Happy New Year 2016!
Welcome to our new, streamlined, smartphone-friendly monthly e-newsletter. our message brief, friendly, and to the point. We are entering our 16th year of our e-Newsletter and currently have 2,500 subscribers. Thanks you for your interest and Happy New Year!
If you or a loved one is looking to make positive changes in the new year, please consider contacting us at 248-358-8508 for a free consultation. It might be the best call you’ve made in a while.
UPCOMING SEMINARS. WORKSHOPS. and ITEMS of INTEREST
Thursday January 14, 2016–Mr. Shulman presents on understanding and treating hoarding disorder at The Northville, Ml Public Library 7-8:30pm. Free.
Friday January 22, 2016 –Mr. Shulman presents a 4.5-hour seminar on compulsive stealing (shoplifting/employee theft) and compulsive shopping/spending. $70 (includes lunch) at Jewish Family Services in W. Bloomfield, Ml. 10am – 3pm 4.5 CEUs) Must register. Contact www.coreleaminginc.com
Friday February 19, 2016–Mr. Shulman presents a 6-hour seminar on ethics (Part 1: How we develop our own ethics and how we teach-or don’t teach-our children; and Part 2: Understanding ethics and ethical dilemmas as social workers). $95 (includes lunch) at Jewish Family Services in W. Bloomfield, Ml. 9am – 3:30pm 6 CEUs) Must register. Contact: www.coreleaminginc.com
Monthly Articles of Interest
The Power of New Years Resolutions
Happy 2016!
Felons Hired. Given a 2nd Chance to Work
Ban The Box
What Goes on In the Brains of Shopping Addicts?
A 5-Minute Video
Got Debt? Your Mental Health Could Be at Risk
Til Debt Do We Part
Priest Sentenced to 27 Months for Embezzling from His Church
it Was My Destiny
The Quiet Power of Meditation
An 8-Minute Video
THIS MONTH’S MAIN ARTICLE
Life is Short! A Memorial To My Godson
Marcus “Frankie” Cook
(0985 – 2015)
Fifteen years ago, in February 2001, my wife and I signed up to volunteer as teen mentors through Renaissance Unity Church in Warren, Michigan. We were matched with a 15-year old young man, Frankie, and his 16-year old sister, Chrissy. Tina mentored Chrissy for a year. Frankie andl bonded and Tina had an immediate connection with him, too.
After Terry’s two-year mentoring commitment ended-and Frankie was 18-we continued to get together with him regularly and also stayed in touch by phone. Frankie was one of those rare souls who was open to new ideas, new people, and new experiences. We had the privilege of introducing him to many of our friends and everyone who met him seemed to sense the same thing.
Frankie was the middle child of 7 kids. His father was an alcoholic and drug addict and rarely was around. Frankie’s family was extremely impoverished. His mother was kind but stern. Frankie seemed to carry the burden of responsibility for looking out for his younger siblings. He was struggling in high school so his Mom had the good sense to send him to the Michigan Youth Academy in Battle Creek, Michigan when he was 18. It was a military-type high school. Terry visited him several times over the year he was there. Frankie learned some discipline, life skills and earned his G.E.D.
Shortly after graduating from the Academy, Frankie’s Mom fell ill and moved to Nashville, Tennessee to be closer to her family. Frankie was the first of the kids to move down there. He was very loyal to her. He found work as a mixer at the Sara Lee main bakery. He met Nickie when he was 19 and they married shortly afterwards. It was his first real relationship. Nickie had a young son, Isaiah, whose father wasn’t around much. Frankie made him feel special and cared for.
Frankie’s Mom died about 5 years ago and he took it hard but carried on. As the years passed, Frankie and Nickie had three children of their own in fairly quick succession: MJ, 5; Christian, 3; and Jordan, 1. Isaiah is now 15. Frankie, a dedicated father, adored all four boys. Despite working hard and long hours and sometimes odd shifts, he spent as much time as he could with them. He had just recently got a better job at a Coca-Cola bottling plant as an assistant manager. He switched from working 9-5 to a late night to early morning shift so he could spend more time with his kids during the day.
Frankie was the kind of person who people leaned on and often expected much from. It was evident that his caring came with burdens but he never bemoaned his many hardships. It was as if he lived in two worlds at once-he was unfailingly loyal to his family and their certain habitual ways, yet his soul seemed to expand and shine.
As our bond deepened over time, he started calling us “Mom and Dad.” We, in turn, started to call him “son.” It felt right. We were probably one of Frankie’s few supports to turn to in times of trouble or need. He was religious in his own way and went to church on and off but we always did what we could to listen and offer guidance if asked. Being child-free, it was the closest thing to parenting we’d known.
We were always in awe of Frankie’s strength and vulnerability. He was either joyful or striving to get back to joyfulness as quickly as possible. In truth, we often felt he was mentoring us.
On Friday morning December 18th, Frankie called us. We put him on speaker-phone and, over the next half-hour, we listened and offered him words of support and praise. We told him he’s a good father and that we both would have been blessed to have had a father like him. We told him to keep in touch and let us know how things were going and that we planned to visit him in the spring.
Two days later, around 4am Sunday morning, Frankie got off his late shift a bit early and was driving home on the freeway. He had to exit because an accident was blocking the road. In the quiet darkness and misty of his highway detour… well, you know how this ended. He’d just turned 30 in September.
We are still in shock and finding tears flowing intermittently. We looked forward to having Frankie in our lives forever and watching him grow and watching his children grow. It was a miracle how our lives came together 15 years ago and how deep the bond grew in that time. We are blessed and honored to have met and known Frankie and to be a part of his life. We are better people because of him.
Frankie, we love you and we’ll never forget you. We’re going to miss you so much!
Books by Terrence Shulman
Click here to order!
| SOMETHING FOR NOTHING: Shoplifting Addiction & Recovery |
BOUGHT OUT AND WENT! Recovery from Compulsive $pending |
Click here to order!
| CLUTTERED LIVES, EMPTY SOULS: Compulsive Stealing, Spending & Hoarding |
BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS The Employee Theft Epidemic |
SPOTLIGHTS
Check out the latest from The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft. Spending and Hoarding
OTHER ASSOCIATES ARE DOING GREAT WORK, TOO!
Younique Wellness for Body, Mind and Spirit
Home
Think Beyond Belief Publishing
http://kevinalexzander.comhttp://zantimekoqwanzi.com
Alabama Court Referral Program
S.T.E.P.: Stop Theft Education Program
3rd Millenium STOPLifting Online Education Course
www.3rdmilclassrooms.com
UnSTEAL.org–A Non-Profit Corporation
http://unsteal.org
Getting Out From Going Under (Debt)
http://gettingoutfromgoinqunder.com
April Benson, PhD and Stopping Overshopping
http://www.shopaholicnomore.com/text-program
Surviving Suicide with Heart and Humor
http://writeonmymind.com
Jack L. Hayes, International, Inc. Loss Prevention
http://hayesinternationalcom
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