The World Needs to Know

Yom Hashoah 

Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day 

Yom Hashoah 2021 is observed at sundown, Wednesday, April 7th and ends at sundown on Thursday, April 8th. Yom Hashoah, also called Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorates the lives of the Jewish people who died in the Holocaust between 1933 and 1945 more than 76 years ago.

Approximately six million Jews and some 5 million others, targeted for racial, political, ideological and behavioral reasons, died in the Holocaust. More than one million of those who perished were children. 

This day is remembered in the Hebrew calendar on the 27th day of Nisan.

Watch this video from 2017 of a group of young Canadian students

 visiting Auschwitz along with a survivor of the Nazi death camp

Happy Veterans Day to all who have protected our shores

THE MEETING
(from The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero short story collection)

is a fictionalized account of the true story of my parents' romance. 

They met during WW2 and were married 32 yrs before 'til death do us part'. 

Daddy was in the US Army and served
in multiple campaigns in Europe and Africa.

excerpt:

The Meeting

Charleston, South Carolina

1942

“Make sure you send me a letter as soon as you get there.” Jeannette stopped to dry her eyes. “You just know how I am going to miss you.”

“Oh honey, I‘ll write to you every day.” Melanie hugged the best friend she always shared everything with. Their mommas had taken them for walks in their baby carriages together. They were there for each other‘s first dates, they consoled each other when Melanie‘s big brother left to go fight the big war, and they stayed up late reading letters from Melanie‘s ill mother. “Oh I wish I didn‘t have to leave you.”

“You tell your momma to get well so you can bring her home again.”

“Last call for Greensboro.” The train engineer poked his head out to remind passengers to get their luggage loaded.

“Oh, I have to make sure my suitcase is on board.” Melanie gave Jeannette‘s hand a squeeze and then stepped towards the train.

“Make sure you wave to me before you leave.”

In another car an M.P. checked the cuffs of the prisoner he was transporting from Georgia.

“I‘m going to step off and have a smoke.” He was satisfied the prisoner wasn't going anywhere, especially since he was cuffed to the seat. The M.P. motioned to one of the other military personnel on board the car that he would be back in a few minutes.

It felt good to stretch his legs as he stepped down from the train onto the platform. He watched as two women tearfully hugged each other and found himself unable to stop staring at the woman left on the platform. She was beautiful. ...

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero

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Jimmy Carter, Our 39th President ~ #MondayBlogs

President Jimmy Carter showed a great kindness to my family in 1978 and I will forever remember how he helped us during a very difficult time. Let me explain...

Jimmy Carter
by Department of Defense
Department of the Navy
Licensed under Public Domain

My dad passed away in 1977 and following his wishes he was buried in one of the region's Veteran's cemeteries (He was very proud of his service in WW2). When a U.S. Veteran is buried in a national cemetery the VA National Cemetery Administration supplies the headstone as a way of honoring the service to our country.

For some reason though there was confusion about my dad's proper name and faith — multiple headstones were delivered to the cemetery, each time the combination was incorrect, either the name was misspelled or wrong or when the name was correct they displayed a marker from a different faith. (My dad always joked that he would take blessings from any religion, I guess the government was proving that?)

It is tradition in our religion, Judaism, to hold an unveiling several months after burial; in Judaism the unveiling (literally uncovering the stone) is a time to forever remember the love and life of the deceased as we view his/her name on the stone and a time when we are reminded that life continues. It is a very significant ritual.

With so many erroneous headstones showing up, it isn't an exaggeration to say how upsetting this was for my mom. Frustrated by her dismay and nearing the date of the anticipated unveiling and not knowing if we would indeed have the correct stone in time I decided to send a telegram to the White House and ask for help.

Almost immediately we received a response from the White House signed by President Carter (most probably mechanically) promising us that he would personally assign someone from his administration to ensure that we would have the correct headstone in time for the unveiling. He also expressed gratitude for my father's service, offered condolences for our loss and apologized for the headstone errors. (My mom kept the letter but unfortunately I don't know what happened to it after she passed away)

Even with President Carter's assurance we were filled with trepidation the day of the unveiling when we would once again make the journey to this particular National Cemetery - my husband had even fashioned a wooden headstone-shaped plaque with the correct information if necessary! We didn't need the wooden headstone. My dad's correct name along with the Star of David graced the brand new marble headstone.

We were told by the Cemetery Office that the headstone was delivered and installed just days before and that they had to submit a photo of it in place to send to the President's appointed representative. My mom sent a letter to President Carter thanking him for his assistance and expressed how wonderful it was to see my dad properly honored. I am eternally grateful to him for helping to remove a bit of stress from the shoulders of a grieving widow.

As I am writing this blog President Carter has just announced that he will be starting radiation treatments for an advanced case of cancer. I am praying for the President's well being and wish him an easy time. He has a positive attitude and has even suggested that if the treatments go well he may travel to Nepal in November to work with Habitat for Humanity; the Carters lead the Jimmy & Rosalynn Work Project for Habitat for Humanity for a week every year. Jimmy Carter, our 39th President, was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development".

This is a man who has done so much for those in need

and for my own family specifically.

I wish him well.

#MondayBlogs ~ This Memorial Day

My dad and my father-in-law both served proudly in World War 2, both men were injured and lived with pain and other war-related complications and I remain convinced that this led to an early demise for both (58 yrs & 55 yrs respectively) – BUT THEY CAME HOME. Aside from the fact that neither my husband nor I would be here if they hadn’t, our families were immeasurably fortunate. But how I do miss hearing their “War Stories”, even the ones I heard over and over and sometimes a little more embellished than the time before…

I grew up during the tumultuous Vietnam era and saw friends who lost loved ones so tragically and so young and there wasn’t much I could do to comfort them from the pain they were experiencing. It was a time of protests and in-country violence and loss. And there was definitely anger over the lack of military benefits that our veterans received upon their return and the harsh words that sometimes greeted them as they walked down our city streets. I was present at the NYC “Home With Honor” parade in 1973 and we applauded the returning veterans while we remembered those who couldn’t return. 

Violence was brought to our shores and we find our nation embroiled in battle again, whatever happened to the “War to End All Wars”?  We have so many brave men and women who are giving their all to protect us and sometimes we suffer their losses. Memorial Day, a U.S. holiday, is a day devoted to Remembering The Fallen. Display the American Flag, “On Memorial Day, flags are flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon only, and then raised quickly to full-staff”,  place flags on veterans’ graves, and attend ceremonies – above all NEVER FORGET the sacrifices made for us. 

A suggestion: Memorial Day is often filled with picnics and barbecues and plans for summer fun ~ if you are planning this festive ritual this year be sure to set a place for the one who will never return, Remember the Fallen.

He wears her down ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 12/14/14

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior round. Every week writers post 8 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

I'm continuing with snippets from The Meeting, a part of The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero, a short-story collection which exemplifies (I hope) the diversity of my writing.

Last week the handsome soldier was being rather... forward and making the gentle southern girl quite uncomfortable. She was raised to be polite and she politely tried to get rid of him, but he didn't seem to be listening.

This will be the last snippet from The Meeting, next week we'll move on to another story from The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero. BTW by the time this post goes live, I'll be partying at my son's wedding so I will start making the rounds of #WeWriWa snippets during the week.

“Hey, come on, I‘m just a lonely soldier, can‘t you take pity on me? Just your name, please?”

She paused, he was infuriating, “My name is Jeannette.”

“Hi Jeannette, glad to meet you.” He extended his hand which she, as politely as possible, ignored. “My name is Marc, do you live here in Charleston?”

“I thought you only wanted to know my name.”

“Maybe I was hoping to get to know you too.” 

 For more WeWriWa snippets, go to www.wewriwa.com

The Meeting

From a random meeting in the south during WW2 to a
marriage and love that lasts for an eternity.

 AUDIO 

PRINT 

Kindle 

 AllRomance Ebooks 

 iBooks 

 Smashwords 

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

Chanukah begins next Tuesday evening, so in the interest of giving...

Download this FREE .pdf ebook now from PayLoadz
FREE!

PEOPLE DEAL WITH EMERGENCIES DIFFERENTLY, BUT NO MATTER HOW SERIOUS OR MINOR THE EVENT MAY SEEM TO SOMEONE ELSE, EACH PERSON WHO EXPERIENCES PAIN, FEAR OR LOSS FOR THEMSELVES OR A LOVED ONE IS DEALING WITH A TRUE CRISIS. IT IS MY HOPE THAT THIS BOOKLET WILL GIVE A LITTLE COMFORT WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH AN EMERGENCY.

He's very insistent ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 12/07/14

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior round. Every week writers post 8 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

I'm continuing with snippets from The Meeting, a part of The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero, a short-story collection which exemplifies (I hope) the diversity of my writing.

The story begins at a Charleston SC train station in 1942. America, still reeling from the Pearl Harbor attack, entered the war and soldiers in uniform were going off to Europe and the Pacific to fight. Life continued on the home-front.

Last week the young MP steps onto the platform and is instantly attracted to the young woman seeing her friend off. His scrutiny causes her some discomfort but her genteel southern upbringing keeps her polite, besides she promised to see her friend off and is waiting for her to wave from the window. He's persistent and much more forward than the local southern boys.

“Imagine how I felt when I stepped onto the platform and saw this gorgeous woman standing there.”

He was definitely making her feel uneasy, she wished she had one of her little brothers with her.

“I‘d love to have a name to go with the dreams I‘m going to have of you tonight.”

Her momma taught her manners and her poppa taught her to stand up for herself. Jeannette mustered her courage and finally looked the handsome soldier in the eyes, “Sir, I find your manners appalling, I would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly leave me be.”

 “So you aren‘t going to tell me your name?‖”

“No sir, I am not.” 

 For more WeWriWa snippets, go to www.wewriwa.com

The Meeting

From a random meeting in the south during WW2 to a
marriage and love that lasts for an eternity.

 AUDIO 

PRINT 

Kindle 

 AllRomance Ebooks 

 iBooks 

 Smashwords 

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.


My son's wedding is next Saturday and there are a lot of last minute things to do this week, I'll try to get to comments and all as early as I can.

This story is based on the tales both of my parents told me as I was growing up about their first meeting - this story is a fictionalized version of their romance; my uncle told me a slightly different story. Whatever the truth was, and all versions mentioned my dad's northern "roughness" and my mom's southern manners, I am very glad my dad was so persistent!

At First Glance - Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 11/30/14

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior round. Every week writers post 8 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

I'm continuing with snippets from The Meeting, a part of The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero, a short-story collection which exemplifies (I hope) the diversity of my writing.

The story begins at a Charleston SC train station in 1942. America, still reeling from the Pearl Harbor attack, entered the war and soldiers in uniform were going off to Europe and the Pacific to fight. Life continued on the home-front.

Last week two young ladies, both Southern born and bred, were saying a tearful good-bye at the train station. A young MP riding in another car was about to step onto the platform.

It felt good to stretch his legs as he stepped down from the train onto the platform. He watched as two women tearfully hugged each other and found himself unable to stop staring at the woman left on the platform. She was beautiful.

He lit his cigarette and took a drag and then walked over to the woman.

Jeannette was aware of the soldier‘s stare and tried not to let it affect her. He was a handsome man, but it just wasn‘t polite to be scrutinized so thoroughly like that. He came even closer and she tried to look in the other direction.

           “Hello.”

 For more WeWriWa snippets, go to www.wewriwa.com

The Meeting

From a random meeting in the south during WW2 to a
marriage and love that lasts for an eternity.

 AUDIO 

PRINT 

Kindle 

 AllRomance Ebooks 

 iBooks 

 Smashwords 

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

...and in time for the holidays!

A short story about finding holiday happiness whenyou didn’t realize it was right there with you all along.

Holiday Happiness: A Short Story [Kindle Edition] by Chelle Cordero

just 99-cents - click HERE to buy

Introducing The Meeting ~ Weekend Writing Warriors / #8sunday / 11/23/14

Hi! Welcome to another Weekend Writing Warrior round. Every week writers post 8 sentences on their blogs from a published or unpublished book. Then we "hop" around and leave comments on each other's snippets. Whether our work is already published or in progress, the helpful comments help us become stronger writers on our next WIP. We welcome EVERYONE's comments.

See more at the
WeWriWa blog

I'm moving to another story from The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero, a short-story collection which exemplifies (I hope) the diversity of my writing.

This snippet is from The Meeting which begins in 1942 at a train station platform in Charleston, South Carolina.

“Make sure you send me a letter as soon as you get there,” Jeannette stopped to dry her eyes, “you just know how I am going to miss you.”

“Oh honey, I‘ll write to you every day,” Melanie hugged the best friend she always shared everything with. Their mommas had taken them for walks in their baby carriages together, they were there for each other‘s first dates, they consoled each other when Melanie‘s big brother left to go fight the big war, and they stayed up late reading letters from Melanie’s ill mother. “Oh I wish I didn‘t have to leave you.”

“You tell your momma to get well so you can bring her home again.”

“Last call for Greensboro,” the train engineer poked his head out to remind passengers to get their luggage loaded.

In another car an M.P. checked the cuffs of the prisoner he was transporting from Georgia and then motioned to another soldier on the train.

“I‘m going to step off and have a smoke,” he was satisfied the prisoner wasn‘t going anywhere.

 For more WeWriWa snippets, go to www.wewriwa.com

The Meeting

From a random meeting in the south during WW2 to a
marriage and love that lasts for an eternity.

 AUDIO 

PRINT 

Kindle 

 AllRomance Ebooks 

 iBooks 

 Smashwords 

The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.

from the book's dedication...

To my parents, Marcy & Reva, their relationship was the epitome 

of the love story and the inspiration for "The Meeting"

Hope y'all are having a happy & safe 4th!

I'm sitting here watching the Macy's Fireworks on TV (yeah, I'm just an old fuddy duddy, lol) and getting very nostalgic.

When I was a youngster growing up in 'da Bronx, NYC (the only borough to begin with a "D"), and surrounding buildings weren't too tall to see across to the Hudson River, my parents and our neighbors used to pack a picnic dinner and we would all go up to Tar Beach to watch the fireworks from the rooftop. It was spectacular! Very fond memories.

Someone (usually my dad) would run an extension cord up there so we'd have a radio broadcast in the background. The oohs and aahs would all quiet when the anthem or other patriotic songs were played over the radio. The transmission was scratchy on the tube-powered radio, but the men, almost all WW2 vets, would stand proudly watching the display and all their eyes glistened as they softly sang the patriotic words along with the radio.

To this day I still get a little bit choked up when I hear our anthem and see the fireworks...

I hope this day has been spectacular, fun and safe for all of you.

note: The Macy’s fireworks display actually debuted on the Hudson in 1958 before becoming an East River tradition in 1976.  In 2008, it moved back to the Hudson River to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s landing in Manhattan

~ Now in Audio Book ~

  

              Final Sin    &    Courage of the Heart

Happy Veterans Day

My parents met stateside during World War II, just a lonely northern soldier boy and a beautiful southern girl ~ their romance lasted a lifetime (& maybe more...). The following is the beginning of a story I wrote, a dramatization based on their fateful meeting and their life together.

If you are intrigued by this little teaser, please feel free to download the anthology Love and Chocolate.

The Meeting

by Chelle Cordero

Charleston, South Carolina

1942

―"Make sure you send me a letter as soon as you get there." Jeannette stopped to dry her eyes. ―"You just know how I am going to miss you."

―"Oh honey, I‘ll write to you every day." Melanie hugged the best friend she always shared everything with. Their mommas had taken them for walks in their baby carriages together. They were there for each other‘s first dates, they consoled each other when Melanie‘s big brother left to go fight the big war, and they stayed up late reading letters from Melanie‘s ill mother. ―"Oh I wish I didn't have to leave you."

―"You tell your momma to get well so you can bring her home again."

―"Last call for Greensboro." The train engineer poked his head out to remind passengers to get their luggage loaded.

―"Oh, I have to make sure my suitcase is on board." Melanie gave Jeannette‘s hand a squeeze and then stepped towards the train.

―"Make sure you wave to me before you leave."

In another car an M.P. checked the cuffs of the prisoner he was transporting from Georgia.

―"I‘m going to step off and have a smoke." He was satisfied the prisoner wasn't going anywhere, especially since he was cuffed to the seat. The M.P. motioned to one of the other military personnel on board the car that he would be back in a few minutes.It felt good to stretch his legs as he stepped down from the train onto the platform. He watched as two women tearfully hugged each other and found himself unable to stop staring at the woman left on the platform. She was beautiful. He lit his cigarette and took a drag. Then he walked over to the woman.

Jeannette was aware of the soldier‘s stare and tried not to let it affect her. He was a handsome man, but it just wasn't polite to be scrutinized so thoroughly like that. He came even closer and she tried to look in the other direction.

―"Hello."

She could tell by the nasal quality of his accent that he was a northern boy. Maybe this was how they acted up there but he was being awfully forward. She was raised to be polite and couldn't ignore his speaking to her. ―"Good morning sir." She hoped he would go away.

―"I've been riding this train all morning – transporting a prisoner." He motioned proudly to the M.P. sash on his arm.

She glanced quickly at his armband and realized he was probably trying to impress her. Jeannette gave him a polite half-smile and turned her head. She was trying to watch to see where her friend got a seat, but he wasn't making it easy.

―"Well imagine how I felt when I stepped onto the platform and saw this gorgeous woman standing there."

He was definitely making her feel uneasy. She wished she had one of her little brothers with her.

―"Hey, aren‘t you going to tell me your name at least? I‘d love to have a name to go with the dreams I‘m going to have of you tonight."

Her momma taught her manners and her poppa taught her to stand up for herself. Jeannette mustered her courage and finally looked the handsome soldier in the eyes. ―"Sir, I find your manners appalling. I would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly leave me be."

He smiled back at her, the smile reached his eyes. ―"So you aren‘t going to tell me your name?"

―"No sir, I am not." His smile was devastating.

The soldier put on his best pouting face. ―"Hey, come on, I‘m just a lonely soldier. Can‘t you take pity on me? Just your name, please?"

read more in the FREE download

of Love & Chocolate

featuring stories and more by VHP authors