Life On This Universe

Today, unfortunately, I am home sick so I had time to ponder about the irony of life. Life can be very funny. While one person is getting ready for an event, another person in the universe may be not be feeling well, watching the same event on television. The other night, I snuggled under the warm covers while the temperature around me was brisk, cool. I thought to myself that at that same time/moment someone may not be as comfortable as I was. Another person at that same moment may be sleeping on a bench surrounded by cool temperatures and nothing to keep them warm. In Europe at that moment, some people may begin the start of their day. Other people in California have not even gone to bed yet. In reality, as human beings,we tend to be egocentric and focus on our own lives. Let's face it, we tweet, use Facebook among other sources to inform others about our life. Do we stop and think about others or do we just consume ourselves with our own daily rituals of our own precious life? While eating your breakfast, do you ever think and wonder what is someone doing in Texas right now? What is someone doing in Russia or Germany right now? In a way, I think it is hard for us to think this way. It is not because we don't want to, but rather we become so consumed and overwhelmed with the chaos life might offer us at times. One family may be celebrating a joyous event such as a wedding, Communion, Confirmation, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, or even a Quinceanera. They may be dressed in their glorious, beautiful etiquette gowns while their hair is complementing their face and dress. A man in his tux looking quite dapper. The bowtie complementing his suit from head to toe. Smiles on their faces while bright colors surround them, filled with flowers and beautiful decorum. However, on the other side of town might be another family who may not be feeling as celebratory as the previous family mentioned. They may be dressed wearing dark colors, blacks and greys and ready to say goodbye to their loved one who has been chosen to leave the universe. At any moment, a person may leave this world while one is born into it. Did you ever wonder if they pass each other by and glance at each other on their mystical journey? So many people have a story to tell. What is yours?

Book Signing with T.D. Does Not end with a Touchdown.

Tonight I was lucky to meet the infamous Tony Danza. He was doing a book signing in Huntington, N.Y. Since I wrote about him in my blog, as to how I felt he would be most beneficial promoting my book since he was a teacher on his reality T.V. Show, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to meet him and give him a copy of the first three chapters of my manuscript. When we arrived in Huntington, we heard that he was running late. We were informed that we should purchase his book and then we would receive a letter. They were calling people up based on letters. Someone informed me that there would be about sixty people for each letter. I began talking to a woman on line and told her about my manuscript. She seemed very nice about it and told me that it only takes one person to like it. She advised me to definitely pitch my manuscript to Mr. Danza. I was letter "I" which took us about two and a half hours. A young man collecting the letters asked me as to what I was holding. He asked me if it was a script. I informed him that it was my manuscript and responded that he thought that was cool. We finally got up to the first in line. The person in front of us gave Mr. Danza their cell phone so that he could say, "hello" to them. He did speak to them graciously. The previous people that were a bunch of women were screaming out "Tony" while shouting their "oohs" and "aahs." Then finally my turn came. I explained to him that I am a teacher. At first, he was signing the book and did not look up at me. When I mentioned that I wanted him to view my manuscript, he informed me that he could not and was not allowed to. Boldly, I asked as to why. He explained that in case he wanted to use my ideas and therefore could not view it. At first, this did not make sense to me. I assured him that it was copyrighted. I wondered to myself why he refused. I could not believe myself. Was this really, shy me questioning Mr. Danza? I am not like this at all, but some inner being forces me to be strong and stand up for what I believe in. This inner being is part of my soul and it is most uncontrollable. Immediately, I called two of my friends afterwards whom happen to be attorneys, just to check this out to see if this was accurate information. Just my luck that they did not pick up the phone. My husband and I went out to dinner. I picked at my food while telling him that my book will never get anywhere. He said that I have to keep trying because you never know. When I came home I googled information regarding what Mr. Danza indicated. Sure enough, I found out that an author cannot accept a manuscript of an unpublished author as it can have detrimental effects on them monetarily and legally. I feel bad that I doubted Mr. Danza. I did mention my blog to him and he said that he could get the address for that. I gave the address to one of his people. I never would have offered him a copy of my manuscript if I knew the facts behind it. I feel bad that I put him in an awkward situation. My apologies, Mr. Danza. I do hope that he will check out my blog, but I have to say that I am writing this blog with a proud voice as I know I never would have done this a year ago. I am a shy woman who is trying really hard to overcome her shyness in order to promote something I am passionate about. I don't even recognize that shy girl anymore which is a good thing. I can say that I am proud of myself because once again, I tried.

A 9/11 Tribute

Many people ask where were you when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated? They also ask where were you on 9/11, 2001? As for JFK, I was not born yet. However, 9/11/01, I was teaching students with Autism in downtown Brooklyn. I remember that unfortunately as if it was yesterday. I went to work like any other day. When the first plane hit, I was told by my assistant teacher that it was probably a terrorist attack. I did not believe it and thought it was rather a careless pilot. Then when the second plane hit, I knew I was wrong and realized that America was in trouble. We were able to see the towers from our school building as we were located right across the bridge. When the ashes fell, our students said out loud that it was snowing. Joy and smiles appeared on their faces while sadness and fear appeared on all adult faces. In honor of this unforgettable, devastating day, I wrote a poem which I would like to share with you: It happened so fast that terrible day, Unfortunate lives were quickly taken away. Firemen, Policemen and many more were brave, Their bravery lead them to a lonely grave. Lost souls were dispersed throughout New York City, This day was certainly a pity. Please take time from your busy life to remember, I, myself won't forget that awful time in September. Take a moment of silence to commemorate those that perished, Their memory will always be cherished.

Swamped and Stressed

Hi I figured I would procrastinate and take a minute out to blog. Procrastination is never a good thing, but it must be done. Last week, I was given back the front cover graphics on how my novella, "Ignition" is going to look. They gave me a certain amount of time to tweek it if need be. There is one stipulation. They are allowing me to tweek it only one time. Afterwards, they will not accept any further comments as it has to go to print. Along with the cover, I was also given back my novella which I have to reread and edit it further. I realized that the copy I gave to Mr. Franchitti's men had some errors on it. How embarrassing!!! Who knows? He may have not read it anyway. If he did, my apologies to him. However, I am very fussy and tend to be a perfectionist and do not want the world to see errors in my book. I stayed up quite late last night rereading my book and I feel so exhausted. Besides all of the work I have to do with the book, I also have to write lesson plans. I have forms that need to be printed out for each student. I have tons of work for school that I need to do. There is never enough time in the day. I do have to keep this blog short as time is of the essence and I need to accomplish alot in a short amount of time.

An Amazing Story

While I was in Maryland last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting a brave woman who overcame many horrid obstacles in her life. My husband and I met her at a Megabus stop where we had to wait 45 minutes for our bus to arrive. We were offered the opportunity to pay extra and take an earlier bus. However, the woman we met advised us to wait as the extra time would not make a difference in the end. I am happy that I waited as I was given the chance to listen to her interesting story. She was born in Maryland. Her father was taken ill and at the time he had a new wife. Basically while he was sick, her "so called" family left her. She was only fourteen at the time. She was all by herself in this lonely, dark world. She was able to stay with friends. However living with friends versus living with family is completely different, especially for a fourteen year old girl. To not be able to hug and cry to a mother/father is a Solitariness lifestyle that can be quite upsetting. Later in life she went to school with a scholarship because she was an athlete. She played field hockey. Unfortunately, she was hurt and could not continue to play. She did however finish her degree which I believe to be admirable considering all of the challenges she faced. She met a man who was unfortunately abusive to her. She became pregnant and ran away from her boyfriend as she wanted to protect her child from him. On the bus going home, I told her that I find her to be an extremely courageous woman. She did not give up hope despite all the obstacles she faced. Many people that I know would not have been able to handle it the same way she did. I asked her permission to blog about it and she agreed. The only thing I would like to say is that I hope I was able to give her story justice.

Hi, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am on twitter @marrose215 so you can keep up on my latest updates and feel free to comment as well. In fact, comments are most appreciated. In terms of tweets, I welcome all topics, even politics :) Just to let everyone know, I started school on Tuesday. My students start tomorrow so I am all kinds of jitters right now. Just wanted you all to be aware of what I have been up to. I apologize for this blog being so short but, I need to get my rest for tomorrow. I did promise a woman that I met in Maryland that I would tell her incredible story which I will do in my next blog. Stay tuned.

Taking A Risk Towards "Franchittiland"

Taking A risk is a hard and challenging thing to do. I am one to not take risks and play it safe. If you read my first blog titled, "Michelle Arrose: A Teacher's Journey to Literary Success," I mentioned three intriguing people that I believe would be a wonderful asset to promoting my book. I mentioned Tony Danza who just recently wrote a book on how he owes his teacher's an apology. I also mentioned the infamous Robert Deniro. Last, but definitely not least, I mentioned Ashley Judd as she is an excellent orator. I also admire her intelligence. Well, my way of reaching out to her was through her other half. I really did not want to do this at first. However, my husband believes in my novella and reinforced me to take action in order to market it. I often ask him if he believes in my book because he is my husband? However, he is an educator as well and feels for the main character, Karen Woolsworth's dilemma's and what she has faced. A couple of months ago, my husband told me that Dario Franchitti, Ashley Judd's husband, would race on Labor Day weekend in Baltimore, Maryland. My husband suggested we go and it is a known fact that race car drivers tend to have autograph sessions. He suggested that I give him a copy of my manuscript that he can read and pass it on to his wife. Shyly, I told my husband that he should hand it to Mr. Franchitti while I hide on the bleachers. We booked tickets to the racing event and got a great deal on a hotel. I guess the reason I did not want to do this was that I did not want to face rejection. However, my husband always says that if you don't take a chance, you will never know. "Those that don't take chances will never live their dreams." Besides if nothing comes out of this, I made sure to make dinner plans with my sister and brother in law as they both live in Maryland. I also would get to have a unique experience watching a race which is a cool thing to do. Time marched on and before we knew it, we had three days before our trip. I edited my novella for the umpteenth time and was ready to place it in an envelope for Mr. Franchitti. There were manuscript papers all over the place and I had to make sure everything was coordinated in chronological order. I also was under a deadline as my manuscript was due before the end of August to the publishing company that I am working with. As we were finally ready for our adventure, I started to feel a sense of courage. I told my husband that I would be glad to hand Mr. Franchitti my manuscript if given the opportunity. I believe in my novella as well and know that people could get a better understanding of the educational world and see what teachers face on a daily basis if they read it. However, my husband did last minute research for the race schedule. He observed that on Sunday there would be no autographing session and we had tickets for Sunday. I told my husband that we both did not research this event correctly and knew at this point, we would not meet Mr. Franchitti. I was so looking forward to handing him my manuscript, not because of Ms. Judd, but because I was really interested in his opinion as well or just knowing that he read it is an honor. I do have respect for him as he has a treacherous job and faces it courageously when he is out on the track. My husband called the track and they said that when we go down, at best we could possibly meet a rep. I knew going down there my chances were slim to none. However, I had dinner plans with my sister and brother in law Saturday night and was happy about that. Sunday finally came and we left for the race. We walked around the race area and asked security where we could find a rep. They told us to try rhe Convention Center. We walked inside the building and saw some race car games set up for children. However, I was carrying my envelope with me and was hoping to find a rep. We saw the most adorable man that reminded me of Morgan Freeman. We asked him how we could find a rep and he said if we don't have a Paddock Pass then we might have difficulty finding a rep. The Paddock Pass allows you to go into the grarage where the driver's are. I felt so sad at the moment and we told the man our reason why we were there. Being the negative person that I could be at times, I told this man I would probably never find a rep. The man said that I will find one and he would show us where the garage was. He did mention that he is really not supposed to leave his post. We both said that we did not want him to get into trouble. He chuckled and said that he's ready to retire anyway. He escorted us to the garage area where we were greeted by a race car which was kind of neat. There we were told that if we wanted to go into the garage, we had to buy a ticket to upgrade us into the Paddock area. We decided that we would go for it and bought the tickets. We went into the garage and sure enough saw Franchitti's truck. Scott Dixon, another famous Indy race car driver was doing autographs and taking pictures with fans. He appeared to be a very kind, friendly man. After a while Mr. Franchitti came out of his truck. I so wanted to give him my manuscript but could tell that he was unapproachable at this time. He hopped on a motorcycle and drove off ignoring all his fans. At first I was taken back by this. However then I thought about it and he appeared to look upset. I know I have no right to judge him as something could have happened to his car that could have upset him. It's funny how if a person appears snooty or unapproachable, you may classify them as a snob. However, it is not fair to do that. No one knows what the other person is thinking or feeling and we have to be big enough of a person not to judge. My husband did meet a rep, Mr. Sampson and he promised to put the manuscript in Mr. Franchitti's lounge. It is only up to Franchitti to take the time out and read it. Afterwards, we walked around and met a really cool driver named Charlie Kimball. Unfortunately, he is a diabetic and because of this he drives for this cause which I found to be a wonderful and admirable thing for him to do. A family member of mine has diabetes and therefore anyone that participates in something for this cause really touches my heart strings. Later we went back to the garage where we again saw Dario ride off on his bike. He was three feet at the most, away from us. How cool is that? Anyway, the exciting race began and this was my first racing event. I found it to be an interesting, unique sport to view which was a lot of fun. I do admit that I don't enjoy seeing a car crash and smoke come under it lighting up the pavement. Well, I some what accomplished what I set out to do. My negative inner beastly being fears that he may discard and throw away my hard work. However, I would hope that he would not do that and would respect someone's work. My husband tells me that he believes he would read it at his leisure and lectures me that I need to believe in myself more and to have faith in humanity. I know he is right. My advice to you is not to give into your negative inner being as it could eat you up. My other advice is not to judge someone as you will never know the true reason for the picture the person is displaying in front of you. Unless you have a crystal ball, you don't know the future, but I guess if you don't take a risk and face possible rejection, you will never know.