TOP DRAWER INK NEWSLETTER

 

Here's the latest issue of Top Drawer Ink, the newsletter written by author HL Carpenter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.

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April 4, 2009
Volume 7, Number 7
ISSN 1554-6330

In this issue:

1. Carpenter Country Essay

2. Top Drawer Article

3. Top Drawer Tips

4. Top Drawer Satire

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CARPENTER COUNTRY

What's Happening in Our Neck of the Human Experience

Later today, Carpenter Country’s short one will celebrate her wedding anniversary. She should be looking for a special gift for the guy who shares her space. Instead her mind keeps turning back to the dream she’s been struggling through every night.

In the troublesome scenario she’s running along a snowy path looking for a restroom. Finally she sees a sign that reads – BATHROOMS AHEAD – followed by an arrow pointing to a dark structure on top of a blizzard-shrouded mountain.

But as she starts to climb the steep path, the snow gets deeper, she gets colder and the building keeps moving further away.

When she awakens, she’s exhausted. Worse yet - she’s once again pulled all the covers off her bed partner, putting him in a foul mood. If she doesn’t find a way to short circuit her midnight slumber fests right now, it may be the end of a very long marriage.

Google finds two websites. Both interpret a wintry bathroom quest as being about burdens and emotions - and suggest the best cure is a change of scene.

While she’s pondering how to make that happen, the computer’s screen saver comes on and – Wow, there’s her icy landscape!

Okay, she thinks, it is spring and balmy breezes should replace snow. A mouse click brings up a tropical isle, swaying palm trees and shimmering blue water.

Hopefully that will end the bad dreams and tugs-of-war over the covers.

As for finding the perfect anniversary gift for her partner – after fifty-six years of wedded ‘bliss’ what could be better than a day of détente?

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TOP DRAWER ARTICLE

Free@theIRS - and Elsewhere

by
HL Carpenter

In tough times, everyone loves a freebie. Here are five ways you can get free tax help:

Read the entire article here

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TOP DRAWER TIPS
Topics and Tidbits

Tip: Got free time? At the beginning of each year, you can sign up to help others in your community with tax preparation via the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). You don’t have to be a tax preparer or an accountant. A free training course – which you can take either on-line or in a classroom before the beginning of tax season – is required. Check the IRS site for a VITA program in your area.

Glossary Term: Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). A nation-wide program established in 1969 to assist low income taxpayers in complying with tax law. The program consists of Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE), Military VITA, and Community VITA, which provides grants to non-profit organizations.

Financial Horoscope: It’s spring, and a great time to cultivate your personal garden of finance. Here in the US, April is the official Financial Literacy Month, which is probably unconnected to the observance of International Pooper-Scooper Week (April 1-7). For tips on how to stay out of financial doo-doo, Money Management International, a credit counseling organization, offers a web site with 30 money management steps, one for each day of the month. Search for Financial Literacy Month to get started.

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TOP DRAWER SATIRE

Seeing the Big Picture

by
HL Carpenter

Want to see the Big Picture? Better hurry. It may not be on display much longer.

Read the rest here