Looking back—looking forward

This is my final Sunday Scam Tip post of the year. For this last post, I wanted to focus on a picture far larger than a single scam. I was fortunate as a child because my parents knew how to live life. Perhaps the dedication in “Photo Finish” is a good place to start.

To Mom and Dad, who taught me three lessons to carry me through life.

• Wear a smile instead of a frown.
• A kind word gets a much better result than an unkind word.
• Do what you say you’re going to do.

While I don’t always practice these lessons, I’d like to think that I work on them all the time.

For those who have been the victim or target of a scam, it can be hard to maintain a positive attitude or to be kind. When my identity was stolen, I naturally felt anger and hurt. There were all of the emotions McKenna feels in the opening chapters of “Kauai Temptations.” I wanted to go after the crooks and get justice—maybe even revenge.

I could have let the man who stole my identity rule my life by dwelling on what he had done. It’s an easy trap to fall into for victims—blame the other guy. I certainly did some of that, but finally was able to practice lesson three and turn the experience into something positive—a short story that later led to a novel.

As we look forward to a new year, I hope you never become the victim of a scam. If you do, however, perhaps you can eventually draw on these lessons. They’ve served me well. If they help a few others, I’ll consider this a very good new year.