Blessed are the Children - and the Parents!

I applaud each of my dear friends, family members, and colleagues who are so blessed as parents...those who have been blessed with children, whether through biological or adoptive means. I have yet to be as blessed and, and thought by now that I surely would be. 

It was long my dream to have my intended children be raised and grown with the children of my friends of my age...in order that we would have all "grown-up" together. But that has not been the case, and it was simply just not yet meant to be. That particular time-doorway has closed.

Instead, over the years, my "children" have materialized in the form of my books, and my work, as I focused on my career. While, too, my "children" were for a good many years, my parents, for whom in many ways, I placed my life on hold, while I cared for them in their elder years. The parents became the children, and the child became the parent. And I do not regret one single moment in doing so, because I loved my parents on Earth, and very much love them still to this day while they rejoice in Heaven. 

But one day, I turned around, and there I was...a 55-year-old man, with a child's heart, and so much to give, and yet, fatherhood, in it's truest sense, has thus far alluded me. 

Sometimes, for those of us in the arts, who are not born into wealth, or such stable heritage, sometimes for those such individuals, the securities of this world, or at least what the people of this world recognize as stable, it take a little longer. 

So, while my dream of raising children with my same-age friends as they raise their children has passed, a new day is dawning. The success and financial stability that many of my friends had experienced in our twenties and thirties, I am just now beginning to experience. 

So, we shall see what tomorrow will bring. A new life? A new love? Indeed, a new child after all, for the man with the child's heart, and finally, the adult life? We shall see. We shall see.

In the meantime, I'm sending blessings and joy to all and each of you who are already so blessed as parents of loving-kind children of your own. 

How truly, truly blessed you all are indeed.

I'M WALKING AS STRAIGHT AS I CAN by Geri Jewell is a Gem!

Honest.  Poignant.  Funny.  Challenged.  Victorious.  Inspirational.

Those are just a few words to help describe I'M WALKING AS STRAIGHT AS I CAN: TRANSCENDING DISABILITY IN HOLLYWOOD AND BEYOND by Geri Jewell.

The iconic actress and comedian is best known for her ground-breaking role as Geri Warner on the classic TV series, The Facts of Life, which originally aired on NBC from 1979 to 1988.

I'M WALKING AS STRAIGHT AS I CAN is the astounding account of her life and career before, during and after her monumental performance on Facts which, because of Jewell, became the first weekly series to feature a character with visible disability that was actually played by an actor with a visible disability.

Jewell was born with Cerebral Palsy, but her physical struggles have ever since been outnumbered by her triumphs and relentless uplifting spirit and personality, combined with an unstoppable creative mind, wit and intelligence.

Jewell's optimum writing style, coupled with her keen sense of observation and humor, allows the reader to become so movingly involved with her personal and professional best (and worst!) in the most captivating of ways.  She pulls no punches in revealing the challenges she's faced, off screen and on, but after reading her story, one is left with meeting, understanding, attaining, and knowing a new best friend - and a lot more insight into how to live fully, minus any inordinate amount of self-pity or jubilation.

Instead, Jewell delivers with distinction and resolve the perfect balance of how to function, in life life, and in business.

Despite the physical challenges...the emotional and psychological abuse...the insurmountable losses, and the nightmares of every fold, Jewell instead mustered the courage, at times by way of sheer will, to focus instead on the replenished gains and her dreams, even and particularly on the days after her worst nightmares.

In short, I'M WALKING AS STRAIGHT AS I CAN is just about as good as it gets in any literate category.  A Five-Star rating for a truly super star's way of living.

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Click below to order: I'M WALKING AS STRAIGHT AS I CAN: TRANSCENDING DISABILITY IN HOLLYWOOD AND BEYOND by Geri Jewell.

http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Straight-Can-Transcending-Disability/dp/1550228838/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1462356307&sr=1-1&keywords=i%27m+walking+as+straight+as+i+can