Writing Articles - Making Money

In August 2008, I was driving down the highway.  Traffic came to a lull which wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, but the reason for the slowdown was quite moving.  Around the corner was a convoy of Army men and women driving Hummers, tanks, military trucks, the big covered trucks that look like they carry lots of young, proud and probably secretly fearful bodies.  I was overcome with the urge to salute.  Instead, I waved and flashed them the peace sign with enough energy hoping to envelope them in safety wherever their orders took 'em. I maneuvered through traffic. Their faces were so young and stoic -- innocent.

That moment stuck with me throughout the day.  Later I started to write a poem.  I wanted to know how to salute properly because this wasn't the first time I'd ever passed Army guys on the road.  I remember thinking of a conversation or a t.v. show that said Americans hold their hands differently from the rest of the world's military.  The sight was so moving that day that I did not want to do it unless I had it right and I questioned whether it's something civilians even do.

My curiosity drove me to quick online research.  After striking in some quick search terms on my laptop, I landed at one answer on eHow.com.  It was my first time on the site.  After looking around their website for several minutes I found out that "normal" people can write articles.  But, I was apprehensive and they wanted my social security number.  I started researching eHow at the Better Business Bureau.  I was pleased to see that they were actually listed and had a grade of an A.  Within a week I was signed up and ready to write articles.  What I didn't know at the time is that writing how-to articles and producing quality content isn't just as easy as knowing something.  There are a lot of people who know things, however being able to tell someone how to complete a task is a whole different story.  Who'd have thought that passing slow traffic could produce a whole new area and opportunity for learning?  Certainly not me.