Chris Pearce's Blog, page 15

How to help neighbors struggling financially (without offending them)

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone; written in 2009 but still relevant)

In these tough economic times, chances are you have a neighbor who has lost their job or is otherwise struggling financially. You probably want to help your neighbor but are aware they wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting straight out charity. There are still plenty of things you can do to assist them.

Just being sociable with your neighbor can help them. Invite them over for coffee and a chat. Get to know them a little better and see what their needs might be. They may be reluctant to receive any help. On the other hand, they might be very grateful to accept assistance in various ways. Make it a reciprocal arrangement, as there may be things your neighbor can assist you with.

Assuming your neighbor is happy to be assisted, start with food, clothing and shelter, the basic necessities of life. If you have a vegetable garden, offer them a selection of fresh food. Use tact though. Don’t go next door and say, “I brought you these veggies. It should save you $30 at the supermarket.” Instead, tell them the carrots and zucchinis are ready and you have more than you and your family can eat. Would they like some? Similarly, if you have fruit trees, take them a bucket of fruit, explaining that you’ve got a bench full of fruit at home, and any more will start to go off by the time you get to eat it.

Offer them homemade food rather than packets and tins from the supermarket. You might have made some jam or pickles for your family. Take a couple of jars over to your neighbor. If you bake some bread or a desert, ask them if they would like to try some. Make sure it doesn’t look like leftovers.

Clothing is something you may be able to give your neighbor. If certain items of your children’s clothing no longer fit your kids, you could ask if these articles might fit their kids. Don’t offer well-worn clothing or undergarments. In turn, your neighbor may have a good jacket they no longer fit into but you would fit into and like. Offer to pay for it, explaining that it would cost you three times as much at the shops.

If you are a tradesperson or have someone in your family who is handy, you could offer some carpentry, plumbing or gardening services to your neighbor. After you mow your lawn, take the mower next door and suggest that you may as well run it over their lawn too. Next time you do any painting, see whether your neighbor has a cupboard, window or door they might like painted. Say you’ve got some paint left over and probably won’t be using it.

You might be aware of certain skills of your neighbor. See if they are interested in an arrangement where you swap services with them and save both of you money. This can involve a multitude of things such as cooking, sewing, hair care and electronics. For example, if your neighbor is a hairdresser, ask if your family members can come and pay for a haircut.

Depending on your circumstances, you could offer to mind your neighbor’s kids on occasions when he or she has an appointment. Or offer them a lift to their appointment or the shops or a job interview. You might be able to help them look for a job. Make suggestions. Ask them if they happened to see a particular job advertisement you came across in the newspaper or on the web.

If you belong to any clubs or community groups, you might like to invite them along to a function. This may allow them to meet new people and help them get on their feet again. Introducing them to a church group or similar body may be beneficial too. Some people are happier to accept a helping hand from an organization rather than from an individual who they may then feel indebted to.

How far should you push your children to succeed?

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

The dream of every parent is for their children to be successful. But will children naturally strive to succeed and how much should we push them or help them along? There have been plenty of well documented cases of parents pushing their children too far. At the other extreme, many parents give no encouragement to their children, to the extent that kids are without goals or purpose and can feel worthless. Is there a happy medium?

One of the common mistakes of parents is to push their children to achieve the parents’ dream rather than allow them to meet their own goals. Ask yourself whether your children really like a sport or hobby they are doing or whether you are the one who likes the activity and you want your children to like it too. If they don’t, this might lead to conflict and resentment, and pushing them will make things even worse. They may prefer to pursue some other interest, one that they are better at or like doing more.

Rather than push them in a certain direction, let them try many activities, especially in their younger or formative years. See what they are good at and are happy doing. Once this is established, you can nurture them along in this direction. You will find it unlikely that you will need to push them much at all. Putting too much emphasis on one activity is unhealthy. Make sure your children have balance in their lives and encourage them to pursue a range of activities with many groups of children.

Think of the consequences of pushing your children too hard at a young age. This seems to be common in areas like pageants and acting. Some parents go to extraordinary lengths to try and ensure their children do well. Braces on a two year old to correct a crooked smile can lead to physical and psychological problems. A child who is pushed to attend numerous auditions for acting work and not get one job may become stressed and unhappy at the situation. It could be time to try something else.

Don’t be too critical of your children if they don’t succeed. Provide encouragement and accept that participation in activities is about enjoyment, gaining experience, socialization, and developing skills rather than being the best.

You shouldn’t have to push your child to be successful. Rather, there are a number of things you can do to enhance your children’s path through life. Success is more likely to come from pursuing these avenues than by merely pushing children to succeed:

– Boost your children’s self-esteem by making them feel good about themselves. The best way to do this is to remind them of their successes and good qualities.

– Having goals in life will help your children succeed. These can include study or career goals as well as where they want to be in their sports, hobbies or other activities in years to come. Guide them as to what might be feasible but let them set the goals.

– Discuss with them what they think their strengths and interests are. What are their best subjects? Which sports and other activities do they enjoy most? This will help them make the right choices to succeed.

– Make sure your children remain optimistic about the future. There will always be violence, unemployment, drugs, and so on, but at the same time, we have never had so many opportunities in our lives. Encourage positive thinking.

– Always encourage your children to ask questions as this is part of the learning process. Give appropriate answers and make sure you listen to what they might have to say on the topic.

– Energy levels are important too. Children are more likely to succeed in their studies, career, sport and life in general if they stay fit and healthy by exercising, eating properly and getting their sleep.

You don’t need to push your children too far at all to succeed. If you see that they are uninterested or unhappy in what they are doing, it is time to review the situation. Find out what they really like doing or are good at. Let them try other activities and different subjects at school. Give plenty of encouragement and perhaps help them set some goals.

How to tell your kids why professional athletes resort to drugs

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Chances are your kids play sport and follow the fortunes of their favorite athlete. They might idolize this person, watching them and reading about them in the media, and perhaps being lucky enough to go and see them perform. Maybe your children want to emulate their hero when they grow up. What happens when this athlete is caught taking performance enhancing or other illegal drugs? How do you explain this to your children?

Your kids have probably received at least some drug education at school. Start off by asking what this involved. Ask them questions such as whether they know anyone at school who has taken drugs and whether this person might also have some good characteristics. You could ask your children why they think this person might have resorted to drugs. They might respond with various reasons which they may have learnt in class. This will set the scene and allow them to keep an open mind rather than have them suddenly either hating their hero or saying they must be innocent.

Discuss with them the reasons elite athletes might take performance enhancing drugs, and that it might not be just one or two reasons but many. Tell your children these people can often be under great pressure to perform. They don’t want to let anyone down and that includes your children and thousands of other fans. Champion athletes have an immense desire to win; otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have been able to work their way up through the age and graded competitions to get to where they are today. Sometimes, a whole country rides on the success or otherwise of a particular athlete, for example, at the Olympic Games.

Further pressure to perform comes from the fact that top sport is professional these days and competitors know they have to perform to make a living. Their time at the top is short, and they will strive for the chance to win prize money or gain lucrative endorsements and sponsorship deals. Families and coaches can place extra pressure on your children’s idol. On occasions, a coach may even encourage drug use. Poor scheduling of competitions or the setting of unrealistic performance standards by administrators could contribute to an athlete’s stress level.

Explain to your kids that the reasons their hero took drugs might have included a desire to speed up recovery after injury, or because they believe their opponents are using drugs and they feel they have to do the same to be competitive. Another thing you could say is that just because their hero is the best runner, swimmer or player, this doesn’t mean that they have no weaknesses. Also, people of all descriptions can suffer self-doubt, a lack of confidence, and depression. Sometimes these things can cause stress, or stress can cause them. This might make a champion athlete succumb to drug taking.

The drugs taken by the athlete might not have been of the performance enhancing variety but party or recreational drugs. Again, point out that all types of people do this for all sorts of reasons. Athletes have a life outside their sport and will often go to nightclubs and parties where drugs are available. Peer pressure might cause them to weaken in these situations, or the problem might be an inability to relax, or something as simple as shyness in a social setting.

Being more specific about the performance enhancing properties of the drugs an athlete took might help your children to further understand why this person decided to use these substances. Make sure you cover the undesirable side effects too, so they are aware of the dangers. For example, anabolic steroids increase muscle strength, giving greater endurance. But they can cause liver damage, depression, and mood swings. Human growth hormone strengthens bones and reduces body fat but might lead to heart problems and enlarged organs. Erythropoietin raises oxygen levels, though it thickens the blood and can result in a heart attack or stroke. Some drugs mask pain and allow an athlete to keep competing, such as narcotics and cortisone, but the risk is further damage. A relaxant like marijuana may be used. This can cause hallucinations, impair mental functions, and lift the heart rate.

Perhaps make analogies between the drug-taking athlete and people in other areas of life who want to succeed so much that they do the wrong thing. People in corporations might be so keen to gain promotions and get ahead that they resort to bullying and back stabbing. Those in politics are usually quite ambitious too and may occasionally not be afraid to use underhanded methods to try and achieve their ends. Your kids might know other children who, despite knowing their work, still cheated in an exam for fear of not doing as well as they wanted to.

Assure your children that their hero is hurting as much as they are. He or she will not be proud of what they have done. Make sure your kids realize the person has done wrong and will probably be punished, but emphasize that an example has to be made for all. Let them know that the athlete will most likely be taking measures to reform and get their career and life back on track.

The difference between harmless fun and bullying

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Bullying is where people inflict harm on others through verbal or physical actions that are repeated a number of times in an attempt to wear the victim down. The perpetrator has an advantage over the victim, and is usually bigger and stronger or has greater social power or dominance. The aggressive displays of the offender are not welcomed by the sufferer and the latter isn’t having fun. Isolated incidents of abuse caused by stress or frustration are not classified as bullying.

Harmless fun, on the other hand, is where no obvious victim or aggressor is apparent. A typical scenario of harmless fun might be a group of school or work friends engaged in spontaneous horseplay or friendly banter. All participants appear to be on a more or less equal footing, with no individual giving or receiving more than their fair share. Everyone is happy and willing to take part and seems to be having a good time.

The line between bullying and harmless fun is often a fine one and depends on the situation. In some cases of bullying, the intention of the bully is clearly to cause harm to their victim. In other cases, people might not see their actions as bullying but as harmless fun. Here, the victim and the bully might be friends, or at least start off as friends. Often what starts off as innocent fun can quickly and inadvertently become bullying.

Schools have traditionally been places where a fair amount of bullying takes place. School bullying can be physical such as shoving, hitting or attacking. Or it can be verbal, having an emotional effect on the victim, and can include insults, name calling, ganging up or spreading rumors. The line between harmless fun and bullying at school is usually clear cut, except perhaps for certain incidents during initiation ceremonies. Here, if the actions are quick and mild, bullying may not have occurred. However, such initiations have a history of extreme behavior with clear victims and perpetrators.

Of increasing concern in more recent years, especially among school children, is cyberbullying where perpetrators post offending text or images electronically with the intention of harming or embarrassing the victim. It’s hard to think of any circumstances where such actions could be described as harmless fun.

Workplace bullying tends to be more subtle than in schools (although certainly not always) and is likely to be emotional rather than physical. Because it is often not blatant or obvious, bullying at work can be harder to detect and resolve. Workplace bullying can involve arrogance by the boss or others, gossiping, spreading rumors, and ostracism. People at most if not all organizations will engage in harmless fun either during hours or in a social setting after work. This is quite acceptable so long as certain people don’t seem to be the butt of most jokes or other actions, and productivity isn’t affected.

Some of the worst examples of bullying have been in the military. Large numbers of young people, mainly males, working and living with each other can result in an unhealthy and bullying environment if left unchecked. The armed forces are no exception. Some argue that bullying is acceptable in the military as people who are trained to go to war should be able to cope with bullying. However, what was once thought of as harmless fun, such as extreme initiation activities, is now regarded as bullying. Attitudes have changed over time.

Many organizations such as sports teams, university colleges, the military, and police forces practice a form of bullying called hazing. This is where people, often those new to an organization, have to perform meaningless tasks to gain acceptance into a group. These may be part of an initiation process. Examples might include cleaning all the cars in the parking lot or moving a large pile of firewood from one side of a building to the other. If they fail to complete these tasks, they may be subject to some kind of punishment or abuse such as losing their trousers or being tied to a tree. This may seem like harmless fun to the initiators but not usually to the victims, although there would always be exceptions where a person is quite happy and accepting of such activity.

The line between bullying and harmless fun has become clearer in recent times. In many cases, what used to be regarded as harmless fun is now thought of as bullying. Perhaps the best way to decide if an action is bullying or a bit of fun is to ask whether all participants are clearly having fun and are happy with the situation.

How to survive an economic downturn

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone; written in 2009 but still relevant)

The downturn in the world economy has affected just about everyone. Here in Queensland, Australia, economic conditions have deteriorated but not to the extent seen in the US, Europe, and some Asian countries. This is probably because the state’s economic fundamentals are sound. However, being a small player, we are certainly not immune from what is happening in the major economies.

Initially, we thought we would ride out the economic slump and not go into recession ourselves. This forecast has now been revised, and Queensland and Australia may be heading toward a mild recession (update – it didn’t happen). Gross domestic product was steady in September quarter 2008 and fell 0.1% in December quarter. Queensland state final demand grew 0.6% and 0.3% respectively in these quarters. These figures are considerably better than in many countries. Consumer price growth is steady. Housing prices have only fallen slightly. The drought has broken. We haven’t had banking and insurance company collapses. However, unemployment is up and job advertisements are down.

The state and national economies are being boosted by monetary and fiscal measures. Australia’s Reserve Bank has reduced the cash rate from 7.25% to 3.25% since September 2008. On the fiscal side, cash hand-outs of $1,400 to pensioners in November 2008, and $900 to single income families as well as to most other taxpayers and for each child in March and April 2009, will boost the economy.

As in any downturn, there are winners and losers. With the slump in export markets to Asia, Queensland’s mining towns are doing it tough. More than 10,000 mining jobs have been lost in Australia since mid 2008, with perhaps a quarter to a third of these are in Queensland. Further losses are expected. Manufacturing and tourism are also suffering employment cuts. The retail industry varies. Public sector jobs can be attractive in bad times. A public servant with a mortgage will most likely be better off now than before the downturn. Job applications in government sectors such as police, health, fire and ambulance have increased significantly as people seek safe jobs.

There are a number of things people can do to help get through the recession. An important one is to pay off credit cards and to keep the balances as low as possible. Shop around for better deals on credit cards. Similarly, people with a mortgage should aim to pay it off as soon as they can. It’s amazing how much you can save by making half your monthly repayment each fortnight, or by paying off extra amounts from time to time. With low interest rates, now is the time to reduce that loan. Also, make sure your home loan offers good value.

Review your superannuation. Fund values have plummeted due to stock market and property price falls, and people now find themselves having to work another few years or even coming out of retirement. Some sources say to consider cash rather than super. Cash won’t fall in value like super can, but it won’t rise like super probably will when the economy picks up again. If you do prefer cash, good rates can still be obtained on a term deposit. It can be a good idea to build up a cash reserve in case you lose your job. And gold is always a good investment.

Look at your investment portfolio. In a downturn, the best companies to invest in are the so-called recession proof businesses such as those whose products or services are regarded as necessities or whose demand doesn’t fall off. These are usually food and drink manufacturers, including alcohol, as well as those making basic clothing, household goods, and cosmetics. Web businesses should see continued strong growth.

Reduce discretionary expenditure. In other words, don’t buy things you don’t have to buy. Eat out less. Keep the old car another year or two. Make do with your 20 or 30 changes of clothes. Cut back on movies and CDs. Buy books instead; these take longer to get through than a film and are often cheaper, especially if second-hand. Buying music online can be cheaper and easier than purchasing CDs. One of the anomalies of a recession is that you will want to spend less while the government wants you to spend more.

Consider your employment opportunities. Is the company you work for recession proof? There are various sectors of the economy where your job will be safer than other areas. Health care is always in high demand and won’t suffer because of a weak economy, especially with an aging population. Education services will continue their strong growth, with more people studying and for longer. In fact, a recession may be a good time to return to education and learn new skills. The need for police and other providers of emergency services will continue to grow. The energy industry will thrive, including alternative energy sources.

In the end, how well you cope with a recession is largely up to you. Review your expenditure, loans, credit cards, job, investments, and superannuation, and do what is best for you. When the economy picks up, which it will, keep reviewing these things. Remember that as a general rule, the longer the boom times last, the bigger the eventual downturn. Plan accordingly.

How to avoid road rage

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Road rage is where a driver displays inappropriately aggressive or confronting behavior on the roads. It can include cutting another driver off, tailgating, or deliberately crashing into a vehicle or threatening to do so. Road rage also covers such actions as overuse of the horn, making a rude gesture, verbally abusing other road users, and getting out of a car and threatening others as well as causing them actual physical harm.

Most of us have been subject to road rage and have perhaps engaged in it ourselves at some point. Getting involved in road rage can be a very dangerous thing. Plenty of incidents have been recorded where someone has been seriously injured or killed as a result of yelling abuse at a driver for some minor infringement. There are a number of ways to avoid rage altercations.

If you’re the victim of aggressive driving and someone has cut in front of you or is following too closely, it is very tempting to want to respond by sounding your horn, braking, or pursuing the other driver. These actions will often make things worse. The driver might already be angry or upset at something, or they may not even think they have done anything wrong, and might retaliate in some way. This could result in a collision or the driver getting out of their vehicle to confront you. He or she might be drunk or in a stolen car and couldn’t care less. You never know. Think of the dangers of crashing or an angry person approaching you with a weapon in their hand.

The best course of action in these sorts of situations is to avoid a confrontation as much as possible. Do your best to ignore the person. A road rager often wants to teach the other party a lesson and looks for a reaction. Realize that they have the problem, not you. Or consider the possibility that the person is running late or is lost and didn’t mean to cut you off and is usually a nice person. Be forgiving. Try and stay calm. This may seem easier said than done. But try deep breathing or counting to ten. Perhaps play calming music whenever you drive.

Move out of the driver’s way if you can. It’s probably best to slow down and let the aggressive driver get well ahead of you. They are usually in a hurry so this shouldn’t be too difficult. If the person is behind you and won’t or can’t move ahead, consider turning off the road and rejoining it in a minute or two. However, if the driver seems to be pursuing you, it might be advisable to drive to the nearest police station, or ring them on your cell phone if possible. If traffic is slow or stationary, make sure your doors are locked and windows are up, in case the driver jumps out of the other car and approaches you.

In a merger situation in slow traffic, if a car in the other lane decides not to take it in turns to merge and pushes in front of you, let them do so. Some drivers will keep pushing until a collision occurs. Besides, it’s better to have an aggressive driver in front of you than behind you.

If you have inadvertently cut someone off, and the other driver sounds their horn or makes a gesture, try not to respond in kind. Instead, put your hand up as a sign of being sorry. This may have an instant calming effect on the driver and the problem is resolved before it starts.

Where the driver in front is very slow, you might be tempted to travel too close or use your hand to try and usher the driver along a bit faster. Have patience and hold back. Consider that the driver might be in an unfamiliar area or simply isn’t willing to drive at the speed limit. What will help here is to try and start your journey on time or, better still, a little earlier to allow for unforeseen delays. If you are running late for an appointment, you will probably feel stressed and will be more likely to engage in road rage, whether initiating it or reacting to the actions of others.

One of the best ways to avoid road rage is to take the bus or train whenever you can. An additional advantage is that you will arrive at work or for your appointment feeling more relaxed. Public transport probably works out cheaper too. If there are no trains or buses, you might be able to avoid peak hour. Many employers have flexible work hours these days. Or you may be able to take a different route with less traffic or fewer tricky merger situations. Eating well and getting eight hours sleep will also make you less stressed and less likely to want to be involved in road rage. Most importantly, be responsible for your actions, whether you are provoked or not.

Top online privacy concerns

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone; written in 2009 but probably still quite relevant)

The internet provides an amazing array of opportunities for wrongdoers to take advantage of innocent and vulnerable people. Some of the most common of these methods involve ways of obtaining personal information and using it for various gains, causing people to lose their privacy.

One of the major privacy concerns on the internet is identity theft. Unscrupulous people will seek out your information such as full name, address, phone number, email address and date of birth, and will use these details for various purposes. This might include obtaining credit, buying goods and services, and getting medical care and drugs. Sometimes a person might use your details instead of their own if they are caught committing a crime. Or the person might assume your entire identity in all their activities.

There are a number of ways people can steal your identity from information you have stored somewhere on the internet. One of the easiest ways is through internet searches, perhaps using a name and address and phone number from a telephone directory as a starting point.

A more sophisticated way is to steal personal information from a computer database. For example, a Trojan horse can enter a computer via an electronic game or some other program and allow a hacker to access information. Hackers have various other ways of obtaining data from your computer, for example, by means of a spoofing attack which can trick you into giving out confidential information, or a packet sniffer that can obtain passwords, or keylogging which allows the hacker to record your every keystroke.

Another common way criminals try and obtain your personal details is by emailing you with what appears to be a genuine job offer, or telling you that you’ve won a lottery, or that you are the beneficiary of a will, or offering you a loan. These scam emails will usually ask you to provide your name, address, phone number, occupation, age, and so on. Sometimes they ask for a curriculum vitae and banking details.

Crooks even scan MySpace and Facebook looking for personal information. Make sure you use the privacy settings. But these people don’t stop there. Some of them might visit public dumps looking for old computers. Information is never erased from your hard drive so make sure you smash your old computer to smithereens before throwing it out. My wife is good at this and has obliterated a couple of our old computers.

Phishing is yet another method used by people to steal personal information. This is where a person will set up an email and a website that look like they are from a well known institution such as a bank or an online payments processor. The email tells you that you have to click on a link and update your account details, sometimes saying things like your account will be suspended if you fail to act. The unsuspecting recipient might do as the email says, but if you hold the cursor over the link, a totally different website name will usually show up in a little window if it’s a scam. Never try and update usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and other details this way. A spam filter will reduce the number of unwanted emails. You could also direct any email where the sender isn’t in your address book to the anti-spam folder.

Make sure you trust your internet service provider (ISP) too. A provider is able to find out everything a user does on the internet, although such actions are usually illegal. It is also possible for an ISP to build a profile of your web habits and sell the information to marketers.

Cookies can sometimes be used to track usage. Information that identifies you can be placed in a browser and used for profiling or tracking, thus the name tracking cookie. Personal information can be stolen from a cookie by techniques such as cross-site scripting. This is where code is injected into the web pages you view, which may result in unauthorized access, theft of information and financial loss. Most web browsers are set up to prevent script from being used in this manner.

Spyware installs itself on a computer without the user knowing. The perpetrator tricks the user into installing these programs by piggybacking onto some other piece of software being downloaded or via a Trojan horse. Spyware can collect data on sites visited as well as installing extra software, redirecting browser activity (where you suddenly find yourself at a totally different site from the one you thought you were opening), and can change your computer settings. Anti-spyware software is readily available to deal with these problems.

The solution to these issues is twofold. First, install an internet security system that includes protection against viruses, spyware, spam, phishing and other intrusions. Second, be careful and responsible. Don’t splash your name, address, phone number and email address all over the web. Make sure you feel you can trust a site before using it. Never give out your passwords to anyone. Don’t reply to emails from people you don’t know. Never try and remove yourself from a program or database you didn’t subscribe to in the first place.

Why Charlotte is known as ‘The City of Churches’

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Charlotte, North Carolina, became known as ‘The City of Churches’ due to its high concentration of churches. In earlier times, people of many denominations were attracted to the area to escape the religious persecution they suffered elsewhere. This tolerance has continued to the present day.

Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, seeking religious and political freedom, were settling in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County by the mid 18th century. Around 1750, a Presbyterian congregation settled at Rocky River. Another group of Presbyterians arrived at Sugaw Creek. These were quickly followed by churches at Steele Creek, Hopewell, Poplar Tent, Center, Providence, and Philadelphia in the 1760s.

Charlotte was first settled in 1755 and became a town in 1768, but no church was established there until the following century. In 1815, land was set aside at Trade and Church Streets for religious purposes. A church building was commenced in 1818 and finally completed in 1823. Various denominations used it. The debt on it was taken over by the Presbyterians in 1832 and they built a larger church in 1833. It still stands and is now known as the First Presbyterian Church.

Other denominations were attracted by the region’s religious tolerance. The Methodists built a log church, the Harrison Methodist, in about 1810. Their first church in Charlotte was erected in 1833, being replaced in 1859 by the current building. The Baptists also constructed their first church in the town in 1833. It disappeared before a more permanent structure, the Beulah Baptist Church of Christ, was built in 1855. The Episcopals set up a church, St Peter’s, on West Trade Street in Charlotte in 1834. The town’s first Roman Catholic Church was established in 1852 on South Tryon Street. A Lutheran church, St Mark’s, was constructed in 1859.

These denominations continued to build new churches and by 1903 Charlotte boasted 64 churches in a city of about 20,000 people. More religious groups continued to be attracted to the city. A Jewish presence was established by 1875 with the Hebrew Benevolent Society, before a synagogue was built in 1918. A Seventh Day Adventist Church started in 1914. A Christian Science Church was set up in Charlotte in 1920. A Moravian Church, the Little Church on the Lane, was built in 1924. The Greek Orthodox congregation bought premises on South Boulevard from Westminster Presbyterian in 1929.

By 1940, Charlotte had 146 churches for a population of 100,000. The city had always attracted church-going people. For many years, its church attendance was reputed to be higher than any other city in the world, except Edinburgh in Scotland. It is thought that over 80 per cent of the city’s population went to their place of worship each week.

It is uncertain when Charlotte became known as ‘The City of Churches’. No official date is likely to have existed. Local people probably started to call their city by this nickname sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It doesn’t seem as though the name is used widely outside the region. The city is also known as the Queen City, being named after German princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg who had married British king James III in 1761. Another nickname is the Hornet’s Nest after British commander General Cornwallis called it ‘a hornet’s nest of rebellion’ following his ejection from the city by residents during the American War of Independence. Yet another name is ‘Tree City USA’ as it is one of the greenest cities in the country.

Charlotte has maintained its reputation as ‘The City of Churches’ over the years with continued growth in the number of churches and denominations present in the city. The first Unitarian church service was held at the Broadway Theater in 1947. The Mormons established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1959. The Catholic presence increased when IBM and Gold Bond transferred thousands of workers from New York to Charlotte in the 1980s. Latino immigration to the area has meant further expansion of the many Catholic congregations.

The city has become a center for various religious groups. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, first set up in Minneapolis, later moved its headquarters to Charlotte. Wycliffe Bible Translators, SIM (Serving in Mission), the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church also have their headquarters in Charlotte. Campuses of the Reformed and Gordon-Conwell theological seminaries can be found in the city, while Queens University of Charlotte and the University of North Carolina both have thriving religious studies departments.

Religious tolerance has resulted in many non-Christian religions establishing a strong presence in Charlotte. A dozen synagogues have been built in or near the city, such as Temple Beth El, Conservative, and Temple Israel, at Shalom Park. The area has five mosques, including the Islamic Society of Greater Charlotte and the Islamic Center of Charlotte. The Hindu Center of Charlotte is located on City View Drive.

Non-denominational churches are growing rapidly in number and cater to a wide range of people. Many of the new churches start off meeting in hotel banquet halls, shopping malls, and theaters. Interfaith activities are coordinated by Mecklenburg Ministries. Religious organizations form the center of community life for many Charlotte residents, offering various activities and opportunities.

Today, the metropolitan area of Charlotte has about 1,500 places of worship, including 1,246 churches, catering for a population of 1.9 million. Baptist Churches have the greatest representation with 453 sites, followed by 186 Methodist Churches, 146 Presbyterian Churches, and 108 Churches of God. Charlotte City, with a population of about 670,000 people, has more than 700 houses of worship, including 555 churches. Of these, 204 are Baptist, 102 are Presbyterian, and 66 are Methodist. Charlotte has certainly earned its nickname as ‘The City of Churches’.

A Weaver’s Web novel excerpt: Henry and Sarah worry as Albert is still missing

‘I do hope he’s all right, Henry,’ Sarah said for the umpteenth time since Albert disappeared. ‘It’s been more than three months.’ She was in the armchair mending Henry’s trousers while he sat at the table, wrapped in sacking.

‘The boy will be fine,’ he said, fed up trying to reassure her. ‘He’ll be in Manchester at a mill or a workshop, slaving from dawn to dusk for a few shillings. Eventually he’ll come to his senses and come home.’

‘I’m sure they keep him in chains and don’t feed him properly.’

‘We don’t know that. He might be making his fortune,’ he said to try and cheer her up. ‘One day he might ride up here in a magnificent carriage drawn by a team of horses.’

‘Boys of twelve don’t make their fortunes, Henry. They’re exploited by men in their quest to make a fortune.’

Henry got up, poked at the fire with a long rod and put more coal on it as rain beat down on the roof. It was midsummer and while the days had been mild the nights were cold and miserable. One of the children, who had all been in bed for an hour, started coughing. It was Emily. She appeared at the doorway complaining she felt sick and couldn’t sleep. She was weak by nature and susceptible to every epidemic. Her small stature and sickly appearance had concerned Sarah for some time. Sarah jumped up and gave her another drink of water with a dash of gin and more medicine and sent her back to bed.

‘I’m so worried about him,’ she said, resuming her sewing.

‘We know he’s in the city.’

‘How?’

‘Because he was always talking about it.’

‘That may be where he headed, but he might have come to grief on the way, or changed his mind and gone somewhere else.’

‘Stop worrying, Sarah.’

She put her sewing down on her lap and looked at him hard. ‘How can you say that, Henry? Your own son.’

‘What am I supposed to do – go to the city and knock on thousands of doors and ask every Mancunian if they’ve seen him?’

‘It’s your fault he ran away,’ she cried.

‘I had nothing to do with it, you confounded woman,’ he said, standing up.

‘You wouldn’t let him work and we couldn’t afford to send him to school. What did you expect him to do?’

Henry had no answer, infuriating him even more. ‘Sarah, there is no blasted work for the boy.’

‘Oh? I thought you said he was working in Manchester.’

‘No work here, damn you.’

‘Yes there is, and when Emily is old enough to mind Thomas and Catherine all day, which will be soon, I’m getting a job in a factory, as a spinner.’

‘You won’t,’ he yelled.

‘It’ll pay me eight shillings a week.’

‘That’s in Manchester.’

‘Then I’ll run away and join Albert.’

‘You can’t just take off, Sarah. You’re a married woman.’

‘Eight shillings a week, Henry. Think of it.’ She knew this would calm him a little. She had no intention of running off to Manchester, of course, and she was sure he knew this. But she had made up her mind to work locally whether he liked it or not. She was sick of the family going without.

(cover of A Weaver’s Web showing the Peterloo Massacre)

He sat down and thought of what he might do with an extra eight shillings – go to taverns, buy more food, a new suit.

‘Henry, wake up,’ she said, seeing he was daydreaming.

The lines on his face and its hardness came back. ‘As my wife, you must obey me,’ he said, continuing their argument as if there had been no break. ‘It was in our marriage vows.’

‘How can you talk of marriage vows? You don’t even go to church any more.’

‘It’s the same at any place of worship, Sarah.’

‘Those heretics at the chapel wouldn’t know anything about marriage vows.’

‘They treat us better than the church did.’

‘At least they don’t have those stupid reform meetings any more – Hampden Club.’

‘They still have meetings, but in secret.’

‘And what good will they do?’

‘Better pay and conditions, including for weavers, that’s what.’

‘And factory workers?’

‘Yes, but …’

‘Henry, if it wasn’t for the factories, half the people in all Lancashire would be out of a job. And if people like you could accept them, Albert would still be here.’ She laid down her sewing and put her hands to her face and sobbed. She had been strong and optimistic for so long, through all the wage cuts and the price rises, which in the end meant they could hardly afford to eat, but the disappearance of her eldest son had been her undoing. She had cried many times since he left but never in front of Henry, until now.

‘Pull yourself together, woman. It doesn’t become you, crying. And it won’t help anything either.’

She stopped crying, put her hands on her lap, and stared at the floor in front of her but said nothing.

‘When he comes back he can do some weaving on a regular basis. It won’t mean more pay but it’ll give him something to do, and I won’t have to work seven days a week.’ Henry hadn’t let Albert or Benjamin do much weaving lately, fearing the merchants would detect a change in quality between his own weaving and that of young, inexperienced boys, and the merchants had thousands of weavers to choose from.

‘What if he doesn’t come back and we never see him again? What if he’s dead, Henry?’ She screwed up her face in anguish and started crying again, only this time she wasn’t worried he saw her.

He knelt on the straw matting and put a hand on her knee. ‘Sarah, we’ve got each other and we’ve got a roof over our heads, even if it leaks, and we usually have three meals a day, even if they’re all potato and often small, and we know where our children are, four of them anyway.’ He gave a gentle chuckle each time he qualified what he had just said.

Wiping her eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh with him, though some of it sounded more like a sob. Then she wondered what they were laughing about, and said: ‘Let’s pray for him, Henry.’

He nodded and they closed their eyes and bowed their heads and prayed with all their might for Albert, that he was safe and well and would be home soon.

‘Albert, don’t be afraid to come home,’ Sarah said as part of her prayer. ‘You won’t be caned or handed over to the authorities or made to eat soap. I promise. Please come home.’

Henry prayed silently.

— end of excerpt —

My historical novel, A Weaver’s Web, is available from the following outlets:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H52SEEK

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H52SEEK

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00H52SEEK

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Chris_Pearce_A_Weaver_s_Web?id=-hlJAgAAQBAJ

Kobo Books: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-ww/books/A-Weavers-Web/jHgKZNwqjkybm8qWDO3mcw?MixID=jHgKZNwqjkybm8qWDO3mcw&PageNumber=1

Apple iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/a-weavers-web/id775610928?mt=11

History of the triple jump

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

The triple jump is a track and field event in which athletes accelerate to full speed on a runway before completing a hop, a step, and then a jump into a sandpit. Its history goes back several thousand years. The first recorded evidence of the event was in the annual Tailteann Games held at Telltown or Taillten, County Meath, Scotland from 1829 BCE to 554 BCE and later until 1166 CE. One of the events was “geal-ruith” or triple jump. Other longstanding games, such as the Braemar Games dating back to 1040 CE and those held in Ceres, County Fife from 1314 CE, probably included a version of the triple jump.

Completely separate from the triple jump in Scotland, the event was probably contested in the ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia, Greece from 776 BCE to 393 CE. The long jump was definitely an event, but we can surmise that some form of triple jump was also part of the schedule. Distances of over 50 feet were recorded, which would suggest three leaps rather than one or even two. A famous athlete from the ancient games was Chionis of Sparta who competed in 664 to 656 BCE and won running events as well as the long jump and a triple jump. The rules of this jump were unclear but he was known to achieve distances up to 52 feet or 15.85 meters. His long jump record was 23 feet or 7.01 meters. The ratio between his triple and long jumps is similar to those of modern day athletes, so it seems something approximating the triple jump was performed at the ancient games.

In the 1880s and 1890s, Scottish and Irish athletes were regarded as the best triple jumpers. The unofficial world record was held by Matthew Roseingreue of Ireland at 15.26 meters. At that time, the series of jumps usually consisted of two hops and a jump. This was one of a range of routines used in the triple jump at the first modern Olympic Games at Athens in 1896, where seven athletes contested the “hop, skip, and jump,” as it was called at the time. The event was won by James Connolly of the US with a jump of 13.71 meters, just over a meter better than his nearest rival. It was the first event decided in the games, so he has the honor of being the first Olympic champion since ancient times. His style was to take two hops and then a jump.

By the 1900 Olympics in Paris, the triple jump had been standardized as a hop, step and jump. It was known by this name for most of the twentieth century, with the term “triple jump” replacing it in the last few decades. American Myer Prinstein won the event with a distance of 14.47 meters, with Connolly coming second. Prinstein successfully defended his title at St. Louis in 1904. An event at the 1900 and 1904 games was the standing triple jump. The winner of both events was American Ray Ewry, known as the “Human Frog,” leaping 10.58 meters in 1900 and 10.54 meters in 1904. Despite suffering polio as a boy, he specialized in the standing jumps, winning eight gold medals in the standing high, long and triple jumps between 1900 and 1908.

Ireland’s success in the early triple jump continued into the twentieth century with an unofficial world record of 15.34 meters by John Breshnihan in 1906. Another Irish athlete, Timothy Ahearne, won the triple jump gold at the 1908 Olympics in London, leaping 14.92 meters. The hop, step and jump became very popular in the Nordic countries around this time. At the Stockholm Games in 1912, the first three placings and five of the top 10 triple jumpers were Swedish. Norway had three jumpers in the top 10. At the next games in Antwerp in 1920, Nordic athletes continued to dominate the triple jump. Finnish jumper Vilho Tuulos won the event, with Swedes filling the next three positions. Of the top 13, nine were from Finland, Sweden or Norway. Nordic countries were less dominant by the 1924 games.

It became Japan’s turn to excel in the triple jump. Mikio Oda won gold in 1928 at Amsterdam with a jump of 15.21 meters. Another Japanese athlete was fourth. Finland had a strong contingent at these games, with four jumpers in the top eight. Japan won gold and bronze in Los Angeles in 1932, including a world record 15.72 meters by winner Chuhei Nanbu. The Japanese athletes finished first, second and sixth in 1936 at Berlin. Naoto Tajima became the first triple jumper to leap 16 meters or 52 feet 6 inches at these games.

Eastern European jumpers came to the fore in the postwar period, with Russia winning four gold medals from 1968 to 1980. Three of these were by Viktor Saneyev. At the age of 34, he was relegated to second place in 1980 at Moscow by countryman Jaake Uudmae who won by 11 centimeters, with then world record holder Joao Carlos de Oliveira coming third another two centimeters behind. In 1984 at Los Angeles, it was America’s turn, coming first and second. Al Joyner jumped 17.26 meters to win. Eastern European jumpers once again dominated in 1988 at Seoul, with record holder Willie Banks of the US coming sixth. American Mike Conley won at Barcelona in 1992 with a wind assisted 18.17 meters. Since then, the medals have been shared by a number of countries.

Women had long competed in the triple jump but not at Olympic level. Elizabeth Stine of the US held the world record in 1922 with 10.32 meters, a mark that was broken several times in the following decades. In the 1980s the record was set 15 times, mainly by American athletes. The first women’s triple jump competition at the Olympic Games was not until 1996 at Atlanta. Inessa Kravets of Ukraine had a winning jump of 15.33 meters, which would have won gold in the men’s event in the first three decades of the twentieth century. She had jumped a world record 15.50 meters at the 1995 World Championships and this remains the record. The men’s record, held by Jonathan Edwards of Britain at 18.29 meters, also hasn’t been bettered since 1995.