English is a curious, complex, and crazy language. Not least of which are the -nyms.
You may use these in everyday language and not give a second thought unless you’re like me – a wordsmith and amateur etymologist – and such curiosities intrigue you.
Many of us have heard the term ‘Synonym’ – but what does it mean?

Synonym
A word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language, for example shut is a synonym of close.
Examples:
Shut / Close*
Far / Distant
Evil / Wicked / Bad / Malevolent
Push / Shove
Jump / Leap
Create / Make
Near / Close*
 
*See examples below as Close (as in near) and Close (as in close a door) are also Homonyms.
It’s likely you’ve used homonyms regularly but might not have been aware that’s what they were called.
 
What is a Homonym?
This is more complex – as there are several linguist concepts related to homonyms.
Homographs -words that share the same spelling – regardless of meaning.
Desert (arid region) and desert (to leave)
Bark (the covering on a tree) and bark (the sound a dog makes) * This is also a homonym (as it sounds the same)
Lime (the fruit) and lime (the chemical/material)
Rose (the flower) and rose (to travel upwards)
Tear (to rip) and tear (a drop of moisture from the eye)

Heterophones – words that share the same spelling but are pronounced differently.
Examples:
Bow (as in bow tie, or violin bow or the weapon) and bow (as in bow of a ship or take a bow) * These are also Heteronyms as they pronounced differently.
Row (as in row a boat or stand in a row) and row (as in argue with one’s spouse) *Also a Heteronym.

Homophones – words that sound the same – regardless of spelling.
Examples:
Threw (as in threw a ball)/through (to pass through something)
To (the place - go to somewhere)/Two (the number/amount)/Too (also – I want to come too)
Their (Possessive – Their house, their dog etc/There (location – there is the house, there is the dog)/They’re (contract of they are).
For (the ball is for Alex, the knife is for cutting) /Four (the number)/Fore (the front part/golfing term).
Wind (the wind is blowing today)/wind (to wind up a watch) or windy – it is windy today/this road winds around the village.

Antonym - Words with opposite meaning
Examples:
Add / Subtract
Happy / Sad
Open / Close
Lie / Truth

Contronym (also known as a Janus word) a word having two meanings that contradict one another (also contranym)
– Merrium Webster definition   called also antagonym, autoantonym, Janus word
(Janus was the Roman god of doorways and portals – he was the chap with two faces).
Examples:
Aught – all or nothing,
Cleave – to separate and to join together,
Buckle – to fasten or secure and to bend/warp under pressure,
Dust (verb)– to sprinkle with fine particles (such as dust a cake), or to remove fine particles (to dust a shelf),
Overlook – to fail to see something, or to monitor or inspect,
Fine – excellent or just good enough,
Sanction – to approve or boycott.
For further examples – check HERE

Capitonyms
Words that have the same spelling but different meanings if one is capitalized
Polish (from Poland)/polish (to shine something) and Pole (citizen of Poland)/pole (a long piece of wood or metal)
March (the month)/march (walk in step or border territory).
August (the month)/august (respected)
Turkey (the country)/turkey (the bird consumed at Christmas)
Scotch (from Scotland)/scotch (the drink or to scotch a rumour)
Frank (the name)/frank (honesty or to postmark a letter)
Slough (the place)/slough (to shed the skin)
Mass (the religious gathering)/mass (a large object/gathering)

Confused? I’m not surprised.
© A.L. Butcher

When stress, crazy timetables, not-so-smart working schedules make us burned out, we all wish we could take a holiday. But we must keep going and waking up in the morning needs something more than just an alarm clock.

However we all have our ways to overcome the tiredness and to kick-start our days. Some people jump out of bed at the first sound of the alarm ready to face the day. Others require an hour long self-persuasion about the great things that are going to happen during that day (which generally is more a self-bribing and often turning into self-blackmailing). 

I have always been an early bird, so in the morning it’s a game of who is waking up first. Me, or the alarm clock? Then the real kick-start is when I brew my first morning cup of coffee at the office.

There’s something magic about being the first one to arrive. The silence, the tranquility of having the common spaces for myself, and enjoying my first morning cup in quiet as I read the first emails.

Things are not much different during the weekends or holidays. I am always the first one to wake up in the morning, and nothing wakes me up better than some quality time with my favorite cup of coffee.

Since we are all different and have different routines and habits, I'm curious to find out what’s your way of kick-starting the day.

Singing in the shower?
A cup of tea or coffee?
Quality time having breakfast and reading the news?
Tell me about it!

 or someOver the evolution of our species there has always been things we call parasites, better known to everyone else as “Scammers!” These loathsome creatures have been among us from the first civilization. Back in those days they came door to door, how horrible that must’ve been for us regular folks. However, as time progressed from snake oils and miracle cures, no wait we still have people trying to sell us that today. . . What I meant to say was as technology got more advanced the easier it was for these infestations to invade our daily lives. It started with the telephone, and that was bad enough. They called at all hours until a regulatory force was placed in charge of them disrupting our natural cycles.
 
Internet and emails
Next came the internet and a thing called e-mail, that brought new trouble with it. They now had ways to find out information on you to try to make it seem as though they were friends there to bring you aid just when you needed it the most. We put out all our information out in our profiles because it was new it was neat and exciting! At first, we didn’t think to hide or mask ourselves because who out there would want to do us harm? (Enter forehead slap here.)
As a generation we grew more intelligent, at least more aware of what people were trying to do. According to an independent news source, new scams and shams are created at a rate of a single new one every two minutes. What can we as consumers do?
Well lately they hide behind email address blinds, so always check who you’d be replying to, the e-mail may say “Amazon” or “Best Buy” but it’s usually “josemuneos323342@assshat.com” or some other bogus email.
 
Phone calls
With phone calls if you don’t recognize the number don’t answer it, if it’s worthwhile a message will be left. Caution Scammers will also leave messages with numbers to call, unless you have a reason to dial that number; don’t! We’re even getting calls from what is supposed to be our banks, with notices of fraud. This is alarming and most people will immediately call back the number given by the recorded message, they “verify their information” now the scammers have access to your bank information. Always call the number on the back of your credit or debit card.
 
Free stuff
You’ll also probably run into these fantastic deals, free stuff if you only pay shipping and handling. Here’s the rub. As an author I’ve sent books via mail before, so I know the approximate cost. In almost all cases of free books or free items the shipping is at least 5-10 dollars higher than it really costs to ship items. Amazon Prime didn’t bankrupt Amazon when they released it so you can be sure cheaper shipping exists. I’m a patriot so I get a lot of mail from second amendment groups and other groups that are trying to make a difference. Mixed in with that lot is always a jerk telling me how guns will soon be outlawed, and they can show you how to make your own gun with tools you have in your home. Just pay for shipping and handling and their book will be on your doorstep.
 
If they wanted me to have that book for free, they could have set up a download for a PDF, for free. You’re gonna tell me that your sixty-page book costs $12.95 to ship to me? Please give the general population a break we’re not all idiots, but too many people are. Don’t get me wrong. . . there are some great deals out there if you watch what you are doing. I got a fantastic knife, of outstanding quality, for $4.95 shipping and handling; however, it took seven pages of me saying no to their other offers to finish the transaction. That’s another key, take screen shots of the order page and everything until you’re done. Never leave your credit card number hanging because you don’t want to say no seven or eight times. They can take that as consent to you wanting all those extra items.
 
Dating scams
Also, you’ll get friend requests from hot girls or hot guys depending on your gender. 98% of these are phony profiles. Within a week or two they’ll ask for what they came for, a lot of men ask for naked pictures. (insert eyeroll) and many women ask you to help them with their phones so they can continue to talk to you. Of course, most of them have fallen madly in love with you within the first week. My personal favorite thing to do if I feel like playing with them, is wait until they ask for money then request, they send me their naked pictures. They become offended at the idea and ask, “how could I make such a horrible question?” I ask if it made them feel cheap and used, they usually say yes.  Mainly because they stole these photos and don’t have nude photos to send. I tell them that’s how I feel when tramps I barely know ask me for money. This effectively ends the relationship, which is the main point.
 
Conclusion
Main thing to remember is to keep your wits about you. If you get a call, find a reason to disconnect and dial a number you know goes to that institution. The same goes with e-mails, chances are if you didn’t enter in a contest to win something, the awarding company isn’t likely legitimate. Always check email addresses, never use the call back numbers you’re given; always use the numbers you know. Your banks and credit card companies don’t mind, they’d rather you’re safe than sorry as well. Until there is a way to find and prosecute these scammers, we’re going to be stuck with them. So keep yourself educated and if it seems too good to be true, chance are it probably is too good to be true.
​
© Slate R. Raven, June 2021

The cabins invited solitude, introspection, thoughtfulness, creativity. More than a writing workshop, this was a temporary retreat, somewhere to hide, somewhere to cut themselves off from the all-consuming demands of society and family. Yes, somewhere to retreat…
…from distraction,
…from pressure,
…from Life.

The location was sandwiched between the Shenandoah and George Washington National Parks. Idyllic quiet for meditation and creation. Trees, birds, weekend cabins… and the occasional bear.
The twenty-five apprentice writers had been warned of the bear’s presence in the area by the workshop’s hosts. Over the years, many from the Richmond area, and from further afar, had built weekend cabins in the area. The combination of human presence, albeit occasional, and dense forestation had stimulated the interest of the local wildlife. The latter was not really a problem, as long as the visitors followed the common-sense rules. First and foremost was food. Leftovers they were to humans; an easy treat to Ursus americanus. A calorific catch compared with what was available in nature. No hunting involved. No expensive energy expended. With the long winter on the horizon, it was never too late to start hoarding fat reserves, after all practice makes perfect, and human throwaways always tasted sweet.

One wag from the workshop had even christened it Yoga Bear, given the inclusion of right-brain meditation techniques into the retreat’s program. Fear, respect, for one of nature’s most persistent predators had not been a consideration for most. This was Disneyland with real animals, after all. A chance to commune with successful authors and learn their secrets. The potential encounter of the Ursus kind, mental images of a porkpie hat-wearing cartoon bear, muzzle streaked with honey and cake crumbs, only served to stimulate ‘little gray cells’.

Day one, the welcome wine and cheese went well. Bonhomie triumphed. The meet and greet was an interesting sounding board for all. That incontrollable pursuit, that irresistible peccadillo indulged by humans during first-time encounters with their fellows ran rampant, though unvoiced. Labelling! Attaching generic adjectives. Pigeonholing. Classification. Characterization, as the new authors would call it.

The Pasty-faced man, overweight, overloud, became The Bore. Always capitalized in their minds. No one aware of the massive heart attack, the redirected life plan bringing him here in the hope of removing stress from his life, and thus sidestepping another cardiac event.
The rake-thin girl with the bird-like stare and fixation on jogging; Birdy. The head-shaven, solidly built, thirty-something guy who spoke so quietly you had to lean in to hear, abrasive personality, not a good mixer; Mr. Clean, because of his passing resemblance to the advertising meme. And so on.
An innocent game… for some.
​
Day two: the start of the work schedule,
…and the first death.

One of the early-risers, Birdy, found the mangled corpse just off a path used for her daybreak jog. The buzzing flies had alerted her to the partly hidden scene. Back in her native New York, the morning jog in Central Park only offered danger from a twisted ankle, or an errant mugger. Here, some other predator had done a number on a fellow attendee.

The State cops and Park Rangers were mystified. Yoga bear had never exhibited this behavior before. How the aspiring author had met such a violent demise, while others slept soundly, was a mystery. There had been no screams, yells, sounds of danger from beneath the morning mist trapped in the treetops. Just blood-soaked earth, gore, disfigurement …and plenty of tracks. Claw marks on trees, the ground, and, above all, on the body.

Had it merely been a case of wrong time, wrong place, wrong bear, as the cops speculated? Misadventure was the favorite. A lesson to be learned for the remaining retreat participants.

A vote was taken; the workshop would continue. The writers, led by the vehement argument of the quietly spoken stocky guy at the back, opted not to deny themselves their workshop even after the unfortunate death of their co-attendee. They had found an oasis far from the mundane, the incomprehension, the interruptions, the exigent world outside. This attempt, by Yoga, to impose the harsh here-and-now, to drag them from their musings, would not be tolerated!
The bear, the death, the unfortunate incident as it rapidly became called, was fodder now.  Some feverishly jotted grisly details in notebooks for future use. Others, more mercenary, went back to their rooms to pen stories of mauling beneath massive trunks, their imaginations supplying the macabre minutiae their notebooks lacked.
Day three, another body.

Another attendee, crumpled in death on one of the pathways between the cabins after a headcount showed a missing quill. A chance encounter with Yoga? No one alive could know. It was The Bore, generating more interest in death than in life.

The same cops. An attendant Medical Examiner spoke of a massive coronary. Evidence in the form of a medical alert card on the oldest member of the workshop, attested to a couple of prior visits to the ER. Meds, discovered in his cabin, backing up the theory. Something, perhaps happenstance, had led to the demise of another workshop member’s ambitions to use writing as a calming influence in his lifestyle. Unfulfilled expectations; not a phrase for a death certificate.
However, as the State cops remarked, two deaths in as many days was cause for concern. The grizzly may have been responsible for the first of these, and might have contributed to the second. Was Yoga targeting people? Not unheard of, if cubs were involved. The Park Rangers stated, as far as they knew, Yoga, the name had stuck, was a male, so a lethal maternal instinct was not in play. They suggested the workshop be cancelled.

Sturdy-man again led the protests. Misadventure and chance were logic’s worst enemies. The organizers decided to continue. Precautions were taken. All outdoor activities were transferred to the safety of the large cabin, and strolls, jogs, walks and anything external to four walls was discouraged. In a sense, the workshop had become a retreat of a different sort.
Day four. The last, planned full day.
Another absence amongst the aspiring.

All gathered in the largest cabin and awaited the cops. The missing woman, her confessed dreams filled with best sellers populating bookshelves for the millions of Young Adult fans she hoped to find. A macabre equilibrium, evidenced when her corpse was found floating in a large, uncovered water tank behind the cabin. No signs of foul play. No bear claws embedding the body. A few scrapes on nearby trees though. Yoga was once more an Ursus of Interest.

Drowned. Why she had been in the tank, fully clothed, was left for active imaginations to throw out theories. A refuge perhaps from an unintended encounter with nature? A slip on the slime coating the bottom? A foul footing following fright, fearful of becoming another victim of Yoga’s wrath?
The organizers were adamant. The bear had won. The workshop would close its doors after a final meeting.

“This last session will bring a close to the workshop,” announced Organizer Judith. “We will hold a three-minute silence for the loss of our fellow writers, retrieve our belongings, then wait for the State Troopers to escort us out. Fiona, do you have anything to add?”

She sat down, her place before assumed by their celebrity author guest.
“I had intended to talk about ‘the Writer’s Journey’ today. How our passage through life, our gathering of experience, could fuel our work. It’s strange, looking at what has happened these last few days. Judith and I were remarking how the three who perished had shown such great promise in their writing. They also had that natural stubbornness needed to turn talent into a successful profession. They were possibly the most obvious candidates to get the most from this workshop…”

“…and yet they’re dead! Where does that leave the rest of us?” Harsh words from the stocky man, Mr. Clean, seated in the back.

“Jarrod, it is Jarrod, isn’t it? Well, we are all survivors, I guess. What happened… it could have been any of us…”

A deep thudding from the solid wooden door caused all to jump.
Judith rose and peeked through the curtained window before opening the door to the State Troopers.

“Gentlemen?”
“Is everyone here?” demanded the senior officer.

A quick glance around the room.
“Yes, why? Has something happened?”

“The Park Rangers have just contacted us. They have found Yoga, the bear. It had been trapped and killed at least a week ago. Its paws had been hacked off…”

“What!”
Fiona was the first to articulate a conclusion.

“So if Yoga was out of the picture… the deaths…”

“Exactly,” said the senior cop.

Taking turns, we bring you interesting, fun stories and useful posts, every Friday. 

​“Grandma is here!” Sara, a cute eight-year-old girl in fairy costume shouted when she heard a car pulling into the driveway.
“Grandma you came!” Sara hugged her grandmother as soon as she stepped through the door.
“I wouldn’t miss trick or treat with you for the whole world.”
Sara pulled back and examined the old lady’s outfit. “Grandma, you always dress as a witch every Halloween. Why don’t you put on a different costume?”
“Because I’m a witch,” her grandma replied with a wink and shot a mischievous smile at her daughter who stood by the stove.
“Sara, go put on your sparkly shoes while I talk to your grandma,” Mandy shooed her little fairy out of the kitchen and turned to her mother. “Mom, there are three this year. The first one is a savage man who lives at 21 Mayberry Street. He’s been beating his wife and children in his drunken rages for years and the poor woman is afraid to leave him because he threatened to kill her and the children if she ever leaves him.”
“Got it,” the old lady nodded with a serious expression on her wrinkled face.
Mandy continued, “The next one is the shifty lawyer at 13 Viola Street. She twists and turns the law and uses dirty tricks to defend her clients. A rich child molester is free because of her. They both deserve punishment. My heart goes out to that little girl. She’s Sarah’s age and…” Mandy shivered. “I can’t even… He must be stopped, mom! He lives at 52 Madison Street in the big mansion.”
“Indeed, they do deserve what's coming to them,” her mother exclaimed and put on a bright smile as she heard Sara running down the stairs. Are you ready, pumpkin?”
“Let’s go, Grandma,” Sarah grabbed the old lady’s hand and pulled her toward the front door. “We don’t want to miss the best candy!”

***

​The next day as the woman opened the front door at 21 Mayberry street, she wondered where her no-good husband could be. She covered her bruised face and winced in pain. He didn’t come home last night. She thought feeling worried. Probably he drank too much and sleeping it off somewhere. I hope he’ll be sober by the time he gets home; he doesn’t get too angry with me when he’s sober.
She picked up the newspaper and as she straightened up, she spotted a large, rotting pumpkin on the bottom step. “How did this get here? It's rotten already,” she mumbled. She picked up the heavy pumpkin and carried it to the compost box in the back.
A tiny, angry voice came from the pumpkin, “Put me down, you stupid woman! It’s me, don’t you see? I’m gonna kill you, I will!”
But the woman didn’t hear the voice and as the pumpkin hit the pile of rotting vegetables in the box, it exploded into hundreds of little pieces.
The cruel man still absent two days later, she filed a missing person’s report. But she and her children didn’t miss him, at all. Deep down she hoped he would never be found.

***

​The lawyer who lived at 13 Viola Street had a court case the next day. She had everything prepared to confuse the jurors, but the first words came out her mouth was, “My client is guilty as hell.”
She stood there feeling horrified as everyone in the courtroom cheered. From that moment on, the woman couldn’t tell a lie. She lost all her clients, and nobody would hire her again. She couldn't hold any job because she kept insulting everyone, so she lived the rest of her life alone, miserable, and bitter.

***

​The pervert at 52 Madison Street had an awful Halloween night. He kept hearing the cries of the children he assaulted, in his mind. The words that the anguished mother of his last victim shouted at him when the "not guilty" verdict was announced, cut into his brain like a sharp knife, over and over. You deserve to rot in hell for what you did! You deserve to rot in hell for what you did!
The cries relentlessly echoed in his mind, day, and night. He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, and couldn’t find a minute of peace. Days later he drove his Mercedes into a large tree at high speed. Did he finally find peace in death? Who knows? Just like in prison, maybe even the hardest criminals in hell hate child molesters. 

***

​A few days later Mandy’s mom stopped for a short visit. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Mom, everything is as it should be,” Mandy said, smiling.
“You know, I’m getting too old, it’s time for you to continue the family’s Hollows Eve Magic tradition," the old lady announced handing her gnarly wand to her daughter. “Next year you go trick or treating, and I’ll stay home to hand out candy.”      

Watch out for evil people meeting the fate they deserve, just a few days after next Halloween.
​Maybe the vigilante witch lives in your neighborhood. Or, Maybe Miss Karma is righting wrongs. We never know...

I am a poet, I have been writing as long as I can remember (and, according to my sisters even before that).  In my early years, I was treated to the rhymes of Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss and I was enthralled.  I love them both and have been influenced by them in my writing.

You would think I would always have wanted to read poetry since I wrote it.  Well, that is not the case at all.  In grade school, we were exposed to poets like Robert Frost and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  I was not impressed, and when the teachers told us what the poems supposedly were saying...I was totally lost.  I did not like the style they wrote in and what I thought they said was not even close to what I was supposed to be seeing.  By the time I had to read the poems about "How do I love thee" and "Lovely as a Tree" I had learned to memorize what the teacher said was happening.  Subsequently, I began avoiding any poetry that I was not ordered to read.

Luckily for me, when I entered high school, I had a wonderful English teacher.  Mr. Hagberg was different than any of my previous teachers.  He taught us what a poem meant was what it made you feel or think.  He said it did not really matter what the poet was thinking at the time it was written.  We were encouraged to read and explain how a poem affected us and why we felt that way.  There were NO WRONG ANSWERS!  The door to enjoying other poets was swung open for me!

My first love in high school was the writings of William Blake.  Being a big fan of all the large cats, "The Tyger" was the lure that captured me.  I could visualize the creator as he blended so much beauty and grace with enormous strength and unbridled viciousness.  When it referred to "The Lamb", I went to read it and noticed how he wrote gently, completely opposite of this poem.  For me, the imagery was tangible and realistic.  The dual nature of the creator made evident just by the descriptions of two of his creatures.

Blake's influence on me did not stop there. Many of his poems reflected the world before his eyes.  "London" had me walking the streets of England in the late 1700s.  I saw the dismal living conditions, felt the despair.  His obvious references to funerals in connection to situations that would have been considered blessings to the rich, instilled in my soul the anguish felt by the lowly citizens.  

While writing this I have come to realize that I write like him.  Both of us write what we see and feel, without concern for the social norms.  We speak from our hearts and souls.  Truth is truth, no matter how messy or how much pain it creates when faced.
© Cindy J. Smith

It has been a long run with many authors participating in the OAG blog with 792 interesting blog posts since 2017. The blog had 379,998 visitors who left 1248 comments.

However, three of our blog posts had been reported as malicious content and removed yesterday without warning the admins of the blog and without explanation. There is nothing wrong with censuring and flagging dangerous or malicious content, God knows there are plenty on blogs and social sites.

But, when the authors don't even have a chance to find out why their posts had been removed without warning and what could have been offensive about the posts, it goes a step beyond censorship. It also really takes the fun out of writing new blog posts.
Although the posts had been reinstated, our enthusiasm to connect with readers on this blog is gone.

Therefore, The Author Gang said goodbye to Blogger and we will continue to bring interesting weekly posts to readers on this website.

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