I’m sure you know
the song and the story. Probably sang the song a million times and saw the
movie every Christmas since you were born.
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had
a very shiny nose.
And
if you ever saw him,
you
would even say it glows.
All
of the other reindeer
used
to laugh and call him names.
They
never let poor Rudolph
join
in any reindeer games.
Then
one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa
came to say:
"Rudolph
with your nose so bright,
won't
you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then
all the reindeer loved him
as
they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph
the red-nosed reindeer,
you'll
go down in history!
So . . . here’s
this reindeer with a red nose. Doesn’t seem like a big deal for you or me,
right? In fact, it wasn’t a big deal to Rudolph until it was brought to his
attention that he was “different” that he was “unusual” that he was “odd.” He
was laughed at. He was called names. He wasn’t allowed to take part in any of
the games the other reindeer played. Forced to leave or watch from afar. He was
left out.
But then
surprisingly, someone discovered he had a gift. More importantly, there was a
need for this gift. It was foggy. The fog threatened Christmas and Santa’s
ability to get to where he needed to go. Santa looked at Rudolph and said, “I
can use you!” Santa decided Rudolph had a purpose . . . or at least his nose
did. He would lead the other reindeer and guide the sleigh. Christmas was saved
by Rudolph.
Suddenly, this
outcast was loved by the other reindeer. Suddenly, not only was Rudolph
accepted, he became a hero. All because someone looked at Rudolph differently.
All because someone looked past a nose and saw a purpose . . . saw a gift.
Perhaps, because someone looked past his own nose and saw a gift, a purpose.
Looked past a (his
own) nose . . .
There are kids
walking hallways, sitting in classrooms, trying out for a choir, a team, a
play, or who eat in the cafeteria suffering the same fate as Rudolph each and
every day. Each and every day. They might wander aimlessly around a mall or sit
home on weekends because they have nowhere to go or no one with whom to do
anything with. Only to come back on a Monday and do it all over again.
I’m sure some of
these kids don’t know they have a gift. They’ve been told over and over how
odd, how different, and how unusual they are that they’ve come to accept this
oddness, this unusualness, this differentness as reality, as a fact. No one has
taken the time to recognize a gift, a talent, an ability in the kid, but instead,
either don’t take the time or don’t have the patience or worse, just dismiss
the kid as odd and different and unusual.
I’m wondering,
just maybe, if we might choose a kid or two . . . or six or seven . . . or each
and every kid . . . and instead of being dismissive, we look for and help the
kid discover the gift, the talent, the ability he or she might have, how
different life might be for that kid. I wonder what kind of difference we might
make for that kid, what kind of change we might make in that kid’s world . . .
life. Turn each and every kid into Rudolph. 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 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
Photo Courtesy of Tim Gouw and Unsplash
