Elai Nelson and the Prophecy of the Child is book one of the Fire on the Clouds Trilogy. The novel begins when Elai’s home is broken into by two goons who kill his adoptive parents and attempt to kidnap him. But with the help of his talking toothbrush (you read that right) the sixteen-year old manages…
Audiologists acknowledge four levels of deafness—mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Author Cece Bell is severely to profoundly deaf. At the age of four she contracted meningitis, robbing her of most of her hearing. When she started public school, Cece was mainstreamed into a regular classroom. She knew she was different from the other kids due…
When I taught middle school I told my students that they could make a difference in this world. What they achieved didn’t have to be earth shattering, just a spark of inspiration that would affect others. I said, “Just start with the belief that you can do something that benefits others.” Below is the story…
Corporate trainer and amateur sleuth, Lysi Weston is on the road again with best friend Grace Wright. This time the duo are in Paris, France where they are assigned the task of presenting a model of their management training seminar to the American Chamber of Commerce in France in hopes of educating chauvinistic Francophiles on…
Like the pine trees lining the winding road, I’ve goat a name: I’ve got a name. His name was Jim Croce, an accomplished American folk singer and songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973 Croce released five albums and hit singles like “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and “Time in a Bottle,” both of which reached number…
Dear Pop, My mother is very sick and will soon pass. What do I tell my children about death and dying? Sad Mom Dear Sad Mom, Grandparents are an important part of your children’s lives because Nana and Papa link them to our past as well as provide them comfort, love, and understanding. Since…
Dear Pop, My daughter will have a baby this spring. I want to teach my grandchild American Sign Language (ASL) but my wife thinks that will only confuse the child. I say it will empower my granddaughter. Who’s right? Deaf Grandpa Dear Deaf Grandpa, You’re right. Now let me tell you why. Soon after birth,…
With the New Year in sight, many of us think about changing ourselves for the better. Some people would like to lose weight while others may want to improve their grades in school. Improving the parent/child relationship should be on top of every parent’s to-do-list. This is not a one-sided effort. It means that children…
Celebrating New Year on January 1 is a relatively new trend. New Year’s Day, a civil event and a date not fixed by any natural seasonal marker, was first celebrated by the Romans. They picked this date to honor their god Janus, the god of all beginnings. A double-faced head represented Janus with…
Many parents would like to teach their children the true meaning of Christmas, but too many people commandeer the religious festival for political ends while others create an obscenity called Black Friday. Back in 1959 the John Birch Society (JBS), an organization defending the United States against communism and the secularization of Christmas, blamed the…