MOONANGELS.THELUNARREPORT.COM

COLOR CODE

David Moon — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:05:31 GMT

Michael Strong is the man’s name. His copyrighted learning system is called “The ColorCode Essay Writing System." Michael is a charter MoonAngel. Read his story. You’ll find the man is simply an angel.

Michael told me one time what he has told many others the past few years. “In less than 30 minutes, I can teach almost any student in grades 7 - 12 how to write a properly structured essay, presenting his or her ideas systematically to arrive at a logical conclusion. No brag; just fact.”

“Yeah, okay,” I thought. “What makes you such an authority?”

Well, the man has been a multiple business owner and even worked in the world of high finance. This much I learned from some good and mutual friends. What I didn’t know at the time was the man’s story:

“Back in 1996, I discovered that one of my daughters was dyslexic and that both had Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.). Since they were having trouble reading, I knew that they’d also have trouble writing. Traditional academic methods for teaching an essay’s proper structure often don’t work for students with Learning Disabilities. My daughters certainly were not prepared to listen to a long, boring lecture from their father about the finer points of essay formatting. I needed a faster way to teach this concept to my daughters. Since both were artistic, I devised The ColorCode Essay Writing System, using a color-coded sample essay with a ‘rainbow’ introductory paragraph to convey the idea visually. I used magic markers to color each sentence. The pattern of the colors illustrated the format of a properly structured essay. An Owner’s Manual instructed them how to use the colors as a guide for presenting ideas systematically. Both girls grasped the basic concept in less than 5 minutes and went on to write much better papers. In 1996, I registered The ColorCode Essay Writing System with the US Copyright Office in Washington D.C. I sold a few ColorCode Systems via mail order, but at the time, I was too busy as a Certified Financial Planner to market them properly.

“After I retired from Morgan Keegan in 2009, I decided to revisit the project. I built a website www.essaywritesystem.com , wrote and copyrighted an 8-page SAT Essay Supplement, and developed a 20 minute PowerPoint presentation (all cartoons and photos with virtually no text). Now I solicit speaking engagements from PTAs, Rotary Clubs and other civic organizations, explaining how The ColorCode Essay Writing System makes it easy for students to write school papers, and for teachers to grade those papers.
Inadvertently, I stumbled across a ‘magic bullet,’ a small, simple step that enables students to make a quantum leap in their ability to write good school papers. Parents, teachers and students all say, ‘Gee, no one ever explained it to me this way before – it’s so simple.’ Yup, that’s the whole point.

“Once folks see my presentation, they understand why I believe that The ColorCode Essay Writing System is much more efficient than the traditional academic method for teaching students the format of a properly structured essay. Students learn in less than 30 minutes what many fail to learn after 6 years of Middle & High school Language Arts classes. It’s obvious even to a casual observer. Educators are discovering that while perhaps 50% of students succeed at learning through traditional academic methods, a substantial portion of the remainder are what are now called ‘visual learners.’ Faced with a written list of steps to complete for writing a school paper, their eyes glaze over and they tune out. However, when presented with an illustration of a properly structured essay, most ‘visual learners’ respond with such comments as, ‘Oh, now I see how this fits together. It’s really quite simple.’”

Michael Strong’s goal is to make at least one presentation every day to school systems and parenting groups. A tour of New England private schools has been scheduled for October.

But The ColorCode Essay Writing System is also available for individuals via download from http://www.essaywritesystem.com. Over the past 30 days, the website has had visitors from 61 different countries and had sales from as far away as Australia. Lunar Report readers can get a 30% discount by entering LUNAR in the discount code box after clicking on the Add to Cart icon.

As a concerned and pro-active parent, Michael has helped hundreds of kids. As MoonAngels, we want to help thousands more. Please check out The ColorCode System. If you know someone who might benefit from it, please pass this along to them. And keep passing this along to others. If your efforts help but one child, it’s worth it, don’t you think?

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THE TOAST

David Moon — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:06:00 GMT

“First I want to tell you what my cousin Tammy just said to me. She told me she had never been to a wedding where everyone in attendance was so genuinly behind the love and commitment of the marriage. And she is right. All the love here is genuine. All of it.

But, you know, last Saturday, we buried my mama. Well, a few years ago a man I really loved passed away suddenly. He was the father of a woman I care deeply about. It was devastating. The next month, Matt’s first child, Sy was born. The following summer, Matt’s granddad passed away. It was equally as devastating. A couple of months later, Matt and Sherri’s son, Seth was born. And now – just two weeks after my mom left us, Matt and Sherri are married.

Last week, I was laying all this chronology out for Matt. He interrupted, ‘Man, I’m never going to have another child or do anything else good! I’m afraid someone else will die!’ He missed the point I had yet to deliver. I wanted to say that Matt and Sherri and their young-ins are what I now call ‘The Happy Family.’ So, here’s to the ‘Happy Family.’”

That was the intended toast. When my time came to do the fatherly thing that Saturday night, I choked big-time. I tried to gather myself and say what I had to say. Then Matt and Sherri’s two-year-old, Seth approached the wedding cake table where we were all standing. The sweet little guy reached his hand out toward the cake icing, trying to taste just a bit. Someone grabbed his arm and pulled his hand away from the perfectly iced cake. Before I could say a word, I stuck my finger into that icing, gathered a good and solid chunk of the stuff on my finger and presented it to Seth. Then his older brother, Sy walked up, looking for icing. He, too, had to lick my finger, but Sy also got some. Well, all that might have helped Seth and Sy, but it did nothing to bolster my emotional state.

I told the small and quaint gathering of family and friends there that the week before I was told by my niece’s husband how obvious it was to him that Matt and Sherri are in love. That’s all I could manage to say at the time. The tears came again, and it felt like I had a pound of wedding cake in my throat. I just looked at my son and his beautiful bride and shook my head, as Sherri said, “Now don’t make me cry.” Then Matt interrupted, “Just say ‘cheers,’ Dad!” And so I did. And I hugged and I cried and I walked away.

My emotions kind of caught up with me that Saturday night. I just couldn’t finish my tribute to the “Happy Family.” Thanks for indulging me here and for allowing me to finally give my toast. And thanks for being at the wedding with us all now on Moon Angels.

Cheers, y’all!

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION TO THE LUNAR REPORT. WE RECEIVE NO INCOME FROM THE ONLINE PUBLICATIONS OR ADVERTISING, SO ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. JUST CLICK THE DONATE BUTTON BELOW. THANKS FOR READING.

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HEART

David Moon — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:18:00 GMT

This is an amazing story, really. I had been writing this for a few days. I had planned on Mama still being with us when this would be posted. Well, she’s not. But I think this is important. I remember when my dad’s mom was fighting for her life in 1975. She was in a hospital in North Carolina. And I was with her. My dad was in Jacksonville, Florida. He flew to his mom’s bedside. I picked him up at the airport. I was with my dad when his mom died. And I saw the man cry for the first time ever.

Here’s “Heart.”

HEART

Living this way has served me well, I suppose. At the same time, it has done me in. Many times. It has caused folks to call me irresponsible, unproductive, selfish, even an eternal college kid. It has caused me to totally misread real and responsible relationship issues. Where notions of boundless love filled my thoughts, most often reality and practicality struck my notions down. And they fell hard. And the monetary costs of living this way have often been devastating.

I was basketballer in high school. I was fair. I started my senior year in high school. And I worked very hard. But I was motivated back then. I wanted to play basketball for the University of North Carolina. That was my motivation. Carolina was where my heart took me way the hell back then. I received recruiting letters from Brown University and Berry College in Rome, Georgia, asking me to apply to their schools and to try out for their teams. And basketball has been a passion of mine since age 14. I suppose there was a possibility of sorts that I could have eventually played in the NBA, but I would have had to play college ball. I didn’t want to play college ball. My heart and I wanted to play Carolina ball. So that’s the path I chose. I didn’t make the team. But I followed my heart. And I tried.

When my child came along, my career was well on its way. I was doing very well. My work was being acknowledged. Folks were paying fairly good money for my talent and for me to follow my new passion. But when my heart found its way into my son’s world, the work and career suffered. And I really didn’t care. All I cared about was being a dad. When there were baskets to be shot or trips to be made with my son or school plays to attend to watch him do his best, I was the first to ignore business phone calls and cancel business meetings. I was hardly the responsible and productive adult I should I have been, I suppose.

Lost work, overspending and mortgage foreclosures later, my heart still seemed to want to follow its own path. Doing free work for those who needed me to. Ignoring work in favor of friends who maybe needed me a time or two. That heart thing kind of adds up some. But each time it was worth it. I did the right things. My belief has been for some time now that I will likely die broke. But that my heart will be forever alive.

Until recently. Lately, I just want to survive and do better. I am now working two regular jobs that take up most of my time. And I am still involved in the video production world, my chosen profession. And in writing. These days, I am damned determined to make it and to become the non-eternal-college-kid. This time of my life truly is all about me. And it’s about damned time, right?

But something happened last Tuesday. That day, I talked with my sister who has been caring for my ailing mom for years. The news was not good. Everything is working against the poor old woman. And as hard as she and my sister are fighting, Mama’s days aren’t long for this world. I know this. My heart has wanted to be with her and with my sister for the longest time. But the newfound responsible me kept insisting that I need to be productive - that I need to continue my work and make myself strong. If I were to go see my mom on what may very well be her final days, I would lose work and hundreds of dollars, and put off my work responsibilities onto others who don’t even know my mom. Damn it. I was bound to do the responsible thing. This is MY time.

But my sister told me something that night. She told me that she had been saying to Mama, “David is trying to come home to see you.” Mama is drugged and worn out. Her responses to my sister may only be imagined ones. But my sister told me that she responded to those words. It may have been nothing more than an eyebrow twitch. But she responded.

So, do I follow my heart and go see my mom, or do I behave responsibly and work and make money? I sought the advice of some good and solid friends. I got some good advice on both sides of the question. But ultimately my decision came down to this. I have never given a damn about money, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Why in the hell would I desert my heart when it comes to my mom and her lifeline – my sister?

So, I garnered the support of my employers and made the decision to make the quick trip. I called my son to tell him what was going on, hoping all the time that he would insist on calling in sick at his work and join me on my trip. He told me that he had the same two days off.

I simply said to him, “Please go with me.” His heart spoke volumes. “Of course I will,” he said. I had just enough money to make it to my mom’s hospital. I had no clue as to how he and I would get back home. All I knew was that we had to go.

I picked up my son at his place around 10am last Wednesday. Almost as soon as he got into the car, he kind of teared up and told me how his mom-in-law-to-be gave him money to help us on the trip. This was meant to be. There are others with heart as well. Many of them.

We made the trip. And we saw my mom. Things are bad, and the nurses say that she is unresponsive. Over and over they say that. But for a couple of hours last Wednesday night and again Thursday morning, the woman spoke to my son and me. It was nothing more than an opening of an eye or two or a raising of an eyebrow, but she spoke to us when we told her that we were there and that we loved her.

That woman is living by her heart. She has to. That’s all that’s working right for her these days. She has lived by her heart most of her long days. And she is dying broke. But for the life of me, I can’t imagine living and dying any other way. For her. Or for me.

So, to my mom: Thanks for showing me how to live with my heart.

And to me: Party on, college boy. This is who you are. Heart and all.

And there’s more. Click HERE for “The Old Grad” on Lunacy. It’s all about heart, really. Everything is.

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DAY AND A HALF

David Moon — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 20:49:00 GMT

I felt scammed. A couple of Saturdays ago, I deposited into my bank account two $870 counterfeit US Postal Service Money Orders that were mailed to me by someone named Maria from Kokomo, Indiana. Lunar Report donations? Hardly.

Now, I say I “felt” scammed because the money orders were bogus. But Maria or whoever did the scamming never contacted me, I never provided a service or product, so I was out nothing except a major hassle. Bank Of America did close my bank account because of that deposit. But what did the scammers get? Nothing. They even spent $17 on overnight postage just to get the damned things into my mailbox. And if there is someone out there who, for whatever reason, just wanted to screw me and my bank account, they could have done the same thing with just ONE counterfeit money order, right?

So what gives? Why pay for and do just a partial scam? What idiots!

After exhausting all ideas as to why Maria from Kokomo would do such a thing, and after coming up with no logical explanation, well, yes – I began to worry and fret. And I began to wonder why it was that I wasn’t worried about my financial ruin and eviction in the first place, and why, frankly, God would ease my situation and then pile it back on again the way He did. I landed in denial just a bit. “Surely Bank Of America made a mistake,” I kept thinking. “God wouldn’t do such a thing for me and then take it away.”

Well, Bank Of America made no mistake, and after about a day of wondering and fretting and doubting, a dear old friend and client came through with some work and an advance to take care of the money issue. But what the hell was that weekend all about? What did it all mean? Why did things shake out the way they did, and why were the bogus money orders almost exactly the amount I needed to avoid eviction? I will probably never be able to answer those questions.

I really wasn’t worried about things before Maria from Kokomo entered my life. I should have been, but I wasn’t. Still, I needed a little peace and some rest. And I got some of both. A day and a half’s worth. During a raging storm of financial despair and uncertain future, God gave me a day and a half to be euphoric and to live in total peace. I would have kind of rather had the $1740. But the day and a half were needed as well.

Monday brought new challenges. But Saturday night, Sunday and Sunday night, I rested. And I lived in a peaceful world of promise and contentment. It was just a day and a half, but you know what? It was so much more than what Maria from Kokomo intended. And that whole thing allowed a good friend and client to shine again like he always has.

And I am more grateful for the rest and the friend than I would be for all the money in Indiana.

Thanks again for reading and sharing these, and for taking part in the first annual “Share-The-Lunar Full Moon!”

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION TO THE LUNAR REPORT. WE RECEIVE NO INCOME FROM THE ONLINE PUBLICATIONS OR ADVERTISING, SO ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANKS FOR READING.

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This Is Your Page

David Moon — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:34:00 GMT

I’m a fortunate man. Friends like you have come to my rescue time and time again. You’ve been supportive of the things that I do. You’ve encouraged me over and over again. And you have made The Lunar Report the success that it is.

My goal was to write some stuff that would be helpful, that would make folks smile or laugh and sometimes cry. I wanted to provide some insight into life and life’s problems and present it with honesty, hopefully encouraging others to be honest with themselves. The response has been overwhelming this past year. And I thank you.

Now I want to provide a page for you to use. More specifically, I want this to be a site for causes. A place for you to write a story or two about a cause that brings out your passion for such things Things that need expanded awareness. Things that need a larger audience. And I want to do more than that. I want to provide a free platform for writers, bloggers, thinkers and the like.

In the process, I want to take The Lunar Report to new heights. To do all of this, I need your help. I am asking that you donate to the Lunar Report. My goal is for us to do great things together here without resorting to banner ads and the like. I want to provide a free site to promote causes, talent, philosophy, political points of view - whatever you are passionate about. And to keep The Lunar Report going strong.

Please consider a donation of any size by clicking the "Donate" button below. It will take you directly to Pay Pal where you can donate in a secure environment. Whatever you can send will go a long way toward our goal.

So how will Moon Angels work? Simply email me your article. That's it. Well that and tell me the name, if any, you wish to be in the byline. I will do the rest. I will notify you by email as to when it will run. And I will promote it on The Lunar Report, Lunacy, Facebook and in my articles in online publications in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida, in Durham, North Carolina, and in Savannah, Georgia.

I know that times are tough for many of us, so donate what you can. Anything you can donate will help get this off the ground and keep The Lunar Report going strong. And Moon Angels could become a pretty important platform in the process.

To help, click the DONATE button. Or you can send checks to: David Moon, c/o Moon Productions, 100 Gattis, #303, Chapel Hill, NC 27517.

Thank you for all that you do and for helping. You are truly a Moon Angel.

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