Each day and sometimes in each moment, we make Choices. Some are easy and require little, if any, thought. The alarm rings and we either hit the snooze or pop up out of bed to begin the day. When the appropriate time arrives, we jump in the car and head off to work, mostly using the same trusty route we’ve always taken. Pretty easy, really.
I marvel at the quarterback
in football. In split seconds while defense breathes down his neck, the
quarterback has to survey the field, see where the coverage is, who is open,
weighs the percentage, and lets a pass fly. As an Ohio State football coach
used to say, three things can happen on a pass play and two of them are bad: a
drop or incompletion; an interception; a completion.
Like in football,
those decisions affect not only the person who makes the decision, but also has
an effect on those around that person: teammates, coaches, fans- all are
impacted to a greater or lesser extent.
In support of the
Empathy Project, I spoke to all English classes, teachers and various staff
members about Choices and Consequences each block over two days. The first day for
the presentations was my first day back from the trial for the driver who was
part of a group of five responsible for my son’s death four and a half years
ago. The trial took place in Chicago, Cook County specifically, and was spread
over the better part of two weeks. It was exhausting, emotionally and
physically, both the trial and my presentation to the kids.
You see, each of
those five individuals in that black Toyota made decisions- all poor with
little, if any, thought. If I were to boil it down, it would come to this: the
driver who was thirty-one at the time handed a .40 caliber handgun with an
extended magazine to a fifteen-year-old with the order to “Go wet his shirt! X
him out!” That was the second decision the driver had made. The first was to
listen to the fifteen-year-old who wanted to kill a gang rival, who he had
described as a “valued target.” He not only listened to the fifteen-year-old,
but stopped the car- decision number one, and then handed the boy in the
backseat the handgun- decision number two, and then gave him an order- decision
number three.
The
fifteen-year-old made the suggestion, his decision number one, accepted the
gun, his decision number two, and then got out of the car, his decision number
three. A seventeen-year-old was ordered by the driver to go with the
fifteen-year-old, and the seventeen-year-old did, his first decision, and after
the shots were fired and one innocent victim shot, he continued to follow the
fifteen-year-old, his decision number two.
In all, nine shots
were fired at a rival gang member. None struck him. But . . .
On that warm and beautiful
Saturday afternoon in July of 2014, my son, Wil, took a break from working on a
photo shoot and left his apartment to get some lunch and pick up a few items
for his and his wife’s apartment. He was walking home and happened to be
between the shooter, his partner, and the intended victim. It was surmised that
Wil was hit with either the first or second bullet meant for the gang rival,
and collapsed on the sidewalk. He later died at the hospital despite the best
efforts of passers-by, EMTs and hospital staff. The damage to Wil was too
great.
But as I explained
to the kids in audience over those two days, the decisions, the Choices that
were made had Consequences. No thought was given to the latter, only the
former. And sometimes because no thought is given to the Consequences of one’s
Choice, the result can cause lasting damage- not only to the person making the
Choice, but sometimes there is lasting damage to those who are caught up in
that Choice. These bystanders become the collateral damage of the Choices
someone else makes. Not necessarily fair, but very real.
I think it is
important to not only consider the Choices we make, but also consider carefully
the possible Consequences of those Choices. Instead of acting off the cuff,
instead of acting- or reacting- we need look closely at the Choices we make,
the words we use, the indifference we show. And the sad fact is that no matter
Choice we make- even for the right reasons- it can still cause hurt and damage
to ourselves and to others. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
I am happy to
announce that the final edits to my new novel, Spiral Into Darkness, have been submitted to the publisher and the
book was given the launch date of January 17, 2019. Of course there will be
opportunities for preorder and as soon as I am given that information, I will
publish them on this blog and on my author page on Facebook.
My book, Caught in a Web was named as a PenCraft Literary Award Winner for Thriller
Fiction! I was nominated by a reviewer and received notification in the
last week or so. It is also on the list for “one of the best crime thriller
books of the year!” by Best Thrillers.
I am both proud and humbled.
Thanks to all who
have read Caught in a Web. If you
are interested in a copy on either Kindle
or in Paperback, you can find it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696
or on Barnes and Noble at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249
If you do read Caught in a Web or any of my other
books, please leave a rating and a review. I would appreciate it. Thanks for
this consideration!
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
Connect with me on Social Media:
Twitter at
@jrlewisauthor
Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
Photo courtesy of Vladislav Babienko, Unsplash
