360 Degrees of life in America

“Three-Hundred-Sixty Degrees of Life in America,” is a book of statements, ideas, thoughts, maxims, and affirmations. The author has traced his growth and development through his experiences from a rural farm in East Texas, through college, to the military (in the military he spent time in Orlando, Florida; Great Lakes, Illinois; and Chelsea, Massachusetts), back to Houston to graduate school, and finally settling in a South Suburb of Chicago. The author has collected these ideas from his collective consciousness. He remembers hearing some of them from his family members, teachers, relatives, significant others, ministers, as well as people on the street. But most of them came from his cerebral consciousness. The author suggests that life in America is 360 degrees rather than being acute or one dimensional. It consists of many ups and downs, ins and outs, and many turnarounds. Life is never as narrow or as limited as some people might think. The author has gone back to collect his thoughts and the insights he has gained from these experiences through childhood to the ripe-old age of seventy-seven. By reconsidering these thoughts, he has gained a better understanding and perception of his own situation. He tries to convey how his experiences have benefited him and allows him to write this book. The author has always had an exceptional long-term memory for the things he sees and hears. Collecting these sayings is but one example of this memory. He sat down and wrote whatever came to mind. As he stated in his last book of sayings, once again, he wrote until he exhausted his repertoire of sayings. The author has gotten used to using a process he calls brainstorming, where he sits down and forces his mind to recall significant statements and ideas collected in his memory. The statements he makes in this book are some truths he has come to realize over the years. He wouldn’t make a statement if he didn’t believe it to be true. Some of these statements are simple and obvious but good to think about and ponder. What he says in these statements is simply his honest opinion. These ideas are mostly original. Some of them may not be original, but he has at least combined them in his own way to achieve his purpose. In some situations, he has rewritten sayings to meet his own needs. He never sought out any other written sources. The author has tried not to repeat any of the sayings in this book that he has used in other books, but he is going strictly from memory, and hopes his memory serves him well. He had a difficult time remembering what he had previously written. These sayings would often fade away from his memory like ice cubes in a hot frying pan. It was hard to keep up with them. He would get an idea but lose it quickly. As soon as he thought of these sayings, he had to hurriedly write them down. After all, he is a seventy-seven-year-old man. He also hopes he didn’t repeat any of the sayings several times as he moved through the various sections in this book. Even if he did repeat some of the statements, they are worthy of being repeated. It was inevitable to repeat some of these common sayings. He tried to limit the number of common sayings. If there is any similarity in thoughts to other ideas, it is because he had the same idea as someone else. The sayings that are questionably his are the ones that are so common they cannot be attributed to any source, but simply have been handed down to us through lore and folklore. Some of these sayings may seem mundane, but most of them are profound in some ways. His thoughts are all profound to him because he has lived them. You will find them stimulating, exhilarating, and mesmerizing. He finds it relaxing to express himself in this way. In the section on religion: you might think he is confused. But he draws a distinction between the God of the Bible, which was given to us by the slave master, and an Almighty God that has nothing to do with the Bible. This Almighty God and the Balance in the Universe are synonymous. Check out this and other of his books @ www.willisjay.com, by Jay Thomas Willis. Jay Thomas Willis Richton Park, Illinois