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So, what motivates federal employees and others to move during retirement? While there may be other factors, this list covers a number of the considerations many of our fellow baby boomers and others consider important in making such a decision.

First, we may decide to move because a specific job offer emerges from either the private or public sector. This offer to someone in greater demand could also include a future independent contractor status or registration with a speaker’s bureau or talent agency, for example. Or, it may include starting your own business or even buying a franchise with an established business plan and strategy to pursue.

Second, we may decide to move because of family considerations, which range from aging parents to relocating so that we can be closer to our children and grandchildren. In fact, a number of my daughter’s closest young adult friends in Greater St. Louis have talked about their parents taking precisely this step recently. By the way, this observation includes the movement of grandparents to the St. Louis area, who have never before lived in that region.

Third, men and women also choose to move to a more exciting part of the US or they may choose to live abroad, which an increasing number of Americans are now deciding to do. For example, a fellow baby boomer web entrepreneur, Ann Fry, decided to move from Austin, TX to New York City over the past year and she has never looked back on her decision. The 62 year old Ann runs a successful web site plus works as a motivational speaker and career coach. So, part of her relocation formula has included an upsurge in her speaking engagements and coaching assignments, especially since she moved to New York, despite the warnings of doom and lack of success from her Austin, Texas-based friends.

Fourth, other men and women choose to move to a different part of the US especially for tax reasons. But, of course, the question, which quickly emerges in this complex set of variables is “which taxes?” Many of us no doubt already know Texas or Florida (part-time) citizens, who have emigrated to these states because neither levies a state income tax. Of course, the winning formula is that “they” actually live in their adopted states for one-half of the year plus one day.

But, did you know that there are actually a total of seven states with no income tax as follows: (1) Alaska, (2) Florida, of course, (3) Nevada, (4) South Dakota, (5) Texas, (6) Washington and (7) Wyoming. In addition, New Hampshire and Tennessee only tax interest and dividends.

Likewise, it should be clearly said that a total of 26 states plus the District of Columbia do not tax Social Security benefits. IMPORTANT: Our web site, NowWhatJobs.net, is against any states taxing Social Security income. From our standpoint, because of the current and coming labor shortages and especially because of the current skills shortages, our society cannot afford to do anything, which has the net effect of discouraging men and women from continuing to work in America.

Finally, other men and women will factor some or all of these issues into consideration, when deciding where and when to move in our society. In the final analysis, even local sales taxes and property taxes can and should enter into this equation. For example, the City of Chicago recently passed an incredibly high local sales tax, which put this great city at or near the top of local sales taxes in the whole US among major cities. Of course, this consideration only becomes important when someone wants to buy something, whatever that may be.

To tax or not to tax — that will indeed be the question for state and local governments in the future in the US and elsewhere, as a wave of baby boomers begin to consider all of their relocation factors and options. “Yes,” state and local governments would like the bank deposits, which provide the necessary capital needed for consumer loans and local businesses to expand and create even more jobs in that area. “Yes,” state and local governments would also like men and women, who will not be adding to the local student population in our nation’s public schools, but who will never the less be adding to the local property tax base. “Yes,” state and local governments would also like to have men and women, who are creditworthy and who have a greater equity position in their homes move into the community.

But, what if anything are these state and local governments willing to do in order to court “our” favor, you might logically ask? This writer submits to you that the answer to this question will cause state and local governments around the US to make a whole series of different decisions, both now and in the near future, in order to demonstrate “their friendliness” to my fellow baby boomers, who are 78 million strong just in the US.

James O. Armstrong, who is President of NowWhatJobs.net, Inc., http://www.nowwhatjobs.net also serves as the Editor of NowWhatJobs.net. In addition, he is the author of “Now What: Discovering Your New Life And Career After 50″ and the president of James Armstrong & Associates, Inc., which is a media representation firm based in Suburban Chicago.

High Page Rank Domains

The Spanish sun is floating high above the cobble stoned square, embracing it with light and taking the edge off the crisp winter air. Three young women have found a place on the knee high wall surrounding Granada’s most famous lookout - front row seats for getting absorbed in the silent, immobile spectacle the Alhambra performs in the distance, on a green hill with the snow covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada rising protectively behind it. “Andalusia - A travel guide” reads the cover of the book that has led them here. It is now no longer needed and lying face down next to them on the rough stone.

Other small groups of people are sitting next to them, squinting against the sun to take in the view or turning their backs to it watching the comings and goings in the square: dogs are sniffing idly around trees and each other; four men with weathered faces and the sereneness of a working life long past are sitting in a row on a stone bench, tapping a slow rhythm with their walking sticks and exchanging the latest neighbourhood news; an unkempt young man with long blond hair and blue eyes fixed in the distance is sitting on the floor in the shadow of a fountain and playing quiet songs on his guitar as if he were alone in the world.

No one is showing interest in the hand-made jewellery a woman in her early twenties has spread out on a worn blanket. Dark curls frame her delicate face with brown eyes, unable to hide a hint of sadness. She is watching the toddler next to her, immersed in carefree play, and hopes to sell something later in the afternoon.

Not even the slightest breeze is moving the scene. Only the occasional sound of a motor scooter passing by and the laughter and yelling of children carried across from the nearby primary school are disrupting the illusion of timelessness.

If the three young women stayed or came back to the “Mirador San Nicolas” a few hours later they would witness its remarkable daily transformation from sleepy lookout to busy meeting place with street artists, souvenir sellers and musicians - barely recognisable but equally enchanting.

Anke Herrmann is an IT Professional, originally from Germany, who left the UK and the corporate world for life as a dressmaker for flamenco artists in Granada (Spain). Check out her website http://www.flamencreaciones.com to see some of her creations.

The best Way to Get High Google Pagerank

Many Pittsburgh landlords are frustrated by the current state of landlord-tenant law, as many rights under current law are ceded to the tenant. Landlord frustration is especially evident in the city proper; Pittsburgh neighborhoods like Oakland and Bloomfield are filled with college students who can be noisy, negligent of property, or late with rent. However, a landlord has certain rights to his or her rental properties, and can require of tenants certain actions and behaviors that are perfectly legal. The following article will explore
some landlord rights in the tenant relations and property management arenas.

Rights of landlords renting Pittsburgh, PA properties

One of the most important rights a landlord has is the right to evict tenants. There are three conditions under which the landlord is legally able to evict tenants from a rental property:

1. The tenant has not paid rent owed in full.
2. The tenant’s lease term is up, and the landlord wishes to put the property up for rent or sale.
3. The tenant violated a section of the rental agreement (or lease).

Though there are fewer concrete rules outlining how an eviction notice should be delivered, it helps the landlord’s case immensely if he or she follows common sense.

First, the landlord should not deliver an eviction notice by mail. Just as a citizen can ignore a jury duty summons by saying he or she never received it, a tenant facing imminent eviction can simply deny that he or she ever received an eviction notice. The landlord has every right to state in the lease the maximum length of time permissible between eviction notice and removal of tenants. Many landlords opt not to do this, however - in which case, they are advised to refer to the Landlord-Tenant Law of 1951. It is the only rubric available for tenant eviction in Pennsylvania.

The landlord can lawfully evict the tenant with 30 days notice for leases less than 365 days (1 year) in length. 90 days notice is required for leases one year or longer. Some landlords do not use written leases with tenants. Legally, this is an inadvisable move; the landlord does not want to inadvertently cede rights to the tenant. However, if the landlord does not use written leases, 30 days’ notice for eviction is standard.

If tenant eviction proceedings are pending, the landlord’s best bet is to keep written documentation of all communications, payments, and incidents with tenants. The landlord must be prepared to demonstrate when a tenant stopped paying rent, how much rent the tenant owes, and/or how the tenant violated terms of the lease. If the tenant brings suit against the landlord for eviction-related grievances, this documentation is invaluable. In order to keep the law on his or her side, a landlord must not take rash actions against a tenant facing eviction. The landlord should not use police to forcibly evict the tenant before the eviction notice term is up, nor should he or she resort to “dirty fighting tactics,” such as locking the tenant out or cutting off all utilities services to the rental home or unit.

The following form can be used if the landlord wishes to bypass eviction notice requirements and bring the eviction to magistrate court:

NOTICE TO LEAVE THE LEASED PROPERTY (NOTICE TO QUIT)

Tenant agrees to give up certain legal rights as provided by the LANDLORD and TENANT ACT OF 1951. No notice will be required to be given by Landlord and Tenant to leave and give up the leased property.

Tenant will be asked to leave the leased property without notice under any of the following conditions.

1. Tenant does not leave the property at the end of the lease term.
2. Tenant breaks any of the terms and conditions of the lease.
3. Tenant fails, upon demand, to make all rent and other payments when due.

__________________ Tenant’s Initials

Other Pittsburgh, PA landlord rights

The landlord has the right to charge the tenant late fees for rent past due. It is recommended that the landlord disclose the past-due penalty sum in the lease before the tenant signs it. The landlord also has the right to request a security deposit of an amount up to and including two months’ rent. The landlord is prohibited by Pennsylvania state law from charging higher amounts; however, it is also the landlord’s legal right to charge a once-yearly security deposit, so long as each deposit owed after the first year of rental does not exceed one month’s rent.

It is advisable that a landlord return the security deposit to a tenant or tenants once the rental lease is up. However, a landlord can refuse to refund a tenant part or all of the security deposit if the tenant has caused damages to the unit that are not the result of natural aging or wear. To avoid legal disputes, the landlord should meticulously document the condition of the apartment before the tenant moves in and after he or she leaves, including photographing unit interiors and exteriors. Landlords are required by law to provide a list enumerating tenant-caused damages 30 days or less after tenants vacate rental units.

Many legal hassles with tenants can be avoided by carefully pre-screening all would-be renters. Though a landlord is prohibited by law from turning away tenants on the basis of gender, race, creed, or other personal characteristics, landlords can turn down tenant applications if tenants have poor credit, smoke, or own pets - all of these tenant characteristics can interfere with the rental process. A landlord has the legal right to run a credit and background check on the tenant. To avoid issues with late or non-existent rent
payments, the landlord should contact a potential tenant’s current employer(s), and request pay stubs from any prospective tenants as proof of ability to pay rent. Finally, because people are often prone to repeating the same behavior time and again, references from former landlords are crucial to avoid potential tenant problems.

Sommer Law Group provides legal counsel to individuals in Pittsburgh, as well as greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The attorney group has expert counsel in legal areas such as landlord-tenant disputes, business and corporate law, and mergers and acquisitions. For more information, visit the firm online at http://www.sommerlawgroup.com

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It seems that every second Hollywood star is a vegetarian, giving up meat for health or moral reasons. Vegetarian societies can now provide long lists of entertainers who don’t eat meat, including vegetarians like Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman, Kate Winslet and Natalie Portman, and pescatarians like Hillary Swank (who eat fish, but no other animals).

With the list of notable vegetarians reading like an invitation list for Oscars night, it is not unusual for someone to ask “How did it all start?” Perhaps surprisingly, it is not a recent trend, but something that goes back some 90 years, to when the movie business was still new.

In the early days of the movies, Mary Pickford was the biggest star in Hollywood - even more popular than her friend and business partner, Charlie Chaplin. Specialising in playing cute children like Little Lord Fauntleroy and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (she was only five feet tall and had a young face), she was known as “America’s Sweetheart” - and later, due to her global fame, “The World’s Sweetheart”.

Mary gave up meat and fish after reading “The Jungle”, Upton Sinclair’s disturbing expose of the meat industry in New York, with vivid descriptions of the assembly-line slaughterhouses. “It was too much for some of the visitors,” wrote Sinclair (who himself became a vegetarian), “and the women would stand with hands clenched and the blood rushing to their faces, and the tears starting in their eyes.”

Pickford, however, was not the only vegetarian Hollywood star of the early days. English actor George Arliss, already a popular star of the American theatre, entered movies in the 1921. At a time when vegetarianism in the West seemed peculiar and eccentric, he was a pioneer. “Doesn’t it seem probable that many of our diseases are the result of meat eating?” he once asked. “It’s an unpleasant habit… eating kidneys and liver and picking the bones… We shudder at the very thought of cannibals, but is there really any difference?”

Another great silent film star, Gloria Swanson, would also follow her rival Mary Pickford into a vegetarian diet. Other early stars dabbled in it. Marion Davies, one of the top comediennes of the 1920s, temporarily became a vegetarian after playing hostess to visiting Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, an outspoken member of the London Vegetarian Society.

However, though they might have been the first, these stars were not as outspoken about their vegetarianism as current stars. Unlike Woody Harrelson or Toni Collette, they did not campaign for animal rights, or publicly extol the virtues of a vegetarian diet to stay young and slim. Stars of 80 or 90 years ago were not encouraged to speak their minds in such a way.

However, as Pickford was Hollywood’s most popular hostess, her meat-free diet would have been known to the fanzines and industry figures of the day (though it might have been considered eccentric). Today’s stars, able to choose from a number of chic vegetarian cafés and restaurants around Hollywood, can salute her. In this way (along with many others), she was a pioneer among celebrities.

Noivedya Juddery is a writer and journalist based in Australia. A member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre, he is inspired by personal meditation and spirituality in his growing number of creative activities. He can be contacted via his website: http://www.markjuddery.com/

Pagerank

In a recent survey conducted by Advertising Specialties Institute it has been revealed that out of all forms of advertising like print, radio and TV, the promotional products form of advertising is the one that gives maximum results. The promotional products are not only affordable but also much more effective. In fact there are several Promotional items that are much sought after by the customers as well as the marketing agencies.

There are many surveys that have concluded that the promotional products and promotional items are the most affordable and the most effective form of advertising when compared with the other media. The promotional products are quite able to catch the attention of the customer and thus result in better marketing results. The various surveys have indicated that the customer is better able to recognize the advertiser after receiving a promotional product. Apart from that, the likelihood that the customer would do business with the advertiser is greater, after he receives a promotional product. More over, it has been found that in quite a few cases the promotional items are kept for use by the customer as they find them useful. It has also been found that the impression of the advertiser is positive on the customer once he receives some kind of a promotional item.

Some of the most common promotional items include bags, caps, shirts and writing instruments.

One major reason that bellies the scope of marketing through promotional items is that it is the most economically viable form of advertising. Even if the economy is on the downward spiral the marketing agents can rely on this aspect of advertising. Advertising through promotional products require minimum budget and is thus advisable during leaner times.

For more information regarding Promotional Products and Promotional Items please visit http://www.adleap.com

Pagerank

The first step to success in network marketing is selecting which of the thousands of companies you’ll get involved with. You have to do some due diligence on this before just jumping into a company because someone got you excited about the opportunity.

There are some logical steps you can take when checking out a company and it’s opportunity. We’ll cover a couple of the beginning steps here so you have some homework to do.

What is the product or products?

In order for you to be successful, the company you join must be successful. There’s nothing worse than putting a couple of years of effort into a company that goes out of business.

It seems obvious, but the product or products must be highly consumable for the company to succeed. You could do network marketing of Rolls Royces, but how many people could afford one and how many would they buy in a lifetime?

The product shouldn’t be available on a store shelf.

You can’t change most people’s habits of buying at the super market or corner grocery. If your product isn’t exclusively available through independent reps, it won’t succeed.

Does your product have magic?

The product should have some sizzle. This means it should have a story that’s fascinating enough to capture the imaginations of many people and make them want to know more and to try the product. If the product is weak, not too many people will be drawn to it.

The other part of the success equation is the compensation plan. I’m assuming you’re in this business to make money in the form of residual income.

The compensation plan should be one that rewards people right in the beginning so they make some decent money for their effort and want to stick with it.

A person who is diligently working the plan should be able to expect a 5 or 6 figure residual income within 2-3 years. If it’s too hard to earn a good income, most of your people will lose interest and drop out.

Beware of the nasty little secret that most network marketing companies hope you won’t notice when you read the compensation plan. This is a word called “breakage” and it doesn’t appear in any of the material you’ll read.

The way breakage appears in the a compensation plan is “we pay up to”. That means the company doesn’t have a hard and fast rule of payout that they pay a certain, pre-determined percentage on every dollar they take in. Many companies make it so difficult to qualify for that high percentage, that no one ever reaches the percentage of payout they advertise. It’s a shame that they use this sleight of hand method to get people to work hard.

Look for a company that pays out about 50% of every dollar back to the distributor workforce. If you find the words “up to 50%, or up to 75%” in the compensation plan, look for another company to get involved with so you don’t waste your effort making money for the company owners only.

An honest network marketing company will state exactly what percentage they pay out. Someone in the distributor workforce should qualify and be paid on every dollar that’s due to the distributors in the company.

Discover the way to wealth in network marketing by viewing The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing

High Pagerank - SEO

If you have your own website and need a lot of online exposure which marketing strategy, can help you to make your existence? As online marketing is growing exponentially with every passing minute, everyone is playing for a high-stake battle. It is difficult to say which strategy can help you to win this battle. However the way to get into them is to make immense presence of your website over Internet.

Although a lot of effective SEO techniques are here, still Link Building is a key in enhancing search engine rankings and getting traffic. Link building is one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization, as links coming to your sites from quality sites ensure your link popularity. It is impossible to exactly determine which link will work for you better or how many links you need, but yes it can be estimated through your experience and research.

Before implementing any strategy you need to plan accordingly, in link-building process there will be a need to do startup work as well. People generally compare the importance of Reciprocal and One Way Linking. From Search Engine perspective one way linking is definitely better; it is harder to do however. On the other side, Reciprocal Linking needs a large database of relevant sites. It requires effort in sending link exchange requests to other thematic websites for the purpose of obtaining links in various sites and giving backlinks in response.

Either One-Way Linking or Reciprocal, both have their own advantages and both can make your existence effulgent. However, the factor that matters the most is the quality of links. Quality Link Building refers to getting links over relevant site and having quality content. If you are looking forward to make brand exposure, ensure that you choose quality Link Building.

Link building is highly essential as it can bring a difference to your search engine rankings. Once you get incoming links to your site from quality sites, you must start ranking on the top of the search engines and you can easily notice a huge difference in traffic coming to your site. In this way you can penetrate your target market and can prepare a ground for winning the battle.

Link popularity matters deliver Link building services to help organizations achieve their online marketing goals. It provides quality link building to attract relevant traffic and increase link popularity.

SEO, search engine optimization

The face of contemporary business world and social arena is on constant changing spur. There has been vast development in the field of IT and science which has contributed to the expansion of social and professional borders between the continents. Social media optimization is one of the most lucrative means to expand the social relations across the borders without many hassles. You can contact anybody sitting at any corner of the world with a click of mouse on your PC. Owing to this phenomenal change in the millennia the advent of IT is a blessing to mankind.

In order to keep pace with the evolving face of technology and scientific development one must be updated with all the latest happenings which will give you an upper edge amongst your peers and colleagues. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, teacher, student, or professional in any field, you need to be aware of current affairs, events and developments taking place around the globe. So far search engine optimization and website promotions have been the efficient means of disseminating news and views online which can be accessible by anybody in the world. Now, it’s the turn of social media optimization that has been storming the online world which is a simple method of promoting the websites on social networking platforms.

If you are an online business entrepreneur and searching viable means of increase the number of online traffic towards your website, get social media optimization for your website. Now, the question in concern is why social media optimization is required? Is search engine optimization is not sufficient for promoting your business online? The crux of the situation lies in the fact that there are several social networking websites online and these have made communication and links between people all over the world simpler. Through the medium of these sites most of the people get acquainted with each other, share their interests, some gets associated in business, and above all this is one means which helps in coming together of different races, classes, and communities. So, such socializing portals are frequented much more than nay other website.

Now, with the help of social media optimization you can promote your websites and services on these social networking sites. Through this way you can get maximum online traffic diverted towards your website. The recent surveys have depicted that approximately 60-70% of people who are logged online have profiles in the social networking web portals. This is where social media optimization cashes your success by uploading your website link on these portals so that interested people click on to your website out of curiosity. But, for this make sure that the advertisement you have put on the social website must be attractive and must have great appeal to catch the attention of mass.

Now that you have understood well the basic function of social media optimization, it’s time to check out what all competitors in online world are up to. Study and analyze the market well, and decide upon what all you want in the social media optimization of your business.

Steve Waganer has specialization in web marketing. He is expert in Search engine optimization, Social Media Optimization and Search engine marketing. To get the search engine marketing tips from SEO firm for your website to get high rank and top position in major search engines visit http://www.cometsearchenginemarketing.com

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As writers, are we prepared to meet increased demands for stories of U.S. civil rights history?

Whether readers are motivated by new laws intended to prosecute unpunished crimes from the civil rights era or by election of this country’s first black president — to expect heightened interest in civil rights topics just makes sense.

On October 7 the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act was signed by President George Bush, giving the Justice Department $10 million a year to examine civil rights killings from before 1970 and $3.5 million to help local law enforcement conducting such investigations.

One month later U. S. Senator Barack Obama became the United State’s first black president-elect.

Hosts of veterans of the civil rights movement have already written personal accounts of their experiences surrounding critical marches, trials, sit-ins and more.

Historians have completed biographies of Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks and Emmett Till that include limited stories about Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry and a handful of others who worked so hard to make a difference.

But what of the regular, everyday people who also helped bring about this change? Their stories, often coming from fear, anger, dignity and grace, make textbook history come alive.

IN OUR MID 50s, my husband and I moved to this distinct northwest section of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers . . . with no sense of where we were historically and limited knowledge of the region’s complex history or culture.

First I learned that the Delta was not a true delta but part of an alluvial plain; for historical and cultural reasons, it is still called The Delta and names of the Delta’s seventeen counties range from Bolivar and Coahoma to Leflore, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, and Yazoo, adding to the region’s historical mystique.

Still are traces of U.S. Route 61, also known as the Blues Highway because it runs through Delta country, considered the birthplace of blues music.

Fred had accepted a new job as a prison mental health director placing him in the state’s oldest facility, Parchman Penitentiary, 120 miles north of Jackson, the state’s capital.

Nearby, the junction of Highway 61 and Highway 49 in Clarksdale is designated as the famous crossroads where, according to legend, Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for mastery of the blues.

With not much to do and time on my hands, there were small restaurants and shops to discover, drives to take into tiny cotton towns and along gravel roads that disappear into the Delta’s cotton fields — all providing a unique opportunity to meet some very old, interesting people with stories to tell.

Their shared memories augmented and sometimes challenged what formal historians report. Here’s a story, for instance, that enhances the story of Emmett Till, the young Chicagoan killed in 1955 in the small town of Money, in the heart of Sunflower County.

One hot July morning in 2003, I watched as Walter Scurlock was preparing turnip greens for customers who would start arriving for lunch in the next 30 minutes…

“Someone’s got to listen to her,” he said of an older, white woman he’d known for a good number of years.

Scurlock finished boiling down the greens and poured off the water to remove any bitter taste.

Early that morning, the woman had come into his restaurant, her eyes flowing with tears. “She started apologizing to me about something her family did fifty years ago, down in Ruleville.”

Scurlock continued talking as he placed the greens in a skillet with bacon grease, salt and pepper and started cooking them down more, so they would be tasty and tender for his noon crowd.

“Why don’t you go over to her house and talk to her? She was saying something to Jessie and me about Emmett Till and about her parents. It sounded pretty interesting and since you’re writing that book about the Delta I thought you might want to hear what she has to say, so that’s why I called you,” he said.

Walter was right. I was interested in learning more from the lady. Jessie Scurlock placed a skillet of cornbread — real southern cornbread made with bacon drippings and buttermilk — into the hot oven and warm smells began to float out.

She smiled at me from the kitchen while stirring a mixture of vanilla pudding mix, smashed bananas, eggs, milk and sugar for her southern banana pudding, another customer favorite and like the cornbread, considered a staple in the South. “Yes, you should go over there,” Jessie said.

There were today’s collards with okra, mustard greens, and fried catfish still to finish cooking in the next half-hour and the Scurlocks refocused while I wrote down the lady’s phone number, went out to my car and called her on my cell.

That same afternoon, after enjoying a cup of tea in her home, the woman began sharing her story of how her own parents hid out the murderers of Emmett Till. She asked that I not divulge her name and I agreed to this request.

Her uncle had sneaked two men into her family’s Ruleville home on the morning of August 28, 1955, the same night that Till was kidnapped and killed.

His body sank into the shallow Tallahatchie River for three days before it reappeared and was discovered and retrieved by two fishermen. The fourteen-year-old had been beaten and his eye gouged out before he was shot through the head and thrown into the river with a 75-pound cotton gin fan tied to his neck with barbed wire.

His mother demanded a public funeral back in Chicago to display the brutality done to her young son. Among those dismayed by the story was Rosa Louise McCauley Parks of Montgomery, Alabama. And with Till in mind, on December 1, 1955 she refused to obey bus driver James Blake’s order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. The U.S. Congress later called Parks the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement”.

The lady from Drew kept talking. As she settled into her story, I asked permission to take notes.

“I was seventeen, then. My parents didn’t tell me what was going on at the time. J.W. [Milam] had a full brother, Bud, and I am very sure he was with them, too. I was in bed but I could hear their voices. Years later, my father told me that Milam and [Roy] Bryant let him know what they had done to Emmett Till. My father was angry and made them leave.

“They knew the law was looking for them. They also said that Carolyn Bryant was with them when they killed Emmett Till. I don’t know when Bud joined them. I think they caught up with him later. He was a nicer person than his brother, and I don’t think he would have killed someone — I hope not.”

The old woman’s memories had returned, she said, as recent stories of young Till’s murder kept appearing in the national media in the context of civil rights cold cases.

There had been a trial of Milam and Bryant in the fall of 1955. They were found innocent but later admitted to the murder. Others may have been involved and fifty years later new information was being sought that would allow the re-opening and resolution of Till’s murder.

“I’m so sorry this happened and I feel terrible that any of my family members were involved in any way,” she said.

As it turned out, on May 10, 2004, the United States Department of Justice announced that it was reopening the case to determine whether anyone other than Milam and Bryant was involved. Although the statute of limitations prevented charges being pursued under federal law, they could be pursued before the state court, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and officials in Mississippi worked jointly on the investigation. Till’s body was exhumed on May 31, 2005 and the Cook County coroner conducted an autopsy. The body was reburied by relatives on June 4. It has been positively identified as that of Emmett Till.

In February 2007, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reported that both the FBI and a Leflore County Grand Jury, which was empaneled by Joyce Chiles, a black prosecutor, decided not to pursue charges against Carolyn Bryant Donham, Roy Bryant’s ex-wife.

* * *

Did I gather all of the information that I should have? Should I have asked for more details? Should I have waited a few days to prepare for the interview?

Was the interview environment right? Did I tell the story-teller about my plans to use the information? Did this seem to matter? How accurate were her memories? How do I know? Does it matter?

When an interview comes from out of the blue there is usually little time to prepare — so here are a few tips

Try to choose an interview setting with little distraction. If possible, avoid loud lights or noises, make sure the person interviewed is comfortable — ask them if they are. Often, they may feel more comfortable in their home or office, some place they can be uninterrupted and not seen.

Explain the purpose of the interview and talk over terms of confidentiality. Be careful since rarely can you absolutely promise anything. Tell them how to get in touch with you later if they want to and ask them if they have any questions before you both get started with the interview.

In an informal interview, just listen at first without taking notes. Watch the person speak and show that you are truly interested in what is being said.

But don’t count on your memory to recall their answers. There will come a right time to ask for permission to record the interview (pencil and pad).

Never start digitally recording an interview without getting permission. Many people simply don’t share the best details or freeze up if a recording device comes out.

Try saying, “This is an important story you are telling me. I’m afraid I might not remember everything. May I take some notes?”

Try remaining open and adaptable; really listen to the story you are hearing and the right questions will come, even though you have not had the time in advance to think about what to ask.

Often these end up as the best questions, anyway.

Finally, don’t be hard on yourself after conducting this type of an interview. Not every question will be presented in the best way and you may have problems later deciphering some of your notes or recalling what was exactly said.

Attempts to make the structure too stiff or formal would typically make it impossible to gather the information you are seeking in the first place.

If a potentially fascinating interview drops in your lap — accept this gift from the universe and simply do your best to get it down.

For this is the stuff history of which history is made!

Susan Orr-Klopfer, journalist and author, writes on civil rights in Mississippi. Her newest books, “Where Rebels Roost: Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited” and “The Emmett Till Book” are now in print and are carried in most online bookstores including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. “Where Rebels Roost” focuses on the Delta, Emmett Till, Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry, Amzie Moore and many other civil rights foot soldiers. Both books emphasize unsolved murders of Delta blacks from mid 1950s on. Orr-Klopfer is an award-winning journalist and former acquisitions and development editor for Prentice-Hall. Her computer book, “Abort, Retry, Fail!” was an alternate selection by the Book of-the-Month Club.

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