Lessons to Learn

I was twenty-two when I moved to Wyoming for my first teaching and coaching position. I had never lived there, and only traveled there once with my family when I was in middle school. I took that job because of my fascination with the west and with cowboy and Native American lore. I love that era of history. My books are filled with contemporary images and settings.

I lived in the very eastern, but middle part of the state, just miles from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, in what they call the Nebraska Sandhills. I lived in two towns while I was there, Torrington and Yoder. Torrington was the larger of the two, but still small compared to where I grew up. Yoder had a population of 101 when I was there. It had an elementary school, a gas station, a bar, and a post office. 

One of my students took me on a drive to a bluff, a small mesa, and we climbed to the top. Not at all a struggle. In fact, that image of and trek up that mesa became the image and setting in several of my books. I’ve not been back there in ages, and I even wonder if I could find it again.

Just like the song sung by the Who, ‘I could see for miles and miles’. Nothing but flat grassland and fields of wheat.

Even at a lower level of terrain, one could still see forever. I watched many storms build in the northeast and roll across the prairie. I watched sheets of rain creep closer and closer until I felt mist on my face and arms. I would then run for cover.

During one or two summers, I drove wheat truck for Gerald and his brother, Harold. The day would begin early, just before sunup. I’d climb in the truck and drive to the field. The harvester would pull filled with wheat, dump it in my truck, and I’d drive it to the granary to unload. Then I’d drive back and repeat the process, stopping only for lunch or to fill the truck up with gas.

Gerald and Harold knew the weather could be unpredictably predictable. They knew it would rain about three o’clock in the afternoon most days. Other days, especially in late summer, the storm could bring hail. They discussed taking out crop insurance in case a field or two would get wiped out, but in their experience, they’d take it out on one or two fields, not on the others, and the fields they didn’t get the insurance on would get the hail.

While disappointed them, they would shrug it off and accept it as something nature would do. It would happen whether they fretted about it or not. They would take it in stride, collect their remaining wheat from the untouched fields, and move on.

One rancher spent thousands of dollars on a bull. He had hoped the bull would provide stock for years to come. However, several days after the purchase, it was struck by lightning and it died. He had insurance on it, but as he said with a shrug, “I’d rather have the bull.” 

I spent three years in Wyoming, and I learned many life lessons. Who would not at age 22? Some lessons stuck with me, while I with other lessons, I still struggle.

Watching a storm creep along the prairie, I knew it was coming and there was little I could do about it, except to get out of its way and find some shelter. The storm would pass, and the sun would shine, and life would move on. There were many storms. But there were many wonderful days spent under the sun and the brilliant blue sky. Many more days like that than the ones filled with a passing storm.

And stuff, like hail hitting the uninsured field or lightning killing an insured bull, happens. Nothing I, or the ranchers, could do about it. It happened, and with a shrug of a shoulder, we move on.

I still struggle with the stuff happening lesson. I play the ‘what if’ game, and it drives me and others around me crazy. I can spend precious minutes, hours, even days, worrying and wondering about stuff I can’t control. Why bother? Maybe I should be more like Harold and shrug at the ruined wheat field. Maybe I should be more like Sonny and shrug at the death of the bull. Not much I, or we, can do anyway, right? Maybe we should learn to take care of the things we can control to the best of our ability, and then when things we can’t control happen, remember that we did the best we could.

If we see a storm rolling toward us, maybe we can remember all the sunny days spent under the brilliant blue sky and still smile. After all, the sun is still shining somewhere. We just can’t see it at the moment. It’s still there, and it will shine upon us once again in time. It always does. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I am pleased to announce that my book, Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy, has been named a Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards! That is the second award Stolen Lives has won. Previously, it received a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. I’m happy, as well as humbled, that there has been success with Stolen Lives.

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website: www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out, is available for preorder until 1-6-22. Save 15% by using the promo code: PREORDER2021 it at my publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A PenCraft 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is also Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, Stolen Lives: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner!
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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of unknown and Facebook.

        

 

Gratitude

Thanksgiving looks different for us today than it did for years. Typically, we have a family Thanksgiving with all the trimmings. We’d watch movies and play games. As I said, this year, it is different for us.

Hannah and Alex are on their honeymoon for the week. Well deserved, and a happy send off and start up for their years together. Emily is with her boyfriend in South Carolina, visiting his family. That leaves Kim and me with five dogs: our two, Hannah’s and Alex’s two, and Emily’s one. Kim and I jokingly call them our grandchildren.

It is also my birthday. I’m sixty-eight, still going strong, though slower. Semi-retired, and loving it. I get to work with kids directly again. I missed that. Kim still teaches and will do so for the next three or four years. Maybe less. Hopefully, less.

Kim is at cross fit. She already ran her six miles in the dark, but likes the additional workout. As she likes to say, it’s her morning cup of coffee. Me, I’m sitting at the kitchen table putting this post together, something I should have done a couple of days ago. Time got away from me. Odd, since I have more of it these days.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. The whole purpose behind it is in its name: to give thanks. And I have much to be grateful for.

Hannah’s and Alex’s wedding was two weekends ago, and I’m still smiling. It was such a fun weekend. Emily has one more semester of grad school to go and then she will be a clinical social worker. She already has “nibbles” of jobs. Nice that folks think highly of her, even though she isn’t quite finished with the program yet.

I’m especially grateful for my family, both my own and my extended family. It’s always nice when we get together, and it seems it happens less and less. I’m grateful for my health. Nothing big, nothing ugly. Just trucking along quietly and comfortably.

I’m grateful for Fall. The colors of leaves. The crisp bite of morning air. Flannel and sweatshirts and jeans. The sun winking its good-morning over the trees in our backyard. The moon keeping watch at night.

The comfort of a warm bed, food to eat, a roof overhead. Books to read, and to write. Friends who keep in touch. Fewer decisions to make. Peace in my home and in my heart. Contentment with what I have, not really needing anything more.

Gratitude, being Thankful, is such a powerful emotion. It has love at its root. I don’t believe one can be thankful without love. I don’t think one can have gratitude without the firm foundation of love.

And I think there needs to be more gratitude in life. I think we need to appreciate what we have, as little or as great as it might be, knowing it can be less, and there are those who suffer because of the little they have.

I think we have to understand that there will always be those who have more than we do, while others will have less. Gratitude for what we have, thankfulness for what we have, is sometimes forgotten. And when it is forgotten, we are less happy, more grumpy, more negative. And in these days, in these times, we can’t afford any more negativity than there is now. Something to think about . . .

To My Readers:

I am pleased to announce that my book, Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy, has been named a Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards! That is the second award Stolen Lives has won. Previously, it received a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. I’m happy, as well as humbled, that there has been success with Stolen Lives.

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website: www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A PenCraft 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is also Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, Stolen Lives: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner!
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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Libby Penner and Unsplash.

 

 

  

A Cherished Moment

 

 

This past weekend, friends and family gathered from across the country – literally – to celebrate my daughter’s marriage to her best friend, Alex. Throughout the years, I’ve seen Hannah happy. I’ve seen my wife, Kim, happy, and I’ve seen my daughter, Emily, happy. If it is possible, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them as happy as they were this past weekend. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling. In fact, it was such a joyous wedding weekend, I couldn’t sleep Saturday night as I played the day through from beginning to end on continuous repeat.

I can only describe Alex’s and Hannah’s wedding day as magical. A true celebration of two families coming together in joy and laughter to support two young hearts deeply in love. A Cherished Moment, to be sure!

Hannah and Alex spent months, days, and hours planning it. Postponed one year because of Covid, they had it on the same Saturday as originally planned only one year later. The ceremony took place outdoors on the steps of an Inn, and the reception took place in the back in two tented pavilions. It was chilly, so they had portable heaters. No one seemed to care about the chill.

Speeches were perfect. A nice blend of funny and poignant and nostalgia, much like Alex’s and Hannah’s vows. I sang Paul Stookey’s Wedding Song and almost made it through without choking up. Knowing I was vulnerable, I kept my eyes glued on the sheet music in my folder. The last line of the song is, “And there is love” preceded by four or five bars of instrumental. I made the mistake of glancing up at Alex and Hannah, and saw them weeping. Aw hell! I ended up with my heart in my throat and I think I choked out the last line in nearly a whisper. I couldn’t help it.

Hannah picked a Zak Brown song, The Man Who Loved You Most, for the father-daughter dance. She and I both broke down, and I truly cherished that moment. Later that evening, during the dance after the dinner, she and I laughed as we danced a polka, spinning and twirling.

Life gives us many cherished moments. The birth of a child. A graduation. Watching a sunset or sunrise. A first kiss. A first date. A proposal. Certainly, a wedding.

In today’s fast-paced, rush-to-the-finish world, we don’t always take the time to slow down, much less stop, to a cherish moment. And there are some moments that we should take the time to spend on them. Sadly, there are some moments that will never again appear. A “Goodbye” an “I Love You” or a “Thank You” before life passes.

Please don’t wait! Don’t plan on “the next time.” The next time might never happen, and it might be too late. Please don’t wait. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I am pleased to announce that my book, Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy, has been named a Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards! That is the second award Stolen Lives has won. Previously, it received a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. I’m happy, as well as humbled, that there has been success with Stolen Lives.

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website: www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A PenCraft 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is also Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, Stolen Lives: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner!
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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Linda Arney of Linda Arney Photography.

 

Five and Tom

Rather than succumb to the mind-numbing suffering, pain, lies, and deceit rampant in our world today, I searched for a story to share. Something memorable, touching, and perhaps heart-wrenching. These stories are not to bring you down, but rather, to highlight acts of kindness that are all too often overlooked in today’s world.

I came across two recently. One is as touching as the other. One features an ordinary guy, a hero. He wasn’t seeking to be a hero. He wasn’t seeking the spotlight. No, he was being thoughtful and kind.

Meet Five. Five is a waiter at 42nd Street Oyster Bar in Raleigh, NC. He works two jobs and is getting ready to start classes again in January. He's a humble guy, who doesn't really like attention. His act of kindness generated it.

Lee Bondurant has cerebral palsy. He and Five met about a month ago when Lee was in the restaurant with his mother, Linda. Like many waiters and waitresses, Five was busy. As he worked, he noticed Lee's mom feeding Lee his meal. As I said, Lee has cerebral palsy. Five wanted to make sure all his customers enjoyed their meals.

As he explained, "Seafood is best eaten hot, so I didn't want her food to get cold. I didn't want his food to get cold," recalled Five, "I just wanted to help a fellow man out."

Five asked other waiters and waitresses to cover his table, and he took over feeding Lee his food. Lee's mom, Linda, took a picture of Five feeding her son.

As sometimes happens, the picture went viral. Five doesn’t have a Facebook page, and his manager had to tell him what had happened. Five even had to ask what “likes” and “shares” were. He received messages and letters from across the country, and some from other countries. Some letters contained money, so Five started a cerebral palsy foundation in Lee’s name.

You can see the picture Lee’s mom took, along with a short video clip of the story at: https://abc11.com/diner-kindness-server-serving-others/1427807/ 

Ten-year-old Noah Reeb had severe migraines. Scans were done, and they showed a tumor growing in Noah’s brain. Worse, the tumor was malignant.

Noah loves football. So much so, he plays for two different teams. His favorite player? Tom Brady.

When the diagnosis was given to Noah’s mom, she called her husband to give him the news. Noah asked two things: Was he going to die? Would he get to play in the NFL? 

During a visit and procedure, Noah’s father asked Noah if he wanted anything. A snack? A nap? A movie? Noah asked to watch Tom Brady highlights. So they watched them together.

Todd Heap is Noah’s cousin. He played for the Ravens, and his wife contacted Tom Brady with Noah’s story. Tom sent a video of encouragement to Noah that he replays over and over. Noah’s father and mother said that if Noah beat cancer, they would take him to the first game they could get tickets for to watch Tom Brady play.

One day, after many surgeries, chemo, and radiation, Noah rang the bell indicating he had beaten cancer, and his family followed through on Noah’s pact. He held a sign the entire game, telling everyone he had beaten cancer. One of Brady’s teammates noticed the sign, walked over, and congratulated Noah, and then told Brady. Brady came over with a hat, signed it, and placed it on Noah’s head, and shook his hand, congratulating him. 

A memory, a small gesture. A small gift of time that Noah will remember as long as he lives. You can see the story and the clip at: https://www.fox13now.com/news/positively-utah/tom-brady-responds-to-utah-boy-who-beat-brain-cancer-waved-sign-at-bucs-game

Five, a worker getting ready to take classes. Tom Brady, a famous football player. Two individuals as different as can be, but sharing something important. Compassion, kindness, and caring. Something that can make life better for someone else. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

I am pleased to announce that my book, Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy, has been named a Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards! That is the second award Stolen Lives has won. Previously, it received a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. I’m happy, as well as humbled, that there has been success with Stolen Lives.

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website: www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A PenCraft 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is also Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, Stolen Lives: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner!
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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and possible death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Alex Menendez/AP.

 

 

 

 

 

Moments Matter

I’ve written many posts over the years about the importance of appreciating time, of appreciating each and every moment presented to us.

Time is precious. In our society’s push to produce more, faster, and better, we lose sight of what is important and what is necessary.

That point was driven home to my family in July 2014 when our son, Wil, was taken from us suddenly, viciously, and needlessly as he walked home from eating lunch. Collateral damage caused by one gang’s pursuit of another. Used as a shield so the intended victim could escape. The importance of time, the importance of each moment was a hard lesson for our family, for me, to learn.

I see it now in the battle with Covid. Not just for those who pass away from it and in the families who struggle with death, but for those who care for the sick and the dying. I see it in teachers struggling the past two years to do their jobs in the worst conditions imaginable. Kids, teachers, staff, and administrators stressed and strained over what to do, how to do it, and the inability to reach insurmountable goals and expectations with passing rates and test scores.

Teachers, staff, and administrators tasked with more and more, and with little thought of their own care, their own health- physical and mental. Parents not knowing how to help or what to do.

It’s all of us.

If we can’t and don’t take time for ourselves, we cannot help others. If we don’t take care of our own health- physical and emotional- we aren’t equipped to take care of others.

And, if we don’t take time to appreciate each and every moment presented to us, what possible good comes from that?

For thirteen years, Greg has been a friend of mine, someone I respected. I respect his judgment, his kindness, and his deliberate leadership. For thirteen years, he was a colleague. He was principal of one high school, while I was principal of another. For the last two years, I have had the privilege of being on his staff as an hourly employee. In my semi-retirement, I am a teacher once again. Loving it, and realizing again how tough it is, how hard it is.

This past Friday, Greg sent a poem to his staff about the importance of time, the importance of each moment, the importance of taking care of ourselves as we care for kids. The poem was passed to him, and he gave me permission to steal it.

“Barely arrived on Monday and it’s already Friday.

. . . and the month is already over.

. . . and the year is almost over.

. . . and already 40, 50 or 60 years of our lives have passed. 

. . . and we realize that we lost our parents, friends.

. . . and we realize it’s too late to go back.

So . . . Let’s try, despite everything, to enjoy the remaining time.

Let’s keep looking for activities that we like.

Let’s put some color in our gray.

Let’s smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts.

And despite everything, we must continue to enjoy with serenity this time we have left. 

Let’s try to eliminate the afters.

I’m doing it after.

I’ll say it after.

I’ll think about it after.

We leave everything for later, like ‘after’ is ours.

Because what we don’t understand is that:

Afterwards, the coffee gets cold.

Afterwards, priorities change.

Afterwards, the charm is broken.

Afterwards, health passes.

Afterwards, the kids grow up.

Afterwards, parents get old.

Afterwards, promises are forgotten.

Afterwards, the day becomes the night.

Afterwards, life ends.

And then it’s often too late.

So… Let’s leave nothing for later.

Because still waiting to see later, we can lose

The best moments,

the best experiences,

the best friends,

the best family.

The day is today.

The moment is now.

We are no longer at the age where we can afford to postpone what needs to be done right away.”

 

Greg’s words at the end of his weekly message were:

It Looks Like an Eternity, But It’s a Short Trip; Enjoy Life and Always Be Kind.

. . . Something to think about.

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website: www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A PenCraft 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is also Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, Stolen Lives: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner!
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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and possible death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Bruno Aguirre and Unsplash.