For Father's Day

The uphill battle to be a decent dad is largely what my debut novel is about.  And it's a prominent theme of my second one as well. If you're lucky enough to have a good father, or perhaps like myself are blessed to have a great one, I know he'll appreciate a bit of recognition on the third Sunday of June (or any other day of the year).  If you're trying to be the best father you can be, such as I am (photo of me and my little angel appears here), then you know it's hard work and the very best job there is.  I did my best to capture the majesty of fatherhood via pictures I found for this post.  Pretty sure I found one or two that will make some of you smile.

Everyday is Father's Day 🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/0Hh6wq4zXs

— WS (@wesleysnipes) January 5, 2018

Stuck on what to get your dad for Father's Day?  He can always use more pairs of socks, but you can probably do better than that.  How about a good book?  Patches of Grey, perhaps?  Matters of Convenience, maybe. Or go nuts and double up!



Patches Of Grey by Roy L. Pickering Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Pickering's style is fluid and crisp. There's a certain clarity to the prose that's considered and well judged - just enough to paint the picture and more than enough to drive along the narrative." - Khome (UnheardWords.com)

Named a 2012 B.R.A.G. Medallion™ Honoree

Synopsis: Tony Johnson is a studious young man planning to soon graduate from much more than high school. Although his zip code places him in a Bronx tenement pre "rise of Obama", his sights are set far beyond the trappings of his humble upbringing. Collegiate dreams and falling in love with a white classmate put him strongly at odds with his father. His brother C.J.'s rebellious ways endanger his life on gang ruled streets and the chastity of their sister Tanya is clearly approaching its demise. But it is Tony who incurs the majority of Lionel Johnson's wrath for the sins of ambition, exhibiting color blind love by daring to be with Janet Mitchell, and refusing to bend to his father's will. Seeing unrealized goals reincarnated in the eyes of his eldest son harshly remind Lionel of what once could have been, and of what went wrong. His own childhood in a segregated southern town established a bitter, prejudiced outlook that is the only legacy he has to pass down to his children. When his job and role as primary breadwinner are lost, Lionel's authority quickly erodes and he drowns his disappointment one drink at a time. This affords Tony, who lacks the seemingly servile patience of his mother, an opportunity to assert independence rather than allowing his fate to be set by chance and circumstance. But throughout the course of Roy Pickering's engrossing debut novel, Tony comes to learn that the world is not as black and white as he and his father's opposing mindsets would suggest.

Available in print at Amazon: http://amzn.to/dAcK4j

And Kindle edition: http://tinyurl.com/ydoamc3

At Mahogany Books: http://bit.ly/fbUVcM

At Independent Author Index: http://indaindex.com/patches-of-grey-...

Or direct from the author, at a discount rate if multiple copies are being purchased for a book club, at http://www.roypickering.net


FaceBook page: http://on.fb.me/eJphth


Top Ten Quotes from Patches of Grey - http://www.quotationsdiary.com/indie-...


Review by RawSistaz Reviewers - http://ow.ly/15Umwx


Review at AlvahsBooks.com by Randall Radic - http://www.alvahsbooks.com/?p=417


Review by five bourough book review - http://fiveboroughbooks.blogspot.com/...

Review by Good Books and Wine - http://bit.ly/eOTF4Y


Review by John Paterson:

Patches of Grey is a story in the tradition of the “coming of age” literature (think SE Hinton, or Catcher in the Rye) in an urban African American setting. Roy Pickering captures the angst of boys becoming men with the added complexity of race permeating events and the environment.

The author does a remarkable job illustrating the internal dialogue and conflict all teenagers face as they struggle for identity, but from the perspective of a young black man. The gift is his ability to translate this conversation to a wider audience, to identify both common ground (girls, fathers, social strata) and also present differences that make one appreciate how race, culture, and familial relationships are perceived differently in different groups: e.g., the conflict between being “all you can be,” and being loyal to the group.

The domestic violence was jarring, as was the relativity. Things weren’t “good” or “bad,” but “better than” or “worse than.” Is having an abusive father/husband (who cares for his family) better than having no father around at all? At least he’s not as bad as . . .

It’s a world in which nothing is taken for granted, and nobody can really afford to be easy going. Seeming cool even carries a certain intense, deliberate and intentional quality. There is love, but very little is given – at home or to others -- freely, generously, or without conditions. It’s a lot of work, with a lot of stress hanging in the general atmosphere.

On the other hand, there is a core element of pride, strength, survival – and dare I say – hope and change to the story. Nobody is a naïve fool, or sucker. They are smart and strong characters who may not have started with a lot of advantages, but can take anything. There is “something” in them that will live on forever no matter what changes.

I agree with others who’ve said this should be on the Junior High/High School reading list. (May have to edit some parts?) I think it could be so meaningful, and even change lives, with young readers at that point.

In reading the book I found myself thinking that I really hope the author has son(s), coaches, mentors, and/or is in big brother program. It would be great for the world.
* * *

In addition to Patches of Grey, Roy Pickering is the author of the novella - Feeding the Squirrels
http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_fee...

Currently Roy is at work on a second novel, Matters of Convenience, from which an excerpt can be found at his blog: http://lineaday.blogspot.com/2009/04/...

View all my reviews

Hashtag

I try to judge people (since we absolutely must judge others, right?) based on what they do rather than what they say in a handful of characters, and certainly not based on what they hashtag.  You say you're a civil rights activist...a feminist...a humanitarian (seems like that last one should incorporate the first two, no?), I say cool.  But the proof is in the pudding.  Your actions will prove or disprove it, and they will indicate the things that you are for to a greater extent than telling me what you're against.  I'll instinctively assume you're against civil wrongs, misogyny and space alien invasion.

But since I spend FAR TOO MUCH time on Twitter, activism by hashtag is what I see plenty of these days.  I'm not against the principle exactly.  For the most part it does no harm even if often does no tangible good either.  A hashtag can raise awareness of a cause.  Fine, we're aware, what now?  I ask only two things of a hashtag to consider it constructive. 1) That it not be created to blanket insult a broad group of people which includes many individuals undeserving of the insult. 2) That the name of it accurately conveys the message.  Be specific. If you want to create a hashtag about basketball don't name it #sports #sportsinvolvingaball #thingsthatmakeyousweat.  Call it #basketball.

Recently a hashtag that caught on like wildfire was #YesAllWomen.  As this article neatly summarizes, the hashtag’s purpose was to "raise awareness of the effect of misogyny and sexism in the daily life of women". So far so good.  The article goes on to shoot down any complaints men might opt to voice about the hashtag.  It lists some reasonable complaints, some less reasonable ones, and a handful of ridiculous explanations for why men might be troubled by the tone of the more outlandish proclamations.  The goofy ones are good for a laugh but not in need of addressing. But is it fair to say that a man who walks the walk of feminism by being a good husband/father/colleague/person who is a respectful friend to women, nevertheless does not qualify as an ally to the cause because he thinks many of the statements made within the #YesAllWomen hashtag go too far and paint with too broad a stroke?

Not long ago a discussion broke out on Twitter about what women happened to be wearing when they were sexually assaulted.  It was a powerful social media moment, I thought.  A hashtag was probably used for it, though I don't recall what it was.  What I do remember is the point explicitly made that rape has nothing to do with how provocatively the victim was dressed or behaving.  The only requirements for a rape to take place are the presence of a rapist and a victim.  What beyond that causes rape?  I honestly don't know. I only know that rape isn't something men do.  It's something rapists do.  There is a world of difference between the two.  I found the discussion that evening to be an effective use of social media to confront ugly truths, even it if did devolve a bit towards the end with arguments breaking out over which journalists remarked on the group conversation properly and which did not.  No reasonable person felt insulted by the exchange.  Anybody who disagreed with the central argument and believes that certain outfits cause and justify rape is a monster best to be avoided.  The stories told that night were heart breaking and eye opening.

On the other hand, when awareness raising results in people cyber yelling at each other, all sides claiming to have been misunderstood, then I'm less inclined to declare that it was a complete success.  If you need to continually clarify what your point was, repeatedly explain what it is you didn't mean because you sure as hell seem to have implied it, then in my opinion a teachable moment has gone awry.  I don't believe the purpose of #YesAllWomen is to alienate those men about whom the complaints are not applicable and in whose direction the bile is not pointed. I get that #AllMen are not the target of ire.  Still, a fair number of men (such as this one who I believe makes several valid points despite a rather weak door opening anecdote) felt that they were unfairly hit in the crossfire.  They weren't looking for credit or acknowledgment as "nice guys".  They weren't asking for a trophy because they don't habitually view and treat women like pieces of meat.  They (and I include myself among them) simply felt that things had gotten out of hand and rather than being instructive and cathartic, the hashtag had become a runaway ball of negativity that didn't care who it ran over.  "Watch out grandpa!!!"  If a substantial number of people feel a hashtag went overboard, perhaps this is something to respectfully contemplate rather than being dismissive.  When I see someone comfortable with being insulted I wonder about their motivation.  Does he not want to make trouble by standing up for himself, or is his silence admission of a guilty conscience?

It ultimately comes down to the individuals jumping on board a movement rather than the hashtag itself. For any given tag there are those with legitimate commentary to share and those who see it as an opportunity to randomly bash based on gender/race/whatever. It's hard to filter one group out from the other when they are lumped together. But for good and not so good, that's precisely what a hashtag does.  That is the very intent.  A hashtag mashes voices together, makes no distinctions between the articulate and the incomprehensible, the compassionate and the bitterly furious, the fair minded and the stereotype promoters, the well meaning teachers and the blindly hurtful. There is no fix for this that I can think of other than what I started out with.  Judge individuals on a case by case basis.  Distinguish between those you loathe and those you love.  Even in the social media era, at root I believe most of us want to like each other.  I believe we can play nicely, and when a topic of disagreement is landed upon, manage to disagree in an agreeable manner. We can speak the truth without resorting to general slander.

I agree with this article that #YesAllWomen matters, just as I feel #BringBackOurGirls matters, and other movements carried out online as well. That doesn't mean everyone is deploying #YesAllWomen correctly and effectively, or that those who have something to say to the contrary don't deserve to be heard.  No conversation can take place when we tune each other out, nothing new can be learned.

Bottom line: If a man insults or degrades you, he isn't worthy of your respect. On the other hand, if a man feels insulted or degraded by you because you lumped him in with rapists and street harassers and guys with the bare minimum of home training, maybe he has earned the right by a lifetime of respectful attitude and actions to feel offended.  He'll probably get over it though, just in time for the next hashtag to drop.