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Dan Wheldon’s death in Las Vegas

Kathie — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:07:11 +0000

Dan Wheldon was killed right before our eyes last week, 10-16-11, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS).

My husband, Tim, and I were in the grandstands on that day, at that time. Tim is an avid race fan and never misses a main even at the LVMS. We were in the Neon Garage (pits) that day to see the drivers, crews, cars, and awesome events that took place before the race began.

U.S. Airforce planes zoomed overhead from Nellis AFB as 34 drivers started their engines. Nineteen cars circled five memorial laps to the tunes of Danny Boy and Amazing Grace in honor of Dan Wheldon only two short hours later. The race was not resumed.

The LVMS is offering a full refund on any tickets that were scanned for the race that day. Tim and I decided to take that refund and when we receive it, we will send it to a charity sponsored for the Wheldon children, Sebastian, 2, and Oliver, 8 months. There is also an online sports auction to take place for Dan’s wife Susie, and children.

Top ten tips for SLP’s to do for Autism Awareness Month

Kathie — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:32:28 +0000

Brainstorm with other SLP’s about one child in particular, not at school or in the clinic but over a cup coffee or a soda
Find a new app on your iPad or iPhone that you can use with a client with ASD
Take a client with ASD on a fieldtrip and explore a new environment together
Find three new motivators to use with students with ASD – I scavenger around in dollar stores myself
Make a bulletin board for your room/office that announces April as Autism Awareness MonCall one or all of your clients with ASD on the telephone and have a conversation – I would suggest telling them ahead of time that you will call them tonight to talk about ___________.
Turn on some soft music, sit back for 10 minutes, close your eyes, and allow your mind to drift into the world of a person with autism. They are sensory people, so you must see, hear, feel, smell, and perceive the world as they would.
If you team in a school/clinic with teachers, P.T’s, O.T.’s., call a 15 minute “Autism Awareness Chat.” Hey, buy a dozen cookies and make it a friendly, mind-freeing experience for everyone. Fifteen minutes may lead to more and a chat in April may lead to one in May and June.
Invite the parents/caregivers of your clients with ASD into the therapy setting.
Demonstrate strategies and pick one or two that you want the parent to carryover in the home environment.
Number 10 is probably the most important of all – read something new about autism: a story, poem, research, therapy strategy etc., etc. Always be informed because as SLP’s we are #2 in line to help children/adults with ASD. Who is #1? You tell me.

Pray for the ‘Fukushima 50′

Kathie — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:24:53 +0000

Fukushima Nuclear Plant

180 plant workers are rotating in groups of 50 at a time as they risk their lives to contain the radiation at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant. They are heros and the world is watching and waiting.

WE MUST ALL PRAY THAT GOD IS IN THERE WITH THEM

AND THAT HE HAS HIS HAND ON THEIR SHOULDERS.

Jill Clayburgh passes away at 66

Kathie — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:58:18 +0000

: Jill Clayburgh

Jill Clayburgh, one of my favorite actors passed away at the age of 66. She always selected such wonderful scripts and portraited her characters with grace and realism.

My favorite role of Jill’s was in Griffin and Phoenix opposite Peter Falk. This 1976 TV movie was authored by John Hill of Las Vegas. I’ve met John many times, heard him speak, and taken a creative writing class from him at UNLV. Griffin and Phoenix is a tearjerker in which both of the main characters die. So it ends for Jill.

Emmy winning screenwriter, John Hill, will be speaking on Saturday, November 20 at 10:30 at the Las Vegas Romance Writers Group. I wonder if he’ll have anything to say about this wonderful actress who brought one of his most famous writings to the screen. I know for a fact this was his favorite version of Griffin and Phoenix.

Yes, I’ll miss seeing Jill Clayburgh in new films but we’ll lucky to have had this wonderful lady for a while.

Passionate Hearts

Kathie — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:21:52 +0000

"A Firefly for Thanksgiving"

My newest, romantic short story, “A Firefly for Thanksgiving,” is included in Passionate Hearts from Vanilla Heart Publishing. You can take a sneak peak by following the link and turning the pages. This will be published in a variety of formats: hardback, Kindle, IPad, Sony, Nook, PDF at OmniLit and All Romance as well as a possible audio edition.

“A Firefly for Thanksgiving” is a modern story of love that is delayed by the war in Afghanistan. You don’t want to miss it. It is timely and fit for the coming holiday.

Act of Kindness for a fellow writer

Kathie — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:50:10 +0000

An Act of Kindness for a Fellow Writer In today’s (Sunday, Aug. 29) Las Vegas Sun, there is an article “The New Homeless: My Story by Roger Jacobs.” I was so touched as I read Roger’s account of his road to homelessness. He is fifty-one, lives in Las Vegas, is an award-winning writer, and is about to become homeless.

We, as a writing group, cannot possibly fix all of his problems. But, we, as a writing group, could help Roger Jacobs. I challenge each writer in our group to reach into the kindness of their soul for a fellow writer ~ to put the words of their pages into action.

There is a video report on Roger with more photos at lasvegassun.com that is certainly worth five-minutes of your time. Contributions are welcomed at a special account for Roger Jacobs at any U.S. Bank branch. I would like to suggest that besides your contribution and name, you leave a message to him as to what writer’s group you represent.

Read the article, watch the video, search your heart ~ let’s all support a fellow writer in his time of need. Let’s show Roger and Las Vegas that our stories have wings and that our words are written with grace.

Kathie Harrington

Las Vegas Writer’s Group

Henderson’s Writer’s Group

Las Vegas Romance Writers