2020 Silver Linings? Absolutely.
For Better or Worse, 2020 Changed Us. Here Are 12 Authors and 46 Contributors Who Say the Changes Were For the Better. Eventually.
No longer having carpet in your bathroom. Losing a job, finding a calling. Listening to elk bugle. Planting a garden. Discovering dyslexia in a child. Moving out of your in-laws’ house. Game nights with married children. Rest and nature walks. Unexpected time with grandmother. Teaching kids to fish and not to panic. Zoom, for visiting, schooling, worshiping, celebrating, working.
These are victories under any circumstances, but especially so under the murky, heavy clouds that 2020 forced on us. Here is proof that hope illuminated the darkness of even our worst days, in public, in the privacy of our homes, enough that we could see what mattered most, and still strive for it.
Circumstances forced us to slow down and observe, to question or strengthen our beliefs, to enrich or diminish our relationships, to search and discover our own souls in the midst of societal upheaval.
Here are a dozen authors, experts and professionals in their fields, but not a household name among them. Here are 46 noncelebrities who somehow summarized their 2020 silver linings in 60 words or less. These are real people, real heroes in real life, who understand, first hand, that “adversity is the abrasive that gives the sharp edge to courage.”
These are genuine, simple, substantial stories of courage in the face of profound, crushing darkness, ordinary men and women who responded with extraordinary mettle, faith, service, and good cheer, despite the odds, despite their fears, in their ongoing quest for deliverance, for mastering whatever the new normal turns out to be.
Audio of Three Hands is a Fun Ride
Actor/Voice Artist/Narrator Marlin May Delivers Funny, Lively, Way Cool Interpretation of Three Hands
This is what I told Marlin:
Seriously, Marlin, you have done an outstanding job, very, very good. I love the character voices, a most pleasant surprise. Your expression of humor, or your interpretation of my humor, is spot on, exactly as I would do it were I telling these stories out loud. Your pacing is exactly right, and your delivery is lively, personal, sincere, open, inviting. It was extremely easy to listen to and I found myself absorbed in it, absorbed by it, wondering what would come next. I laughed out loud at least a dozen times, and I know the jokes. I know all the bits, but you bring them to life in a way that is above and beyond the words. Your work is a triumph in every way.
This is what I posted on Facebook:
Of the 450 or so Audible books I own, this is without question one of the top five narrations. That alone is worth the price of the book, and the book ain't bad, especially if you like wild adventure stories. I highly recommend both. This audiobook comes with a guarantee: if you don't like it, I'LL listen to it.
You need a first-class narrator? Find Marlin at marlinmay.com. You want to listen to a first-class narrator, Marlin has close to 100 books on Audible. Look him up.
It's a worthy cause. Donate if you can. Thanks.
https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/JohnGratton
Look Ma, Three Hands
And Four Years With No Car
Bike Riding in Traffic and Other Enduring Mysteries
People yell, honk, throw things, even bark and howl at me, just because I ride a bike in traffic. I understand their frustration. I used to be one of those miserable car drivers, too, and there are few things worse.
The three times I’ve driven in the last four years have confirmed that going bike only was the right decision, a physically and emotionally satisfying experience. Except for suicidal chipmunks, bloody, rib-breaking crashes, and all the women running after me to high-five my helmet, my 18,000 miles on the bike have been good. I have one of the best farmer’s tans in the country, my legs are like rocks, plus, my annual transportation costs average just $280.
Here are some of those stories, outlined by the 2020 Trek Century Challenge, a 31-day, 715-mile ride filled with adventure and wonder, plus tales of bike rides long ago. Most of them are funny, except for the sad ones, and the few that I can’t decide are which. Also, there’s no poetry. Find it here on Amazon.
Edited by WordEthic
HUSTLE Then REPEAT
by Mike Bowman
Real estate professional Mike Bowman offers six success principles that apply to any business idea or temporal success you desire:
Hungry
Unthinkable
Suck up
Time
Limitless
Efficient
More important than any one of those principles is, simply, to Repeat.
Even more important, the editing is outstanding. Ha ha.
Buy a Kindle version at Amazon HERE.
Buy the paperback at Book Patch HERE.
UNTIL Available Through Audible
Read My Newest Book
All Cent Deux Books are short and cheap and wildly good for you.
The e-book is $1.02 because Cent Deux Books are just that much better than $.99 books, and that's a fact.
The paperback is just $5.99, so you may want to get them both.
Available Through WordEthic Books
 Never Iron Your Shirt Surprising Secrets to Being a Super Sales Professional, Just Like Me |  Quotidian the Llama Volume 1: The Excellent Thoughts of Others |  The VICE Quad Volume 1 Virtue. Integrity. Character. Ethics. |
|---|---|---|
 The VICE Quad Volume 2 Values. Integrity. Character. Ethics. Part 2. |  Quotidian the Llama Volume 2 The Stupid Things People Say |  Seven Summers 1967 - 1973 |
 I Have No Accordian A Mishmash Memoir of Life Sometimes Gone Askew |  The Creek Was Our Bathtub The Story of Ormal Creach |  UNTIL Or why spend 10,000 hours with a comatose man |
 My First $360,000 Mistake How Goofing Off in High School Ruled My Life |  Angels and Guardrails Book One of the Still Small Voice Trilogy |  Church Face Book Two of the Still Small Voice Trilogy |
 Testimony Book Three of the Still Small Voice Trilogy |  Look Ma, Three Hands and Four Years With No Car |  2020 Silver Linings: Brighter Than It Seemed |
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