October 31, 2006
Issue-034 – Halloween memories

From Tom Gilbert – Editor and Writer, www.your-life-your-story.com

In this Issue:

Opening remarks: October Flew By
Featured Article: Halloween memories
Resources You Can Use: Professional One Page Bio, iMemoryBooks
Closing Info

Opening Remarks: October Flew By

I had a great visit with my Dad, Sister and her husband a couple of weeks ago. They came here to Albuquerque and took in the annual International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. That is always an amazing event with hundreds of hot air balloons and enthusiasts from around the world. You can see lots of pictures and find out more at the official web site .

The leaves have changed and daylight savings time is over. And soon there will be the “Trick or Treaters” ringing the doorbell. A Happy Halloween to all. My wife and I enjoyed the “season” this year by attending a performance of The Phantom of the Opera by the Broadway touring cast at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. It was fantastic.

I thank all of you who are reading this newsletter and visiting my site about life story writing. I hope that you are finding helpful information and motivation. You can always email me with questions and comments. I welcome the feedback.

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While the main focus of this newsletter is to share thoughts, ideas, and insights on life story writing you should know that I offer various services and also mention some products and services that can be helpful. You are under no obligation to purchase anything, but if any of these products or services are helpful and you decide to utilize them then I am most grateful.

Thanks for reading. – Tom

Featured Article: Halloween Memories

Every October 31st the holiday of Halloween takes place and while I’m not a huge fan of this festival I do have fond memories when I was little of dressing up in costume and going “trick or treating”. And now as a parent it has been even more fun to watch our children over the years, or as now is the case since they are older, our young nieces. One of the girls, Brandy, is having so much fun this year that she has been wearing two costumes. She came over the other day with a ghost costume on, but underneath a very cute bunny outfit. Kids – they can be funny and they enjoy the simplest pleasures.

The history of Halloween is a lengthy one and I’m not going into that here. However, I hope you think about your memories from such holiday events. Maybe you’ve bobbed for apples, gone to elaborate masquerades and visited haunted houses. And who doesn’t like a good scary movie? No doubt you’ve had a sugar rush or two. The candy companies must make a killing this time of year.

I recently completed an iMemoryBook tribute to my daughter. She graduated from High School this past spring and is now attending college. In the book I wrote about many memories and one of the entries was about past Halloweens.

Little Pumpkin Big Pumpkin

Halloween in America isn’t really scary. The more frightening days are immediately following the holiday when your kids are bouncing off the walls from eating too much candy! But, we certainly have enjoyed Halloween through the years.

Kristen, like all little tykes, liked to dress up and go “trick or treating”. Her fascination with cats made it a given that she would be a kitty more than once (and we have the photographs to prove it).

Over the years we’ve tried the door-to-door in the neighborhood visits, the trips to the local mall for safer handouts and in later years Kristen has enjoyed going to a friend’s house for scary movies and a party.

The traditional carving of the pumpkin is something we’ve always involved both Kristen and Eric in. Annette has been great about finding good patterns to make a more creative jack-o-lantern. I’m not dexterous or patient enough to do the carving, but she is and the kids like it, too. By the way, taking the gooey insides of a just carved pumpkin and putting them in a covered bowl is a great gag. Offer the bowl for the little costumed kiddos when they come to the door and encourage them to reach in for a fistful. Ok, I’m just kidding – I’ve never done that. But I’m thinking about it.

Take the time to reflect and write about your past Halloween experiences. Don’t be afraid to probe the past. Be sure to go through your photo albums, too.

You can read other articles on life-story writing here.

Resources You Can Use

A good way to help advance your career and work opportunities is to have a short, professional biography written in narrative form. You can use this with a compelling cover letter and resume to let others better appreciate your talents, goals and career highlights. Plus, it is a good way to make a beginning on your life story. I have written a few of these for others and it’s affordable and easy for you to utilize my services. The investment is much smaller (about $100) than a bigger personal history project. Find out more here and feel free to contact me for more information.

The iMemoryBook

The iMemoryBook is a great way to write your memoir, tribute books, personal histories – the possibilities are endless. It’s very affordable and easy to build your story online and then have it printed with a beautiful hard or soft cover and with the artwork you want.

There are a couple of ways to do this. You can buy the main package for less than $200 and your story will be online forever as well as getting one hardcover book. Plus, you can affordably order additional books and because your story stays online (password protected so you can share it only with those you choose to) you can update it in the future. Or you can use the Heirloom package for just $49.95 that allows you to follow the same process. Plus, you get a $37 coupon towards the cost of your project that gives you a 25 page full-color or 150 page black and white hardbound book. For more information and to get started visit here

Closing Information

Any comments, ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. Just reply to this ‘zine and tell me what you think!

Until next time, – keep your story alive!

Tom Gilbert