to take over the important functions that will make it     more profitable.

Many things can be done in order to make your site more functional and these are just some of the few suggestions. In time, you will be able to discover them one by one as you spend time with it.

Secure your WordPress site against hacking.

Security has become a major concern for post 9/11 website owners and users alike. If a hacker thinks you have something in your website database That they want they won't even think twice about trying to hack in and take it. Whether it be your list of email contacts or your customers credit card information. They will go to great lengths to invade     your privacy for their own personal gain.

They use sneaky tactics, embed malware and change the code in your website files all in an attempt to download your information, your customers information, your products or simply to sabotage your site for no apparent reason. it doesn't matter whether your site is big or small if they can find a way in, chances are you'll lose everything.

For the average site administrator, using systematic codes might be a bit complex, but thanks to Wordpress promoting multiple security measures there are a wide variety of plug-ins available to help you protect your site from vicious hackers.

 Let's go over a few:
- Use Firewalls

Aside from the firewall built into your web browser, Wordpress also has firewall plug-ins that will help block malicious entries. These combined with an installed anti-virus program on your computer make a powerful force against most hackers.
- Constant updates

There is a tendency for many site owners to ignore update notifications displayed occasionally by Wordpress. Those are the ones you see on top of the page every time you open the dashboard. Thinking these updates could cause the website to lag, these notification often go straight to the trash, figuratively speaking.

If you think ignoring these updates will cause you any problems, you should keep in mind that they contain extra features to enhance the security of your site. So, the next time a notification pops up from WordPress just hit ‘OK!

 - Manage your plug-ins properly- Manage your plug-ins properly

Plug-ins that are idle, not used, or inactive can be a bait to hackers, so check your plug-in list once in a while to update the plug-ins you are currently using. This will help keep your site in order, clean, and hack-proof.

- Back-up

When updates have to be made, it is important to back up all your files to ensure that you can restore your site’s content just in case the backup fails. There are many plug-ins designed specifically to make this task simple and painless.
It's also a good idea to keep duplicate copies of your site content and back it up in multiple places. For instance you could keep a copy on your computer hard drive as well as on an online storage system like Google Drive.
This way you can be sure you are protected just in case your site gets hacked.
- Log-ins
Most hackers start life out by attempting to guess passwords of site owners in order to gain access to personal information especially credit card numbers and sites visited.  Then they realize it is less strenuous to just pick up your information from the other sites you visit.  Yeah, if you are too lazy to keep different passwords for different reasons, it might soon be Open Season on you.
Hackers have a wide variety of reasons for doing what they do, but that is beside the point. Your time and energy is better spent by focusing on how you can protect your site, your own account, and your site member's accounts.  Remember this also, the most important thing they can rob you of is your good reputation.  That is something you never want to lose, right?
Of course, you can install Wordpress plug-ins that are designed to block entry by limiting the log-in attempts. Check out Wordpress for more details, but a good place to start is the 1Password plug-in or one similar to it.
Overall, the key is to preventing hackers from stealing information is to take every necessary precaution you can.  When your security strategies become lax, you leave yourself wide open for an attack. The security of your site should be taken very seriously and should never be left to chance.


Let's talk about the tasty benefits of hiring a WordPress developer.  The popularity of Wordpress is unparalleled, with thousands of WordPress based sites to be found on the Internet, ranging from personal blogs to massive online stores. I'm quite sure that the user-friendly WordPress interface has something to do with that.
For one thing, even a complete beginner with no technical skills can use WordPress to build a website quickly and easily. This is because WordPress themes and plug-ins do most of the work for you.
With this being said, if you want a unique and custom designed presence on the web you will need to hire a WordPress developer?
If you are not a programmer and do not know HTMl, CSS or PHP the money you will spend on a Wordpress developer is definitely worth it. On the other hand, if you are willing to devote 10 to12 hours a day of your time working on your site, it is certainly not necessary, but do you really want to invest that much time and effort. There are some great benefits that you can get from hiring a WP developer such as the following:

Huge savings

Provided you know a few things about cleaning up your HTML or CSS, but only on a user level you can add slashes and change div settings but the idea of finding specific items from a cascading style sheet still makes you tremble. You can learn all this in time but taking time out to learn it would  delay the progress of your blog.
By hiring a WP developer, you simply lean back in your executive's chair and point out what you want to change or enhance.  To really sound professional you might indicate when you would like these changes to take effect and PRESTO, CHANGEOH, your WordPress blog will be up and running smoother in no time at all.
How is this much efficiency achieved? - Their speed is derived from knowing exactly what they should be working on!  They know the in's and out's and in their spare time they keep up with all the new technological advances coming forth every day.
They can modify your website according to your instructions and they will suggest options to make improvements and more SEO-friendly. Depending on your budget you can have a WordPress developer design your blog. Designers usually charge by the project or by the hour depending on your needs.
Adding Time
Keep in mind that the more functionality you want and the more tweaks to this and that you need, the more the cost goes up but, on the plus side you will have an totally unique and functional WordPress blog that can make can monitize. What would normally take you a month or more (if you have invested the time to become tech savvy) would be done in a matter of days or less depending on your specifications.
Wordpress developers are good at what they do and they specialize in giving you a functional and unique WordPress blog designed just for you.

 Come Up To Speed
Optimizing your Wordpress site is the key to making it load faster. Wordpress developers know the tricks to make this happen but average web owners who possess limited or basic knowledge on codes would find this task quite challenging. Wordpress, however, has several easy ways that can help you optimize the site and speed up the loading time. The following are some of the best and easiest steps:

- Always cache


Caching is a method wherein data like html pages, images, and the like are stored temporarily. This is also used to accelerate the loading time of a Wordpress site. Wordpress offers free plug-ins designed to cache data easily and this is ideal for most average users.
- Remove useless plug-ins
Regularly check your plug-in containers and delete useless and redundant ones. Too many plug-ins on the same page will load unnecessary css and JavaScript files which will bog down your loading time. If you have done a few cleaning tasks on your hard drive to make it perform faster, the same ideal applies to Wordpress sites as well. It is not enough to de-activate the plug-ins you do not use, you should delete them altogether because even though they are de-activated they still take up allot of needed space. Provide enough space only for necessary plug-ins.
- Compress images and video files
Did you know that large image files and video files can cause your pages to lag. Wordpress has a wonderful feature that allows you to 'thumbnail' your photos, so you can save space and your pages will load much faster. Also try compressing video and image files and reduce it to kilobytes instead of megabytes.
- Change themes
Sometimes, the problem is not found on your end but on the themes' end. There are themes that are loaded down with large graphics and tons of code so you may want to try choosing a minimalist type of theme. You may not get an eye-candy blog but you would surely get a user-friendly blog. Besides, users nowadays are after the content and not the design and if it is taking to long for your site to load they will go elsewhere.
- Change hosts
If you have optimized the quality of media and image files and done all that you read above and your site still moves slower than molasses, then check with your hosting provider. Sometimes the hosting itself is the culprit. Consider migrating to a more reliable web hosting provider that can provide more options for your loading problem.
- Compress and combine CSS and JS
For more advanced users, combining and then compressing the cascading style sheet and Javascript would make a difference in terms of speed. Wordpress also has plug-ins that will do this work for you. You can also find Javascript compression tools on the web to help you carry out the job perfectly.
Even if you are not an WordPress expert or a web developer, you can spot defects on your blog and find simple solutions at the same time. There are tons of self help files available on the internet. Having a Wordpress site makes troubleshooting easier because thousands of plug-ins are available to address your specific needs.
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Let's talk about investing in a (paid) premium WordPress theme.
Free WordPress themes are great for the casual blogger, but if you want to stand out in the professional crowd then a premium WordPress theme is probably the right ticket for you.
- Premium themes are totally functional over many platforms and also function with the ever changing technologies of today. Premium themes allow you to create a more attractive and profit-generating website. It lets you apply modifications that will provide convenience to your site visitors. What more can you ask for?

 - Free themes have limited designs and capabilities unless you are a skilled programmer which most of us, unfortunately are not. With the constant updates that Wordpress makes in its platform, almost all themes are generously made SEO-friendly with enabled connectivity through social media, but on the down side when WordPress asks you to update you may find that your free theme no longer functions properly and then you will most likely be looking for a more compatible free theme and just when you have it the way you wanted...the nightmare begins.
- As a premium theme subscriber, you have access to 24/7 technical support to help you troubleshot whatever problems you may be encountering, one thing you cannot find in free themes.
- Compared to standard themes, premium themes are frequently updated artistically and technically speaking.

 - Most often, premium themes are ready-to-use and the only tasks you need to perform is to upload your content which is a big time saver plus!
- They are also browser-tested. Once you get them up, you can be sure that Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer users can view your website without encountering any problems. If you happen to receive any complaints regarding this, you can always contact technical support to assist you.
If you are not tech savvy, you can still enjoy premium Wordpress themes that can be operated like standard websites. Some of them can be modified without meddling with the CSS or HTML part because they feature drag and drop functionality. Thus, not being an IT person is not an excuse not to enjoy the huge benefits of premium themes.
When you are done, Use your first, successfully published product as a template for even more products.
>>>>>>>Add more content on a regular basis<<<<<<
This tells people you are alive.  hey, if they see activity on your website they might even think you are open for business,  their business.
first off, you need to realize that there are two kinds of content that need to be put up on your website.  Right off the bat you will want to put up  permanent content.  We are going to call this pages.  Your pages are not going to change much if any at all!  Later you will need to decide which one you want customers to see first, the permanent pages, or the temporary posts that we call posts.
Examples of pages might be the story of your business.  We will call this About Us.  You can put up just about anything you want to on this page, you might even think of it as your first snow job, you know, where you really put on the show.  A picture of yourself -- or a stream of people thronging the front door of your business to get in!  these pictures would go really good on this page, wouldn't they?  Another page might be How To Contact Us.  And a third page might be products for sale, or perhaps Plans For The Future!
now, what about the temporary posts?  What could you put up there?  The best suggestion I have is to post comments about what you are doing now for your customers.  Perhaps you have put in a new aisle of candy for an upcoming holiday.  The key here is to put up some really good pictures to go with your story.
I can help you with all of this, but naturally I would expect to be paid for it.  You can call me on the phone at 405872556.  If you prefer, you can write to me at the following address, ShareYourState@yahoo.com  starting prices are extremely low.  I am talking about less than 10 dollars, just to put this into perspective for you.
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 Okay, it's time to post

You will also want to make sure that you backup your WordPress database regularly. You can do this by logging into your hosting accounts cpanel, clicking on "phpMyAdmin" and selecting the database you wish to backup then choose export. Again you will want to keep a copy of this export in multiple places.our Legal Notice

You will need one too, so study this one carefully.
It might give you a few hints what to put into your own.

Legal Notice

The Publisher has striven to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this newsletter, notwithstanding the fact that he does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.
The Publisher will not be responsible for any losses or damages of any kind incurred by the reader whether directly or indirectly arising from the use of the information found in this course.
Children less than 13 years old are expressly enjoined to obtain parental consent before clicking on any of our links!

Democrats and Hypocrites

For the past 92 years  people that had to work for a living were forced to accept the competition streaming into America to take their jobs away.  One lie after another one had to be choked down with a spluttered snarl. "But if jobs are ever taken from the rich kids, their tune will change!"

We were wrong.

In a tiny 5-day time slot during 2013, 124,000 people applied for a ticket in a popular lottery that determines which of them is welcome to take a job away from a wealthy American.

What bitter joy to hear the charge of discrimination slopped against those that want to keep tight hold on their high-paying jobs.  Why, you'd think these snot-nosed kids had feelings similar to, if not equal to, the despair felt by those born beneath the poverty line!

Joe Green, one of the founders of Fwd.us, sent an email to TechCrunch declaring how absolutely critical it is that Republicans take action on immigration reform in order to do right by American families "and boost the American economy.”

Poor people have faced that lie since 1798 --  By taking YOUR JOBS AWAY the American economy will be boosted!

Now Americans from above the poverty line are also being asked to have compassion for a few skilled laborers that just "want a better life."

As one brilliant professor said, "I honestly don't see how anyone can call themselves a Republican anymore and not be ashamed of the fact."  How big was the cut in pay that he took?  He didn't mention a specific amount because only poor people and Native Americans are forced to sacrifice for a professor's beliefs.

Democrats pretend to love their fellows enough to feed them lavishly and give them 3-room mansions to live in.  But when it comes time to pay the bills it is always someone else's pocket they reach down deep in to pay for the gestures.

That is bad enough.  Hypocrites go one step farther and accuse anyone that doesn't agree with the assessments made in their behalf of not having any feelings for humanity.  "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. Therefore it is obvious that ye don't have any compassion, as you see us have."

Yes, immigration reform IS needed.
If you politicians have real compassion for those wishing to better themselves then don't let your cronies hire them on at slave wages.  Make them pay higher wages than is being paid to America's poor people, not less.
Better yet, reach down deep into your own pocket and send your own money to them at home so they won't have to risk life and limb getting here to be gardeners for your rich cronies and maids for helpless social idlers -- Don't let your left hand know how much your right hand is dealing out from your personal bank account either.  For lasting reform, quit tooting your own trumpets on the street corner when you broadcast the size of your alms and brightness of your compassion.

After I see Democrat politicians volunteer to give up their positions in Washington so that Indian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese politicians can have a better life here and boost the American economy for us, then I might believe the Democrats in Washington are sincere.  Until then they are more like the hypocrites Otto von Bismarck referred to in remarking, "When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it into practice."

Endowments of the Lunar Embrace

Moonlight is the original form of fuzzy logic 

Sunlight shows us things as they really are; Moonlight reveals things as they might be. 

A tree trunk becomes a gnome, a solemn stare becomes a winking eye, a rose bush becomes a castle for fairies and a stretch of scrawny grass becomes a wrinkling sea.

Prettier
by Night

For the first time in four years I saw the moon tonight.
The missing sin was mine, not the moon's.
I'm willing to bet good money the moon has
not missed a major tide-swelling event in the
past six thousand years.

 As I stood there this evening the moonbeams poured out around me like virgin cream. The stones and the trees glowed in a different way than I'd ever seen them before.

{Why, our home is a thousand times
prettier by night.}

We spend millions of dollars on landscapes for our yards in the day, but hide from the beauty which bathes our homes at night for free. Too much reality is never good for us, like a life without sleep. Sweet moons were made for dreaming while we're wide awake, a time when our thoughts can walk on wings. I'm convinced we need those floating hours when time is ethereal.


Inside our walls no shadow falls and those dreams locked within our hearts cannot fight their way free. Beneath the moon my walls were a pulsing glow and every leaf surged with memories that stirred my thoughts of long ago. You can't get that with a rake or a hoe. You can't make your dreams beautiful in the noonday sun.

As I stood there listening to the moonbeams trembling in my trees, I remembered how my dreams once mounted moonbeams like ladders to the sky. The magic of believing life could be different was a magnet, drawing me out onto the pearled grass to dance with silvered splashing feet to unheard melodies, with angels I'd never meet.

A creamy moon ruled that night of my first kiss.  I was in love with Sylvia though at that age I knew not how to let her know. A dozen of us came out skipping in the moonbeams that lapped along the blades of grass. We danced, light as angels on swooping wings. I was so light I almost floated as I whirled round and round. Somehow I crashed into Sylvia; my front teeth slammed into her forehead.

Both of us toppled to the earth; she sprawled one way, and I the other. The whole band of kids gathered around us. "What happened?" they cried.

"He kissed me,"  Sylvia declared in splendor from the grass.

"He kissed me!"

I knew in an instant, she had longed for a real kiss to happen even more than had I; {She LOVES me!} I thought as I glowed in wonder. Then that magical moment melted.  The moon went behind a ragged cloud, the romantic spell was broken As I looked up at my young peers and heard their mocking chuckles purr I denied the charge with every ounce of my being. "Huh uh!"

The shame of it lingers even now; they believed me without a murmur. Little did they know the fires of regret already choking my tiny bosom as I gazed at Sylvia's lonely, grief-stricken face in the richness of the moonlight of that beautiful night. 

Gone,

GONE, but never, ever forgot.

Moonlit nights were made for sneaky games too.
The twins and I would walk to town then dart from
shadow to shadow and "rob from the rich to give to the poor",
though I can't remember any of the loot ever leaving our
hands after we got it. However, one hot summer night they did
ride two bikes eighteen miles over washboard roads to leave
the better one with me, then "Biggie" rode back home on the
handlebars, with "Littlie" pumping.  

Those boys sure knew how to put on a show!

My first brush with death came beneath a smiling moon. George pulled a knife and swore to scar my face. But the moon was my friend -- and brightly made the scene unreal. The cutting edge of the blade blurred in shadows. I could see the gleam, but not the steel.
Lightly, smiling, I danced around George, nibbling at his jaw -- his chest -- with my fingers, and tapped his right arm in coup each time he struck. When he recoiled in confusion I would reach out and tickle him some more, laughing at his frantic lunges until everyone there quit worrying about me and began laughing at him too. Cursing, he hurled the knife at my head. I merely laughed, ducked, and tickled him under the chin once more. He turned and fled, bawling in shame, never to come out to play with us again.



The moon was big the night I met the mountain lion too. He had killed a few cows and scared some night workers out of their wits on the ranch.  But we were brave. Amderos and I had built a tree house in the tamaracks that day, thirty feet high, and decided to spend the whole night there.

We had no candles so Mama (unbeknownst to her) gave me a can of lard. We set it afire and basked in the warmth as we munched on melting cookies. (She didn't know about donating them to us either.)  The moon sailed above us in singing arcs as the huge tree limbs swayed in the sagging winds of the night. We told stories of hunts and captures, of the friends we had loved, and the foes we had fought, and finally of ghosts and fiends.

The stars had turned lonely and cold when we heard the cougar coming up the tree. I heard the scratches on the rugged bark, the hot breath hissing, and my heart knotted shut with fear. Amderos alone crept to the doorway and peered down. His brown face blanched white at what he saw.

"Nuaai!" he screamed. With no thought for the heat, my hero saved my life. He grabbed the blazing can of lard with his bare hands and hurled it down at the lion. There was a terrible squall which shook the very floor we were on. Then like a mighty Hercules, Amderos heaved the tin roof off of our tree house -- and leaped out headfirst before it clattered back on top of me.

Branches could not hold him, they cracked in brittle efforts to slow him down, but he still
beat that lion to the ground. As I peered out over our crumbling walls Amderos was already half way home, sprinting in a dead heat. In the bright moonlight I saw the little puffs of smoke smoldering vividly at his heels. Too scared to follow him, I trembled at every sound until the rising sun brought me back to reality.

I look back upon my early life and see a magical time that like the moon, was often full. Then the Williams family bought a television and my friends disappeared to watch Boston Blackie flicker on a silvery screen.

By the year I cowboyed at the Grand Canyon, living beneath a pinon tree in a tent, the moon was my only friend. I read to him from Clifford D. Simak's great novel City, and decanted my emotional first brush with Homer and the pre-Tarzan writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

The woman I married first was seen walking in the flowing light of a creamy moon. The shadows were soft, the beams were kind; I must have looked good to her. She put down her hoe and bade me sit on the darkened porch to watch the dual wonders of moonlight and fireflies.

Even though later years threw shadows more harsh in the glaring sun there were times when the moon came up that we would stand there watching as if it were a roaring fire. The sands of time would bathe in bubbling light and our shadows go splashing free. If it was a good time we would walk across the fields of powdered dust until we found a hollow in the hills far from the eyes of man.

Yea, God gave us the sun and the moon and the stars for signs and for seasons in our skies. I was baptized beneath a full moon. The first time I went to the temple, the moon was full. The second time it again billowed full bright against the floating clouds. I found my love for Chellie was deep and real on the night of a full moon. These signs from the moon made the events far more special to me.

Yet for all of this, since coming to live here in the city, I have forgot, first to look, and then to care. What matters it if the moon doth ebb and flow? If we see it not, we have lost the glow. Unknownst to us, it rises, it sets, the magic never wanes.

But now I know, unable to forget, my home is far more beautiful by night. The logic is a little fuzzy, but it feels just right. Beneath the old moon I shall come forth again to spin the old memories like silver coins on the counter top, and they shall dance once more.

the end

The following essays are coming soon.

Grandma's Old Bath Tub

I loved my Grandma.

Her floors were swept every day.

Her white stove with pretty yellow flowers on it got scrubbed after every foray, including snacks.

Mud in her house was an abomination that got you sent to the lower regions in seconds without her saying a word; Grandma just pointed with her chin, like she was one of us Indians.


Why, Grandma was such a nut about cleanliness that many a time we saw her make Grandpa take a bath -- even when he already smelled as clean as a horse.

That kind of cleanliness was a luxury Mama couldn't afford for us. Our water supply was a big well 50 yards away that only run for a few hours a week. When it came on we hauled water to the house in Karo buckets, as fast as we could go.

Mama took a bath once in a while. But, us kids never needed one because we swam in the clean ditch when the well was running, and we swam in the mud hole it left behind when it wasn't. When the mud dried, caked and fell off, I believe that even Grandma would have thought we were clean.

Thus, after the first long trip to Grandma's modern home, I was only mildly interested when she mentioned taking a bath. But Daddy and Mama seconded the idea, so I followed her out to the back porch, expecting to see a little wash tub like Mama squeezed into.

Grandma's huge bath tub sprawled out upon knuckled feet. I was frozen with wonder. "Grandma.  How can you carry that thing into the kitchen?"

"We leave it in here," said Grandma. Her nose wrinkled. "Where are them twins at? They need a bath too."

She put all three of us big boys in there, and we had room to spare. Biggie snorkeled and Littlie splashed. When that grew tiresome we competed to blow the biggest bubbles from our fingers. We were jerking around so much that Grandma's filled fruit jars overhead began shaking. She beat on the door twice to scream: "Yawl are having too much fun in there to be getting clean!"

I loved Grandma. I loved her biscuits. I loved her tomatoes, I loved her corn on the cob -- her frozen strawberries too, and most of all I loved her gravy.   When you love everything about someone that much you find out what pleases them most, and you do it. I soon learned what made Grandma smile most was a kid coming clean in the bathtub. So over the years, every time we came to visit I'd just up and voluntarily ask Grandma if I could take a bath. 

That's what made her sweet smile crinkle the longest.

Meanwhile, things were changing at home. First we moved off the reservation into a EuroMerican kind of house with running water for the horse trough just outside our door.  The horse could turn the water on by himself so it stayed pretty clean. We took our baths in the horse trough.  It was really neat to watch Daddy dip in and dip out so fast he didn't even get his hat wet.  Then we moved to a house with water right inside the kitchen, then on to another one with running water for our very own bath tub. There were 29 other moves in between, but these were the steps up the scales of luxury that we took.

Our first real bath tub was half sunk in the floor. Mama would sprinkle some Tide in the bottom and I would climb in, turning on the water full blast to make suds. 

By the time Lynn smiled at me I was taking a bath once a week, of my own free will. By the time Terry laughed at something I'd said I was bathing twice a week. But after Sharon let me kiss her right on the lips? Why, when someone that sweet loves you back you find out what pleases them the most and you do it.

Sharon smelled just like Grandma, a mix of flour, mince and allspice. She was a nut about cleanliness too. So, I took a bath EVERY time I had a chance to see her, even if I was already as clean as my horse is before you throw the saddle on.

Bathing changed suddenly when I joined the Army to get some genuine combat experience. They had something called "Showers". I was leery of them at first; showering, as far as I could tell at first glance, was about like trying to shove fish up the rainbow just because it is raining heavy.

To make matters worse the only showering spot was in the midst of a dozen strangers prancing around naked and making remarks about my physical deficiencies that I didn't even begin to understand. I figured they were men after all, and would understand my lack of enthusiasm for an over-indulgence in water.

How wrong I was!  They didn't understand a thing. 

It wasn't long before 4 or 5 city slickers approached me at midnight and insisted that I go take a shower with them. "Why?" I asked.

"Because you smell like a horse," they responded.

I could tell just by the sound of their voices that for some reason that made sense to them. After studying their faces for a few minutes I decided to pretend it made a lot of sense to me as well.

Everything worked out for the best. Before we had showered together a dozen times we were the best of friends. I even got to where I liked taking showers so much that ever since then the only bath tub I've been in, is Grandma's.

Grandma is gone now.  I miss her terribly.  Her bathtub, and the house, belong to my first born-for Uncle Ray now. But every time I go to visit I can almost feel my beloved Grandma hovering near the stove, and I soon hear myself asking Aunt Mildred: "Would you mind if I took a bath?"

They probably think it is strange I never use the shower inside the house that they do.  Alone on the porch with the suds a foot thick, I look up at the fruit jars Grandma always kept filled with cherries and tomatoes, okra and corn,and I remember the yellow-meated watermelons she sliced open under the shade tree, and the strawberries she plucked fresh from the freezer. As I lean back carefully I remember the biscuits and the gravy, and how the floors were always clean. 

I sure miss my Grandma.


The old tub is so small now I have to draw my knees up or else I'll cave the back end out of it. Its white knuckled feet have turned almost red. The water isn't ever hot enough. But, when you love someone as much as I loved Grandma, taking a bath isn't really that hard on you.