Self-help books, hmmm, such a general term which by definition is also an oxymoron. You are not helping yourself you are getting help from someone you assume is wiser than yourself. In the words of a wise prophet of old in response to his companion telling him that people go to a psychiatrist to talk about their problems, "Hasn't she got any mates?" Many of us read self-help books because we are too prideful to admit to our 'mates' that we could sure use their advice.

Or maybe, you don't have enough 'mates' to consult. In which case, you should read 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' by Dale Carnegie.

Or, maybe you have chased away all your mates by acting a little crazy due to severe insomnia, in which case you should read 'Restful Sleep: The Complete Mind/Body Program for Overcoming Insomnia' by Deepak Chopra.

Once rested, its time to reconcile with your mates, so read "Love Languages" by Gary Chapman to help you understand the differences in how people feel loved.

Now that you are reunited with your mates, you may want to feed them at a joyful reunion but concerned about healthful eating, and wanting to surprise them all, you can find all you've ever wanted to know about nutrition, food, and cooking in the companion books "Let's Eat it Right" and "Let's Cook it Right" by Adelle Davis.

Finally, after consulting your mates you've discovered that they know just as little as you do about the meaning of life in which case you should read 'The Bible' by many authors, under inspiration of God.

All of the above have changed my life for the better. I'm extremely grateful to all of their authors for taking the time to share their wisdom with me. I skimmed them all, many times each.

"He who walks with the wise, will grow wise." Proverbs 13:20

Then one day he shows up with a shaved head, doc martens and he didn't speak at all for a week. One day out of the blue he started going this huge rant about how the Jews were the reason this bad thing was happening and that bad thing was going on. The bus driver couldn't hear him because the skinhead sat at the back of the bus. He just kept going on and on and on. Nobody said anything. We all looked at each other, making faces in disbelief that he was doing this. But nobody was going to say anything. So I got up and told him, pardon my french, to "shut the fuck up, you skinhead piece of shit." Everyone was staring, and he stood up and started yelling back about how the way he dresses doesn't hurt anybody. It's a lifestyle choice. He's being persecuted for the way he looks. So we back and forth for a while before our bus driver finally hears whats going on and stops the bus. He's a native from Newfoundland, "he knows what it like to be persecuted." The skinhead was berated by our driver, and didn't fight back at all.

The next day he was transferred to another bus because his mom threatened to sue the school if they banned him completely from the bus service.

It's not that big of a deal. I know most people have probably done bigger things in their lives. But this was a defining moment in who I am. I'm really proud that I was able to stand up when no one else would.