I'm a MENSCH! Take that, World!

Sometimes, you feel like you can't win. The world keeps throwing you solid gut punches. But then you step back and remind yourself where you were a few years ago...where you are now...and that you get to do what you LOVE for a living. So, when people you think you can count on treat you like garbage and turn their backs...when those you considered friends scurry away like rats on a sinking ship (or roaches when the lights are turned on), you have to take stock of what is good.

It is too easy to let the downers take hold in your spirit. You have to be able to look at the big picture and see all the people who still stand by your side. You have to revel in those amazing moments that, despite the best efforts of some, still come loaded with good things. 

I made a commitment a few weeks ago when the last surge of hatred and petty BS was flung at the wall by the wingless hate-monkeys. I chose to stop listening. And I also started crossing names off the list of people who I gave two bits about. 

I love being a writer. I love hearing from the thousands (yeah...it really has come to grow into the thousands...go figure!) of readers who enjoy my work. I let them be what matters instead of the ass-munching scabs who scale over and flake off...only to try and return every single time I reach a new plateau. And I will continue to rely on the wonderful people who read my work and find entertainment in it.

I have one creedo that I will continue to cling to as I reach out a hand and try to offer a lift to any of my fellow indie writers trying to see their own dreams come true. Be careful of the asses you kick on the way up...those will be the same asses you kiss on the way down. And despite where you might stand today...gravity will eventually win.

In the spirit of starting off a new week, I wanted to share a snippet of my world with you. This weekend, I was able to see my book and my name on the big screen in front of over 10,000 people. I was able to watch the mama Newfie that will be bringing our new family member into the world as she earned some very prestigious titles in obedience and draft dog work.

And then, this morning, I opened my email to find this letter that I will share a small part of with you, but just as important, this is the sort of thing that I will focus on...the people who matter, because, despite what others think they know...the haters do not know ME...or even have a clue as to the TRUTH. They simply live in the vacuum of ignorance. I ain't goin' away, folks. Get used to it.

"My instincts tell me that life has been a bumpy ride for you, but you've taken those experiences and put them into your writing  - I hope it's been cathartic and stopped some of the past following you around like a bad smell.

(Your forewords say so much about you!).

As our hero, Stephen King, says, write about what you know.

That's what you do.

You know how to write about people.

Your apocalyptic world is a framing device for writing about the human condition.

And guess what? It works.

In Talmud, there is a saying - whoever saves one life saves the world entire.

The great thing about Talmud is that you can unpick it, translate it and look for meaning indefinitely. 

So, for me , there's more ways of saving a life than rescuing someone from a burning building.

There are lives within life - I thought that pain had robbed me of the part of my life that goes wandering off into the world of words.

And that was OK.

It had to be.

I've become accustomed to loss.

But your DEAD world brought my world of words back to life. 

Let morphine do its worst - it can't take that away from me.

You're a mensch, Todd.

Kol tuv"

And I end with one final picture of Lady Tutu...mama to our future family member. Do your worst, World...but I still get to smell puppy breath!

And I AM A MENSCH!