Justice Weeps

Justice Weeps

And so will we.

Some of you might know and some of you might not, but on July 12, 2014, Kim’s and my son, Wil, was shot and killed as he walked down a Chicago street. He was working on a photo shoot, took a break and went for some lunch and a few items for the apartment he and his wife, Maria, had moved into two weeks previous.

A car of gang members spotted a rival walking on the same street as my son. Allegedly, the thirty-one year old (at that time) gave a handgun to a fifteen year old (at the time) passenger and told him to, “Wet his shirt!” A seventeen year old (at the time) accompanied the shooter.

Our son was between the intended victim and the shooter. Ten shots were fired, but only one hit anyone . . . our son, and Hannah’s and Emily’s brother, and Maria’s husband.

The thirty-one year old was arrested at the scene. The other two escaped, but were later apprehended in Racine, Wisconsin, and all three have been in custody ever since.

This coming Friday, May 12, 2017, exactly two years and ten months to the day Wil was shot and killed . . . murdered . . . Kim, Hannah, Emily and I, along with Wil’s wife, Maria, will appear at the hearing of the shooter. The hearing will be in juvenile court.

Yes, juvenile court.

The Illinois legislature passed a law at some point after Wil was murdered that mandates juveniles, regardless of the crime, need to be tried in juvenile court. It went to the Illinois Supreme Court and the law was upheld unanimously. The state attorney appealed to the judge and the judge denied the petition.

So what does this mean?

It means that our son, Wil, and Hannah’s and Emily’s brother, and Maria’s husband is still dead, murdered at the hand of a then fifteen year old.

And, at age twenty-one, serving just six years for the crime of murder, the shooter will be set free.

We were advised that our victim’s impact statement will not have any impact on the judge or the outcome of the hearing. Maria’s impact statement will not have any impact on the judge or the outcome of the hearing. Nothing we say will have any impact on the judge or the outcome of the hearing.

So, one wonders, what is justice and how will it be served with respect to our son, Wil? How will justice be served with respect to Hannah’s and Emily’s brother? Or Maria’s husband?

It seems to me that justice won’t be served at all.

Justice will Weep.

And so will we.

We don’t want sympathy or pity. Wil wouldn’t want that and we certainly don’t. What we do want is for each of you to Live Your Life, Make a Positive Difference in the Lives of Others, and most importantly . . . and this is truly important, Don’t Take Life For Granted.

You can’t. And you shouldn’t.

You don’t know when those who are important to you will be taken. I want you . . . I need you . . . to make sure those important people in your life know you love them. Tell them often. More importantly, show them often. Please make sure they know how you feel.

Life is too fragile. Life is too delicate. Life cannot and should not be taken for granted. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

Appreciation

I think there is nothing that beats the feeling of being loved, wanted and appreciated! Nothing. I don’t think we express it nearly enough. We might think it. We might feel it. But we don’t express it. And it is the expression of love and appreciation that ties us to mankind, to each other, especially to those who are dear to us.

Sometimes, we take those who we love and appreciate the most for granted. We assume “they know” and even if we’re right- that they do know- expressing it is more valuable than you can imagine.

I am who I am because of those who nurtured, guided, prodded, pushed and poked me along the way. I am who I am because I was mentored and cared for.

Next week, we celebrate Teachers. Someone named next week as Teacher Appreciation Week. To me, it is vital and necessary, but it shouldn’t be just one week. Teachers are too valuable.

I look back in my life and there are several who shaped, guided, mentored, and yes, pushed, pulled, poked and prodded. I’m sure at times I was exasperating. I’m sure at times they felt like giving up on me.

But they didn’t! They hung in there with me, and more importantly, they hung in there for me.

Mrs. Nancy Mehring, my fourth grade teacher saw something in me that my previous three teachers didn’t. Before her, my grades were something akin to pebbles at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Before her, I was just “another Lewis.” She rescued me. She picked me for various classroom duties. I remember her calling my name to help make a classroom decision. It was because of her my view of self changed. And I think, because I viewed myself differently, kids in my class viewed me differently. My annoying stutter stopped. I stood a bit taller. My grades shot up. And, I was happily willing to work for her. She inspired me and because of her, I smiled more and I laughed a little.

Sr. Josephe’ Marie, my sixth grade teacher was, and still is to this day, a friend, a mentor, and a spiritual confidante. She knew I loved to read, but she inspired in me a love of writing. I credit her with whatever success I have. She was “the crazy nun” and I loved her, still love her, and I know my classmates did, too.

I’ve been in education for forty years and I’ve been blessed along the way. I’ve had wonderful colleagues who made me a better teacher and person simply because I was around them. I’m so thankful to them: Dan and Mark, friends and my assistant coaches; Bill, the first principal I truly could call a mentor; Andre, another mentor who I can say truthfully that what he has done for me, for others extends far past the classroom, the school, and into one’s heart and soul. Tony, now deceased, who was an exceptional teacher and an even better person. So many others. So many others . . .

I look at my staff: teachers all- regardless of title- caring, compassionate, and patient. Teachers who guide and mentor. And like those teachers in my younger years, teachers who pull and push and prod and poke. Teachers who spend their own money on pencils and candy and bulletin board supplies. Teachers who stay up grading and making suggestions so their kids can improve and achieve great things. Teachers who come up with creative ways to reach their students. Teachers who don’t receive the appreciation, the thank you, the “you make a difference” enough. Not nearly enough. I walk the hallways and I visit your classrooms and at times I stand before you, humbled because you are so much better than I was or am. Proud to call you My Tribe. Proud to be among you. Proud to be one of you.

Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I just finished my fifth work of thriller/mystery fiction, Caught in a Web and it’s currently being edited. I’ll keep you posted as to when it will be published.

Please feel free to connect with me at:

Twitter at @jrlewisauthor

Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author                       

Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI/                

If you like Thriller/Mystery fiction, check out my novels:

Available on Amazon for .99 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 Agent Kelliher and 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://bit.ly/Taking-Lives-JLewis

Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy:

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://bit.ly/Stolen-Lives-JLewis

Shattered Lives, Book Two of the Lives Trilogy:

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://bit.ly/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis

Splintered Lives, Book Three of the Lives Trilogy:

It began in Arizona with death and it ends in Arizona in death. A 14 year old boy has a price on his head, but he and his family don’t know it. Their family vacation turns into a trip to hell. Out gunned and outnumbered, can this boy protect his father and brothers? Without knowing who these men are? Or how many there are? Or when they might come for him? http://bit.ly/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis   

Where Would I Be?

From time to time, I’ve written about the need to keep focused ahead rather than living in one’s past. We don’t get very far when we look over our shoulder. We trip, stumble and run into things if we constantly look back.

I mean, looking backwards serves a purpose. The first is to let us know just how far we’ve come. For some, the journey wasn’t easy. So by looking back, we can appreciate how far we’ve grown, how much we’ve overcome, how much we survived.

And the second is to literally and figuratively gauge where we’ve come from and appreciate where we are now. Sounds like I’m repeating myself, but I’m not.

I am sixty-three years old. Worked in five states. I’m happily married with three great kids, one deceased. I have a job that I love so I don’t see as a “job” per se, but as a vocation. I work with kids and I have the best staff in the world.

I’ve come a long way from the wet-behind-the-ears kid, who at age twenty-two began teaching and coaching about a thousand miles from home and family without the benefit of having anyone near me. I confess I didn’t know what I was doing at the time. I’ve had some patient mentors along the way. Mostly, I learned from the kids.

As a dad, I’ve learned a lot and know I have so much more to learn. It is as a dad that I find myself looking backward and wondering how my kids survived me. Mistakes, sometimes harsh words I wish never left my mouth or entered my head. My heart hurts thinking about all those mistakes. Wish I could “do over” here and there and make things better. Best I can do is learn from those experiences and vow to do better.

As a husband and friend, I find myself shaking my head as I wonder how Kim puts up with me. I have done nothing to deserve this gift I was given, but I am so appreciative of the love and the friendship I have.

So with those thoughts . . .

Today, I’m asking you to take a look back and ask yourself the rhetorical question, Where Would I Be . . .

without that one painful experience you suffered through and yet survived?

without that one relationship you regret and learned from?

without the push and pull from that one teacher who never gave up on you?

without that painful family relocation when you thought life as you knew it was going to end?

without that one boss, that one co-worker who made life miserable for you?

Where Would I Be . . .

without  . . .

Or perhaps, Where Would I Be . . .

with . . .

Because it works both ways.

We learn because of and we learn from. We learn from others as well as learn without others. Without others, we learn to trust our own heart, our own head and listen to our own soul.

Where Would You Be if you had remained in that one relationship, with that one person who you thought was “the one”? Where Would You Be if you had stayed in that one job? Where would you be if you had stayed in one place and never moved? Where Would You Be? Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I just finished my fifth work of thriller/mystery fiction, Caught in a Web and it’s currently being edited. I’ll keep you posted as to when it will be published.

Please feel free to connect with me at:

Twitter at @jrlewisauthor

Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author                        

Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI/              

If you like Thriller/Mystery fiction, check out my novels:

Available on Amazon for .99 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 Agent Kelliher and 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://bit.ly/Taking-Lives-JLewis

Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy:

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://bit.ly/Stolen-Lives-JLewis

Shattered Lives, Book Two of the Lives Trilogy:

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://bit.ly/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis

Splintered Lives, Book Three of the Lives Trilogy:

It began in Arizona with death and it ends in Arizona in death. A 14 year old boy has a price on his head, but he and his family don’t know it. Their family vacation turns into a trip to hell. Out gunned and outnumbered, can this boy protect his father and brothers? Without knowing who these men are? Or how many there are? Or when they might come for him? http://bit.ly/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis