What is Love?

 

I know sometimes we use the word Love over and over in various ways that minimizes the meaning of the word. We say things like: I love that sunset; I love spaghetti; I love a good night’s sleep; I love that TV show. Love seems to be applied discriminately, and because of that, we lessen the impact and beauty of the word.

Browsing Facebook yesterday, I came across a beautiful post from Lisa Resnick titled, What Is Love? She or someone added a couple of comments after some responses- they are not mine, but I, too, believe them!

What Is Love? Lisa Resnick

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4- to 8-year-olds, ‘What does love mean?’ The answers they got were broader, deeper, and more profound than anyone could have ever imagined! 

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore ... So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That’s love.” Rebecca - age 8 

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy - age 4 

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl - age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy - age 6 

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri - age 4 

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny - age 8 

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen.” Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.” Noelle - age 7 

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends, even after they know each other so well.” Tommy - age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” Cindy - age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” Clare - age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine - age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris - age 7 

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann - age 4 

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren - age 4 

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” (what an image!) Karen - age 7 

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross...” Mark - age 6 

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica - age 8 

And the final one:

The winner was a four-year-old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.” 

The innocence of kids astounds me with its simplicity and beauty. How can you not read any of these and smile? 

My hope is for each of us to remember the word love shouldn’t be just an over used habit, but a word that is applied often and in various meaningful ways- far beyond TV shows and spaghetti. And I hope there is someone in our life that is willing to sit with us and help us cry should we ever need it. Something to think about … 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627 and on Substack at https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh

Last, my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is FREE for a limited time on BookFunnel. Yes, FREE!

Action Thriller of the Year (BestThrillers Book Awards)

Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention – Fiction – Crime

Author Shout Recommended Read

Literary Titan – Gold Book Award Winner 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilthrillerreads/vlr454vqtl 

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading 

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

Photo Courtesy of Scott Broome and Unsplash

 

 

We Forget

As I get older, I’ve noticed my memory is not what it once was. Nothing big. Just little things, mostly. I’ve never been good with names. Someone can tell me their name and it is gone within minutes. 

In the first couple of notes of a song, I can tell you the band, the name of the song, who is doing the singing, and most likely, who wrote it. This applies to 60s rock and roll, mostly, but I’m pretty good with modern country, too. I can tell a story about how the song came about and such, but my daughters and wife usually just roll their eyes at me. So, I tell the story anyway. I can do the same with movies I’ve watched over and over, too. 

But lately, things like that get fuzzy. If given time, I can come up with it, though. My brothers complain about the same thing- forgetting this or that. We laugh about it and life moves on. 

I mentioned my wife and I are avid fans of NCIS. On weekends and some weekdays, we watch the reruns and can know who the bad guy is and what takes place. This past weekend, there was a poignant episode from season eight featuring Bob Newhart as a former Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Walter Magnus, who was Dr. Donald Mallard — aka Ducky’s — predecessor at NCIS.

Walter showed up unannounced in the NCIS building, which was unusual to begin with, but as the episode unfolded, it became clear that he came back to retrieve memories of his life “back then.” He simply couldn’t remember where he was, or even that he lived with his daughter. He finally fessed up to Ducky that he “couldn’t remember cases and people from his past.” Ducky guessed Walter was in the throes of Alzheimer’s, or at least the beginning stages of it. The team of Ducky, Tony, McGee, and Abby helped him remember all the families he helped gain closure. It was touching and still makes me misty-eyed.

My sister Betty suffered from Lewy body dementia, and she passed away from it several years ago. One time long before she was diagnosed, she and her husband came to Virginia to visit with us, and in a quieter moment, she said to me, “Joe, sometimes I think I’m losing my mind.” I laughed, gave her a hug and said, “You’re fine and I love you.” I’m afraid I minimized her concern or at the very least didn’t recognize her concern, and I still beat myself up about that.

My wife has a very dear loved one who has short-term memory issues. In one phone call, this loved one will ask the same question two and three times. Kim answers without any hitch or delay, and will repeat the same story over and over. I know it hurts her, but Kim is stoic about it. 

I am not suffering from Alzheimer’s nor am I suffering from Lewy body dementia, and I don’t have short-term memory issues like Kim’s loved one. I’m just on the older side of life, or as I like to think of it, the backside of the mountain. Many of my friends are on the same path and place as I am, along with my brothers. It’s life, I guess. But just because others are on the same path, doesn’t make it any easier or reassuring. But like I said, it is a part of life.

My hope is that we are all patient with one another. That we take our time with those “getting up there in age” and consider that it is not only hard on others, but certainly hard on those of us who are forgetful from time to time. We live it each minute of each day. It takes a toll, not only on us, but on those around us. In many respects, we are all in this together one way or the other, or we will be eventually. God bless us all! Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

Last, my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is FREE for a limited time on BookFunnel. Yes, FREE!

Action Thriller of the Year (BestThrillers Book Awards)

Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention – Fiction – Crime

Author Shout Recommended Read

Literary Titan – Gold Book Award Winner 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilthrillerreads/vlr454vqtl 

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading 

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

Photo Courtesy of Joseph Lewis

  

All About Perspective

Any of you who have read my posts know I, like many of you, am a creature of habit. I have a morning routine I follow nearly every day. 

Upon rising, I stand at the window and look out across the backyard. Specifically, the early predawn sky and the lake. I try to spot what birds might be visiting our trees or fence, maybe a squirrel or rabbit. Sometimes deer in the very back outside of our property. 

Then I go about my business and get ready for the day. Once done, I again stand at the window. This time, the sun is up and it’s splashing the waves caused by a breeze. Trees wave at me. Birds bounce from limb to limb. 

I do my morning meditations and then stand at the window for one last look. The sun is higher in the sky, maybe towards the tops of the trees, but not over them. Not yet. Too early. 

When I stand at the window, I seldom look left. 

Trees have been cut down. The ground is cleared because someone felt the need to add more houses to our subdivision. Mounds of red clay. A mountain of boulders that had been blasted to make way for the “development.” A large green mountain created when they cleared the land and with planted grass on it rises above the area like a gangrenous boil. No telling when it will be lanced and removed along with the mountain of boulders. Not soon enough, as far as I am concerned. Both, like the clear-cut earth and the chopped down trees, unwelcome and ugly. 

I am content to look to my right and not to my left. 

On my right, it is peaceful and serene. On my left, it is ugly and unsettling. 

Interestingly, both stand about twenty or thirty yards from each other. Untouched woods separating the two scenes. The woods, a home to wildlife. The birds perch in the trees above while fox, rabbit, squirrels and deer run below. Their home encroached upon by “development.”

I look at the woods, averting my eyes from the left, content to watch the middle and the right.

Interesting how my perspective, and along with it, my feelings, change in a mere twenty or thirty yards. A slight shift of my eyes. A matter of perspective. A conscious choice I make each morning to bring peace and serenity to my morning.

And I thought, how many of us make the choice to look right rather than left? How many of us choose peace and serenity over chaos? All in twenty or thirty yards. A choice to make. A choice of perspective. Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

Tomorrow evening, Monday April 8^th at 7:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, I will be on a live podcast on Horizons Author Lounge with Rhonda M. Lawson. It will air live on the Meet the World Image Solutions Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MTWImageSolutions and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@meettheworldimagesolutions I hope you can join me as I discuss my writing, my book Fan Mail, and answer questions. 

Last, my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is FREE for a limited time on BookFunnel. Yes, FREE!

Action Thriller of the Year (BestThrillers Book Awards)

Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention – Fiction – Crime

Author Shout Recommended Read

Literary Titan – Gold Book Award Winner

https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilthrillerreads/vlr454vqtl

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

Photo Courtesy of Joseph Lewis

 

 

 

"Define Success," she said.

A week ago, I sat at breakfast with my youngest, Emily. I pumped her with questions about her work with those experiencing homelessness. As a social worker, she doesn’t work with that population any longer, but she did for almost two years. And she loved it … most of the time. Homelessness is a backdrop for a new book I’m writing in the thriller-crime-mystery genre, and I wanted to pick her brain. 

I asked her, did you have success working with the homeless population? She thought for a minute and said, “Define success.” Without waiting for my response, she said, “You have to picture homelessness as rolling a boulder uphill. Sometimes, it’s easy, but most of the time, it’s hard and you never make it, and the boulder can roll back on you.” 

She talked about a series of struggles. Finding a place to sleep for someone. It can take up to six months or longer because of waiting lists. And once in a shelter, the individual has about three weeks or fewer to get themselves on their feet. That means a social security card, a cellphone, a resume, and an interview with the result being a job. There are several problems with all of that. 

If an individual lives on the street, they are looking for their next meal. In Greensboro where my daughter worked, lunches can be found most every day. Dinners? Once a week. So the individual has to decide whether to skip a meal and go to the social security office or to skip the card and eat. A job? The individual has to have help to create an email address, and have help to create a resume and a cover letter, along with the grooming and clothing needed for the interview. All of that takes time, so again, does the individual pass up a meal to attend to all of that or eat and pass up the opportunity for a job interview that might come their way with no guarantees? 

If you are a woman with a child, the chances of securing a room at a shelter are better, but again, there is no guarantee, and she and the child will find themselves on a waiting list and that can last for six months or more. If the individual is a single woman, there is still a chance, but not nearly as good if she had a child or children with her. For a single man, housing is a struggle. And while the individual(s) wait for housing, they are living on the street. Again, for up to six months or more. 

Street life is dangerous. Laws against loitering are increasing- aimed at those experiencing homelessness. If an individual finds a spot to sleep for the night, belongings might be stolen. The newly gotten phone? Gone. The blanket to sleep on? Gone. Any food that was stored up? Gone. It is safer for those living out of a car because doors can be locked. But even then, there is no guarantee. 

And social worker burn out? It is real and a problem, even for the most dedicated, the most passionate, the most caring. Yet, for a year and a half as part of her internship, Emily said the work was hard, but she liked it. Now, she works with adults who are experiencing or who have experienced trauma. Because of privacy, she couldn’t and didn’t share details, but being a counselor for eleven years, I get what she means. I saw it in kids. Those kids grow up to be adults, and if the trauma was never worked on, they become the adults Emily sees.

All of this ran through my mind yesterday as I sat down with my family to eat a delicious dinner. I thought about this as we talked and laughed about this or that. Even the joy of being with my wife, my two daughters, their husbands- one about to be my daughter’s husband in a few months, my grandson, and my son-in-law’s mother, there was the question of what are those experiencing homelessness, foodlessness, and even lovelessness, doing? Where were they eating? Where were they sleeping? Who did they spend their Easter with? 

Life is not for the faint of heart. There are choices and decisions made every minute of every day. Some can lead to a better life. Others? Not so much. Even the lack of making a decision can lead to one end or the other. Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

One of my books, Blaze In, Blaze Out, will be on sale for $.99 on Tuesday, April 2^nd and Wednesday, April 3rd on Amazon for the Kindle version. For your convenience, here is the description and purchase link for my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out:

2022 Crime Fiction Book of the Year – Best Thrillers

2022 Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention - Fiction - Crime

2022 Author Shout Recommended Read

2022 Literary Titan - Gold Book Award Winner

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

“A story that is so much more than you expect with well-drawn characters that keep you turning the pages.” -Beyond the Books

“This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be about mobster and hired assassins. It was, but it was also about so much more.” -Charlie Bees Books

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is a crime thriller that captures a reader’s attention right from the start. Author Joseph Lewis is a strong storyteller, using characters from his previous novels and once again putting them in danger.” -Joan Livingston, author of the Isabel Long Mystery Series

“Joseph Lewis uses carefully constructed settings and intriguing characters to create this unique and captivating action-packed thriller.” -Sublime Book Review

“A superb crime drama simmering with suspense and deep character studies en route to an explosive finale.” -BestThrillers.com

“Well paced and exciting.” -Publishers Weekly

Working with a joint multi-law enforcement task force, Detective Pat O’Connor infiltrated a Ukrainian crime family headed by Dmitry Andruko. O’Connor and his control, Detective Paul Eiselmann, were the linchpins in the guilty verdict.

The two detectives thought it was over.

Eiselmann planned for a quiet weekend with his family at home. O’Connor planned on attending a high school soccer game and then head to Northern Wisconsin for a fishing trip with another cop, Detective Jamie Graff and four teenage, adopted brothers: George Tokay, Brian Evans, Brett McGovern, and Michael Two Feathers.

But Andruko is ruthless and vindictive. From his prison cell, he hires two contract killers to kill both O’Connor and Eiselmann and anyone else in the way. The killers can be anyone. The killers could be anywhere, and the killers could strike at any time.

The quiet weekend and the short vacation turn into a deadly nightmare as O’Connor’s and Eiselmann’s lives and the lives of the four boys are in peril.

https://amzn.to/34lNllP

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caring - it isn't just a job!

I’m sure you heard the term, ‘labor of love.’ For 48 years, that phrase described what I’ve done, and still do part time. I work with kids. I don’t necessarily say ‘teach’ because honestly, I’ve learned more from kids than they learned from me. No matter if I was teaching, coaching, counseling, or as an administrator. The kids taught me. I didn’t teach them much.

Another thing about teaching being a labor of love is that we do it not for the money, but for the joy and love of it. Yes, there are hard and troubled days. I’ve had them. All teachers have them. But they are few compared to the many good days we have. 

I’ve watched colleagues give much more than they received. One assistant principal I’ve worked with bought clothes for a young man who had lost his father. She made sure he had enough to eat. Another teacher opened her home to a young man who couldn’t get along with his mom. She gave him a bed, meals to eat, and a place to study. The deal was that the young man continue working his part-time job and earn good grades in school.

My daughter, who teaches third grade, had a brother and sister who entered the foster care system just before the holidays. She made sure they had presents and clothes to wear. Her heart ached, and she wept when she told me their story.

We had a young man and his brother in school when their house burned to the ground. They lost nearly everything. Our school community joined with many others to help them out. The oldest, a boy, even had his graduation party in a fire department’s garage, because he no longer had a house to host it. The fire department stepped forward and offered them a place for it. 

When Kim and I and my daughters lost our son, it was our school communities besides our neighborhood who stepped forward and helped hold us together. If it weren’t for a couple of my assistant principals, some principal colleagues, and some of my teachers, I can honestly say I don’t know how I would have made it that year. Some of them still prop me up when they notice I’m faltering.

I saw on TikTok a story of a teacher who stepped forward in a big way to help one of his students. This teacher noticed that this kiddo, a fifth grader (I believe) would hang out after and before school in this teacher’s classroom. They became friendly. One day, this young man announced to the teacher that it would be his last day. This kiddo was in foster care, and because he had a degenerative kidney and needed dialysis, he would have to live in a hospital. 

Instead, this teacher opened up his home to the boy and became a foster parent. He helped the boy all the way through his dialysis, transplant, and eventually, he adopted this boy. The teacher had described himself as happily single. But the teacher became a happy father and together, they had a family.

I hope that no matter what you do in life, you do it with love and compassion, with an open mind to learn from those you work with. I hope you not only enjoy what you do, but that you enjoy those you work with. A job, after all, is not really a job if we love it, if we seek to give back, and mostly, to learn from those with whom we work. It isn’t only the aged we can learn from, but from those with whom we work with- the kids in our life. They can teach us as much or more- if only we are open to it. Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

My most recent book, Fan Mail, will be on sale for $.99 on Tuesday, March 19^th on Amazon for the Kindle version. For your convenience, here is the description and purchase link for my book, Fan Mail, https://amzn.to/3eNgSdS and you can check out the book trailer video at https://youtu.be/MS5VjTzCvM4 

2023 Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner

2023 Reader’s Favorite Runner-Up

“At once a coming-of-age story that will appeal to mature teens, a thriller that can reach into adult audiences, and a psychological suspense novel that holds elements of deeper life inspections about sacrifice, redemption, and discovery, its gripping saga will reach a wide audience of readers and age groups.” - Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Editor of California Bookwatch

“Starts with a bang and does not stop its relentless shrapnel barrage until you are crying with the characters. Fabulous job by the author. You want to read this one.” - Tina O’Hailey, author of Dark Drink.

“Very powerful. Tough. Gritty. Character development is remarkable. Lewis cuts deep as he tackles teen sexuality questions as well as dangerous stalkers. The story explodes with tension and strength, reflective of the personalities involved. Highly recommend it!” - Sharon K. Middleton, author of The McCarron Mysteries.

“Lewis takes after authors such as C.J. Box, James Patterson, and David Baldacci, as he immerses readers in his characters by having them in reoccurring roles and appearing throughout each of his books.” – The Author Spot (.com)

A barrage of threatening letters, a car bomb, and a heart attack rip apart what was once a close-knit family of adopted brothers.

Randy and Bobby, along with fellow band member and best friend, Danny, receive fan mail that turns menacing. They ignore it, but to their detriment. The sender turns up the heat. Violence upends their world. It rocks the relationship between the boys and ripples through their family, nearly killing their dad.

As these boys turn on each other, adopted brother Brian flashes back to that event in Arizona where he nearly lost his life saving his brothers. The scars on his face and arms healed, but not his heart. Would he once again have to put himself in harm’s way to save them? And, if faced with that choice, will he?

Photo by Hannah Busing and Unsplash

 

Die Twice

I have been absent lately because of my hip replacement and the rehab that has and is taking place. Sorry about that. But I can tell you all is well, and the doc cleared me to go back to working with kids in a middle school, which I absolutely love.

During rehab, I got caught up on shows I recorded but didn’t watch, as well as movies I’ve always wanted to see but never did so. I also did a great deal of reading and especially writing, which is my passion, second only to my wife and family.

One show I watch regularly, even binge watch, is NCIS. Kim and I watch reruns on weekends, but we are behind in the new season. But I caught the “Tribute to Ducky” episode. Ducky was played by David McCallum, who died in real life recently. The episode covered his death well. It was both poignant and touching, and brought back many cast members who had left the show, either by in person cameos or by video clip as Ducky was remembered.

One of the opening scenes was Leon telling the members of the team what Ducky told him when his wife died (on the show). Ducky told him, “We all die twice. Once when our bodies wear out. The second, when our stories stop being told.” 

We Die Twice … 

I honestly never thought about that. I never heard that before. But it makes sense, doesn’t it? 

At the age of 70, I’ve lost family members and friends along the way. Some, I remember dearly, as well as clearly. I remember when and how it happened, and where I was when I found out. My nephew Jared and other nieces and nephews. My friend, Tom. My dad and mom and my sisters, Donna, Betty, Mary, and Joanne. Our son and my daughter's brother, Wil. 

Something I watch or read or see might remind me of someone I lost, and it brings to mind an event and, with it, a story about that person. When I get together with my remaining family, we retell stories, many of which have been told over and over, and the stories always bring a smile or a laugh. Sometimes, a tear.

I know I might sometimes bore my girls by retelling the same stories over and over, but the stories mean so much to me, because the person I’m talking about means so much to me. Both Hannah and Emily, even Kim, indulge me by listening again … and again … and …

In that same NCIS episode, someone mentions (I forget who), “It’s (the stories) all we have left, really. The stories we leave behind.” But one person responded, “Not really. It’s the people we’ve touched along the way.”

That comment touched my soul, as much and even more, as the Die Twice quote. “It’s the people we’ve touched along the way.” 

Again, at 70, people have come into and have left my life like waiters in a restaurant (a Stephen King line). With 48 years of being in education, can you even guess at the number of kids (and teachers, and fellow counselors, coaches and administrators) I’ve worked with? I can’t. It boggles my mind. Some I remember, while some, sadly, I don’t. Former students, now adults, greet me and tell me I was their teacher, their counselor, their coach, or their principal, and sometimes, I’m caught in embarrassment because I don’t recall them. Yet, I must have meant enough for them to come forward. 

And when they do, they might share a story, an event, a time. I love it and only hope that those I might never see again feel the same way about me and feel comforted because I might have touched their life positively.

My hope, though, is for each of us to allow the memories of our dear losses to remain fresh by the retelling of their stories. And my hope is for each of us to remember whether or not we realize it, we’re touching lives. We’re affecting- either positively or negatively- those who come into contact with us. My prayer is that somehow, someway, my memory causes a smile, a warm feeling, and that my impact was a blessing. Something to think about … 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85

For your convenience, here is the description and purchase link for my book, Fan Mail, https://amzn.to/3eNgSdS and you can check out the book trailer video at https://youtu.be/MS5VjTzCvM4 

2023 Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner

2023 Reader’s Favorite Runner-Up

“At once a coming-of-age story that will appeal to mature teens, a thriller that can reach into adult audiences, and a psychological suspense novel that holds elements of deeper life inspections about sacrifice, redemption, and discovery, its gripping saga will reach a wide audience of readers and age groups.” - Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Editor of California Bookwatch

“Starts with a bang and does not stop its relentless shrapnel barrage until you are crying with the characters. Fabulous job by the author. You want to read this one.” - Tina O’Hailey, author of Dark Drink.

“Very powerful. Tough. Gritty. Character development is remarkable. Lewis cuts deep as he tackles teen sexuality questions as well as dangerous stalkers. The story explodes with tension and strength, reflective of the personalities involved. Highly recommend it!” - Sharon K. Middleton, author of The McCarron Mysteries.

 

“Lewis takes after authors such as C.J. Box, James Patterson, and David Baldacci, as he immerses readers in his characters by having them in reoccurring roles and appearing throughout each of his books.” – The Author Spot (.com)

A barrage of threatening letters, a car bomb, and a heart attack rip apart what was once a close-knit family of adopted brothers.

Randy and Bobby, along with fellow band member and best friend, Danny, receive fan mail that turns menacing. They ignore it, but to their detriment. The sender turns up the heat. Violence upends their world. It rocks the relationship between the boys and ripples through their family, nearly killing their dad.

As these boys turn on each other, adopted brother Brian flashes back to that event in Arizona where he nearly lost his life saving his brothers. The scars on his face and arms healed, but not his heart. Would he once again have to put himself in harm’s way to save them? And, if faced with that choice, will he?