Every now and
then, I get an email or a Facebook message from a former student or a parent of
a former student. Most of the time, I remember that kid. I can tell you the
class he or she was in or which team the kid was on, and most of the time, a
funny or amusing or touching anecdote about the kid. I welcome these blasts
from the past. Each one brings a positive, warm memory, a feeling that perhaps
I was one piece in that kid’s puzzle of the person he or she became. There are times
I’m left scratching my head and wondering how was it possible I meant something
to this kid or that kid when I didn’t have that much interaction.
I received a call
a few minutes ago and it made me smile. Still smiling, actually.
I think as we get
older, we sometimes forget about the interactions we have, both good and not so
good, we’ve had over the days, the months, the years. Sometimes we forget the
impact- both good and bad- we can have on those around us, and not just kids.
Obviously, there
are words I’ve spoken, actions I’ve taken in the past that I would like very
much to take back. The memories of them cause me to shake my head and wish for
a mulligan and do over. Most of the time, these are words or actions I spoke or
did in anger. Words or actions I spoke or did in haste and without thought. As
I look back, I wonder how much damage I might have caused because I wasn’t only
thoughtless, I was also heartless. And being heartless is something that is unconscionable.
Other times, I
would like to think most of the time- but I’d be a poor judge in considering
this- I smile with pride because I might have made a difference. I would like
to think that most of my interactions with others are more positive than
negative. I think as I got older, the harder shell of my youth gave way to
softness. Kind of like a former athlete or body builder “turning to seed” as
one might say. And turning to softness isn’t such a bad thing, is it?
I’ve been in
education for 42 years (and counting). Kids and teachers and staff members have
come into and out of my life like busboys in a restaurant (to paraphrase one of
the many great Stephen King lines I’ve read). They pass through and perhaps
neither they nor I think of our interactions beyond what was asked for at the
time and moment of the interaction.
Teachers, adults,
parents, coaches all have power, don’t we?
We educate. We
guide. We mentor. Sometimes we push and pull and prod. And when the final bell
rings, we breathe a sigh of relief only to realize that the next day, the next
month, the next year will bring more kids with whom we will educate and guide
and push and pull and prod.
Mostly I think, we
Touch Lives. For the minutes and moments these kids are in our lives, our
classrooms, our hallways, our locker rooms, we Touch Lives.
But I’m hoping
that as much as we Touch Lives, we also Touch Hearts. We sometimes cause a
smile, a laugh. Sometimes we polish off an edge and make it softer.
Even the smallest,
briefest interaction can do that. A smile. A wink. A handshake. Small words
like, “Good morning!” “Good luck tonight!” “Have a good day!” Don’t seem like much,
do they? But I believe that all these small and brief interactions add up.
For instance, I
spent almost a week out of town at a training. When I got back, a young lady
wanted to know where I was. I explained that I was at a conference. She nodded
and turned away. I called her back and asked, “Do you mind if I ask you why you
asked?” And her response was “Each morning you say ‘Good Morning!’ to us, and
you haven’t been here.” She smiled and turned away and walked to class.
Innocuous
encounters. Chance meetings. However random or small, real opportunities
nonetheless. Not just Touching the Head, but Touching the Heart. Perhaps that’s
our real appointment in life. Beyond whatever certification or license we
earned, our real “job” is to Touch Hearts. Opportunities present themselves
every day in both big and small ways. It’s up to us to recognize them when they
occur. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
Connect with me on Social Media:
Twitter at
@jrlewisauthor
Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
There have been several great reviews for Spiral Into
Darkness:
If you are in
Stafford County, Virginia on Saturday,
April 13, I will be selling and signing books at the Spring Harvest Festival from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The address
is: 162 Staffordboro Blvd., Stafford, VA
22554. Hope to see you then!
“If you enjoy
thrillers, especially psychological ones, Spiral
Into Darkness by Joseph Lewis will grab you good and proper in the opening
two chapters. You will find yourself avidly turning pages as a serial killer
accosts his victims, confirms their identities and blasts away their faces with
a .38 pistol. If you are interested in both the good and bad sides of humanity
and why we each turn out as we do, Spiral
Into Darkness won’t disappoint.” Readers
Favorites
“The Bottom Line:
A thoroughly compulsive police procedural by one of America’s most promising new writers. Joseph Lewis, author of
our Best of 2018 pick Caught in a Web, is back with another crime thriller
featuring world-weary Milwaukee detective Jamie Graff . . . While Lewis
savagely explores romance, drama, and sexuality with his wider cast of
characters, Jamie’s interpersonal life is refreshingly free of drama for a cop,
enabling him to be the determined, resourceful rock capable of cracking the
case. The result is a thoroughly compulsive crime thriller.” Best Thrillers
You can find Spiral Into Darkness on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm and on Barnes and Noble at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spiral-into-darkness-joseph-lewis/1129937958;jsessionid=0C9F7881E2F56139FAD36435022CB35D.prodny_store01-atgap18?ean=9781684332090
Best Thrillers had
previously reviewed my book, Caught in a
Web. It was named as a PenCraft
Literary Award Winner for Thriller Fiction! Best Thrillers called it “one of the best crime thriller books of
the year!” I am both proud and humbled.
You can find Caught in a Web on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696
or on Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249
If you do read Caught in a Web, Spiral Into Darkness, or any of my other books, please leave a
rating and a review. I would appreciate it. Thanks for this consideration!
Spiral Into Darkness:
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, have no idea they are the next
targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm
Caught in a Web:
The bodies of high
school and middle school kids are found dead from an overdose of heroin and
fentanyl. The drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors and the Milwaukee
Metro area is controlled by MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador.
Ricardo Fuentes is sent from Chicago to Waukesha 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. The three detectives discover the ring has its
roots in a high school among the students and staff. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696
Book One of the Lives Trilogy, Stolen Lives:
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://tinyurl.com/Stolen-Lives-J-Lewis
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
Six men escaped
and are out for revenge. The boys, recently freed from captivity, are in danger
and so are their families, but they don’t know it. The FBI has no clues, no
leads, and nothing to go on and because of that, cannot protect them. http://tinyurl.com/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
A 14 year old boy
knows the end is coming. What he doesn’t know is when, where or by whom.
Without that knowledge, neither he nor the FBI can protect him or his family.
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
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 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://tinyurl.com/Taking-Lives-J-Lewis
