A Day of Remembrance

Today many in the U.S. celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by attending various events or by offering a service to their communities. What a fitting tribute to a man who died in service to others - to give of oneself for the betterment of others.

I unfortunately took today to reflect on myself and try to get my "house" in order so that I might be a better servant. This year I have started a new practice of choosing a single word to lead my life. This started as a plan to infuse some life into my creative endeavors and my work on "Plan B" but is involving into a life plan.

A day of remembrance and reflection in front of the fire.

The warm glow of a fire.

My chosen word is focus and according to Merriam-Webster this is what it means:

fo·cused also fo·cussed fo·cus·ing also fo·cus·singDefinition of FOCUS
transitive verb
1a : to bring into focusb : to adjust the focus of (as the eye or a lens)
2: to cause to be concentrated <focused their attention on the most urgent problems>
3: to bring (as light rays) to a focus : concentrate
intransitive verb
1: to come to a focus : converge
2: to adjust one's eye or a camera to a particular range
3: to concentrate attention or effort
— fo·cus·able adjective
— fo·cus·er noun
 See focus defined for English-language learners »
Examples of FOCUS

1. She has an amazing ability to focus for hours at a time.

1. I wasn't able to focus the camera.

1. I wasn't able to get the camera to focus.

First Known Use of FOCUS
1775
Related to FOCUS
Synonyms: center, fasten, concentrate, rivet, train

As I take my journey with this word I will use it as an intransitive verb, most specifically it is my goal this year to concentrate attention or effort on being a better me in 2012. This means in a nutshell that I plan to look inside and make the changes I need in order to have a positive effect on my personal, professional and creative lives. 

So today I worked on my plans for improvement this year, because Dr. King had a dream that he worked hard for and gave the ultimate sacrifice for; therefore it is only fitting that I work hard on my dreams while remembering him. 

Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr. - A Review

Before starting this review I must first say I will try to limit any spoilers. It is not my intent to give away the story, but I will probably offer more detail than I have in other reviews. So consider yourself warned.

We've all heard the old adage "like father like son" and at first glimpse that seems to be the message in "Before I Forget" by Leonard Pitts, Jr. Pitts uses different points of view to tell the story of the three James Moses Johnsons, each dealing with his own dilemma and less than perfect father-son relationship.

We start out with the "junior" of the bunch, Mo Johnson, an aging 70's soul singer who is confronted with a medical condition that forces him to re-evaluate his life. If this was not enough to deal with, Mo learns five days later that his 19 year-old son Trey, is in trouble with the law. While not estranged from young Trey, Mo has not been the model father or a regular presence in the young man's life. As if all of this drama was not enough, Mo also learns that his estranged father, Jack, is also suffering from a serious medical condition.

All of this conflict happens within the first 75 pages of "Before I Forget" which definitely piques the interest of the reader and will keep you reading. Set between Baltimore and Los Angeles, the remaining 280 or so pages takes Mo and Trey on a cross country drive and a better understanding of one another. Along the way an old would is healed, but the story does not end there.

To offer depth to this story, Pitts introduces secondary characters and story lines that instead of taking away from the story had flavor, and substance. The underlying story of absentee fathers was presented in a light that is rarely seen - the father's perspective. Although the reasons noted are not all forgiving, you are at least given a glimpse into the inner workings of some young fathers.

"Before I Forget" is a well written story with a number of intermingled story lines that work very well together. I really enjoyed the character development and the realism exhibited in this work. I would highly recommend this book.