Still Learning n' Growing

It's the beginning of March 2014 and nearly 37 years ago I had an experience that I still think about today. When I think of those pivotal moments of my life, especially the life-changing events of my early years, my mind drifts back to my 'walkabout.' It was early Spring 1977. I was turning fifteen and doing quite well in the 10th grade at Spotsylvania High in rural Virginia. A strong urge of wanting to explore and escape came over me during this period of my life. I absolutely loved going to school and learning about different cultures in other parts of the world. I'd learned how the Australian Aborigines would send their juvenile boys to survive on their own in the wilderness as a passage into manhood. The Aborigines called this 'the walkabout.' After saving up enough money from doing odd jobs like picking up hay on local farms and weeding out flowerbeds, I boarded a Greyhound Bus and went on a journey to the city of Philadelphia. The juvenile court system classified my journey as "running away", but to me, it was my 'walkabout.' The journey itself, coupled with my experiences on the streets and a brief stay at the Philadelphia Youth Study Center, actually changed my life forever. After seeing and breathing the smell of old urine and dried up alcohol on Philadelphia's dirty sidewalks it made me truly appreciate the simple, natural beauty of little ol' Spotsylvania County in Virginia. It was at this time in my life that I began to recognize how important the Rappahannock River (in Virginia) was in my life and how it would help shape me as a person and a writer. My 'walkabout' to Philadelphia really opened my eyes to a lot of things. After returning back to Spotsylvania County, I had this renewed sense of "I gotta do something", so I started reaching out more, mostly through my stories and writings. I wrote to magazines, and my very first published article was a local newspaper piece entitled 'PUT SOMETHING BACK' for the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. Still, to this day, when people would ask me what do I consider the best thing I'd ever written, or what stories or books am I the most proud of as a writer, I always say the 'Put Something Back' newspaper article I'd wrote as a teenager. Periodically, when I meet a troubled young person who might be a little confused or feel a little misplaced, I would share with them my walkabout story, and hopefully, they too, will begin to recognize the simple, natural beauty (of both people and things) which already exists around them...(we just don't see it until we venture out.) So  now, here it is the year 2014 and in many ways, sometimes I still feel like I'm on 'my walkabout'....still learning and growing. -  Randolph Randy Camp, More at http://www.goodreads.com/randolphcamp