Simple Thoughts From A Complicated Mind, Sort Of . . .: November 2025

Sunday, November 16, 2025

Backpacks

When I was a principal, I’d stand in the hallway and greet students at the beginning of each day. Most greeted me back, others would nod or smile and move on. While others, only a few, would not react at all. I get it. It’s not necessarily “cool” to be seen speaking to the principal, especially in front of friends. But towards the latter part of my tenure, there were some who would stop and shake my hand on the way past.

Some I would tease or mention their performance in a game, a play, or in a concert. My comment, usually a compliment, would cause the student to turn red. But with it would be a smile. It seemed I always got along with the kids. I’m still in touch with a few, some dating way back to my first principalship.

Something I noticed over the years was the ever-present backpack. Some would almost burst at the seams with gigantic books, fat folders, and all the utensils a student might need throughout the day. Others were noticeably flat, noticeably lighter. The kids who had the fullest backpacks walked with a lean, as if they walked into brisk headwinds. From the smallest to the biggest student, the heaviest backpacks caused a struggle and strain.

Got me thinking about my years working with kids, teachers, and staff …

Besides the backpack, what else did each student carry into and out of school? What else did the student struggle with as they walked the hallways, sat in classes, ate in the hallways or the cafeteria? What was hidden behind the smile or the silent, sullen, downcast eyes?

Not just students, but what did my teachers and staff members carry on their shoulders or in their hearts each day? What was hidden behind their smiles and kind words to students? What was going on within their silence as they taught and did their work quietly while sitting at their desks, teaching behind the lectern, or writing on the board?

For adults, financial struggle. Marital problems. A child making poor choices and won’t listen. Job or life dissatisfaction. For kids, problems with mom or dad and sometimes both. Troubles with friends. Struggles with grades, not making a team or squad. Too short or too fat. Not athletic enough. Dissatisfaction with their looks.

Humans have become experts at hiding sadness and despair. It begins at a young age, and by adulthood, we’ve become masters. Some find it difficult or impossible to ask for help for fear of appearing weak or inadequate. Kids want their autonomy, and by asking for help, there is the appearance of dependence.

Some say that those who show kindness, who smile, who reach out to others have been hurt the most, and might still be hurting. Even the strongest among us carry weight that can seem crushing, even paralyzing.

We truly don’t know what is carried in those backpacks. We don’t know what weight is carried on shoulders or in one’s heart. Being an author, I am aware of the power of words. Power to build up or to tear down. To lift up and encourage, or to hurt and harm. We don’t know what any among us might be feeling at any moment, what pain or struggle one might be enduring, or how close to giving up one might be. We need to be cautious of how our words, our actions, and how they might affect others- intended or not. Thinking, even feeling, before words are spoken or before we act is always a good decision. Why add to an already heavy backpack when we can help the person carry it, even empty it? Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference

To My Readers:

Fantastic News for You:

My publisher, Black Rose Writing and I have a promotion beginning Monday, 11/17 through Wednesday, 11/19. You can purchase the Kindle version of Black Yéʼii for only $0.99. You read that correctly. Only 99 cents!

You can find Black Yéʼii here:

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

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

All of my books are now available in three formats: Audible, Kindle, and Paperback. I am pleased to report that one month after Black Yéʼii became available on Audible, it was the fourth highest seller in the Black Rose Writing catalog. Black Yéʼii received a 2025 Maxy Finalist Award for Thriller and Suspense and previously won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award.

And my book, Fan Mail became the third highest seller in the Audible format in the Black Rose Writing catalog. Thank you to all who have purchased and read or listened to my books. Don’t forget to leave a rating and/or review of my books. They help with sales.

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

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

If you like what you’re reading in these and other posts 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.

Please Connect with Me on Social Media:

Website https://www.jrlewisauthor.com

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

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-lewis-67917b28/

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

TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@josephlewis1084

Substack https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh

Photos of the book covers are courtesy of Black Rose Writing and the genius of David King.

Photo of the backpack courtesy of Sun Yinglan and Unsplash.

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Family

Family is incredibly important to me. I am the second youngest of ten, with six sisters and three brothers. That feeling, the importance of family to me, wasn’t always the case. It grew as I matured. When younger, I took it for granted. My brothers were my friends, and we played together. My sisters, all older than me, took care of me, especially Betty. I was her “charge.”

The “charge” system was that an older sibling took care of a younger sibling. Betty bought me my first school clothes. When I was older, I occasionally spent a weekend at her apartment and spent overnights on holidays. She had always “been there” for me. Always.

While I was and am close to all of my brothers and sisters, I think the four boys were the closest, maybe because the separation of age was small. They were my first playmates, especially Jim, four years older than me, and Jeff, four years younger than me.

We had a treehouse nestled high in and anchored by three weeping willow trees at the edge of the river. But it was the green apple tree I remember the best. It was at various times a B52 bomber when we played war, or a fort when playing cowboys and Indians. It was easy to climb, and the branches were strong enough to hold all of us if need be. For the three or four of us, it was perfect.

Our big yard was home to our softball games, our tackle football games- yes, without protective equipment. We took our lumps and bumps and bruises and wore them as badges of honor, if not stupidity. All in good fun.

It wasn’t until I got my first teaching and coaching job in Wyoming that I realized just how important family was to me. At that time in the late seventies, there were three people per square mile living in Wyoming. Expansive. Somewhat desolate. Rugged, and yet beautiful. But also lonely, and it was that aloneness that made me realize how important family was to me.

For the longest time, even as I taught and coached, I considered the priesthood. That would have been a much different life, and it would have involved a much different kind of family. My consideration of the priesthood was born with my Catholic upbringing, taught by nuns, nurtured and mentored by priests, but in the early eighties, I had pretty much discarded the idea of being a priest. Pretty much, but not totally. Maybe another post on that someday.

After a coaching and school for a master’s degree in Nebraska, and then a teaching and coaching gig back in Wisconsin, one year as a counselor in Wisconsin, I moved to California. The writing bug bit me. But primarily, I was a counselor there for eleven or so years, then I became an associate principal.

It was in California that two important things happened in my life. The first was my decision to adopt a child. Being single, Guatemala at that time, was sympathetic towards single adults adopting children. But the second important thing that happened in my life was I met Kim, who also was also from Wisconsin. We had to travel 2,000 miles to find each other.

We got married and started our own family. Hannah was born a little over a year later, and one month and one day after she was born, I traveled to Guatemala for William. And then four years later, Emily was born.

We had our own family, the five of us. Even now, with Wil deceased, and with Hannah married to Alex, with their son, Mason, and the birth of Olivia about two weeks away, and with Emily married to Quaevon, it’s our family. Alex and Q might not have been born to us, and even though Wil was adopted, we’re family.

Family isn’t just defined by DNA or blood. Mostly, family is defined by love, by being together, by the feeling we have for each other- together or apart. Family is defined by the heart, by the feeling of protecting those we love and care for. That’s what I’ve come to understand as I matured, as I grew up. As much as I love the family I was born into, I love the family I am a part of now. That won’t change with time or death, with marriage or birth. Love grows. It doesn’t diminish or lessen. My family. Something to think about …

Live Your Life and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

All of my books are now available in three formats: Audible, Kindle, and Paperback. I am pleased to report that one month after Black Yéʼii became available on Audible, it was the fourth highest seller in the Black Rose Writing catalog. Black Yéʼii received a 2025 Maxy Finalist Award for Thriller and Suspense and previously won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award.

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!