Talking About The Mocking Tree by Cam Rascoe, Spotlight Author - Inspirational Vids*

 I believe in HIM therefore, 

I believe in me. 

                                                      --Cam Rascoe

Kelly got somewhat homesick being so far away from most of her family for so long. She thought that she would add a little touch to their new house to make it feel a little more like home. Keith made all of the other decisions; she thought surely he would allow her to have this one little thing. “You know Keith I was thinking; since we haven’t put sod down yet maybe I could plant a flower garden on the small plot on the other side of the driveway.” He gave a skeptical look as she continued on.

“I miss my mama’s garden. I’m a little homesick and I wanted to have something here to make me feel a little more at home. You know I’ve got a green thumb and I’ll plant the most beautiful flowers…. Just like mama.” She looked off into the distance reminiscing on her youth and times spent in her mother’s beautiful garden. She was snapped from her fantasy by Keith’s harsh short tone. “I don’t think so.” “What, why, why can’t I plant a garden Keith.”

He didn’t have an answer as to why. It was just that it wasn’t his idea to have a garden so there would be no garden. He thought of a quick lie. “I planned on planting a tree in that lot. Our boy needs a tree to climb, not a garden of flowers to sniff.” She gave him a look of disappointment. He didn’t care. Keith continued on. “I know your mama had a garden at her house but this is our house not your mama’s. We are in a new home with new traditions and I’ll have the tree planted on Tuesday...”

We've all done it, haven't we? We form an opinion about somebody just by meeting them, seeing them, hearing them, or even by having somebody else tell us about them. Is it a natural event, or do we make a point of doing it? Some might say we are gossiping, some would call us bullies, others will say that he was such a nice guy, that we would never have thought he'd do something so...bad...

I met Cam on Facebook where I joined his group. I've watched many of his posts, not all, but sometimes they are funny, some may be a bit nasty(LOL), but all, in one way or another seem to be a bit of wisdom--something that we find we ponder, yet most of the time in just a few words, we have gained "a thought" for the day.

Cam just recently posted info on his books. First, I didn't know he was an author, so I was pleasantly surprised, and pleased. It's so nice to meet writers who have shared their words in books and, just as with his posts, in other ways... Even today, as I was beginning to talk about his book, which, I confess, I had to think about how to share... Mainly because it is a book of short stories. Which is not an easy type of book to review. If you talk about just one story, it is not comprehensive for the whole; but, it would be impossible to talk about each and every story. And, for Cam, he gives us many words from his creative mind to digest. 

And, so, I was even more amazed when I discovered that he has a series of short vids which are like a bit of sunshine--advice--or whatever topic he might have been "creatively" cogitating to cite! And he even gives each a title so if you have something you need advice on, you just might find one on his UTube site...

Now, his book... You know, I hate that Amazon does little to spotlight a book cover. In Kindle, it goes directly to begin reading, whereas when I read a book, I want to start with the cover and wonder what just might be covered. So, I'll give you a hint... Without thinking about the book title, you may not grasp the selection of stories therein...

Soooo, how does the vid about NCIS fit into this discussion. Well, I'm a fan, even though I was glad they took the early head slaps from Gibbs out... 

Well, after thinking about how to talk about an entire set of stories, I hit on the key word - Mocking or Mockery

Mockery or mocking is the act of insulting or making light of a person or other thing, sometimes merely by taunting, but often by making a caricature, purporting to engage in imitation in a way that highlights unflattering characteristics. Wikipedia

Frankly, about half way through, without the "title word" in mind, I was thinking just how many of these dark tales are there going to be? Well, it will be for the entire book. So be prepared. It was hard for me to read because, at first, I turned to the "old" warning, "Judge not, lest ye be judged..." But, then, I began to see something--for the world we are living in today, I found that we can no longer afford to allow bad action on the part of individuals... I kept thinking about how many of us these days are being forced to witness the evil, the bad actions, of so many people in our political world. 

Take for instance, the NCIS program. I'm a fan, even though I was sad to listen to the video, and still am not quite sure it is not just hype/PR... On the other hand, as we listen, we hear about the bad actions of the main character, Gibbs... And then proceed on from there... they place small spotlights on the actions of one individual in relation to another, don't they? On the outside, no viewers ever saw any of the friction... Perhaps Gibbs changed because of some criticism...or not...after all he is the star...

But really, is it any better to have the star--the leader--be the one who is doing the bad actions? I don't think so... And yet, we see many times, this is happening on a daily basis, perhaps, within your family, or your group of friends. Sometimes it might be so blatant that "everybody" see it... even at the highest level of the nation...

I admit that this is my opinion of our former president...but, then, many see him so differently... So, remember, when it is your own perspective as you read, you may find that you have no idea what is the problem presented in the story...In fact. each is written to keep you in suspense, even though Rascoe does sometime give the readers a "moral to the story..." ending...

It is clear that the writer is a people watcher...or has been able to be in so many different situations throughout his life that he has often seen, perhaps, that part of each of us that we would prefer not to be seen... That is, if we even realize how other people may see each other...

Reading the first story, about a wife who wanted to plant a garden, while the husband, who wants to control his new life, wants to plant a tree--a large tree... Well, this first story is sooo exaggerated that every reader will see that the new relationship was doomed...because of that tree. Or, speaking as the woman in the story, I kept wondering just how long she was willing to be controlled in such a way (yes, you can tell I'm single, and at my age, glad of it!) But, even then, it took years to evolve the entire result to the family... If you are intrigued by this first story, then, read on...but, beware, each story is so unique that you just may not actually see what is coming-- 

Cam is outrageous in his presentation, extraordinary in his ability to see what is actually happening in reality, even though he's not anything more than an observer. But, maybe, just maybe, he's been given a gift to see reality, and be able to talk about it to those who need to hear feedback, guidance and advice of what to do...before things have already gone too far... It takes someone who cares...yes, really cares about people, to try to help them see...their... faults... And, yes, we all have some, don't we?

Mock me, taunt me... I thought, I remember decades ago, when I was in the yard at my grandmother's house. One of my father's brothers was there with his family and my Mom was sitting with my grandmother and his family. Out of the blue, my Uncle Dale said, "Hey Fatty... (I didn't listen to what he said after that word).." I ignored him. He called again, and I ignored him. Finally, my mother said, "Glenda, your Uncle Dale is talking to you..." I turned to her and clearly said, "That is not my name..." and I walked around the house, leaving him... and the rest of the family... 

Isn't there an old saying about "not suffering fools..." 

You know, I will never forget that time, I must have been less than 10 years of age, but I was already attuned to how others related to me--or to other people... So, yes, I've been bullied, to some extent--but I never allowed the individual who was doing the bullying to "get through" to me... For whatever reason, God had already given me His love and it is strong... And I believe God also has given Cam a gift of seeing truth, reality...and the ability and willingness to speak out against those who seem to have no, or are unwilling to share sympathy or empathy...

But, I've already said it to him, I believe, God has given Cam the gift of wisdom--the wisdom to see and talk about issues more easily than most people are able to... BTW, you notice I haven't said anything more about the book... It is a book which requires readers to begin each story without knowing where it is going... You may think that he aims his stories toward men, but that will change in stories as you continue... I have to say that what he says about the women... well... some of you may recognize them, just like I did...

Gabbie's Thoughts: A couple of songs came to mind as I was reading the stories found in The Mocking Tree...  I figure you really need to hear something as little hints...and relevant to the stories you'll be reading... See if you can determine what the "theme" of the story might be from the chosen songs... It just might zap you with a - I've Got To Read That!

Take a close look at the cover of this vid...yep, you'll find some murder and mayhem and many of the stories are one-on-one between two individuals...

So what do you do if your spouse is cheating? Lots of options come to mind, don't they... You may be right at your first guess!

Are there other ways to make money and would you do them if you were too lazy to mine coal or other kinds of "labor"?

Did you notice that most of the songs I selected were from the Country Music genre... Wonder what that says? Yeah, they tend to put issues right out there for us to ponder...just like Cam's stories...

Seriously, that could be just because my memory is for mostly older songs... In any event, I wanted to say a little more given the theme of the first story, Retribution--Vengeance, Payback comes to mind... They are all words that are more and more in our lives these days. Violence has increased more in the last five years--Children are being killed in schools, worshipers are being killed in houses of worship, people are being murdered by corrupt cops...and prejudice and bias are emotions that have been stimulated and incited at the highest part of our government, with subsequent violent actions against people of other religions, races, and more... 

We need to start speaking out whenever lies are told, to bullies... and to all those who hate! Maybe Cam can help you think through what to do...in his stories--life lessons...

God Bless

Gabbie