I look forward
to the Olympics. It doesn’t matter the season, because both the summer and the
winter versions have some of my favorite events.
In the winter,
there is figure skating and those crazy folks who bobsled and luge. At least
the riders in the bobsled have a modicum of protection, but the luge? Your feet
stick out on a flat sled and you travel on ice with a top speed clocked at 87
mph! I find it exciting to watch, but no way would I ride it unless I was encased
in bubble-wrap.
In summer, I like
the track and field competition, swimming and gymnastics. With both of my
daughters having been swimmers for bunches of years, I know a little about what
it takes in terms of dedication and effort. Like any sport if one wants to
reach the pinnacle, the time and the training is grueling.
Gymnastics
mystifies me. Like other sports, a gymnast is part of a team, but performs
individually. I look at the tumbling, the flips, the twirling . . . first I’d
probably get dizzy and throw up, and then I’d land with a thud either on my
head or unceremoniously on my butt.
Last night I
watched the school’s gymnastics meet. You could tell the kids had practiced.
You could tell the kids put in the time and had trained for it. Particularly, I
focused on the balance beam.
For those of you
who don’t know, the beam is 16.4 feet long and its width is 4 inches. It stands
4.1 feet off the floor. Never having done it in my life . . . not that I ever
would or could . . . I imagine when balancing and flipping and dancing on top
of it, the height looks closer to 4 miles high. Yes, there are pads and mats
under and around it and hopefully the gymnast never has to use them, but at
times . . .
Last night, a
young lady from another school performed her routine. She did a stunt, lost her
balance and fell. She took a deep breath, jumped back up, did another stunt or
two and fell again. She sighed, jumped back up and continued. In all, she fell
four times. And each time, she jumped back up and continued.
Each time . . .
she jumped back up and continued.
Now, I’m sure
she was embarrassed. I’m sure she was disheartened. But each time she fell, she
got back up and continued until her dismount. Each time.
Not only did I
watch her, I watched her coaches and teammates. I watched the spectators.
Honestly, there was nothing but encouragement. Each face registered hope. Each
face registered support. You could see it in body language, the way hands and
breath were held. And you could see it especially after she stepped off the mat
and walked over to her coaches and teammates.
After a moment
or two of kind words, pats on the back, a hug here and there, the girl left the
gym to be by herself. I get that. As I said, I’m sure she was both embarrassed
and disheartened.
But each time .
. . she jumped back up and continued.
Something to be
said about that. While I’m sure her score didn’t reflect it, there was victory
in her effort and in her performance. Victory in not giving up. Victory in not
giving in to the personal desire to quit and walk away. Victory in completing
her event even though she fell four times. Victory in jumping back up and
continuing through her dismount.
And I think
there was another victory. Victory in the silent encouragement for her, the silent
hope for her from those who watched with breath held. Victory in the kind words
and pats on the back, the hugs given away after she stepped off the mat. Victory
for those of us who have fallen once, twice, many times on our own personal
balance beam and dared to stand back up and continue until our own dismount. Victory
indeed! Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
My fifth work of
thriller/suspense fiction Caught in a Web will be published by
Black Rose Writing in April of 2018. It is currently in the very skilled hands
of an editor I especially admire. When she finishes, and I was just told today
that she expects to get it to me by Christmas, I fix what’s needed to fix and
then I send it to Black Rose. The real work of any writing takes place in the
edits, something I both dread and get excited about. I will keep you posted on
the progress. I am working with Black Rose on several publicity campaigns so
when the “drop” nears, I’ll keep you posted. There will be an opportunity for
preordering Caught in a Web, so when
the link becomes available, I’ll make sure you know.
Good News!
I finished the
edits on Spiral Into Darkness and
I’m working to find an agent for it. It is more of a psychological thriller but with an attitude.
Please feel free
to connect with me at:
Twitter
at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook
at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
If you like Thriller/Suspense fiction and are
looking for something to read over the winter, check out my novels:
The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete
Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys
left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know
one another, the lives of FBI Agent Kelliher and two boys become interwoven
with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them
are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in jeopardy as
each search for a way out. http://bit.ly/Taking-Lives-JLewis
Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy:
Two
thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and
his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all
the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the
possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. http://bit.ly/Stolen-Lives-JLewis
Shattered Lives, Book Two of the Lives Trilogy:
Six desperate
and violent men escape. One of them stands in a kitchen facing a 14
year-old-boy with a gun. There are many reasons for the boy to pull the
trigger. Mainly, the man had started it all. http://bit.ly/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Splintered Lives, Book Three of the Lives Trilogy:
A 14
year-old-boy is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. High up on an Arizona
mesa, he faces three desperate and dangerous men in hopes of saving his father
and his brothers. http://bit.ly/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis
Joe: Your thoughts are always illuminating!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dan.
ReplyDelete