Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Make new friends, love the old




one is silver and the other GOLD
as I grow each older, the more appreciative I've become of so many wonderful experiences to be blessed with, never for a moment taking any of it for granted.

working one's self to the core 
doesn't do anyone favors (p.s. in Canadianese the American favors is favored by spell check, but we Canadians taught articulation in the late 60s and the early 70s were blessed with the very big gift of expression. ..... :: anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyys [an 80s term for those yuppies still out there, and the Millennial wannabes ::.... how things have evolved eh?

In the folds of being born of the 60s
like wallflowers to the Baby Boomers, we observed, we absorbed the best parts, we have held our composure, and now we are parents of the gift to our generation:  the gift of the Millennial Bloom.  

We're pretty lucky
even though if you paid attention to statistics and stereotypical behavior, those born in the 60s were pre-packaged to lean towards failure.  If you think stereo-typing is dangerous, especially to mental health, think of the resilience and tenacity of anyone you know, been lucky enough to have met, or heaven help you if you're an offspring.

A beacon of light
to the Millennials is their embrace of the 80s culture.  Is it because there is a soul connection of what those of us in our 20s in the 80s aligned with what our own Millennials are facing.

Where optimism can be restored
when you think of what great things, events, game-changers occurred in the 80s, introduced back then, every day now.  

Boxers who come out of the corner
jumping into the obstacle ahead, head of, crouched in readiness to take the offensive with hardly a sniffle and long before a drop of sweat.  That would define those who lived their 20s in the 80s.  

I graduated from college in the 80s
and it was a great platform to launch a career.  Not limited by the restrictive curriculum, more persevering to land beyond the world of conformity, censorship, polite manners, poise and abloom with everything is impossible, we may as well make the impossible possible.


I notice some really talented folks out there.  Some that mere names crossed paths with me.  What a crazy, crazy CRAZY time, when I think back to it.  With gurgling reflection caught and captured from my conversation with my mother this afternoon.

Being the parent of a Millennial
is a worrisome, full board, attentive preoccupation.  You revel is the brilliance shining from your child born, first in 1989, with the others to follow in the 90s.  

We're lucky so they are lucky
as well.  Like skipping stones across a glass-like lake or quietly lapping ocean shore.  We may have been born in inopportune times, faced some pretty insur-mountable odds.  What we share is that grasp of not expecting anything for free, without commitment, not always sacrifice [ often by choice ] understanding the basic rightful work ethic:  

* work hard
* work honestly
* work with integrity
* be known for your word without all the numerous
* be committed to quality
* whatever you do, do it with pride
* love who you do it with, who you're surrounded by
* do your best always, it always pays off in spades

A dog eat dog world 
began with the Baby Boomers with entitlement mastered by GenX.  Where those born of the 60s, grew in the 80s, parents of the Millennials >> skipped >> over the hay days and landed in the middle of the first recession since the 1929 stock market crash [ if you do not know anything about this historical event, pause this article and go find out about it .... as my commitment to you as a blogger, you read ] we had to survive.  Really not much opportunity to learn as funds dried up and kids had to go leave post-secondary because their was some sort of crisis in their lives, with their family, that took more important measure instead.

Learn from your elders
as much as you can.  No time will be wasted.  I can guarantee that!  Talking to my mother, with so many wise words shared.  I even said to her:  "I hope I remember all of this for when I write later".  The gift of her wisdom was shone brightly upon me, like a face of a flower blooming forward towards the sun.  

I was a sponge in the 80s
that was my greatest gift.  I only had a college diploma, not even a university degree.  It was enough to teach me discipline and that anything worthwhile doesn't come free, without commitment and stick-to-it-ness that is just emerging within the Millennial generation.  

Millennials have faced fear
reflected in their parents eyes.  A strong, tough upper lip, and a straight spine.  We weren't even considering weakness, with goals clearly defined in our line of vision.  

Dedication, optimism ~
contagiously positive attitudes were bestowed upon our offspring.  Whether they grasped those sprinkles of enlightenment and hung on to the best qualities we shared.

Nobody is perfect
and neither is anyone who defines themselves as a Yuppie.  [ Or admits in select company and trusted members ] Who wear it as an emblem of pride, saying "who cares?" if they still have enough hair left to grow a mullet, why not?

As the Millennials groan
and tsk tsk with embarrassment to their very influential peers.  What their peers think of them is more important than their parents, their boyfriend, or their employer slash / boss could ever dream.  A peer sets the benchmark and the height of the peddle stool they are awarded, acclaimed, worshiped or refrained.

Be still thine parental heart
it is just a mutation of your chromosomes, evolved and collided with nature and environment to form an independent being, an individual.  I know it is very hard.  Like a moth does to a butterfly without the loss of the moth, is the butterfly allowed to form.

Be glad, be proud and be boastful
toward anyone who'll listen.  Those are the ones you want to be around.  They can relate, or your words resonate with them.

Unlike my mom's words
this afternoon.  They were so wise, so enlightening ... almost as though I was leaving a cocoon.    While I'd been living these 55 years, I was enclosed in a small outlook, not looking far beyond to where flowers bloom and the sun's flower is warm with a gentle wind, with an iced tea at my elbow.  I'm careful I don't give it a nudge to topple it over as I tap, tap, tap with the rhythm of my 1979 typing class on an electric typewriter.  Graduating exceeding 120 clicks minutes  ::.... now WHAT was it called back in those days when we took our speed tests on a manual typewriter?  Hmmmm I think it was ... nope not characters per second, or any variation of the Times New Roman font that was the only letters to be had, to write a letter, draw up an agreement or a contract.  

Some of us grew up with carbon copy
yet how many know what that material is?  What it is like to try to avoid staining your fingers on the sticky substance on its back with a wrapping-paper thin or thinner-than-onion paper thin [ I'm sure Google can show you what either of those things are .... if not, Wikipedia for sure ].

This is a story for those 
who remember the glory of being a yuppie.  Bringing in the 80s as we all turned 20.  That is a pretty unique identifiable experience, a uniqueness we can own.  A significant contribution to our society came from our decade.  [ you may have to dig back to my other INBETWEENERs blog (before we evolved to be called "YUPPYDOM" ) mere weeks ago I wrote about those who graduated from the 1960s and became icons of our time.  Across borders, beliefs, colors, race or country, the class of the 1960s born are unique with much to boast about.

Keep steady on the present.
Slam the door or gently close the past.  Forget about the future because it isn't anything you can touch right now.  So you may as well be aware of the present and make every moment count!






where everything is impossible, 
we may as well make the 
impossible possible

~Jeannette Marshall


































Sunday, March 12, 2017

Leave transgenders alone, give it a rest ::...

Too few role models:  SOURCE

A question was posted on QUORA and I felt compelled to respond:

Why don't transgender people use the restrooms corresponding to their genitals to try and end the needless transgender bathroom controversy?

It is none of our business.

This reminds me of things we have to struggle with growing up::…. what IS our identity? What IS our moral standard? Should others have THE right to determine what is best for US?

Almost ALL of us in the age of inBETWEENers (born 1960 to 1965, neither Baby Boomers, Generation X, nor Millennials) must REMEMBER what the biggest questions of our day were? If others forgot, I can share with you: Do you or don’t you circumcise your newborn son?


SOURCE:  "Boys" by William E. Rochfort 

Remember that? I do. Is it necessary or more to do with mental well being our our son: likeness to daddy. It was something I read avidly read about because sometimes reading becomes “PEACE of MIND”. In this instance, we were RESPONSIBLE for making decisions for our children.

However, this topic should be a NONtopic because it is simply none of our business. If it is not us, nor our child, we don’t belong. I, for uniquely one, could not imagine the struggle this mere question asks ~ it is SO very judgMENTAL on so many fronts. Nor is it a practical questions. Why? Girls bathrooms in elementary school have stalls. Even at swimming pools and gym lockers: there are closed stalls.

If we don’t make a BIG deal out of this question, then the persons it affects are free to chose the best way that puts them at PEACE. To imagine what it is like to be DIFFERENT when the word itself claims: “Freak”! That is so far from the truth and requires each of us to delve deep inside our humanity humanitarianism by avoiding an opinion on what is personal and none of our business.


SOURCE:  Follow Will Rochfort on Twitter 




The worst thing you can do is underscore the misconception that there is something wrong with a transgender. Especially when each one of us have our own skeletons we hide.

SOURCE

On the practical, logical side. If a boy that identifies as a girl, looks and acts like a girl, feels more comfortable with girls, rather than boys, goes into a girls washroom, they can simply go into the bathroom stall. To say that everyone bares down to the birthday suits multiple times a day, more likely a month, or more….. there are girls that are shy and will go into the bathroom stall to change into swimsuit or gym clothes. Which one is different than the next, is for each individual to decide, not anyone else’s claim to identification.


SOURCE: Matheus Pinto

There is a solution. Certainly a priority would be to STOP talking, covering, writing, posting, chatting, murmuring about this topic as though there is something wrong with a transgender person. I repeat:  a person.  It wasn’t for them to decide who they are nor is it mine, or ours, to judge.

This viewpoint was in answer to a question posted on QUORA.com ::.. an escape to learn about what matters or what people are talking about.  Originally, I used as a sales blogging tool, now it stimulates interest on topics that one may not have the opportunity to discuss, rationally, online.  It is monitored, it avoids abuse of any kind.  It is healthy.  Good mental health.  A setting that allows you to take a stand on your viewpoint or nudge others to your point of view.  

Best of all:  a safe place to investigate your own perspective, on your own time.

Saturday, March 4, 2017

UPPER and lower case BATTLES

Upper and lower case battles

Dear Sir or Madam:

I'm going to give you a verbal resume for your consideration as the opportunity post it online presence itself.  (Whew no red over presents but i caught it because I read things over three or four times before i hit PUBLISH anywhere, yet it snuck past Google's blogspot spell checker.   I don't think Chrome can enter through the website internal workings of Blogspot, both wonder childs of Google, the machine that keeps on chugging, and now steaming ahead in the war on Data.  Now, I'm certainly no engineer or computer designer or architect (hey, maybe I've been around one or two or more of the types ... eh?  

I keep watching the competition going on.  And, my friends, it isn't a war on drugs, political arena, money or power.  Well, perhaps it is an arm wrestle over POWER.  It all comes down to this word called "data".  No caps, a noun and strongly overtaking as a verb for what is really driving the world:  it's data.  The problem of ISIS compounded by a hundred.  Because the one thing I learned in the digital equipment business, with HP, XEROX and IKON (now swallowed up by RICOH).  

Think about the biggest most powerful companies who have survived at least 50 years in business, never afraid of evolving their identity to appear as a leader in its field.  They have all CAPS logos and identity!  They share that common denominator.  When did Apple become APPLE?  They snuck it in on us, could be a conspiracy theory?  

The sublimity of becoming an all caps logo from all lower case to one capital letter?  I wonder if anyone has figured this out?  Interesting possibilities and endless learning opportunities unfold.   Thinking of Mashable comes first into my head.  They're at the capital or uppercase M with the rest lowercase. (Thank you to Google for waking up after being asleep at the wheel on the spell checker side, I didn't know that uppercase and lowercase were singular words, I had typed at two separate words.



Imaginary soul
My imagination and creativity is my gift to the world.  I may not be the most eloquent writer or unpublished as an author.  How else could I adopt and self-title myself from optioneerJM to ThePublisher ? Yes there are MEANDERINGSabout and The INbetweeners blogs indeed in between.  Gosh, I'd typed INbetweeners so much I thought they were indeed one word.  Wrong, and wisely pointed out by Google.

Google has the ability to control the data that so many are grasping at getting so desperately.  The fight over data began when I was at HP.  We were building and decommissioning servers (wiping them completely clean) all from scratch all because DATA my friends was playing havoc with INFORMATION.  

Umbrella
Data is the is virtually in the cloud.  It is starting to be the battle on who not only can grab and house the data (have you used the Apple Cloud?  Geese, they have the in front of their name too, maybe I AM an imposter!  Thinking I'm as good or clouds away from information.

https://www.pinterest.com/optioneerjm/faceus/


Battle Ground
You could consider the faceoff or the ball toss, is between Google and Apple.  They've been cleverly gathering data about us for a very long time.  Where Google may have had the head start, Yahoo and AOL were light years ahead.  {What happened to those two pioneers?  As such happens too far frequently, where the real pioneers of a technology or a solution to a problem (because they're not always at the hands on a keyboard)}

I have had the opportunity and through training which drove my ability to launch assistance on a new business, leave behind cool ideas (mostly templates) wherever I've been.  That is one of the things I can almost guarantee.  My name remembered as a different last name, long before I shed it and the husband that went along with it.  I've been fortunate to hone my abilities with the right type of leadership support that brought out the best in me.  Sprinkle in some of the worst, easily defined as horror stories of bosses and companies I've worked for.  Yes, a few gave me a shot of developing leadership skills, when I was truly blossoming in the right role, building my team from the ground up.  Developing and sharpening an ever evolving plan.  That's kinda like me.  

Toastmaster
As they say, distinguished Area Governor, award winning President,taking a club at the bottom with struggling attendance and engagement.  The Area Governor while I was president went on to be the District Governor, or was that a VP before the District Governor.  The District Governor is like the Mayor, Premier, Prime Minister, The President (there's that capital "The" I copied here.  OOPsie, LOL.



That is why I write
The difference between the gifted and truly great orators cannot amount to anything without the write words.  That is what I found by discovery.  I guess in a nutshell I don't settle for the status quo.  There are an infinite number of people, companies, processes, operations, people, characteristics, profiles, principles, philosophy, culture, impediments to trying to accomplish just about anything.

https://www.pinterest.com/optioneerjm/faceus/


The resources
Of a given company, the resources are the thing.  They make or break a company, organization or country.  Really regardless of global location, culture, religions, they share the same obstacles.  There is this really important balance between three separate things:

* people power
* equipment and technology
* intelligence and innovation above all.

If you don't have the resources in place or minimum keeping pace with your growth, you will fail miserably.  Think about all the GREATEST of pioneers who fade into the background, a forgotten innovator.  It has to be the guy who invented SKYPE.  Without skype, people really were unable to communicate in any other way than on the phone OR a webcam but not both.  

Without SKYPE, there would be no FACETIME (Apple eh?) no SNAP CHAT, Periscope or YouTube for heaven's sake.  I may have gone off the deepend a bit here.  I guess you just found out the second most unique thing about me didn't you?  I don't like others stealing credit when it is due someone else.  


The Folklores
When is the last time we had folklores?  I know that a lot of indigenous peoples who pass down stories for generations and then the ones more unbelievable thus called folklores.  With the little brothers and sisters called rumours who don't even have hardly a blip on our radars or importance meter until they implode with cast offs from Yahoo, not realizing it was capitalizing on the lead from AOL that allowed people to type a conversation in real time.  Now we call them texts and they are as well taken for granted on all the smartphones out there along with the telecommunications world, which is another big power struggle of our time ::: which ironically gather the most revenue from being that word again:  DATA.  Well, we do have folklores. In our generation they're called MicroSoft, Apple, GE, HP, Xerox, IBM, Disney.


It all begins with a story
Every folklore has a story.  
For me, as a career I've had the knack to help launch businesses, come up with some creative ideas that solved big problems (which was rewarded because it was in a sales capacity where money talked, results won.)  If I was truthful, I would not expound upon the glories of sales glory at the highest level.  What nobody tells you in sales school, university, or college, that to be truly great in sales, you have to toughen your skin to a shell of steel because the higher you climb the more people think they want to step on you.  Or, kick you from the sidelines.

Once, I was doing some really great things, people become nervous.  I don't think they are nervous because they may be cool ideas, but they could see that I could execute on those ideas.

An Army
Some companies think they should run it like the army.  No, I've never been in the Army, but my father was highly regarded in the Canadian Armed Forces Air Force Command Center in Winnipeg.  It may have moved for all I know, but through osmosis I could see how it ran its operation.  They'd blip at me when I heard "insubordination" or "leadership command"  or "full disclosure, tattle taler society".  

https://www.pinterest.com/optioneerjm/faceus/


The Hierarchy
Some companies have tried to soften the army approach because when business is booming, which usually means economies are booming.  That, usually equates to oodles of opportunity for more sales which trickle down to net profits, executive reasonal salaries with outrageous bonuses.  Some of us do pretty well and even can thrive in a Hierarchal society, it's best to blend in and fade into the background in this climate.  Because the leaders of the top of the chain do not like to be threatened.   Not in a hierarchical society.  There still are a lot of yes sir and no ma'am in this society without the salute (unless it's the third finger salute behind the back of the hierarchical ~ geez, is this a hard word to spell or what??!!) There are clear distinctions between the haves and the have nots in this world.  There are the people that make all the money (around 10%) and then there are those that do all the work to allow the top to keep making more money (90%).  I've worked in this world the most.  It's a comfortable place to be.  It isn't necessarily THE best place to be if you like to be a creative thinker.  Can you imagine the business cases, best practices, powerpoint presentations there are in a Hierarchy company?  Well, the area you can really be creative is within the confines of those arenas:

* Business Cases
* Best Practices
* Powerpoint Presentations

If you're good at any three of those things and become outstanding, you will knock the socks off anyone who merely glimpses at your showmanship, intelligence, innovation and wanting to solve a problem.  

https://www.pinterest.com/optioneerjm/faceus/


The Narrow Path
Imagine being in the confines of processes, procedures, protocol, pretty power points, and I didn't even expound the virtues of being an excel spreadsheet whiz.  You, young man or young lady, will be going places.  Vroom vroom.  I've never been a rule breaker.  Not that I can think of too readily.  Maybe someone else can remember and enlighten me?  In any case, I will admit to being a rule:

* Pusher
* Enveloper
* Evasive
* Determined
* Focused
* Driven
* Chaser
* Dreamer

of ways to do new things in new ways.  Hardly, a spot for someone like that in a Hierarchical surroundings.  It could be almost like a tadpole or goldfish swimming in the ocean surrounded by sharks.  Very teritorial these barracudas and bastards are.  (First official swear word in print, ha! Power of NOW!)

https://www.pinterest.com/optioneerjm/faceus/


Idea Makers
Become stakeholders to their ideas.  They are driven farther and higher than the former two worlds.  Out of this pool of unique creative, techno visionaries come a lot of really great things.  Innovations we try to associate with The Jetsons.  Flying machines, just frequency in space doesn't match yet.  The only unfortunate part of this society is that egos reign supreme.  I know, you thought that attribute would live more comfortably in the Hierarchical domain.  But no, this world revolves usually one very powerful person.  I know, we usually identify with that more as a leader or dictator of a country.  Well, they live in the Idea Makers world.  They me and I one hundred times than we or third place you.  Then again, that only deviates when there is assigning blame.  



Dysfunctional
Now many of us have lived in one form of dysfunction or another.  You are delusional or a liar if you deny this.   Some demonstrate it more privately and at home, or when they're out, or at work.    Most, if not all, have had to deal hands on or hands off with dysfunction.  There are a lot of companies that are dysfunctional while sharing the common ground of The Army or by Hierarchy.   For that reason, can emerge a Dysfunctional work culture.  Or, the lack of balance between life and the way you have a roof over your head.

A few things to ponder.  If they make you think, absolutely great.  Thank you.

Me
IMAGE SOURCES: 
Images for this were taken from my "FACEUS" Board on Pinterest.  My favorite board.  There is so much intrigue captured from an expression. 

 Black and white images can exude a mood that is unique from color.  Sometimes I use a themed collection of images, instead of images or quotes related to the writings, in my blog. 

Monday, January 30, 2017

A very real book review

This was originally written on my YUPPYDOM blog from WordPress.




Good Reads

 it is .... I used to go to Amazon to look up a book that I had read, really enjoyed, and see what recommendations they suggested be explored: a new Author or a new genres.



Seriously, I would never have found my favorite author Michael Connelly if I hadn't gone through this process.  Although I did this review for John Grisham which is self-explanatory as you read it as to the why.  



Without John Grisham I would never have picked up a David Baldacci (which I think I still have a book to the right on my sidebar as a book I recommended).



You'd almost think that I'm a legalese thriller genre fanatic.  Unless you've read Connelly or Lee Child for that matter.  In any of the genres you are rooting for someone, cheering someone on against very large obstacles.  They're not always the little, downtrodden either.  



Victims of Unfairness

Maybe that is the common denominator that all the authors I enjoy share:  writing stories about overcoming failure, sadness, corruption, bad bosses, bad companies ::..... basically, so many of us deal with that every day, it is nice to read about someone else's problems for a change?



I don't think that is the reason.  However pact and simple an explanation it sounds.    It could be turned around as a perception that if you enjoy that sort of thing, you like to help people, you want to be optimistic?  How about trying that on for size?    



Similarly, I did go through a long phase of reading Steven Koontz paranormal physic benders.  Now I cringe when I pass one of his books or a suggestion or review that comes across my vision with his name on it.  Similarly to the memory still fresh of an 8-year-old Kelsey (now 22) cringing and gasping out loud: "no corn" after picking her up from the airport to return home from 2 weeks with Grandad and Grandma and corn on the cob every day.  



But there was a real reason I wrote the review.  I was trying to escape from all the BAD NEWS I've been hearing lately.  How many more people have lost their jobs at an alarming rate in the city and province where I live.  Rarely do my online and real world collide at such ferocious impact!  



If you've read more than one blog, and are not my mother (who may stop reading it AND talking to me after she sees her darling granddaughter's reaction to her visit 14 years ago that I wrote and shared with the world, who could clearly pick her out from a Grandmothers lineup for 1000s of miles around!) ... I have written before about causes I care about besides fashion, beauty, career, social media and writing .. on the milder side ... to more serious meanderings about things that I care about.



I don't believe that people want to read about anyone ranting about anything on social media.  If they are just waiting to pounce on a cause or a trending hashtag to join in with being HIP, that is their business.  That is the disappointing side of social media.



You cannot know, understand or have an opinion about anything based on 140 characters or less people!  OK, oops, that was a bit like a burp, sounding almost like a rant.  It is a very difficult exercise and mindset to stay the course on motivating, uplifting and inspiring stories when there are so many injections of rants.  I am trying VERY very hard NOT to be one of those people.  




Having a gratitude attitude is not as hard as it sounds.  Some days you have to dig deeper to find a seed of optimism.  However, if you hang on and scour everywhere to find something to be thankful about, you can surely find it.



So in a way to escape from what I live in every day, where I live, where the majority of my city earns an income directly or indirectly because of the oil industry, one cannot turn a blind eye or tune everything out when it crosses over into your chillax time.  






Our Canadian Prime Minister announced the approval of a couple of less controversial pipelines this past week.  It was about where I live, about people I care about:  my neighbors and community.  


Sound Bite
The largest, resounding quote or sound bite came from a politician in Vancouver (who I cannot remember the name and don't want to sidetrack writing to go sleuthing to fact check, so I will omit intentionally).  What was said was to the effect that after a lot of careful assessment, scientific input, community say, the pipelines have been carefully evaluated based on the risk, that the environment is very important, but so is putting people to work so that they can put food on their tables, not lose their homes, be able to afford to send their kids to school.  That had an amazing profound impact.  It was so true!



Taking care of our citizens is now.  Taking care of our world is now.  However, with all the protests, fear mongering, and I'm going to say "politic'ing" by Obama, there bodes a question:  what is more important?  Taking care of the future of our world and our indigenous people OR giving our communities back by helping people work who want to work to put food on their table, pay for the roof over their family's heads?  People working for a living can afford to buy Christmas gifts to loved ones.  People who are unemployed or underemployed (working as a security guard when they are educated and experienced as an engineer) deserve to live their lives today.  



So this is more of a squeak.  A sounding board on what others may not be thinking or saying:  what about those people who live in fear of terrorism or losing their jobs, their homes?  Without people working, they cannot buy an appliance from the guy in Canada (I will pull and comment about that at another time) who sponsors and brings 50 Syrian families (not singular, as in persons, but families as in multiples) into Canada through his own philanthropist efforts, out of pocket expense.  It was a moving and inspirational story on CBC this past week.



The guy figured out that he was lucky and helping others was a way of saying thanks and giving back.  



Why don't the rest of us just calm down, relax and sit back and think about it.  I was talking to a client this week who brought up the destruction on the BC coast from the oil spill from the EXXon disaster.  What people are NOT protesting is the fact that it was human error, not the boat, not the ship, and not a pipeline that caused the devastation.



Did you read about the rail car that went off the rails in Quebec carrying oil that exploded, devastated a community and killed too many.  One was too many.  






It makes me think more and more because I do read.  I do try to look from all the points of view.  I think of questions and I look for answers ... until I reach a stalemate where you are damned if you take the stance against the loudest voices.   Those voices only job may be that, lending voice to protest.  They were pretty quiet on behalf of Quebec.  



Then again.  I haven't heard the real reason for why the rail tanker exploded causing so much devastation.  Something tells me that it will be something similar to the person being hungover or drunk.  A grave human error.  That allows the company to have a person to point the finger at.  That allows protesters to protest about.



I'm not going to say it or will I?  How many of the people feel who lose their jobs out of fear mongering and from people joining a cause that is not done in deep rooted knowledge or belief but because they like to fight for a cause.  


 
Yes, the protesters may sleep peacefully tonight at long last.  They won.  That is like it always is.  A contest between winning and losing.  






Unfortunately, the victims in this win are the ones who have been losing all along:  losing their jobs, losing money to buy food, losing the ability to keep their homes, losing income to celebrate the Holidays, unable to afford to contribute this year for great causes like homelessness, joblessness.  Finding themselves among those they helped such a short time ago.



Here is my real book review today on Good Reads: 








I read this book when it first came out, as a devotee of John Grisham's.  His writing resonated with me  by his realistic approach to storytelling:  "believability" in the way that the characters transcend from a character to a person, for that to happen is only possible when the reader is vested in the outcome.  



I apologize for not writing a review for John Grisham until now.  He certainly has earned it and deserves it even more.



Why?  If you have read thus far and care to ask?  I am a fan of John's stories because more often than not, I can relate to them.  They make me wonder who I know that this could happen to?  Would I feel the same if I read it in the news or a friend or associate told this to me as a story, as in realistic, true story!



But I am writing this today is because true to tradition, I have John Grisham's latest novel:  "The Whistler" on my bedside table, anxiously waiting for me, who is binge reading my latest book that I had started to read before buying the Hard Cover over a week ago.  



Even more compelling is the reason for this review. Filtering the noise on Twitter, sorting through the loyal followers from the mutual admiration society, I noticed the Trending Tweet about the kibosh of the Dakota Pipeline Access from protests.  That is why I read:  to escape those crazy tweets that may be shared because it seems like the hip thing to do;  to try to censor and stifle my own reaction and thoughts.



My fingers were twitching .... so I reached deep inside to find something positive to say; which sometimes is difficult to do.  I wanted to rant back and call some "ninkomphoffs" (whatever the right spelling is) as in a tactful way of trying to say, if you have an opinion, at least be informed.



To the haven of John Grisham and Good Reads to see if I'm missing any glorious reads, like "Girl in the Train" not being discovered with out the nice coaxing by Good Reads.  Happy to note that I was on the "train" before the curve catapulted from must read into a must see movie.  That's what sets me apart, perhaps.  I like to find a really undetected, undiscovered gem of an author or book and read it.  Where I am at fault, is not sharing an opinion about it.  I will try to change that.  In fact about 4 months ago I did create a blog, never actually writing yet, even so far as a Twitter handle because I don't want to have a blog name that is not affiliated with a Twitter handle:  big author social media tip::  when you create a title for a book, ensure that you can secure a Twitter HANDLE and create a name first.  Then it will be so much easier to create an online presence.  



So, to cut to the chase, before I dash out to finish this blog on http://ift.tt/2foMtQv as it may be helpful to write to help authors on their social media marketing efforts, then repost it on my The Publisher blog ..... before kickstarting my reading review Blog :: @readingaficionado 



Reading this book called Gray Mountain opened my eyes to the plight of a community impacted by chopping off the tops of mountains to access highly profitable fossil fuels that pad the wallets of greedy corporations (that are run by executives, not real people).  Without reading this book, I would not have the depth to grasp the other side of the story:  when greed surpasses humanity.



That, in a nutshell, is what this book does.  It makes you realize that harm is caused to innocent children who are born in unfortunate surroundings.  No different if you are in the middle of war-torn Syria, or in the vicinity of progress like we saw in Rio to allow Brazil to host the past Summer Olympics, or to those in the community where a pipeline chugs along or where one is trying to be made.  



It sure sounds like a fantastic plot that neither Grisham nor Baldacci can conjure without a piece of real life, real situations and characters imagined.