Diversity Rules Magazine

12 Diversity Rules Magazine February 2017 Amazon Trail - Con't from page 11 employment, and ultimately to writing. I'm convinced those very early books were a big part of what made me the person I am—and a writer. My fam- ily read, so that helped. I had a facility for the English language which meant affirmation and encouragement from my teachers, and I had some very good teachers. Writing was all I ever wanted to do, besides be gay. I was a very silent kid, but there was so much to share. I scribbled poems in tiny looseleaf notebooks, and I was always being conscripted into working on school literary magazines. It wasn't until my thirties that I took the big plunge into fiction. It was truly terrifying.To this day I can't listen to feedback on something I wrote, even from my gentle, careful, and kind sweetheart. It's so excru- ciating I have to grit my teeth, cover my face, read it rather than listen, have some sugar sprinkled on any comments. I still panic at every acorn that drops on my head, draw wrong conclusions, and want to give up and hide un- der a hedge to wait for the sky to fall. During such times I know there is no confident king to whom I can run. I forget that I've already learned the lesson he taught, that the voice of the king is now my own. As a consequence of reading those little folk tales, these days "I think I can, I think I can," sounds more like, "I know I can, I know I can." What's more, when I see a shelf of books I have written, when readers acknowledge my work, "I know I can" evolves to "I know I did." e moral of this story? e children's shelves hold the mightiest books of all. A Help Button Should Go Where You Go! To be truly independent your personal emergency device needs to work on the go. At Home In the Car On a Walk On Vacation At the Park Shopping Traditional Help Buttons Stop paying for a help button that ONLY works at home! Call today and set yourself FREE! • No Contracts, No Hidden Fees, No Risk • Nationwide GPS Location Detection • 24/7/365 Emergency Response Center Order Now & Receive a FREE Lockbox! Place your door key in this box so that emergency personnel can get help to you even faster. FDA Registered Optional Fall Button™ $ 29 95 Value *Service availability and access/coverage on the AT&T network is not available everywhere and at all times. Fall Button™ does not detect 100% of falls. If able, users should always push their help button when they need assistance. Current GPS location may not always be available in every situation. MobileHelp is a registered trademark and Fall Button is a trademark of MobileHelp. Patented technology. MobileHelp is a FDA registered Medical Device Manufacturer. 1-800-699-3178 DENTAL Insurance Physicians Mutual Insurance Company A less expensive way to help get the dental care you deserve If you're over 50, you can get coverage for about $1 a day* Keep your own dentist! NO networks to worry about No wait for preventive care and no deductibles – you could get a checkup tomorrow Coverage for over 350 procedures – including cleanings, exams, fi llings, crowns…even dentures NO annual or lifetime cap on the cash benefi ts you can receive FREE Information Kit 1-800-968-2334 *Individual plan. Product not available in MN, MT, NH, RI, VT, WA. Acceptance guaranteed for one insurance policy/certifi- cate of thistype. Contact us for complete details about this insurance solicitation. This specific offer is not available in CO, NY;call 1-800-969-4781 or respond for similar offer. Certificate C250A (ID: C250E; PA: C250Q); Insurance Policy P150 (GA: P150GA; NY: P150NY; OK: P150OK; TN: P150TN) 6096C MB16-NM001Gc NO annual or lifetime cap on the cash benefi ts you can receive FREE Information Kit 1-800-968-2334 Product not available in MN, MT, NH, RI, VT, WA. Acceptance guaranteed for one insurance policy/certifi-

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