All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

“Not Denise” on Gobblers & Masticadores | Dawn Pisturino’s Blog

“Not Denise” on Gobblers & Masticadores

 on November 2, 2024

(Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash)

Happy Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) – also known as All Soul’s Day!

I’m thrilled to share that my short story, “Not Denise,” has been published today on Gobblers & Masticadores. Thank you, Manuela Timofte, for publishing it! Please visit Gobblers and check out all the great writers there!

Thanksgiving 1952

“Sandy, that was the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had,” Ralph said with a satisfied grin, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Ralph. That would make Denise very happy; God rest her soul. I can’t believe she’s been gone a year already.”

“She sure took good care of me. I miss her so much.” His dampened mood cast a pall over the whole party.

“We all do,” his brother Eugene said quietly. “Let’s clear the table, Ralph, and set up the board.”

The two brothers carried the dirty dishes into the kitchen while Sandy removed the white linen tablecloth from the dining room table. Eugene grabbed the Ouija Board box from the hall closet and arranged the pieces on the oak tabletop. The brothers sat down with the board and planchette between them.

Sandy lit the candles on the table and turned off the electric lights. She settled in the chair next to her husband with a pen and pad of paper. “I hope Denise contacts us tonight.” The two brothers nodded.

“I just need to know she’s okay,” Ralph said.

With their fingers delicately balanced on the planchette, Ralph and Eugene took turns pleading with Denise to communicate with them. The planchette refused to budge. After half an hour of motionless silence, Ralph threw up his hands in despair. “It’s hopeless,” he complained. “She’s not there.”

“Let’s take a break and try again,” Sandy suggested. She brought three cups of coffee on a tray and handed them around. They drank their coffee in silence.

Eugene and Ralph placed their fingers on the planchette again. The heart-shaped plastic hesitated, then slid wildly off the board. “Whoa, Denise!” Ralph yelled.

“Somebody’s angry,” Sandy commented. “Maybe we should stop.”

Eugene picked up the planchette and repositioned it on the center of the board. “No, we’ve got to keep going. Come on, Ralph, don’t give up now.” Ralph mutely agreed and gingerly touched the pointer with his fingers.

The planchette moved swiftly from letter to letter. Sandy wrote frantically, trying to keep up. . .

Please click HERE to read the rest of the story. Thank you!

Sugar skulls for everyone!

Dawn Pisturino

Source: “Not Denise” on Gobblers & Masticadores | Dawn Pisturino’s Blog

मक्खन / Butter – Kaushal Kishore

 

बॉस या किसी व्यक्ति को मक्खन लगाने का काम,

है जिंदगी के लगभग हर एक दायरे में बहुत आम…

लेकिन ऐसी झूठी चापलूसी से खुश हो जाने वाले,

याद रखें: रखते हैं एक चाकू मक्खन लगाने वाले…

🧈 🧈 🧈 🧈 🧈 🧈

Buttering up the boss or someone with flair,

Is quite common in life, almost everywhere…

But those who revel in sweet praise so rife,

Must remember: butter is spread with a knife…

.

–Kaushal Kishore  

Source: मक्खन / Butter – Kaushal Kishore

When Trump says he’s going to ‘protect’ women, we know he means ‘control’ | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian

Could Republicans take away a woman’s right to a credit card?

“Hello, I’d like a line of credit, please.”

“Well, before we can even consider that, are you married? Are you taking a contraceptive pill? And can your husband co-sign all the paperwork so we know you have a man’s permission?”

That may not be an exact rendition of an actual conversation between a woman and a US bank manager in 1970, but it’s close enough. Before the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) was passed in 1974, it was considered good business practice for banks to discriminate against women. It didn’t matter how much money she had – a woman applying for a credit card or loan could expect to be asked invasive questions by a lender and told she needed a male co-signer before getting credit. All of which severely limited a woman’s ability to build a business, buy a house or leave an abusive relationship.

…Is there any chance that, if Donald Trump gets into power again, we might see Republicans take away a woman’s right to her own credit card? It’s certainly not impossible. Trump’s entire campaign is, after all, about taking America back. The former president has also cast himself as a paternalistic protector of women.

“I’m going to do it, whether the women like it or not,” Trump said at a rally on Wednesday. “I’m going to protect them.”

Of course, we all know what “protect” really means in this context: it means “control”. Should he become president again, Trump and his allies seem intent on massively expanding the power of the president and eliminating hard-won freedoms. Conservative lawmakers and influencers want to control a woman’s access to reproductive healthcare. They want to control the sorts of books that get read and the type of history that gets taught. They want to control how women vote. They want to control whether a woman can get a no-fault divorce. They might not take away women’s access to credit, but they will almost certainly try to chip away at a woman’s path to financial independence.

Source: When Trump says he’s going to ‘protect’ women, we know he means ‘control’ | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian

Elon Musk’s canvassing operation sued in California for alleged labor law violations | US elections 2024 | The Guardian

Elon Musk’s troubled canvassing operation on behalf of Donald Trump and the Republican party is now facing a lawsuit in southern California filed by two women who say they were cheated out of wages and expenses as they knocked on doors for an embattled Republican congresswoman.

Source: Elon Musk’s canvassing operation sued in California for alleged labor law violations | US elections 2024 | The Guardian