31 Scraps And A Couple More is about the perspective, the purpose, and the pursuit of life. From God Bless the Friends to Now … 33 Scraps span Childhood to Grandma, Deep Sadness to Extreme Joy. Oh yes, there are actually 33 Scraps… 31 plus 2 Bonus Scraps thrown in for good measure. It is always nice to receive a little extra. Yes? We might call this collection a hodge-podge of life observations, but it is more. It is more than some poems and some prose. Maybe this book could accurately be described as a purposeful gathering of choice breadcrumbs… jotted down over a lifetime. You and I both know - we ALL get lost from time to time. It is part of being A HUMAN. These are Notes to Self, penned to lead the way back. Picked from the multitude of papers stuck between pages of favorite books, notes placed at the back of dresser drawers, and scribblings on fast food napkins in the glove compartment of my car… this is a smattering of ‘helpers’ for when I am lost. Because? Because Lost is just another leg of the human journey, it happens. We need remedies… scraps of perspective… waypoints from which to view success, joy, loss, sorrow, and the bitter scourging by our adversaries. These are my remedies, locational markers, and my dropped pins. All are scrap evidence of a life lived, rather than a life spent. I hope it is true: Many people will find glimpses of themselves in these scraps. We are all running in the same human race. Life is about balance… I chose these scraps with intent, carefully. Some up, some down… balanced, as I am convinced ‘Life as a Whole’ is always in balance. We are the ones, however, who climb or are placed out on a limb and to the edge of things, and thus perceive imbalances. Yet, if we could step back far enough from ourselves, I believe we would see the Whole of Everything as a Masterpiece: A Mighty Work of Artistry by an Even Mightier Creator. And inspired from such, this book was born. Of the scraps gathered into this work, one is for my dear mother and one for my steady father. Some are friend-encouraged, while some are rival-inspired. As I have said, these were carefully chosen. Perhaps you will find a breadcrumb or two useful for you among them. Thank you for reading my first book of scraps. Pj Swink December 2015
