On the day of my 40^th birthday several weeks back, I received a card from my girlfriend that read, “A man becomes a true man when he uses his words to build up and not tear down…”    

And while it’s rare that any number of words has the ability to make me stop in my tracks and ponder on my past, present and future as a literary activist, those few words had a profound meaning that allowed me to come to the realization that my entire purpose over the last decade of life has been to do just that, build up with my words when given the opportunity to do so.