Over
the Christmas holidays, our family has a mini-tradition of putting together a
puzzle. You know, one of those 1,000 piece things that is a picture of a landscape or face.
Sometimes, we work on a puzzle when we have snow days.
It
isn’t necessarily an organized affair. Someone, Kim or her mother, maybe Hannah
or Emily will spread out the puzzle on a table. The cover of the box is propped
up so as we place the pieces together, we have a guide, something to go by. It
makes it easier.
I
don’t usually take part for very long. I am content to sit, watch and listen as I read
or watch TV, sometimes as I write. Every now and then, I will sit in with them
and put a piece or two together.
I
am usually admonished, counseled, guided, and chided to begin on the outer
edges and work inward. Usually, it is Kim who corrects my feeble attempts. I might
continue to work on it in my own way, or I might take her correction and follow
her suggestion.
The
whole process takes time. The workers get up and leave for a snack, a meal, to
do something else. Yet, they . . . we . . . return if nothing more than to check
on the progress. More than likely, the workers who took a break come back to
work on it again. There is quiet conversation. Laughter. Some reminiscing. In
our family, quite a bit of teasing. All of it fun and enjoyable.
Eventually,
the puzzle is pieced together and the picture resembles the cover of the box we
used as a guide. There is a feeling of satisfaction, of accomplishment. The
puzzle will remain on the table for a day or so, then taken apart, placed back
into the box, and the box put away for another day, another time.
A
couple of things . . .
The
puzzle eventually gets put together. Sometimes later rather than sooner. Kim’s
way of working the outer edges works. My way, to just jump in and build as I
see it works. Kim’s way is faster. My way is slower. But, they both work. The
puzzle gets completed, finished.
In
my mind, putting the puzzle together is second to the conversation, the
laughter, the reminiscing. That is the real benefit of the puzzle. Teamwork,
without calling it that, I guess, but so much more than that. As we work on the
puzzle, someone finds a piece that works with someone else’s piece. There is
sharing, giving, and taking.
Lastly,
the cover of the box. The guide. The picture on the cover exists for a reason.
Someone took the time to take the take the picture and cut the pieces up to
make an interesting puzzle for us to work on. Without the guide, the work would
be that much harder, if not almost impossible.
So,
what can we learn from the puzzle?
That
there is more than one way to solve it, to put the puzzle together. Working
from the outside in or working somewhere within, works. Perhaps more quickly or
slowly, but both work just fine. That, while completing the puzzle by one’s
self can be done, it is so much more enjoyable when others lend a hand. We
learn from one another. We help each other. There is joy in the process.
Lastly, it isn’t the puzzle per se, that is the end goal, although the final
product is satisfying. It is the process of storytelling and joking and teasing
that, for me at least, is the highest value. It is the process of watching what
others do, learning from it and working together to solve the puzzle that works
for me. All of it has its place. Some in greater part than others.
Perhaps
that is the gift we can give our kids, each other. The gift, not of the puzzle,
but of the process the puzzle produces. That is the real gift, after all. Isn’t
it? Something to think about . . .
Live
Your Life, and Make A Difference!
To
My Readers:
A
late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family. No one willing to talk,
and three brothers are in danger.
My
new book, Betrayed is available for preorder at https://www.blackrosewriting.com/thrillers/betrayed
Use promo code: PREORDER2020 for a 15% discount.
Betrayed
will debut Nov. 12, 2020! It is a contemporary psychological
thriller using some of the same characters from my previous work. It takes
place on the Navajo Nation Reservation in northeast Arizona.
Below
is the book blurb. Pretty excited about it.
Integrity
is protecting someone who betrayed you. Courage is keeping a promise even
though it might mean death.
A
late-night phone call turns what was to be a fun hunting trip into a deadly
showdown. Fifteen-year-old brothers George Tokay, Brian Evans and Brett
McGovern face death on top of a mesa on the Navajo Nation Reservation in
Arizona. They have no idea why men are intent on killing them.
Betrayed
is a contemporary psychological thriller and an exploration of the heart and of
a blended family of adopted kids, their relationships to each other and their
parents woven into a tight thriller/mystery.
Here
are some early reviews from other authors:
“Adopted
and bonding as a family, with histories of death, destruction and for
some...abuse, these boys band together—ready to lay down their life for their
new family—in order to find a missing friend before dangerous gunmen find them.
A
whirlwind of adventure, relationships, protecting family, hair-raising
situations, and cold betrayal.”
—Tina
O’Hailey author of When Darkness Begins
“Once
again, author Joseph Lewis has written a fast-paced psychological thriller
mystery that immerses readers into a dark world few encounter.”
—
Joan Livingston, author of the Isabel Long Mystery Series
“Betrayed
is at once an emotional chapter in author Joseph Lewis’ continuing
coming-of-age story and an intriguing thriller. Following both law enforcement
and a group of teens searching for a missing boy on Native American land,
Lewis’ latest also provides a unique view into Navajo culture. A layered story
that explodes into a bullet-riddled climax.”
—
Rick Treon, award-winning author of Deep Background and Let the Guilty Pay
Connect
with me on Social Media:
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
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, 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:
A
PenCraft Literary Award Winner!
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
Caught
in a Web is now available in Audio format. You can find it
at https://www.beaconaudiobooks.com/audiobookreleases/high-school-drug-rings-gangs-and-revenge-are-all-encompassing-in-caught-in-a-web-by-joseph-lewis
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. http://tinyurl.com/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis
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
Picture Courtesy of Joshua Hoehne and Unsplash
