Category Archives: Causes and Friends

Posts regarding causes–mine and those of some friends.

Causes and Friends, Personal Growth, Writing Skills

How Do You Spell… and does it matter?

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According to a recent warning from Techlicious, there’s a fairly slick scam being foisted on Amazon users. Except maybe it isn’t so slick if you’re paying attention. Here’s a sentence in the warning  from Techlicious that caught my eye:

For instance, one tell-tale sign of bogus emails is the presence of sloppy writing in the email — especially misspellings and grammar errors. However, not all scammers failed English 101, so some phishing emails actually do sound and look professional. So, looking for language anomalies may not be 100 percent reliable, but they are usually red flags.

That’s sound advice, but there’s one problem with it.

I maintain several blogs/websites that include contributions from others. I have come to the conclusion that many adults either do not know or do not pay attention to basic rules of grammar. Therefore, I do a fair amount of editing.  Yes, it makes me feel needed, but it also makes me feel sad. Why aren’t we more interested in the mechanics of writing and communication?

I don’t consider myself a “Grammar Nazi” — in fact, I believe there are times when one should ignore a fine point of grammar in the interest of good communication.  However, my high school English Teacher (Thank you, Mr. Russo.) often  said, “You can’t intentionally break the rules of grammar if you don’t know what they are.”  He often made this statement when students started whining because they didn’t see the point of learning the rules, keeping us focused on communication and the role those rules play. (We also learned that violating a rule of grammar unintentionally sometimes resulted in communicating something we did not intend to say.)

Well, technology gives us another reason to pay attention in English Class. An inability to recognize fundamental spelling errors and violations of grammatical rules increases the odds you will fall victim to a scam. 

Yes, in the larger sense it’s actually about paying attention to detail. I received a phishing email from “Capital1” instead of “Capital One.” In the scam reported by Techlicious, the request to “confirme” your order details is like waving a red flag.

I’m truly excited to report yet another reason to promote a knowledge of  “good” writing, including spelling. Aren’t you?

Causes and Friends, Mental Health, School Programs, Suicide Prevention, Teaching

Great idea, but…

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In Brief… a short thought, idea, or story featured as a brain leak or musing!

The phone rang yesterday and a number I didn’t recognize appeared on the screen. Usually, that means “junk,” but I answered anyway.

The caller began talking rapidly and it became clear we were going to suffer a language barrier, but since she used the word “suicide” I knew it wasn’t a junk call.

Slowing the conversation and lots of repeating revealed that the caller was associated with a school and her question was, “I know you do suicide training for teachers, but would you do it for parents?”

I of course answered, “Yes!” My mind racing ahead to consider the idea of a school sponsoring a program for parents. I’m often approached by parents who are concerned about their kids but this was truly a first. Hmmm…

As we explored the idea, it occurred to me to ask where she was from. She replied, “Brooklyn, NY.” It didn’t occur to me to ask how and why she’d decided to call me in Central Maine. I was just glad she called.

I was able to refer her to some more localized resources using my NAMI connection and encouraged her to call again if I could help further. I hope she has success putting something together. I confess I felt a bit smug that I got the call–even though I don’t know how she found me. But I felt even smugger that the conversation around suicide prevention is becoming increasing normalized and easy to have.

Look for more on this topic…

Causes and Friends, Mental Health, Mental Hygiene, Personal Growth, Small People, Teaching

BDN Series Mentions Mentoring…

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“Maine Focus” is currently running a series of excellent articles “Before Addition There’s a Child.” I’m both honored and humbled to report that my  was included in the installment entitled “How one caring adult can change the life of a child.” (Scroll down to the epilog, “Your Stories.”) I continue to be amazed at the impact this story is having.

My ongoing hope is captured in my observation that “We mentor people in ways we don’t even mean to.” A corollary to that is mentoring doesn’t have to be hard. By definition, mentoring is a relationship in which an experienced person helps guide someone who is less experienced.  I think something as simple as  a kind or encouraging word creates a connection that can be defined as a relationship, however brief. Let’s call it a ‘mentoring moment.”

The Maine Focus series is about “preventing one of the largest public health problems of our time.” There’s a growing body of evidence that.

Mine isn’t the only story in which an adult did something that at first seems small, but turns out to have major impacts, perhaps because it is about human connection. Hearing those stories is encouraging and heartwarming. But creating our own stories can be even better. Just look for those mentoring moments.

Causes and Friends, Classes and Courses, Mental Health

October 10 is World Mental Health Day

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October 10 is World Mental Health Day, and this year, the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) has announced the theme as, “Dignity in Mental Health – Psychological & Mental Health First Aid for All.” The goal of this year’s theme is to bring mental health to the forefront of the global conversation so people feel more confident and comfortable speaking up, reaching out and getting the help they may need.

Compare the number of people trained to perform CPR with the number of people trained to provide mental health first aid. Poor mental health can be just as life threatening as poor heart health.

Read more about this year’s World Mental Health Day theme in The Huffington Post and find a Mental Health First Aid course near you by visiting  the NAMI website. If you need some help locating a course, just let me know! You can also sign up for one of my  and visit my Resource Page.

My bias is that while suicide awareness and prevention are important topics, ultimately the fundamental issue is mental health–one reason I became a certified mental health first aid specialist for adults and youth. But research also shows that a “barely trained” person can deter suicide. You don’t have to be an expert. Students who’ve attended my two hour Suicide Awareness and Prevention Class report

  • 85% either agreed or strongly agreed they feel more comfortable talking about suicide.
  • 93% either agreed or strongly agreed they feel more confident in their ability to recognize suicide warning signs and risk factors.
  • 85% feel better equipped to help someone who might seem suicidal.

You can make a difference.