Words & Banter

7th Launch Box: Don’t Tell Our Accountants … Or Mom

DAY 7: To include, or not to include, that was the question. Until we get around to creating a shopping cart (don't tell our accountants or attorneys, and definitely not our mom, as they all keep telling us we need to be focused on revenue), we debated whether to include excerpts from our bestselling book.

We finally decided you should NOT have to buy the book to enjoy or benefit from it, so we're going to publish excerpts that we hope you'll find useful or amusing. Or (ideally), both. So, check out Book Bites for the first of many excerpts we're going to post.

We also have ideas for four or five new books and already have outlines! Now we just need the time to actually write them – or a publisher to put us on a strict deadline. (Interested publishers, please contact Black!)

Watch what we have in store for you tomorrow … as the operative word is "Watch" because we'll be introducing our "Video" section.

So, stay tuned … as, yes, there's still more to come!

Photo courtesy of Red’s eldest daughter, Natasha

What does Thanksgiving have to do with shoes?! Or, the fact some of Red’s most memorable Thanksgiving celebrations happened when she lived overseas and introduced the holiday to friends, none of whom were American. But this column from 2022 is bittersweet for Black, as shortly after it ran, her good friend John passed away … yet the memories of Thanksgivings spent together – and of dear friends – live on. (But that still doesn’t explain the shoes …)


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At the risk of asking you a warm and fuzzy question, have you thought about what you’re most thankful for this Thanksgiving?


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Yes.


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I should’ve guessed that you’d take the question literally. Could you expand on that a little, or at least give me a hint?
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Background image by IlijaErceg on iStock

Take a moment and imagine not being able to read this sentence. Now, think about this … if you’re reading this, you’re doing something millions of Americans can’t.


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I’ll admit that I never realized how many people can’t read. It’s something I’ve always taken for granted. That’s until Black and I met someone doing something about it – Jackie Aguilera, now the Project Manager for the Mayor’s Office of Adult Literacy (Houston). Her focus wasn’t only on reading literacy but on “literacies” I’d never heard of, such as financial literacy, health literacy, and digital literacy. But it all starts with the ability to read.


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It is called functional literacy. Obviously, if you are reading this article, you are on the internet. Which has more information than anyone can possibly absorb (and is why news literacy is so critical). Now, imagine if you could not read. All that information … just sitting there. Available to others, but not to you.


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Books are my great escape. Always have been. So, I can’t imagine a life without them.
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Design by Sawyer Pennington, Underlying photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
It’s late October, and for most of us, fall is in the air, which is Red’s favorite season. (It might have something to do with all the pumpkin spice products.) Halloween, which has been “marketed” in stores for months, will soon be over. And Election Day, which has been headline news for what seems like forever, is just around the corner. So, why are we linking to an Independence Day column? And one from 2020, no less?


Because now is the time to decide what direction we want to take our country. RED & BLACK … A Time For Independence is about the spirit of independence. And four years later, we feel it’s very sad (and very scary) that our sentiments about our country’s leaders having the strength, courage, and conviction to be independent thinkers are still relevant. Maybe even more than ever before.