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Did you ever have an encounter with a family member or friend and wonder, “What just happened?” A seemingly light moment suddenly turns on a dime, and feelings are hurt? And you are left wondering if you did or said something wrong or if perhaps there is something unspoken that happened to the family member or friend. I think it’s safe to say it has happened to all of us, either on one end of the stick or the other. 

We just don’t know what is going on in someone’s life at any moment. We don’t know the hidden worry someone might feel that causes the awkward comment, gesture or moment. At that moment, we aren’t in that someone’s shoes or on the path he or she is walking. We just don’t know. 

Back in May, I published a post on my author website titled William Golding, Stephen King, and Bruce Springsteen. While it deals with writing and themes, I believe it applies in small measure to missteps we might have or feel with others. You can find it in total here: https://jrlewisauthor.blog/2025/05/17/william-golding-stephen-king-and-bruce-springsteen/ 

I want to give you a portion of it to explain what I was getting at, so here it goes, but you might want to check out the post in total. It became one of my readers’ favorite posts:

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You’re probably wondering how I came up with these three writers, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Please bear with me while I give some background.

I love to read, and one of my favorite books is Lord of the Flies by William Golding. It is a story about a group of young British military school kids whose plane crashes on a deserted island. The only adult dies shortly after the crash, leaving the island to the kids. As the story unfolds, two sides spring up and become enemies: the hunters led by Jack, and the “others” led- reluctantly, by Ralph.

There are no written laws governing the boys, though Piggy tries to declare some. However, he is killed when one boy pushes him off a cliff. It becomes a story of survival: the boys as a collective group, but specifically, Ralph as he hides and dodges the hunters.

Lord of the Flies is a story of society without norms and without an established leader. At its base, it is a story of good versus evil, and the ending doesn’t declare a winner, though Ralph survives. Sorry for the spoiler, though you probably read this back in your freshman or sophomore year of high school. You might want to pick it up again, especially with what is taking place in our country at the moment.

More recently, Stephen King wrote the book The Stand. Like Lord of the Flies, it is a contemporary story of good vs evil, a land of no laws, and two sides battling it out until good overtakes evil. It really is much more than that, and should be viewed through the lens of what took place Jan. 6th, and what is taking place in our country currently, especially ignoring laws, precedent, and the supreme court, along with the entire court system.

The Stand is one helluva ride as only King can write, and I probably did it injustice with my short synopsis. If you’ve not read it, like Lord of the Flies, you’re missing something. Both books make you think- long after you finish the book.

Now, what do these two fine books written by two literary titans have to do with Bruce Springsteen?

There is a short series of sorts on TV that features singer/songwriters that airs on some obscure channel at odd times of the evening. As I scrolled through the channel guide searching for something to watch, I stumbled on it, and because it was Springsteen, who is one of my favorite writers, I watched it, and then taped it so I could view it again (and again, and again).

It was just him, without his band, sitting on a stool with an acoustic guitar. Directly in front of him was a notebook on a music stand. To his left was a small table with a bottle of water. The audience was small and intimate, not the large venue he and his band are accustomed to. There wasn’t a moderator that I noticed, although there could have been. I was focused solely on him and his music.

Springsteen would play a verse or two and a chorus and then stop. The audience politely applauded, and like me, probably wished he’d do the whole song. But there was an important point he wanted to make with each.

After he’d stop, he’d read from his notebook, and it would sound something like this. “The anguish of love from a teenager’s perspective; loss, hurt, jealously. Parents who didn’t understand. The confused kid who didn’t understand what he wanted or why he wanted it.”

Then he’d smile, look up at the audience and say, “Did I think of all of that when I wrote it?” He’d laugh, shake his head and say, “Absolutely not.” He would laugh again, and the audience with him. Then, he’d hold up a finger and say, “Did I feel all of that when I wrote it?” He’d smile, nod and say, “Absolutely.”

To paraphrase him- badly and probably not doing him justice- I will say all or most writers, including me, don’t think of the weighty issues, the themes of our writing, when we write it. We just write.

Our writing should come from our heart, our experience, our circumstance. The words on our pages or in songs we hear come from our hurts, our joys, our sorrows, our failures, our victories, and our losses.

If we wrote about all of that intentionally, unless it is nonfiction, the story would bog down and the reader would be lost as if he or she slogged through a swamp. But ...

But ... the feelings are there in the words on the page. The themes emerge only after it is written and then interpreted by the reader. Remember what I said in several posts: once the book or story is written, it ceases to be the author’s book or story. The book or story becomes the reader’s, subject to his or her point of view, his or her situation and circumstances with all of his or her experiences- from a lifetime as well as from the moment.

Cam Torrens, award-winning author of the Tyler Zahn thriller series, was kind enough to write a review for my book, Black Yéʼii. He wrote: “On one side, unconditional familial love supported by the camaraderie of law enforcement. On the other? Guns, drugs, and hatred. Black Yé’ii stages an epic battle between good and evil.”

Sublime Book Reviews wrote, “Black Yé’ii explores both the darker side of human nature and the positive theme of family and friendship.”

Brian Kaufman, award-winning author of Persistent Echo, wrote in his review, “The novel features two kinds of family - the supportive kind that rests on unconditional love, and the toxic kind that binds gangs, which is a stark contrast and befits a battle between good and evil.”

Did Torrens, Kaufman and Sublime get it right? Yes, absolutely. But just as Springsteen asked his intimate audience, “Was I thinking of all those things as I wrote it?” I have to shake my head and say, “No.” But like Springsteen, I ask, “Was I feeling those things when I wrote Black Yé’ii? Yes, absolutely.”

Themes emerge AFTER the book (or song) is written and are based on the reader’s view, experience, situation and circumstance. I don’t enjoy slogging through a swamp- in life, in writing, or in reading. And more importantly, I don’t think the reader or listener does either.

The author, whether in a book or a song, tells a story. It is up to the reader or listener to interpret it. The book or the song is theirs, not the author’s …

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I will repeat what I wrote at the outset of this post: We just don’t know what is going on in someone’s life at any moment. We don’t know the hidden worry someone might feel that causes the awkward comment, gesture or moment. At that moment, we aren’t in someone else’s shoes or on the path he or she is walking. We just don’t know.

And like the author who writes a story or song, he or she might not know the impact his or her comment or gesture has on any individual. It doesn’t matter how well we know him or her. It doesn’t matter how much we love him or her. That individual is “feeling” something and has something on his or her mind. Without us asking, “What just happened? Is there something I can help with? What’s going on?” we might never know. All that’s left for us to do at that point is, like the reader, interpret what was said or done and either accept it or reject it. Hopefully, if we care enough about that person, we can empathize and help him or her figure out what is going on before a relationship is damaged beyond repair. Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

For My Readers:   

Good News! My publisher and I are sponsoring a Goodreads Giveaway beginning August 27^th and ending September 24^th. We are giving away 5 signed copies for free. If interested, you can enter here:

Goodreads Book Giveaway Black Yéʼii by Joseph Lewis Released January 02 2025 This giveaway has not started. Starts in about 2 months. giveaway details » Enter Giveaway

 

Black Yéʼii is now available on Audible, and has quickly become a bestseller in that format. It received a 2025 Maxy Finalist Award for Thriller and Suspense and previously won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. It is also available in Paperback and on Kindle.  

You can find Black Yéʼii here:

Amazon Link: https://tinyurl.com/25w95xcn

Barnes & Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-y-700-ii-joseph-lewis/1146257565?ean=9781685135379 

Audible: https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

If you want more of the backstory to Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) check out my previous book, Caught in a Web, which is available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible. BestThrillers called it “One of the best Crime Fiction Books of 2018!” It was also a PenCraft Literary Award Winner!

You can find it here:

Audible Link: https://tinyurl.com/yw23zhfn

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2GrU51T

Barnes & Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249

Of course, you can find all my books, their descriptions, and a pay link on my author website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com 

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all ten books, their descriptions, and links for purchase on the same site.  

Please Connect with Me on Social Media:  

Website https://www.jrlewisauthor.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorjosephlewis/

TikTok @josephlewis5566  

Substack https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh  

BlueSky @jrlewisauthor.bsky.social

Photos courtesy of Unknown

Cover of Black Yéʼii by David King of Black Rose Writing

 

 

 

 

 

I Didn't Do Much

I received some nice comments after my last several posts, but one in particular hit me smack dab in my heart. The comment first talked about what a nice post Magic Feather, 2 was, and then he shifted to a question. He wanted to know if I had experienced success with kids. It was vague, so I'm not sure if the responder was interested in my success with kids in general or if, as a principal, I inspired success in my staff. Probably both.

I can cite several examples, but a couple come to mind right away. 

There is Kristen, a veteran math teacher at my last high school, where I was principal. During the last two or so years I was there, Kristen asked for the kids who had the most trouble understanding and passing math. The kids in her classroom seldom or never passed the statewide math test at the end of the year, but in the years she had them, each of her kids did. She coaxed, guided, mentored, but mostly listened to the kids. And they succeeded. I dare say I had little if any effect on her or her students. It was all Kristen.

Amy was a social studies teacher, who is now a teacher coach in a different district as she works her way into administration. Like Kristen, she had students who not only "didn't get" social studies, but were some of the most difficult kids to work with. And by that I mean, not just academically but behaviorally. Kids thrived under her teaching and mentoring. Like Kristen, she listened. Like Kristen, she had high expectations for her kids, and they reached or surpassed them. I can't remember a time when there was a call from Amy to come to her classroom because a student was "out of control." Amy handled each situation and each student, and her students more than responded. They thrived. Again, I believe I had little to do with Amy's success with her students. It was her.

These are two of my favorite examples, and there are many more. Many more.

As for students, three kids come to mind.

Ethan was a freshman when I first met him. I noticed him because he was a soccer player, a sport I came to love because of my three children. Before school, one of my duties was to monitor the cafeteria where the kids would congregate before the first bell. As he walked into the cafeteria, I would ask him about his travel soccer team, and when in season, the school soccer team. Just getting to know him sorts of things. I believe at some point, I asked him what he wanted to do after high school, and he admitted he did not know. Like many young high school kids. As time went on, I'm not sure how it came up, but I mentioned that because of my age, I was looking to retire. I must have struck a nerve, because his expression was sadness. He said, "I don't want you to retire." I told him it wasn't going to happen for quite a while, but he shook his head and said, "No, I don't want you to retire." I guess it's safe to say he and I connected on a level I didn't expect. I finally said I would wait until he graduated and then he and I would walk out the door together. With what seemed like reluctance, he accepted that. As it was, I ended up retiring at the end of his junior year, but he and I still remain in touch.

Of the many kids, there are two I remember from my counseling days. Both were students on my caseload at an impoverished barrio school in California. And I'm not sure if I left a mark on them or if they left a mark on me. Probably both.

Gabino was a senior I inherited from a different counselor after the principal decided to move to grade level counseling. He asked me if I would be the senior counselor. That was a tough and difficult assignment, but I respected the principal so much, I said I would. At the beginning of the year, I needed to do credit checks on seniors and make sure they would graduate. I would send a call slip to the students, and they would dutifully stop in my office for a conference. I sent two call slips on two different days for Gabino, but he never darkened my door, despite the fact he was present and accounted for in each of his classes. 

Hmmm ...

I sent security to escort him to my office for our conference. At first, I raised my voice, admonishing him for not coming to the conference when called for. I told him I wanted to help him, and it was disrespectful, if not belligerent to not come when called. I remember him standing up, doing a 360, and then sitting back down, arms folded on his chest, legs spread with a look of what I would call pure hatred. He never apologized, and I didn't ask him to. I explained he was in danger of not graduating, something he had already known. But I told him I would try to find a program for him to make up the credits needed. 

I found a program for him, so I sent for him the next day, and he came in, knocked on my door, and said, "You wanted to see me?" I smiled and acted as if the previous day had never taken place. The program was an internship at the hospital where not only could he make up the credits needed, but it would lead to a job if he wanted it. What kid doesn't like money, right? He accepted the offer, and then he and I rearranged his schedule to accommodate the position. About two weeks later, I sent for him again, and he came in smiling. I asked how things were going, and he went on and on about the position and said his supervisor had already spoken to him about a job. 

Over the course of the year, he and I would spot each other on campus, and either he would wave or give me a head-nod if other kids were present, but he would seek me out to talk about is job, his classes, and his family. I knew he was in a gang, and he decided- on his own- to get out of it. I visited him in the hospital after he got "beaten out" of it. He was pretty messed up, but he was happy with his decision.

Graduation came at the end of May. When his name was called, he proudly walked across the stage, beaming, and received his diploma. He walked down the stage steps, found me at the bottom of the stairs and embraced me and wept. It was one of the longest hugs I had ever received, and I have to admit, I wept, too. Gabino was the first male in his family in four generations to graduate from high school. As time went on, and after Kim and I and our family moved back to Wisconsin, he and I lost track of each other. But I think of him often and fondly. I refuse to take much of the credit for his success. It was his guts and determination. All I did was open a door or two. Mostly, I took an interest in him and listened. 

At the same school and in the same class was Khalid. The difference was that Khalid had been on my caseload since the summer of his freshman year. He registered for school when his father brought him and his cousin. We selected classes together, and at that time, Khalid wanted to be a journalist. He was about my height and on the skinny side. 

Khalid's story was tragic from the beginning. He came home a month previous to when I met him from playing a pickup basketball game on a playground to find his grandmother in the kitchen dead from a heart attack. She had been raising him. He moved in with his father and stepmother in a small apartment and several cousins and stepbrothers and stepsisters. He never told me until many years after that, that he had spent all of high school sleeping on the floor with a blanket to cover him. Neither his father nor his stepmother wanted him. His cousin and his stepbrothers and stepsisters didn't like him. It was worse when his father went to jail and he had only his stepmother to deal with. 

Over those four years, Khalid grew. He excelled in wrestling, football and track. One day, Khalid asked if I would come to his wrestling match, so Kim and I packed up our son, Wil, and our daughter, Hannah, and cheered for him. We went out for pizza after, and we watched Khalid and Wil play arcade games before we took him home.

As we drove to his apartment complex, Khalid asked me to pull over and let him walk the rest of the way. It was a chilly night (by California standards) and it was getting late on a school night, so I told him we'd take him all the way to his apartment. He leaned forward from the backseat and said, "Mr. Lewis, you don't want to take your family there." I looked at Kim, and she looked at me, and we drove him all the way home. Before he got out of the car, he said we needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. I found out the next day that the street he lived on was called "Machine Gun Alley" by locals and law enforcement because of the gunfire that often erupted at night. 

Khalid went to college on a football scholarship and became a counselor. He got married and has two beautiful children, one boy and one girl. He is now a high school principal. Again, I take no credit for Khalid's success, and like Gabino, it was his guts and determination that got him to where he is today.'

I think any success I had with kids came from listening to them. Mostly, I guess, listening to what isn't being said. I think the same can be said about successful parenting. I believe educators at all levels are mentors who guide kids along the way. There are missteps, to be sure, but I believe kids recognize effort and heart better than adults. It's effort and heart that cause success, along with kindness and compassion. If only we had more of that in the world. Something to think about ...

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

For My Readers:   

Black Yéʼii is now available on Audible, and has quickly become a bestseller in that format. It received a 2025 Maxy Finalist Award for Thriller and Suspense and previously won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. It is also available in Paperback and on Kindle.  

You can find Black Yéʼii here:

Amazon Link: https://tinyurl.com/25w95xcn

Barnes & Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-y-700-ii-joseph-lewis/1146257565?ean=9781685135379 

Audible: https://www.audible.com/acx-promo

If you want more of the backstory to Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) check out my previous book, Caught in a Web, which is available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible. BestThrillers called it “One of the best Crime Fiction Books of 2018!” It was also a PenCraft Literary Award Winner!

You can find it here:

Audible Link: https://tinyurl.com/yw23zhfn

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2GrU51T

Barnes & Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249

Fan Mail won a 2023 Maxy Finalist for Action and Adventure. It previously won a 2023 Reader’s Favorite Silver Book Award. It is available in Audible format, as well as Paperback and Kindle.

You can find it here: 

Audible Link: https://audiobooksunleashed.com/product/fan-mail/ 

Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3eNgSdS

Barnes & Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fan-mail-joseph-lewis/1142543281?ean=9781685131685

Of course, you can find all my books, their descriptions, and a pay link on my author website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com 

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all ten books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site.  

Please Connect with Me on Social Media:  

Website https://www.jrlewisauthor.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/authorjosephlewis/

TikTok @josephlewis5566  

Substack https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh  

BlueSky @jrlewisauthor.bsky.social

Photo courtesy of Jon Tyson and Unsplash