Wanderings - Janet Lane Walters #BWLAuthor , #MFRWAuthor #Writing #Reviews

Learning new things can be a real hard and interesting challenge. Lately I’ve been trying to master Book Bub. I’m not sure I have but lately I’ve received a number of new followers. I invested a little bit of money and have new followers every day. I’m going ot do the same for December, I think. I keep trying to recommend books but haven’t done well at that. The problem is time. I have several posts saved to do different things there. I’m not sure what will come of this.

I would rather be writing. I even have a tee shirt that says that and I wear it frequently, especially when something takes me away from my chair and clipboard. As it’s almost Thanksgiving, I will say I’m thankful for having a great publisher and a lot of co-writers whose books I enjoy. There’s also the aide who comes in five morings a week to get my invalid husband ready for be. There’smy granddaughter who helps around the house, my six other grandchildren who I don’t see as often as I would like. My children are part of this.

I’ve also been doing some reviews. They are not wonderful but I never give lower than a four. I think I’ve done what I’ve read for October  and September. I’m working on November as I’ve been reading them.

Now if I could just master all the promotional things out there, I would be pleased.

I’m also thankful for Katherine Miller who starred in my first ebook. Hard to believe that was about 20 years ago.

Old money, by J.C. Kavanagh

Short-listed for Best Young Adult Book 2018, The Word Guild

Money. Who doesn't love it... want it.... need it? How about old money? I don't mean 'old' as in family wealth passed from generation to generation. I mean old money. 100-years-old money.

My Irish dad (RIP), encouraged me to save coins that were minted for specific events, ie the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Or Canada's 100-year celebration of Confederation in 1967. He kindly gave me some old coins before he passed and I have many of them to this day.

One of them is a Canadian 50-cent silver coin, minted in 1872. One side has laurel-type wreaths and the other is the bust of Queen Victoria. The words "VICTORIA DEI  GRATIA REGINA" are captioned above the Queen's bust, and "NEWFOUNDLAND" is stamped at the bottom. This coin was minted after Canada's Confederation in 1867 but well before Newfoundland embraced the concept of Canada as a unified country. (It wasn't until 1949 that Newfoundland officially became a province of Canada.)

And what is the value of this old money? According to the website CoinsandCanada.com, it's worth a measly $10. Canadian. That's about $3 American. Well, not really, but it's not much. If the coin were in 'mint' condition, it would be worth approximately $1,000. My coin is in very poor condition, thus the $10 value.

My dad also gave me a British five-shilling (one Crown) cupro-nickel coin, minted in 1965. (According to Wikipedia, cupro-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel. It may also contain other elements such as iron and manganese.) The five-shilling coin commemorates the death of Sir Winston Churchill. Dad told me to hold on to the coin, as it would surely increase in value.

There were nearly 19 million of these coins minted. Which is why the coin is valued at.... five shillings. 25 pence. Yah, that's about 43 cents Canadian.

So I continued checking out the CoinsandCanada.com website for more values. I have a ziploc-bag encasing a 1967 Centennial Confederation $1 bill. Surely, I'm thinking, that must be worth something.

Maybe not. My lovely dollar bill is worth perhaps $4 Canadian. That money tree is not within grasp at all.

One last check on the site. I have a 1976 Canadian Olympic $100 commemorative coin. The city of Montreal, Quebec played host that year to more than 6,000 athletes representing 92 countries. The coin is 14-karat gold and the Bank of Canada minted 650,000.

It's in excellent condition, in the original commemorative holder, never opened, and since 1976, encased in a trusty ziploc bag. The value? $430. NOW we're talking.

I'm not sure what I'll do with these coins. Sell them, or bestow them to my children or grandchildren? But really, who wants old money these days?

J.C. Kavanagh

The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2)

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada

AND

The Twisted Climb,

voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll

Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart

Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com

www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh

www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh

Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)

What is Solastalgia and How is it Affecting our Children?

We see headlines like these every day:

"One million species threatened with extinction because of humans"

"250,000 deaths a year from climate change is a 'conservative estimate,' research says"

"CO2 levels at highest for 3 million years"

Unsurprisingly, such reports cause anxiety, sometimes called “eco-anxiety” or “climate-anxiety.” Technically called Solastalgia, it is defined as “chronic fear of environmental doom.” While not yet listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,) the Bible of mental disorders used by psychologists, it is never the less a real thing.

In a 2017 report by the American Psychological Association, the source of the stress is defined as “watching the slow and seemingly irrevocable impacts of climate change…and worrying about the future for oneself, children, and later generations.” It adds that some people “are deeply affected by feelings of loss, helplessness and frustration.”

According to a Yale survey conducted in December 2018, 70% of Americans are "worried" about climate change, 29% are "very worried" and 51% feel "helpless."

Solastalgia is especially prominent in young adults. Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager, is a well-known example. Mary Jane Rust, a British eco-psychologist states “that (as some of my younger clients have said), ‘We’re completely screwed’. I suspect it might be part of the reason for binge-drinking epidemics, and other addictions, for example. There is a general feeling that the future is so uncertain and it’s extremely hard to live with.”

Symptoms of Solastalgia include panic attacks, deep depression, lack of sleep, palpitations and the triggering of underlying mental illnesses.  One survey in the U.K. showed that half of children between the ages of seven and 11 worry about climate change. Other reports suggest kids are more worried about climate change than their own homework.

In other words, children nowadays are feeling deep hopelessness and frustration. This is exhibited in beliefs like “we are all going to die,” “what’s the point of living,” and the rise of anti-natalism—the refusal to have children. Some children even question their parents: “Why did you have me?”

It is hard for adults to understand the stress that this unremitting stream of apocalyptic narratives have on children’s health. Before climate change, most children dealt with fears which had solutions. The fear of total extinction was never on the horizon. Today, this anxiety pervades their lives.

 Sources:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/hopeless-or-hopeful-how-eco-anxiety-affects-kids-and-youth-1.4608324

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/b2e7ee32-ad28-4ec4-89aa-a8b8c98f95a5

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/07-08/climate-change

https://www.newsweek.com/eco-anxiety-climate-change-parent-fear-discussion-children-global-warming-depression-effects-1459731

https://newrepublic.com/article/153149/cruel-kids-era-climate-change

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," a fantasy, and "Karma Nation," a literary

romance, published by Books We Love.. Check him out at www.mohanashtakala.com and at 

www.bookswelove.com