Self-doubt and discouragement can slow us down, even stop us altogether. During our talks, Randie would tell me how searching for the right words would be so daunting at times, especially when she was working on her dissertation. But Randie wouldn’t give up.
On page 209, a line from a great book my grandson Noah and Amy Popillion had given me a few months ago made me think of my conversations with Randie. “No need to be afraid of yourself when you write.” That’s the quote and encouraging advice from Steve Zeitlin’s book ‘The Poetry of Everyday Life, Storytelling and The Art of Awareness’.
Even though I’m an ‘old man’ now, I still enjoy being a student and that’s why I really enjoyed reading this book. I’m still growing and learning. Life can be very challenging. We all get discouraged but please don’t let it stop you from completing your tasks or goals. – Randolph Randy Camp
In a world where neighbors rarely say hello to one another anymore it’s amazing sometimes how books can bring people together. It was an unusually warm, sunny day yesterday, and a perfect day for another successful Free Book Saturday Event at Randie’s Free Library. From sunrise to sunset, there were people of all ages and backgrounds who dropped by with all types of interesting stories and conversations. Sharing your used books with your neighbors is such a positive experience. Have a great week Everyone!
I’ve always felt at home when visiting the public library. It’s a place where, regardless of your race, ethnicity, bank account or zip code, no one there ever made me feel as though I didn’t belong there. Ever since I heard ‘The Little Engine That Could’ during story time years ago, I felt the power of books and stories. Over the years I learned how bibliotherapy has helped me get through some very difficult events and rough periods. Whether it’s coping with past military trauma or loss of loved ones, reading books, listening to certain songs, journaling or writing my own stories, bibliotherapy has become a necessary outlet for me. The past year was very therapeutic for me, as I spent months rewriting several drafts of ‘Coreville Park a reggae novel’. Although grief and trauma have no expiration date and can linger for years, writing Coreville Park was extremely helpful to me during my ongoing healing process as I was able to channel out some of my pain and old wounds in a creative way.
Going to the library, for me, always meant that I could learn something new, which is one of the greatest lessons I’d learned from the teachings of Marcus Garvey. ‘To always be learning and bettering yourself’ is a lesson Marcus Garvey regularly spoke about. In writing Coreville Park a reggae novel I was able to rediscover some of the interesting facts and details of the Rastafarian and reggae culture. Marcus Garvey played such an important role in the foundation of the Rastafarian way of life. Long before there was reggae music there was Marcus Garvey. Here’s another interesting fact about the Rastafarian culture: True Rastas eat only Ital foods (natural foods from the earth). Rastafarians do not eat processed foods or canned food items.
Growing up in rural Spotsylvania County, Virginia, I used to dream about places like Australia, Japan and Jamaica, in which I would read about in the many books I’d checked out from the library as a kid. To see my book ‘Coreville Park a reggae novel’ sitting on the shelf at any public library is a dream come true. Whatever your dreams and goals are I hope that they are all realized, and please don’t hesitate to take full advantage of your local library to help and assist you along your journey. Learn more at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp
(Photo taken at Des Moines Central Public Library, January 2024)
Winter Blessings…There’s no shortage of goodhearted neighbors. There’s no shortage of books or winter blessings at RANDIE’S FREE LIBRARY and that’s the way Randie would have it. On this cold January morning, I woke up to find numerous toys, games, and books in and around Randie’s Free Library, donated anonymously by the kindness of neighbors. Without a doubt, Randie’s giving spirit is still spreading. It’s a wonderful way to begin 2024.
Whether you’re working on your next manuscript, or writing something for a school assignment, or simply writing something for your own pleasure, it’s imperative to show some type of growth within your characters. How are your characters different at the end of your story than from the beginning? Have there been any changes in your characters’ lives within the story? As in real life, we all go through changes, good and bad. These changes definitely have an impact on us. In my own personal life, there are some traumatic events that happened while I was in the Air Force that I still have trouble coping with. People going through life-changing events sometimes will have their whole thought patterns drastically rearranged. And this is the same for the characters we create for our stories. It’s vital that you, as the writer, show and tell your readers how your characters have changed due to certain events within your story. In creating the characters Vicki and Timmy for ‘Coreville Park’, it was a challenge for me to show both Vicki’s and Timmy’s reaction after Vicki had revealed to Timmy something so deeply personal, something in which she had never told anyone ever before. After this revelation halfway in the story, I challenged myself as a writer to come up with interesting scenes and interactions between Vicki and Timmy as the story unfolded towards the end. Making sure that your characters don’t all sound the same, and showing interesting character growth have been valuable lessons and tools for me. I hope that whatever writing project you maybe currently working on that these helpful reminders will benefit and make your story stronger. – Randolph Randy Camp
Teachers Need Our Appreciation and Support…I owe a lot to all the teachers in Spotsylvania County, Virginia who all had a hand in shaping me. Miss Kelly, Miss Pritchett, Mr. Harrison. We all remember the teachers who made the classroom and our assignments interesting. Great teachers have the unique ability to make their students want to learn. Great teachers bring their unique personalities and life experiences to the classroom. They are human beings, not robots. It bothers me how more restrictions are being placed on our teachers nowadays, whereby some of these restrictions give the teachers less freedom to inject their own uniqueness into the classroom, which ends up hurting the students. Instead of placing hard guidelines upon our teachers, we need to pay them more, and we need to show them more of our appreciation for all of their hard work and dedication they bring into the classroom. In ‘Coreville Park a reggae novel’, the teacher did nothing wrong, but yet, she was unjustly suspended. We need to stand up for our teachers, as they did in Coreville Park. The paperback edition of Coreville Park is now available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp) – Randolph Randy Camp
The paperback edition of ‘Coreville Park, a reggae novel’ is projected to be released on September 15, 2023.…Rastafarians, reggae music lovers and teachers from around the world converge on a small community in Florida called Coreville to rally around and show their support for an elementary school teacher who was suspended for allowing one of her students to do his oral book report on a book about the Rastafarian culture, which wasn’t approved by the local school district.
It was the early 1970’s when I first heard reggae music. The Wailers’ songs ‘Put It On’, ‘Small Axe’ and ‘Concrete Jungle’ instantly moved me. Just as I had enjoyed listening to songs by Curtis Mayfield and Bob Dylan during this time period, I equally became a fan of reggae, especially the roots-style reggae, and I’ve been a devoted fan ever since. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know and developed a great deal of respect for the Rastafarian culture. When I was in the Air Force I had the privilege of visiting Jamaica while on leave. Being a writer of mostly contemporary issues and subject matter, I think that it was just a matter of time before I found a creative way to insert the Rastafarian culture into one of my stories. I’ve been a book nerd all of my life, and it pains me to see the widespread book banning going on across America right now. Writing ‘Coreville Park’ is my response to all the unjustified and sometimes discriminatory book banning currently taking place across the nation. As mentioned before, I’ve been loving books ever since I was a little boy. It’s a shame and a disgrace that some politicians and school districts want to ban certain books nowadays. Placing strong restrictions on teachers and controlling how they conduct their classroom hurts the students. The classroom should be a place that nurtures open mindedness, not a place that erases history or attempts to brainwash young minds. I love it when some public libraries and book stores, large chains and small independent ones, proudly display and offer the ‘banned books’ to the general public. The paperback edition of ‘Coreville Park a reggae novel’ is projected to be released in mid-September 2023. – Randolph Randy Camp
‘Coreville Park, a reggae novel’ is dedicated to all teachers, librarians, and educators who speak, encourage and teach the whole truth to our youth.
‘Coreville Park, a reggae novel’ is projected to be released in mid-September 2023. Here’s a little teaser…Rastafarians and reggae music lovers from around the world converge on a small community in Florida called Coreville to rally around and show their support for an elementary school teacher who was suspended for allowing one of her students to do his oral book report on a book about the Rastafarian culture, which wasn’t approved by the local school district. When reggae came to town, it changed Coreville forever. If you already know reggae, enjoy the ride. If you’re new to reggae, come along and enjoy this entertaining ride to Coreville Park. – Randolph Randy Camp
‘Coreville Park, a reggae novel’ consists of twelve chapters, including 1. Morning Walk, 2. Rasta Winds, 3. Livity, 4. Calling All Rastas, 5. Reggae Town, 6. Danny’s Plan, 7. Young Flowers, 8. The Priceless Gift, 9. Reggae In You, 10. Come With It, 11. The Garden, 12. Brighter Days.
Growing up and learning from life lessons ain’t always easy. It’s 2023 now, and I’m still learning. Quite a few of my readers had asked me about the Snack Shack and the original piece I’d written entitled ‘MY SPOTSYLVANIA NIGHTS’ about one of my early dating experiences. Here it is again…
Last night my mind drifted back to the fall of 1978 when I was 17 years old anxiously diving into manhood. I definitely went through a lot of changes during my last year of high school. I seriously think that 1978 and 1979 were the years that gave me a glimpse of the real world and helped to shape my views and attitude toward women and dating.
As in countless towns throughout America, Friday night high school games in Spotsylvania County was the place to be, especially when the Spotsylvania Knights was playing their greatest rivalry, the James Monroe Yellow Jackets, from Fredericksburg, Virginia. During these Friday night games, many of us had our first experiences with the opposite sex and got a bitter taste of reality as we tried to shed our juvenile skin.
During my senior year at Spotsylvania High, I would leave school and sometimes go directly to work at the Howard Johnson’s Restaurant in Fredericksburg. While working as a busboy and dishwasher, I’d worked up enough nerve to ask a fairly new waitress out for a date. The first time I saw her I wanted to be with her. During our lunch breaks we would chat and laugh about our high school lives. We made a date to meet up Friday night at the Snack Shack just before the big game between the James Monroe Yellow Jackets and the Spotsylvania Knights.
I arrived early at the Snack Shack nervous as hell but looking sharp. This was going to be a big night for me because I truly thought that one of my mannish dreams would be realized. As this particular night unfolded however, I slowly became aware that our hopes and dreams come in many shapes and sizes and that we have to prepare ourselves for the different angles in which things present themselves to us. What I’d initially viewed as an awful experience actually was my most valuable lesson.
After waiting for twenty minutes for my date to arrive, the lady behind the Snack Shack service window gave me a look of concern. I instantly looked away, pretending not to notice her look because I was too embarrassed that my date hadn’t showed up yet. The Snack Shack was quiet briefly because the football game a short distance away had started already. From a distance, we could see the bright stadium lights illuminating the dark Spotsylvania sky and we could faintly hear the stadium cheers of the fans. The lady at the counter knew that I was hurting and instinctively knew why I was hurting. She motioned me towards the service window and kindly said, ” You want to eat some fries with me? It’s my break and it’s on the house.” Shame-faced, I shook my head ‘no’ and slowly stepped away.
About fifteen minutes later my date still hadn’t arrived. Once again, the lady behind the counter approached the service window with a large order of fries in her hand. She tapped on the window to get my attention. She could easily read the obvious frustration and embarrassment on my face as I repeatedly sighed at the side patio table. She motioned me to come to the window. This time I accepted her offer as she tried her best to cheer me up with stories of her school days and all of the boys who’d stood her up.
When it comes to dating, still today, without even realizing it sometimes, I will make my judgments and opinions about potential women in my life not based upon the young lady who’d stood me up, but instead, based upon the beautiful qualities of that wonderful warmhearted lady at the Snack Shack that cool September night.
After all these years, I still think about that kind-hearted lady at the Snack Shack and all the changes I went through during my young Spotsylvania nights. – Randolph Randy Camp
Rastafarians, reggae music lovers, and teachers from around the world converge on a small community in Florida called Coreville to rally around and show their support for an elementary school teacher who was suspended for allowing one of her students to do his oral book report on a book about the Rastafarian culture, which wasn’t approved by the local school district. When reggae came to town, it changed Coreville forever. If you already know reggae, enjoy the ride. If you’re new to reggae, come along and enjoy this entertaining ride to Coreville Park. More info available at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp
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