u/Catdress92

Up until a few years ago, I recall Cracked accepting submissions from writers, albeit on their own terms,with a "workshop" and a heavy editing process. I have an idea I'd like to submit, but when I looked for their submission guidelines, I couldn't find anything but a page dated to 2019. I also can't find any clear answers anywhere else.

Considering the dire (to make un understatement) market today, is Cracked no longer accepting submissions?

My son (12) has been friends with a really nice girl (also 12) for several years. He's been invited to her house on at least one occasion and they've gone to each other's birthdays, etc., for years.

Over the past year or so, she seems to constantly have lice. It's so bad that other kids in my son's class have noticed it and have even said something to her. Not bullying or shaming, but apparently just asking if she's aware. When they've asked, she's just shrugged it off.

Our school has had at least two lice outbreaks this year and each time I've helped spread the word to parents. Her mom has seemed concerned both times...but the girl's lice are still there. The girl even had to go to the hospital for appendicitis a few months ago, which I figured would mean the lice would be taken care of, since hospitals should be sterile environments. But when she got back to school, the lice were still there.

I've been giving my son prevention treatment each week, and it seems to work. But lately this girl and another boy my son has been friends with for a while have been asking to come over our house. I have no problem with them -- they're good kids and I'd be happy to host them. But I don't want to get lice in my house.

We live in a small-ish apartment, so it's almost impossible to avoid having the kids on soft surfaces like our sofa or on my son's bed to sit down.

Does anyone have any advice about this situation? For instance, why might this girl still have lice? And especially, what, if anything, can I do about having her over and not leaving lice behind?

To be clear: I don't want to shun this girl, and I know anyone can get lice. My family and I have had it several times over the years. But it's a huge pain to do all the wash and treatment and re-treatment, and I'd like to avoid that. I also am worried that if this girl has some sort of resistant strain of lice, it would be complicated or impossible for us to get rid of them.

Any advice would be appreciated.

My son has been friends with a really nice girl for several years. He's been invited to her house on at least one occasion and they've gone to each other's birthdays, etc., for years.

Over the past year or so, she seems to constantly have lice. It's so bad that other kids in my son's class have noticed it and have even said something to her. Not bullying or shaming, but apparently just asking if she's aware. When they've asked, she's just shrugged it off.

Our school has had at least two lice outbreaks this year and each time I've helped spread the word to parents. Her mom has seemed concerned both times...but the girl's lice are still there. The girl even had to go to the hospital for appendicitis a few months ago, which I figured would mean the lice would be taken care of, since hospitals should be sterile environments. But when she got back to school, the lice were still there.

I've been giving my son prevention treatment each week, and it seems to work. But lately this girl and another boy my son has been friends with for a while have been asking to come over our house. I have no problem with them -- they're good kids and I'd be happy to host them. But I don't want to get lice in my house.

We live in a small-ish apartment, so it's almost impossible to avoid having the kids on soft surfaces like our sofa or on my son's bed to sit down.

Does anyone have any advice about this situation? For instance, why might this girl still have lice? And especially, what, if anything, can I do about having her over and not leaving lice behind?

Any advice would be appreciated.

My son has been friends with a really nice girl for several years. He's been invited to her house on at least one occasion and they've gone to each other's birthdays, etc., for years.

Over the past year or so, she seems to constantly have lice. It's so bad that other kids in my son's class have noticed it and have even said something to her. Not bullying or shaming, but apparently just asking if she's aware. When they've asked, she's just shrugged it off.

Our school has had at least two lice outbreaks this year and each time I've helped spread the word to parents. Her mom has seemed concerned both times...but the girl's lice are still there. The girl even had to go to the hospital for appendicitis a few months ago, which I figured would mean the lice would be taken care of, since hospitals should be sterile environments. But when she got back to school, the lice were still there.

I've been giving my son prevention treatment each week, and it seems to work. But lately this girl and another boy my son has been friends with for a while have been asking to come over our house. I have no problem with them -- they're good kids and I'd be happy to host them. But I don't want to get lice in my house.

We live in a small-ish apartment, so it's almost impossible to avoid having the kids on soft surfaces like our sofa or on my son's bed to sit down.

Does anyone have any advice about this situation? For instance, why might this girl still have lice? And especially, what, if anything, can I do about having her over and not leaving lice behind?

Any advice would be appreciated.

This is a mystery that's really been bothering me and I wonder if any historians here might be able to share their insights....

UPDATE: In the comments thread, BlankPalimpsest shows a source saying Johnstone and her second husband left Spain and went to Brazil, and THAT is where all trace of them was lost. If that's the case, my question still stands: Why did Johnstone, a writer with famous journalist and political friends, as well as living family and a husband, just completely disappear from recorded history at this point, with nary a mention of anyone looking for her, an obituary, etc.?

Original post:

I'm going to give as many details as I know but if you don't want to read it all, TLDR: In 1951, British journalist and writer Nancy Johnstone, who was known among both the commmunity of British journalists as well as by higher-ups in Spain's exiled Republican government returns to a town in Spain where she lived and operated a hotel in the 1930's and was appreciated by the local population. She writes to her publisher about a new book, and then "disappears from the historical record". No one seems to find this weird or try to explain it. Why is this? Was she "disappeared" by Franco's government? Or would that not have been something common for the type of writer she was?

Here are the details as I know them:

I recently read the book Hotel in Spain by Nancy Johnstone. Johnstone and her husband Archie were British journalists who came to Tossa de Mar, Spain, to open a hotel a few years before the 1936 Spanish Revolution. They seem to have been well-liked by everyone in the town and they felt loyal to Tossa and stayed there even after British destroyers passed by on 3 separate occasions with an offer to take any British citizens away from the fighting and back to the UK.

They eventually used their hotel as a refuge for displaced children and ended up making a harrowing journey to France with 70 of these kids, to bring them to safety. After this, the couple settled in Mexico, where they remained close with Spanish expats there including exiles from the Republican (Left) side. Throughout this time, Nancy was writing about her experiences. From what I've read and gathered, her writing doesn't seem particularly political; her criticisms and views come more from a civilian living through something, even though she seems to lean more Left.

Johnstone and her husband eventually divorced. He moved to the USSR, where he ultimately defected, gaining citizenship there. Nancy moved to Guatamala and became friends with Constancia de la Mora. The two were in a car accident in 1950 or '51, from what I can gather, and de la Mora died, while Nancy survived.

This is where it gets strange....

In 1951, Nancy returned to Tossa de Mar. English-language sources generally make this visit seem like she was saddended by what Spain was like under Franco and had decided to sell her hotel. But a Catalan source I found makes it seem like there were some issues with this because in her absence, a local family had taken ownership of the hotel.

Whatever the real details, all sources agree that Nancy wrote to her publisher, Faber & Faber and about a new book, and then, as most sources put it, "she disappears from the historical record."

I realize that many people vanish without a trace, but it seems weird that a writer who actively was soliciting her publisher about a new book idea would just disapepear and no one would have looked into it. I also find it strange that she had a second husband (Fernand Caron, a French citizen) and many friends, including famous British journalists of the time and higher-ups in the exiled Spanish Republican government, and no one seems to have searched for her, mentioned her, written an obituary, etc. Even her biography blurbs in the books she published never even try to attempt a reason for why she would have just vanished.

I haven't found anyone writing about this, despite the fact that her book was even going to be adapted into a movie a few years ago, before Covid hit.

I'm wondering if anyone would know why it would be so easy for a writer/journalist to just disappear like this in the 1950's? Could she have been "disappeared" by Franco's government and no one wants to address it? I'd appreciate any insights, because this is just so strange to me and staying with me long after reading Johnstone's first book.

I've lived in France for 20 years and speak fluent French. For the past decade or so, I've been working as a freelance journalist/writer, with autoentrepreneur status. Unfortunately, over the past few years, financial issues for some clients and AI in general have decimated my clientele base (an issue I know is sadly common among fellow writers right now). The money I earned was a second income for our family, and I'm struggling to find something within my skillset that's flexible enough to be compatible with my other role as a parent and homemaker (my son's school has been going on strike on the regular this year, for instance, meaning if I didn't work from home, I'd be taking a lot of personal days, something not all employers/jobs would be okay with). I'm also dealing with a bit of depression due to the collapse of what used to be a rewarding career that worked so well with my life.

I'm not currently collecting unemployment, since I have a very small trickle of money still coming in, but I will need to make a move and try to find another career path soon.

I was thinking about trying to see a career counseler/psychologist through Better Help, using their financial aid programs and some money I've set aside. But my husband pointed out that France Travail has counselors who might be able to help me choose a new career path and give me advice for free.

I've had a look at France Travail's website and it seems like what I'm looking for is an Atelier Conseil. My question is, has anyone had any experience with these? Again, I speak fluent French, so that shouldn't be an issue, but I'm concerned about the approach. I'm looking for something where my strengths AND weaknesses can be taken into account, as well as my personal needs and issues (strong preference for fully remote work, flexibility, etc.) and where counsellors listen and advise, and don't just give out rote or systematic advice. Is this something that would really be better to deal with in terms of seeing a career counselor privately, or could France Travail help me with truly finding a new career path that could work for me?

If you've done an Atelier Conseil or otherwise used France Travail to help you, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

EDIT: I am planning to learn Japanese but haven't gotten started yet, so didn't realize I'd confused the words "yakata" and "yukata"! Sorry! Edited to fix that in the body of this post....

I recently returned from an amazing trip to Japan. While I was there, I found these three yukata in a second-hand shop in Honmachi Shopping Street, Osaka. I was surprised to find ones so small, and very glad, because my three nieces love Japan and Japanese culture and wanted me to bring them yukata or kimonos back home.

I think they're made of cotton. They feel light and soft, very unlike the silk/silk blends I've felt on adult kimono.

I've read online that cotton yukata can be hand or machine washed, but some websites say they shouldn't be, so I just wanted to be sure I don't destroy my nieces' gift:

If they are cotton, is it possible for me to wash them in the machine, on a delicate cycle? I'd also add some color catcher sheets in case the dyes run.

Or is there a better way to care for them?

Any advice would be appreciated!

https://preview.redd.it/4lyw5gwp8c0h1.jpg?width=2850&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=13b5352001fabbf3191b424b8ed8f99c6f6762d7

https://preview.redd.it/hv1p6hwp8c0h1.jpg?width=2921&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a34c66cc0347b6d417f80c6d610c1ceb42314b3

https://preview.redd.it/rrl9ggwp8c0h1.jpg?width=2507&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9479bff6e45236d3e4b2435266086c542adc2121