Roundup of September 2022 Posts

September was a slow month for The Next Phase Blog for several reasons.

Return of the Cruise Ships

1.    The cruise ships came in. Fall foliage draws cruise ships to New England, which makes September and October peak season for the tour guides that take them around the city. The second week in the month, I worked every day, sometimes giving two bus tours in one day. Throw in commuting and that leaves little time for writing of any kind.

Voyager of the Seas, cruise ships, Seaport, Black Falcon Terminal, Flynn Cruiseport

2.     Secondly, I got Covid 19. Okay, Despite being multiply vaccinated and boosted, I should have been more careful. I acknowledge that. And I paid a price for that lack of prevention. Being sick took me out of work for a couple of weeks and cost me a lot of money. Lesson learned. I am masking up in public again.

Returning to Normal

Fortunately, my life has returned to relatively normal, although smell and taste are not what they used to be. I still haven’t gone to the pool, though. My doctor recommended that I take it easy for a few weeks and I’m following her advice. Naps have become my favorite part of the day.

But I do have the time for my monthly roundup of September 2022 posts. Susanne, a guest author, and I managed to keep things going. I just wish there were more.

A Word on Guest Authors

A word about the guest authors. If no name appears on the subhead, it means that the post has been sponsored by an organization or company. Monetizing The Next Phase Blog helps to pay the bills (Blogs are not free. Costs are involved.) It also keeps new posts going up if I’m busy and lack writing time.

Granted, some of these sponsored posts provide more interesting content than others. I have written rules, which I send to prospective guest authors. First and foremost: no posts about sex, drugs, gambling or guns. After that they have to be well-written, not promote a product or service, and provide useful information.

Firing a Guest Author

guest post, word sign, September 2022 posts, blogNot all guest authors want to follow these rules. I just fired one who consistently sent me posts that read like English was not the author’s first language. I don’t disdain that in principle. But the writing was clunky and awkward and contained words that no American would understand. Also, the agent was duplicitous—giving me one name to create a marketing relationship when a different one, his real name, appeared on Paypal. It confirmed my suspicions about country of origin. Buh-bye.

Inquiries Every Day

By the way, I receive multiple inquiries about guest author opportunities every day. Every. Single. Day. I respond to the ones that sound professional and ignore the rest. I never cease to be amazed by the follow-ups sent by the ones I ignore. They act offended, as if I have a duty to reply to their inquiries. As if they’re the boss and I’m a low-level employee. Some of them get almost abusive when I don’t reply to their inquiry.

That negative business model doesn’t strike me as either good business or likely to succeed. I don’t suffer fools gladly. Also, I can guarantee you that insulting me will not get you what you want.

Note to prospective guest authors: we do not have a contract or even an email agreement. I owe you nothing.

Roundup of September 2022 Posts

Having said all that, here is the roundup of September 2022 posts. As usual, I write about what interests me, what trends seem either positive or not, and places in Boston that attract my attention.

Here are last month’s posts by category. Enjoy.

Boston and History

Business and Technology

Environment

Health and Safety

Lifestyle and Culture

Women Challenging Change

On to October

apple cider donuts, boiled ciderWe have moved on to October, which blew into New England on cold gale-force winds. For several days we have been stuck between two fronts with the winds to prove it.

Yesterday I asked some of my tour visitors how their cruise ship’s trip into the city had been that morning. They almost turned green and replied that had been difficult. I hope the weather warms and the clouds disappear to give us all October’s bright blue weather.

Today we bought our first apples and cider doughnuts at Honey Pot Hill orchard. This is an annual ritual that we enjoy and that tells us fall has indeed arrived. Happy October to all.