Amazing What Treasures You Find When You Open Old Scrapbooks...

It's late, so I'll just upload a few of the treasures I found as I went through my photo albums and scrapbooks earlier this evening. 

Every one of these images has a story worth telling as do the ones I haven't uploaded yet. 

Which one(s) do you want to hear about first? 

Let me know and I'll tell the stories in the order requests are received! 

Mom and Kris playing on Laramie Street, Warner Bros, 1995

Autographed Jerry Lewis Photo 1965

DeForest Kelley and Kris Seattle Convention about 1995

Deaken kissing Kris about 1992

Kris in Rollerblading Garb

Kris is Humane Officer Garb

(Yes, I really was a Humane Officer for a time)

Deaken and Kris,  about 1989

Deaken about1982

Kris with tiger cub. Gentle Jungle 1977 or '78

Kris with Natasha at Shambala about 1991

Kris at Gentle Jungle 1977 or '78

Kris with lion at Gentle Jungle 1977 or '78

Kris with Sneakers Serval 1977 or 1978

Kris with Linda Lavin at Actors and Others for Animals Benefit about 1991

Kris with Cindy Marshall at Actors and Others for Animals Benefit about 1991

                          Kris with Earl Holliman at Actors and Others for Animals Benefit about 1991

Kris with Ed Asner and Mike Farrell at Actors and Others for Animals Benefit about 1991

Newspaper article re animal sanctuary I volunteered at (no longer in existence) about 1978

Demetrius Bobcat about 1978

about 1978

Have Panda and Penguin Pummeled Your Page Rank? Blame Whoever Wrote Your Copy or SEO-enabled Your Site!

A lot of SEO companies are scrambling right now to wipe the egg off their faces and pacify now-irate former customers.  I know why. It should never have happened, but this is why it happened.

Back in the day,  when the Internet was new and the powers-that-be in cyberspace didn't know how to build a serviceable Dewey Decimal System (of sorts) to help visitors quickly find the information they were looking for online, they came up with SEO--search engine optimization. SEO-based searches worked well for a while, right up until unscrupulous web content producers (clueless copywriters and hired hacks) began to behave badly, stuffing SEO keywords and phrases into their copy with total disregard as to whether they were providing anything else of value. As long as the keywords boosted their sites to near the top, they felt their jobs were done. So what if the rest of the information on the site was crap? It wasn't their job to write helpful, seeker-friendly copy, was it? They'd been hired to boost rankings, to get seen topside on Google and other search engine sites, not to get visitors to stay and play.

The result? You remember, I'm sure. When you'd go looking (for example) for a "Tacoma copywriter"  the first several pages of returns were all about, "Learn to be a copywriter," "What does a copywriter do?" "copy writing defined", etc. 

What you'd get were ads and definitions, not a single name for a Tacoma copywriter. It was frustrating as hell.

Back then, you got that result because a bunch of people calling themselves internet writing gurus figured out how SEO worked and started stuffing SEO-friendly keywords and phrases into the copy they wrote to divert seekers to their employers' websites, even though the sites were rarely allied with what you were looking for. So you'd find yourself scrolling down the page, often page after page, until finally--maybe!--you'd find an actual Tacoma copywriter with a name, website and phone number. Hallelujah! But it took for-freaking-ever!

Google developed the Panda and  Penguin algorithms (and most recently as of this writing, Hummingbird) to weed out the black hat operators who were/are abusing their filing system. Google's goal, always, is to point seekers to the sites that are most likely to satisfy their needs. Google isn't in business to mislead and frustrate its users; it's in business to stay in business and, to do that, it needs to help weed out the cheaters.

So a lot of SEO firms and copywriters (and, sadly, their clients/victims) that are adversely affected by algorithm changes more or less "have it coming to them". They "cheated" their way to the head of the class under the old system and they've been caught red-handed.

Good copywriters have never had to worry all that much about algorithm changes. Good copy is "sticky"; that is, it's helpful--when people find it, they stay and play, stay and read, stay and buy. In a nutshell, they find what they're looking for. 

This is why, in a world filled with self-proclaimed and unregulated SEO companies and copywriters, it's always good to seek proof that the company, entrepreneur or writer you're thinking about hiring has a clean record, pre-Panda and Penguin and post-Panda and Penguin. Ask to see the sites their work appears on and ask how long they've been there. If their sites are still high and dry, toward the top of search rankings after each of the algorithm changes, you can feel pretty secure that they're doing things the right way and serving you well. They're making sure that the sites they build and the copy they write for you will be enjoyed and used by the people who are looking for what you do.  

If they can't produce proof of their SEO acumen pre- and post- algorithm changes, maybe they don't have any. And that should be a red flag to you.

Another thing. Some SEO companies have you pay a lot of money for monthly "services" to make sure you continue to rank well. Just a word to the wise: a well-written website doesn't require monthly monitoring. It will stay put. 

So don't let anyone charge you outrageous monthly "monitoring" fees under the guise that your rank can plummet if they aren't watching. It won't--not if the visitors to your site keep coming back for more and pointing their network of friends, family and business associates to you. Keep it active, keep it relevant, keep it helpful, and your page rank will take care of itself.

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This Blog is Approaching 100,000 Views! WOW!

OK, I'm officially astonished. I just noticed that this blog has been viewed over 94,000 times. Either I have a very stalwart 49 followers or a lot of people are checking here on the sly. Welcome! Who are you? Where are you? What brought you here today and in days past? What do you want to see more of? Less of?

I'm wondering if we should have a contest and give away one of my books (your choice) to the 100,000th visitor. I expect whoever the winner will be to cross the finish line sometime before Christmas this year, so a book would make a nice little gift -- to keep or to give to someone else. I'd sign it to whomever wins it. 

Does this resonate with anyone? If so, let me know. And if YOU'RE the 100,000th visitor, let me know by email (kristineMsmithATmsnDOTcom) and let me know which book you'd like to get. They're all listed at the top of this blog and you can find out more about each of them on my book and business website at kristinemsmith.biz.

Are you IN? Let me know!

R.I.P Dear Friend AC Lyles

AC Lyles and me on the Hollywood Walk of Fame circa 1995

Kristine M. Smith, Dorothea Smith and AC Lyles

on the Hollywood Walk of Fame circa 1995

It was a great sadness to learn of AC Lyles' passing just yesterday via email. He passed away on Friday, September 27th.

I talked to him last in February when he was in the hospital. He wouldn't tell me why he was there, so I figured it was something serious. His wife Martha let me know it was, but she, too, didn't tell me what it was. 

That was quintessential AC; he never talked about anything negative. All he wanted to talk about, ever, were positive things--a trait that made him a delight to be around.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about AC was that he made you feel like the most important person on the planet when you were with him. Two different times while I was visiting him in his Paramount office, his secretary at the time, Mary Ann Dunlap, buzzed in from her outer office to report to him that Kevin Costner and Buddy Ebsen were on the line. 

The first time, I was flabbergasted to hear AC tell Costner, "I'll call you back. The most beautiful woman in the world just walked into my office." Surprised, I turned around to see if someone else had entered his office--Elizabeth Taylor, perhaps?  

No ... he was talking about me!  After he hung up, I told him he needed  glasses!  He smiled, "No, I don't." 

When Buddy Ebsen called, he asked Mary Ann to let him know he'd call him back.  I objected: "Buddy Ebsen is getting up there, AC. He might not be around when you get to calling him back. Take his call!"  He said, "No. I'll do it later."

I polished AC's and De Kelley's stars on the Walk of Fame for twelve years (nearly every week) until I moved away in 2003. AC used to let visitors know that he had a star polisher. (Very few stars do.) When he told a tour group leader from England, a man named Clive, the group leader made arrangements to stop by with his UK tourists when I would be polishing AC's star the next time they came to Hollywood!   

As the big day approached, I called AC and joked, "Hey, it's high time you came down and watched me polish your star. Why don't you stop by and surprise the tour group this weekend?"  Of course I expected him to beg off. But he said, "I will!"

When Mom and I got to the star on the designated morning (we planned ahead to be sure to get there 20 minutes early), AC was already there, surrounded by his fans from the UK. Of course the gathering caused other tourists to wander over to see what was happening. In no time at all, there was a crush of people on the sidewalk watching how AC's star polisher did her thing and to meet the man himself--Paramount Producer and Goodwill Ambassador for at least 55 years at that time (1995)!

AC stepped over to Mom, took her hand in his, and said for all to hear, "I have to confess something: I'm in love with your daughter." I cracked up. Mom joked back, "Spare me the details! I don't want to know!" 

That was AC. He made everyone feel  adored. That's because he genuinely did adore everyone. He was one of the very people in Hollywood (De Kelley among them) who never got drunk on their own corks, didn't buy their own press. AC, like De, wasn't full of himself. He was genuinely interested in everyone he met.

I will miss knowing he's not holding down the fort at Paramount. I simply cannot imagine the Paramount lot without him and his white 1955 Thunderbird on it. An era has truly passed...

Godspeed, AC. 

New Interview with Me about DeForest Kelley on The Mac Wire. Here's the link...

http://themacwire.com/2013/08/exclusive-interview-remembering-star.html

ENJOY and please COMMENT!

Catch My Radio Interview at Encore Living Radio NOW!

http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/show/5/065/show_5065365.mp3

Let me know what you think.

(Scroll ahead about eight minutes to avoid the ads...)

Check Out STARTREK.COM Today! My interview is up!

Let me know what you think!

http://www.startrek.com/article/exclusive-interview-author-kristine-m-smith-remembers-deforest-kelley

Thanks!

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https://www.elance.com/q/blog/meet-another-100000-freelancer-elance

https://www.elance.com/q/blog/meet-another-100000-freelancer-elance

Heads Up-- Four Updates Elance StarTrek.com Encore Life Magazine

I'm less than $200 away from earning $100,000 (cumulatively) as a copywriter/editor at Elance. They asked me if I'd do an interview with them to celebrate the milestone. I said yes! So mid-week (this week) the interview I did will appear on the Elance blog. Go to https://www.elance.com/q/blog/meet-another-100000-freelancer-elance to see it.

Sometime soon (this  month I believe) an article I wrote about being DeForest Kelley's caregiver will appear in Encore Life Magazine online. (You can get a free subscription. If you do, they'll ping you whenever a new edition comes out.)

In June. StarTrek.com will publish an interview with me about my long association with DeForest Kelley



STAY TUNED!!

Kristine M. Smith, Author of SERVAL SON Speaks at a Rotary Club Event in Tacoma

http://youtu.be/3na-SfWksT0

Drunk on The Idea of Public Speaking (on the Side)...

All week long I've been basking in the afterglow of speaking at the Tacoma South Rotary Club luncheon on Monday. Public speaking is becoming as much a positive adrenaline rush for me as is writing for a living. I absolutely love inspiring people to step outside their comfort zones and pursue what they really want to do with their lives and talents. 

I'm going to be posting a few 2-3 minutes snippets of public appearances I've made and see if they generate sufficient interest to make public speaking another viable way of making myself known, meeting and greeting new people, and boosting my income in a way that is totally me (as is my writing) and totally energizing to the people who come see me. If I can do that, I would be one happy camper!

What do you think of this idea? 

Would you come out and see me (those of you who haven't already)? 

Would those of you who have seen me speak endorse and encourage others to come see me?

I'd like your feedback.  I'm all ears! Email me at kristine m smith AT msn DOT com (all one word) and let me know! Thanks

Sandra Jerke and me after a Rotary Club presentation I gave today. What fun it was!  And I sold some books, too--AND reconnected with Marika Brink (nee McIlheneay) after 25 years!  What a total treat and surprise!  It seems that more than a quarter of the 30+ people there knew either me or my sister Jackie, so it felt like  reunion. I was very comfortable.

Sharon Uhlig (Third Eye Imaging) videotaped the presentation, and will upload snippets of it to You Tube and let me know when it's done so I can point you to it...

Stay tuned!

I've Exceeded the $100,000 Milestone as a Copywriter!! WOO HOO!!!

I'm happy to report that I've exceeded the $100K milestone as a copywriter. I remember (when I officially hung my shingle and "went for it" in November 2008) how impossibly distant $100,000 seemed. And now I've surpassed it.

Actually, if I include the year that I was employed as a fledgling copywriter for an on-hold company (all of 2007 and the first week in 2008) I exceeded the $100K mark well over eight months ago. 

How cool is that?

It's official: I make my living as a copywriter and author. And I have never been happier in any job I've ever held. It consumes my life, but it's going by in the way I always dreamed of living my life, so what's not to love?

So tonight I'm congratulating myself on the beauty of my dreams and encouraging all of you to go for yours. If you'll work for yourself as hard as you work for other people, you can make it, too.  

Read SETTLE FOR BEST: Satisfy the Winner You Were Born to Be. It's a blueprint to your future! It works. I'm living proof!

A Salute to Pat Derby and Other Animal Welfare Advocates I Have Known

This afternoon I've been thinking back--and feeling like Forrest Gump! 

I have had the pleasure of meeting and/or working side by side (briefly or longer term) with so many renowned animal welfare advocates over the past forty years--Cleveland Amory, Roger Caras, Jerry Brown and Virgina Handley (of Fund For Animals), Tippi Hedren (of Shambala/the ROAR Foundation),  Pat Derby and Ed Stewart (of PAWS--the Performing Animal Welfare Society), Virginia Knouse (of PAWS--The Progressive Animal Welfare Society), Eric Sakach of HSUS, Belton Mouras (Animal Protection Institute of America), Dian Fossey (gorilla savior), Vernon Weir (American Sanctuary Association), Penny Patterson (Koko's benefactor), Joyce Tischler (Animal Legal Defense Fund), exotic veterinarians and advocates Ned Buyukmihci and Chris Cauble, and on and on--and now I see we're losing them at warp speed. We lost Cleveland Amory years ago; we just lost Pat Derby on February 15th.

And there are the names of lesser-known animal welfare advocates whose names will not be shared on national television as they are shoveled off this mortal coil--stalwarts like Edward E. Smith, the late, great Rick Hendrickson (Yuba County Animal Control), Nancy Graf, Cathy Strote, the volunteer staff at Shambala ... so many others.  

Animal lovers share a special bond. We're not confined to feeling concerned about each other--we share a common concern and affection for the rest of the beating hearts on this planet, animal and human. We know what's at stake if we continue to be callous and unconcerned about our fellow creatures.

It's sad to see animal advocates with big, big hearts passing on. The only good thing about it is that on the other side of Rainbow Bridge they will be welcomed with open paws, flippers, and other kinds of digits by the critters they've loved who have gone on before them, critters they served with every breath they took.

I salute you all. I'm honored to have met you and called so many of you "friend." Because my legacy (minuscule as it is) will include working shoulder-to-shoulder with so many of you, I have the small consolation of knowing that I actually did something of note beyond stringing words together, taking care of the Kelleys when they needed help, and being a sister, daughter, aunt, friend, nursery supervisor, employee, and "mom" to too many critters of my own to mention here.  

Animal advocates are angels of God, send to remind us that because we're made in God's image, we have an obligation to care for the creatures He gave us dominion over. Animal welfare advocates are doing it right. Applause, applause!

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Gee, maybe my next book should be about the animals and animal advocates I've known and loved...or maybe I can share the stories right here in this blog. Who wants to hear them?  (Let me know! Silence is deadly when I ask a question.) 

But...do I remember the stories well enough to tell them?  ACK!  I might need some help from the advocates who are still alive!

The Beaver Rescue (never before told--with Cleveland Amory)
The Beginning of Pat Derby's PAWS
Shambala Memories
API Memories (read Burro-ing In: Animal Advocacy 101 in "Let No Day Dawn that the Animals Cannot Share" for one of the API stories!) (Dr. Ned, Mt. St. Helens eruption and fawn care, etc.)

I'm IN! '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading"

Kristine M Smith Wins Inclusion into the 2012 Edition of "50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading"

     SEATTLE,WA         FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                

Today Kristine M Smith was named as one of fifty winners in The Authors Show (TheAuthorsShow.com)contest.

To become eligible for the honor, hundreds of authors were interviewed by The Authors Show radio hosts during the past year. All interviewed authors were eligible to write an essay of up to 1,000 words about their writing endeavors; the submitted essays were then read by The Authors Show judges. 112 finalists were chosen to be finalists. Each finalist was notified of his or her status and was responsible to get the word out about it to friends, relatives, co-workers and other networks and ask them to vote for them to be included in the upcoming book; the fifty finalists who received the most votes won the honor.

Of her win, Smith says, "I've been stringing words together as a writer since early childhood. It's been an obsession. I've made my living the past five years as a profesional copywriter and have earned a lot of return clients and many, many friends during this time. I have my clients, family, friends, networkng partners, publisher, and DeForest Kelley's fans across the globe to thank for making this win possible. I simply would not be in this position were it not for each of you who turned out to vote for me and then LIKED and SHARED my candidacy virally with your many networks. You're the best!!!"

The Authors Show will announce the publication date very soon. Find out more at TheAuthorsShow.com.

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Kristine M Smith is the author of seven books, six of them available here at Amazon. The seventh, "The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend" (an e-book), is available at Payloadz.com.

Futureword Publishing has been Smith's publisher for the two most recent titles, "Serval Son: Spots and Stripes Forever" and "Settle For Best: Satisfy the Winner You Were Born to Be". Both titles reached the top two spots in their respective categories here at Amazon when they debuted. Smith's earlier titles will be updated and re-published by Futureword sometime in the future.

I'm a FINALIST at The Authors Show!

Only YOU can make me a WINNER at the Authors Show so I'll be included in their 2012 Edition of "50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading"!

"From November 2 through November 10, the public will have the chance to vote for their favorite authors from the finalists" at theauthorsshow.com.

VOTE FOR ME when the time comes, please!!!

Rest in Peace, George Stanley McGovern

I'm saddened today by the passing of the first candidate I was ever able (old enough) to vote for, Senator George McGovern.  

A gracious, loving, dedicated man, he worked all his adult life following his heroic service in WW II to make life better and war obsolete.  I have never cast a more honorable vote in my life. (I've always cast honorable votes, but never one more honorable than the one I cast for him.)

I was able to shake his hand once (I have the photo somewhere; must look it up and post it here) and I received Christmas cards from him and his wife Eleanor for several years after his defeat (by Richard Nixon) for the Presidency of the United States.  

As we all know, Nixon and his VP resigned in disgrace two years later; McGovern carried on, blessing the country and the world he served every day of his life even after he left the Senate.

A true Christian, he was a priceless treasure. I will always love him.

WOO HOO! Broke My Own Personal Best in Income This Month

Gotta shout it to the moon.  This month I met my fondest financial goal for the first time ever: I made four times what I need to live for a month in just thirty days' time.  This may not seem like a lot to a lot of small business owners, but it's HUGE to me!  I'm so flippin' happy I could dance on the ceiling right now!

DEMOCRATS OR REPUBLICANS: 'They're all the Same"???

I keep reading disgruntled Americans who profess to believe that there's no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. Some of them are going to stay home and grouse about the perceived "sameness" of the two parties while others are going rogue and voting for candidates in other parties who appear to better-reflect their sensibilities. 

Although I honor and respect the dissenting voters who go with other parties, I simply cannot fathom why anyone who has been paying any kind of attention at all considers the choice that is before us this November--the choice that will elect one of the two major party candidates (Obama-Biden and Romney-Ryan)--considers them clones of each other!  It's absolutely appalling to me that anyone can believe this!  I must call it what it is: ignorance. Blind, resolute, unmitigated ignorance.  As opposed to stupidity. Stupid people cannot discern differences; ignorant people can discern differences, but they're too lazy or otherwise-occupied to take the time to do so.

There has perhaps NEVER been as stark a difference between the two parties as there is this year.  On the one hand you have two candidates (R-R) who want to roll back the family planning and reproductive rights of women--a party that refused to listen to a single, solitary woman when they debated a controversial reproductive rights agenda--a party that now pushes an agenda to overturn Roe v Wade and deny women the right to an abortion even in the case of rape, incest, and the threat to the life of the mother; on the other hand you have a party (O-B) who champions women's causes including violence against women (which the Republicans voted against), equal pay for equal work, and a plethora of other issues.

On the one hand you have a party (R-R) well-funded by gazillionaires that is so dedicated to gazillionaires that they're willing to gut this nation's safety net and social programs (not to mention education, jobs, and other necessities of life) to give themselves additional tax cuts; on the other (O-B) you have representatives who are dedicated to making sure we don't bankrupt ourselves or our moral responsibility to "the least of these".

I could go on and on, but those of you who have been following the political situation would be bored to tears.

I implore all of you fence-sitters and counterpoint-voters to truly look at what is at stake in November. Don't fiddle while Rome burns.

The GOP talks about being the party of Family Values.  HAH!  Read BLINDED BY THE RIGHT: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative to discover what goes on behind the scenes. It was written by a political operative who worked to create the image of the Democratic Party that you're hearing about from the GOP "viewpoint." It's a viewpoint filled with lies, slanders and libels that should be legislated against.

If a party can't win based on its own merits--if it has to win by lying about and slandering its opposition--it's not a party anyone should support.

Although DEMS have been known to exaggerate or misspeak, the GOP fabricates stuff and repeats it often enough that people begin to think it must be true. That was the plan of the Nazis--a propaganda campaign that almost brought the world to its knees.

You want to be careful. Fact check your party. (Dems, too, although Dems usually dance to truth because they have enough facts and integrity and lack the sociopath's twisted sense of "justice").

I have a lot of Republican friends. A lot of them. What I see them doing, almost to a person, is burying their heads in the sand. They think they're upholding America's highest ideals by doing so.  God bless them, but they're wrong. The new GOP will crush them as easily as they will crush the rest of the 98%. The GOP doesn't care about them... or about God... or about what this nation was founded on, despite their protestations to the contrary. You're deceived if you think they do.

I'm praying that there are more people paying attention (of those who plan to vote) and that they will discern exactly what their choice will do to America moving forward. I pray that everyone will vote for one of the two major parties so that those who DO vote will have them counted and we get the people we want in there. And when we do, we should follow them because they will be duly-elected by us.  This didn't happen when Obama was elected--to a man and woman, the opposition party filibustered, opposed and denigrated every policy the President put forth, defying the will of the people who elected him into office. In my opinion, this is sedition. These people should be tried as traitors. But voting them out of office this time around will suffice for me.

We need to get this nation moving forward again. Lock-step opposition to the leader of the free world is unacceptable. It is treason of the highest order.

Pay attention, voters. Pay attention!

YOU have been selected as a candidate to ... take part in the final selection for our Top 50 featured authors

1. WOO HOO Look at the first line of an email I received just this morning!
   
   "The third annual edition of THE AUTHORS SHOW’s “50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading” is soon to be published….
   
   And YOU have been selected as a candidate to ...

   take part in the final selection for our Top 50 featured authors."
   
   This is terrific news. When I learn more, I will be posting a link so you can visit it and vote for me. One of the stipulations of being able to claim this honor is that prospective authors have to win the most votes... So I'll be asking for your vote shortly. If you've read my book SERVAL SON: Spots and Stripes Forever (or even if you've read another of my titles and loved them), please be sure to vote! If you haven't read it yet and want to before voting for me, you can order it at Amazon. It's a cautionary true story about what it's like to own--and be owned by-- a wild cat for seventeen years. You can listen to the Authors Show interview about SERVAL SON on my blog at http://almostfamousbydesfault.blogspot.com/.
   
   Thank you for voting for me when it's time to do that!