A Little Perspective

As I go through the blogs of yore I find stories that I’m glad I wrote. They dial me into the moment like a tuner on a radio, giving me clarity to memories I thought I left behind. Below is one of those memories.

What was going on

On Saturday Dave and I were in Saskatoon for a book signing at Chapters Indigo. Anna, Dave’s daughter (my niece) came along as our publicist. The signing went well. We sold books. I learned how to do a Facebook live stream,
which was fun. We met people. And I had a learning moment caused by a passerby.

Here’s what happened

Dave engaged in a conversation with a couple who were holding a board game he recognized. The conversation shifted to the Shepherd and Wolfe books. Our pitch goes like this: The books are about two teenage boys who chase serial killers. It’s simple, precise and accurate. The man liked the idea and wanted to buy a book for his grand daughter. The woman would not have it. Her words were “the world is ugly enough, I don’t want to get that for
my 13, and 16 year old grand daughters.” The couple got into a bit of a debate in front of us. It was awkward.

My reaction

My knee jerk reaction was to defend the stories. I didn’t of course. I smiled. Told the lady about the parent/teacher guide on our website for and let the passerby-not-even-close-to-almost-customers carry on but I did consider what she said.

Yes. We have adult content. And yes, I also understand sometimes the world can be an ugly place. The wheels in my brain got turning. I concluded that even though world can be an ugly place and sometimes bad things do happen it’s not all bad. There are seven billion people on the planet yet we hear, what? A dozen news stories about 100 people? 1000 people? Even 10,000 people and the other six billion nine hundred ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand are generally okay, living their lives hurting no one, and perhaps helping someone. I may be misguided but if I am, I’m okay with that.

So is the metaphorical glass, half full, half empty or all full of water and air? I guess it’s about perspective.
That woman who slowed down at our book signing—let me just say it, we’d never be friends. We don’t see the world in the same way. The Shepherd and Wolfe series is a murder mystery series but in dark situations there are two young adults who try to do what they can to shed some light on that darkness. Charlie and Tony are heroes and always do their best to do good. They don’t think the world is an ugly place even though they have come face to face with some really bad stuff. They proceed into pretty sketchy territory with optimism and hope, wanting to find truths.

So thanks lady for crossing my path and getting me thinking, making me hit my pause button and giving me the opportunity to assure myself that when it comes to these stories I have no regrets.

*^{Parts previously written April 14th, 2017}