The Sad Truth about the Students and the March for Lives

When it comes to politics, I try to keep my opinions to myself. I really do. I try to ignore the liberal bias from the mainstream media and the Hollywood icons who insist on sharing their views. I keep up with current events and I read a lot on social media, but I make an honest effort to limit my responses. I try to avoid the overtly political posts with the exception of an occasional Like when the post is really clever or humorous. I really do try, but the latest round of protests have pushed me over the edge.

I spent 35 years in the field of education. I’ve had MANY encounters with high school students and raised two children of my own, so understand that when I talk about these kids, I know of what I speak. I know what teenagers are like. Sadly, when I watch the news, what I see are young people who are being manipulated and used by forces beyond their years, and it makes me angry to see how blatantly this abuse is being promoted.

Let me back up a moment and say that school safety should be a priority and the discussion should be ongoing. There should be no question that the safety of our kids must be addressed, frequently. School shootings must to be prevented. The problem is that gun control, or gun laws, or the Second Amendment, and school safety are all separate issues. We have got to stop acting as if they are the same thing.

The sad truth about the big protests from last weekend is that parading a bunch of kids around spouting left wing talking points about guns does absolutely nothing to make our schools any safer. David Hogg screaming profanities and disrespecting adults doesn’t make his school safer. Emma Gonzalez admitting that the shooter was bullied and ostracized, but justifying it because he was weird or different, doesn’t make her school safer. Both of these students have become media darlings by demanding new gun laws. Sadly, by continuing to focus solely on the gun debate, we are pushing aside other factors that have a much greater impact on keeping our kids safe.

As a school administrator, I attended many workshops and seminars on school safety. I’ve walked the halls of multiple school campuses evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the plans and procedures in place. I’ve spent countless hours writing and rewriting campus safety plans. I’ve spent time with teachers, parents, and students discussing ways to make our schools safe and prevent the kind of tragedies that have occurred in other places. Several factors are mentioned frequently. Mental health support, local law enforcement support, access to the campus/facilities, and detailed action plans in case of emergencies are always discussed. The second amendment has never come up.

School safety is a complicated issue with numerous elements. To ignore all of this and pretend that gun legislation will cure all our issues is ridiculous. I feel for the students who have been exposed to violence at their schools in recent years. Their emotions are real and powerful, but their misguided attempts to seek a simplistic answer have made them pawns in a much larger game than they can imagine. While celebrities and political action committees pour millions into “spontaneous” marches, innocent kids are being passed around as props, and that offends me. I’m sorry, but if roughly ninety percent of your protestors are adults, I find it hard to believe your “march” is student organized or led. So, let’s be real. The sad truth is that our students are being manipulated and used. And that’s just not right.

Cover Help: Seeking Opinions on Possible Covers for the Next Book

If all goes well, I hope to publish my book of poetry very soon! The title is A Head Full of Random Thoughts, and the book does indeed contain a very random selection of poems. There are sections on People, Everyday Life, Childhood Memories, Social Commentary, and even some poems about cats!

I have several covers that I am considering and I would love to have some opinions. They are all drafts or works in progress. So, do you like a particular cover, dislike one, or have suggestions to improve any or all of them? Or should I just start over from scratch? Please comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks for the help!

Book Review: The Rooster Bar, A New Novel from John Grisham

I recently finished reading the latest novel from John Grisham, The Rooster Bar, and I must admit to being somewhat disappointed. Grisham is one of my favorite authors and I’m pretty sure, I haven’t missed one of his novels yet. I was anxious to read this one and completed it in less than a week.

Grisham, in my opinion, is a great storyteller. His narration is solid and his stories tend to be fast paced and compelling. Somewhere around high school I gave up my dreams of becoming a lawyer, but I love movies and books about the law. Grisham handles the legal aspects well without slowing down the story and I would highly recommend him to anyone not familiar with this work.

In The Rooster Bar, the author introduces us to three young law students with an interesting problem. Lured by the promise of a lucrative career in the legal profession, Mark, Todd, and Zola have spent their last several years attending a “third-tier, for-profit law school so mediocre that its graduates rarely pass the bar, let alone get good jobs.” Deep in debt with no future prospects, the friends begin taking desperate measures to escape the situation.

I won’t go into the details and spoil the story, but it is an interesting ride with the usual twists and turns one would expect from Grisham, a master of the legal thriller genre. My disappointment comes from what I would consider a lack of sympathetic characters. I want to pull for Mark and Todd and Zola, but I can’t quite ever get past the idea that they are the victims of their own bad choices. Sure, the law school is run by a corrupt billionaire exploiting the system, but does that justify all the other poor decisions the three pile up in response?

Another problem I have is with a subplot involving illegal immigration. I don’t mind contemporary works bringing in current issues and events, but the liberal leaning rubbed me the wrong way. Of course, when your protagonists are running around committing illegal acts throughout the book, why should a little illegal immigration on the side bother anyone?

Finally, I didn’t like the ending. Only my opinion, of course, but it felt rushed and abrupt. There was a lot left unresolved and up in the air, and I was left with plenty of questions. In conclusion, I will say that I liked the book, but I would not consider it one of Grisham’s best. (My two favorites are still The Testament and The Rainmaker. And Bleachers, if you want to include a non-legal novel.)

A Few Personal Reflections on Saint Patrick’s Day

As far as I know, I have no Irish in my ancestry, but I must admit to having a special feeling for Saint Patrick’s Day. Both my mother and my son were born on March 17, so the day has a significance all its own.  So, each year, when the day comes, I’ll wear something green and hope I don’t get pinched, but mostly, I’ll spend some time thinking about these two amazing people.

My mother has been gone for many years, but I still think of her often. Mother’s Day, of course, and most holidays, but always on her birthday. Memories begin to get a little fuzzy beyond a certain age. Some begin to fade, while others are already gone for good, but many remain strong and vibrant, despite the passage of years. I have pictures of my mother as a young woman, and I am fascinated by this beauty I never knew. She almost seems like a different person. Most of my clearest memories begin with my teen years, but even those are fleeting. I remember her most vividly in her later years, the grandmother to my kids, the matriarch of the family, the glue that held us together through the difficult passing of my father.

She made wonderful fried chicken and in my mind, I’ve never had better. She smiled and laughed a lot in my recollections. She hated that I moved out of town in pursuit of different job opportunities. She understood and she supported my decisions, but she hated that I would be away from home, and I did too, but she wrote letters and we talked by phone and I never doubted her love for me. She smoked too much, especially near the end, she went out to play Bingo, and she always had a Dr. Pepper close at hand. And she was thrilled when my first born arrived on her birthday!

I was fortunate to be able to spend a few days with my son and help celebrate his most recent birthday. I am very proud of him and all he has accomplished. I won’t embarrass him with lavish praise, but I could. (My daughter, as well, but I will save all that for another day.) Memories, again, so clear and yet so fleeting. I can remember holding him as a baby, begging him to sleep, marveling at his infinite curiosity. Later, listening to him read, watching him draw and learn to play the guitar. I’m amazed to know the man he has become. I recall so many moments with him and pray for more to come.

So, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! And Happy Birthday, Mom! And Happy Birthday, Scott! Irish or not, I love the day and all the great memories it brings.

How to Overcome the Daily Struggles of Writing

I recently came across an article about writers and the daily struggles they face. Writing can certainly be a daunting endeavor. For many, the greatest struggle is finding time to write. Others suffer from bouts of writer’s block and wring their hands in frustration when the words won’t come. Editing and revising cause many to consider throwing in the towel and giving up. And then, there’s the problem of publishing and marketing. At one time or another, I have faced most of these issues and although I don’t claim to have answers, I do have a few ideas to pass along.

Time

Finding time to write is difficult for almost all writers. Even having the luxury of retirement, I still find myself filling my hours with other activities and pushing writing off at times. When I was working full-time, I wrote mostly poetry and short stories and dreamed of the day I would be able to devote myself to the Great American Novel. Truthfully, it all comes down to discipline. Whether you write for hours or just for minutes, try to write something each day. Create the habit and stick to it. Some days, all I can manage is a word or two of revision on a poem, but I write. Every day.

Writer’s Block

I generally don’t have a problem with writer’s block. Knock on wood. Hopefully, I haven’t cursed myself by saying that! I suppose a big part of that for me is an almost total lack of deadlines. With the exception of two successful NaNoWriMo events, I usually don’t have any such restrictions. It will be finished when it’s finished. I set some flexible goal dates for myself, and I do what I can to meet them. My one suggestion to those who struggle with this issue is to write in your head before trying to commit it to paper. I spend a lot of time thinking about my story before I ever sit down at the computer to write anything down. I play out all the scenarios in my head and occasionally jot down bits of dialogue in a notebook, so that when I do start to write, I already know where I’m going. Most of the time, I am eager to open up the page and start putting all those thoughts into words.

Editing and Revising

My own personal struggle comes with editing and revising. As a former high school English teacher, I don’t really mind the editing. I can usually go back through my manuscript pretty quickly and correct the spelling, punctuation, and usage. I find revising much more difficult, especially with longer works. Even with shorter pieces, I sometimes struggle, but with my novels, the amount of time required to do a thorough reading is intimidating to me. I try to read slowly, aloud for dialogue, and take a lot of notes and hope that I can catch any major mistakes or inconsistencies in content or characterization. It also helps to have someone else to read your work, which brings up a whole other set of difficulties.

A good beta reader is priceless! The truth is the writer is often too close to the material and frequently too attached to be objective. My second and third novels are good examples. I fear the second one may be boring, but it could be that I know the story too well. A new reader may well be fascinated where I am simply suffering from having read the piece multiple times in a short period. The third novel, I still think is brilliant, but perhaps, it is only so in my own mind. I’m still waiting on outside opinions. (Hint to beta readers!) Honestly, these folks are invaluable!

Publishing and Marketing

Finally, I confess to hating the aspects of publishing and marketing. In preparation for publishing, I discovered how little I know of word processing. Formatting took way more time than I had imagined and caused an incredible amount of frustration. I admit to using a huge amount of profanity directed toward my innocent manuscript in the process of perfecting margins, page numbers, fonts, and other details. Even after all the suffering, it can be scary to click on that PUBLISH button. Marketing a book is equally maddening. Depending on your budget and persistence, selling your book may be harder than writing it! Seriously. Once family and friends have made their purchases, the self-published author should be prepared for the inevitable dry spells that follow. But take heart. Once published, the book will be on sale forever and who knows, maybe I’ll be one of those authors who becomes a bestseller fifty years after I’m gone. Stranger things have happened!

A Poem From My Latest Novel

My latest novel contains a collection of short stories with a common setting, the small town of Eastlake. In one tale, a high school student named Krissy Holder goes missing. As the authorities work to discover whether she has run away or been the victim of foul play, her teacher shares a poem from the girl's journal.

At the Drive-In is coming in late 2018! Until then The What If Project is still available and my poetry collection is almost ready for publication!

Confessions of a Lifelong Writer

I am a writer. It’s not a new thing. I’ve always been a writer. As a child I once wrote a silly little poem/song to tease my brother. In school, I wrote short stories and tried to draw comic strips. In college, I wrote poetry. In my golden years, I’ve written several novels and even published one of them. So, I confess. I am a writer.

In fairness, it’s just another label I attach to myself. Father, husband, brother, friend, enemy, teacher, coach, singer, actor, doer of many things. So, I am a writer, a person who writes, but aren’t we all? The question then becomes, what do we write? My wife is a list maker. (I used to think that was funny, until I reached the age of needing to make lists myself.) After college and before we married, we wrote long detailed letters to one another, the kind of old-fashioned courtship that doesn’t really exist anymore. My son and daughter are both excellent writers having composed songs, poems, essays, and stories that are original and creative far beyond anything I had written by that age.

So, what do I write? My first novel is about a man who wishes he could go back in time and change a particular past event. It’s a bit of light fantasy that I hope encourages readers to accept their past and not let it control their present or their future. My second novel is a modern retelling of the story of the prodigal son. The theme is forgiveness and the ways in which we are affected by giving and receiving forgiveness, or withholding or rejecting it. My third novel is a collection of short stories about a small town in East Texas and the people who live there. The book serves as a somewhat fictionalized memoir of my life as a teacher, coach, and principal and includes stories about the schools, the church, and the local drive-in.

Currently, I am trying to prepare my volume of poetry to publish within the next few months. And in the midst of writing, editing and revising, I am still trying to promote the first book! Honestly, I enjoy writing. I guess that explains why I’m still doing it after all these years.

Blue Skies, An Old Poem from my College Days