Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Just Smile! Go on, do it now.

Smile, because if you do, they will.
Smile, because the sun’s shining.
Smile at that kid who looks sad---watch their face!
Smile, even when your boss doesn’t—they got their own shite to deal with!
Smile at the teenagers approaching you looking like they’re gonna rob you; they won’t!
Smile at your kids before you tell them they have done something wrong yet again---then maybe you won’t have to.
Smile for absolutely no reason at all. You will feel better for it.
Smile, because Mrs Brown fecken well said so!
NOW SMILE AGAIN AND TOO BAD IF THAT MEANS PEOPLE THINK YOU’RE NUTS!

JUST SMILE!

Now that's a great book review for 'Roskill.'

I have been hoping for some book reviews for my books for ages. It seems that these are hard to come by. OK, here’s one, in a funny sort of way that really had me laughing.
One of our students at school (a 15 year old was reading a book in his maths class. His head was down and he was most definitely not doing his maths. His teacher noticed his ‘inattention’ to her teaching and approached him. He didn’t notice her until she pounced on him. She was about to let him know offended she was that he should be ignoring her. It was then that she saw the title of the book.
‘Oh,’ she said. You’re reading Mr Coleman’s book. The class laughed and she let him have the book back at the end of the period. All was forgiven and hopefully he is continuing to read the book at more appropriate times. I think he is relating to one of the characters.
Good one my loyal reader!

'P' (Methamphetamine) is alive and well amongst us!

I know, that is a terrible headline, but read on and then you may forgive me. ‘P’ which goes by various names around the world, is a scourge on society. It is pushed by an ‘underworld,’ that often poses as being part of ‘respectable’ society. The links between the majority ‘mainstream’ and the underworld that controls the distribution of this destroyer of families, businesses, relationships and individual lives are deep and play out right under our noses.
There have been many high profile arrests which serve to point out that those making the money and acting as distributors are often people we know. We are regularly surprised when their faces appear on TV or in the newspapers. They may not have affected our lives, unless we fell under their spells, but we can be sure that their actions had ramifications for far more than the people close to them.
Think of the families who will suffer, either by their use of the illicit drug, or the places of work, where these ‘suppliers and users may have held top positions and once caught, the casualties mount as businesses go under and employees lose their jobs.
The violence in the underworld is best illustrated by the fact that they Real Estate agent who was arrested in the last week or so, had in his possession a pistol. What does that tell you? Violence, death and ‘payback’ are rife in this underworld.
However, there are signs of hope around the issue of ‘P’ use. It seems that it is not quite so prevalent in the last year or so. This is either a ‘blip’ on the radar screen or it is an indicator that the police are getting a handle on the problem.
Having said that though, don’t be surprised if another ‘drug of choice,’ equally, if not more dangerous will take the place of ‘P.’ I don’t mean the ‘synthetic cannabis options; it is more than likely that another copycat version of ‘P’ will hit the scene. Time will tell.
We all need to be vigilant, especially those of us who work in schools. After all, it is the kids who suffer along with the other silent victims of all of these nasty products. The underworld that feeds into the desire to partake in substance/drug abuse will always be there. That in itself is reason enough to keep police funding and public education at high levels.
I wrote ‘Roskill,’ to illustrate the effects on a family, when a father comes under the ‘control’ of ‘P.’ I wrote it primarily for teenagers and their families. It is available from my website or directly through my email.
Get a copy now----for Xmas.