One of the first things I did when I started to make some real money as an author was to look for a place to give some of it away. Back in 2017 I picked a local Veterans Center out of the phone book based on proximity more than anything else. Turns out, it’s a gathering place for mostly Vietnam Vets dealing with PTSD and such.
And I quickly learned that to throw a party involved a lot of red tape. Unless… someone just stepped up and bought all the food and brought it with her in the back of her SUV.
I also started giving away a Kindle a month – first question all the Vets asked me was, “What’s a Kindle?” My original thought was to do it till the end of the year. Here we are four years later, and still giving away Kindles.
Today, we finally got to have another rousing party and it was a blast. Lots of stories about tours of duty in Vietnam (with lots of eye rolls from patient wives) and sharing space together again.
As much fun as writing is for me – and it’s a blast – giving to others just because is just as much, and it reminds me that we receive the good in our lives with open hands and send some along the way with the same gesture.
Happy 4th of July everyone! (the photo of the group in the waiting area are all the early birds who got there waaaay ahead of schedule.)
