Friday, November 16, 2018

Choices and Consequences


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


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

Photo courtesy of Vladislav Babienko, Unsplash 

Friday, October 5, 2018

Typhoid Mary






Where we live, traffic is nasty. It is slow, congested, clogged, you name it. I have to admit that at times, my impatience gets the better of me. I try to relax and go with the flow, or lack thereof, play my music and sing along, but traffic usually gets the better of me. Unfortunately.

The left lane is supposed to be the fast lane. Obviously, there are speed limits and there are good reasons for speed limits. But when a driver “camps” out in the fast lane and travels at a lesser speed, that is annoying. Cars move into the middle lane to pass around the car and then move over into the fast lane ahead of the driver, and the driver still doesn’t get a clue. It’s dangerous as well as annoying.

When you pull up to a red light and the red light turns green and no one moves, that is annoying. Especially if that driver is fiddling with his or her phone, it’s dangerous and thoughtless. The green light or green arrow only lasts so long, right?

Or when you pull up to a red light and the car in front of you sets two car lengths behind the car in front, that is annoying. Again, the green light or arrow only lasts a short amount of time and not everyone will get through because of this one car setting way back behind the car in front.

Or when you pull up to a four-way stop and each driver politely takes their turn to move forward, except for that one driver who might lose track of who is supposed to go next or who deliberately decides he or she is in too much of a hurry to wait.

Okay, I’m going to stop right here . . .

I ranted for about five paragraphs. I vented. I took your valuable time and unloaded on you. It didn’t feel very good, did it? Perhaps it even fired you up a little . . . or a lot.

You might have been having a bright and sunny day and I just rained all over it. Reading my rant might have changed your outlook, your disposition, and your attitude, not to mention how you might interact with others.

Your next interaction, if you decide to carry further my ranting, affects that person, and that person who is then interacted with, and so on. Much like Typhoid Mary passing her disease on to others.

Yes, there are times and there are places where venting and ranting might be acceptable. Perhaps. Sometimes something might happen that helps us reach our boiling point and like a volcano spewing lava and ash all over, we spew anger and wrath and angst. We change people’s attitudes from happy to sad, from content to anxiety, from peace to turmoil.

And we are the cause. We CHOOSE to let a situation or individual get the better of us. It’s how we CHOOSE to react that upsets us and others around us, those with whom we interact.

When we look at it objectively, we’re selfish. We’re placing our own feelings and needs ahead of others. And when you think about it, ranting and raving don’t do much to help us anyway. The net cause is still present: the way we CHOSE to respond and interact. Our spewing doesn’t do much of anything except to ruin another individual’s mood and day. It’s unfair and selfish. Something to think about . . .  

To My Readers:

I will be selling and signing copies of my book, Caught in a Web at:

Barnes & Noble
Sunday, October 7 at 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
1220 Carl D. Silver Parkway
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Today, Oct. 5 and Tomorrow, Oct. 6 are the last two days to purchase the Kindle version of Caught in a Web for only .99 (cents!) You can purchase your copy on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696 

And please, if you do give Caught in a Web a shot, 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

Also 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

Connect with me on Social Media:

Twitter at @jrlewisauthor


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

photo on Unsplash by Eric Ward