DROPPING OUT: SLAVERY WITHOUT CHAINS

After a long day yesterday one of my neighbors knocked on my door. She wanted to know if I could speak with her 16 year old daughter because her daughter was seriously considering dropping out of school. The moment my neighbor said the words ‘dropping out’ my ears automatically perched up and I quickly asked, “Where is she?”
Although initially I got the dramatic rolling of the eyes, the young lady gave me enough respect to listen to what I had to say. I told her that certain cultures and societies believe that females shouldn’t be allowed to read books, go to school and get a basic education. And I went on to tell her that this belief is backwards and a society that keeps its girls from reading books and getting an education is only hurting itself  in the long run because that makes their whole society or country weak. “To me”, I continued,”keeping girls from reading books and going to school is a form of slavery, the kind of slavery where you don’t  physically see the metal chains but they are definitely there, keeping you down and in place.” I further explained to her that we often take our public school system for granted when we should be grateful for it.
Today, as I’m thinking about this young lady and her very concerned mother, I wonder if she went to school this morning. I hope so. – Randolph Randy Camp

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Failing as Humans, Passing as Robots

What’s happening to us? Are we failing as human beings and passing as robots? Just look at myself for example, here I am sitting at this computer typing symbols into space when I could be calling or visiting one of my children who I haven’t seen in awhile.
Are you an executive sitting behind a big glossy, oak desk reading a computer screen full of numbers? If so, as an executive, when was the last time you actually made a big impact on someone’s life, perhaps authorizing an impromptu, well-overdue promotion to one of your employees?
After I finish this post, I’m going to call one of my kids. I don’t think I’m quite ready yet to become a robot.  And although I like being human, I need to work on being a better human. – Randolph Randy Camp
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No Complaints

How often do we complain about minuscule stuff? My morning started off just like any other morning. Hardly anything was going right, and the complaints quickly began to pile up. I woke up to a nagging knee pain, and then, later, I had to go back inside to put on a thicker shirt because it was a bit chillier than normal this morning. By now, I was running late for an important meeting so I reluctantly skipped my routine visit to the coffee shop…and then, it hit me. It was at this very moment when my ‘wiser self’ reminded me of the morning, a couple years ago, when I was working at the Buffalo Veterans Hospital.
As usual, my mornings at the Veterans Hospital started off with me going down to the cafeteria to get my large cup of coffee. This one particular morning would be permanently engrained in my memory because I was in a hurry and I didn’t do my typical ‘sip-test’ after I’d hastily mixed in a little cream and sugar.
When I got into the elevator to return to my work station on the ninth floor, I had a chance to take a test-sip of my coffee and it was just plain awful! Needless to say, I let out a profound ‘f-bomb’ as the others in the elevator turned their heads to me. When we finally reached the ninth floor, the elevator door opened and a wheel-chaired double-amputee cheerfully greeted us with, “Good morning, ladies n’ gents!” as he wheeled himself into the elevator. After seeing this man with no legs, I immediately felt ashamed at myself for complaining about the taste of my coffee.
No, today I’m certainly not perfect and I still sometimes complain about life’s minuscule things. I wish that my ‘wiser self’ would pop up more often to remind me that I truly have nothing really to complain about.
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I Love Books!

Books are very special to me. I grew up very poor in rural Virginia during the late 60's and 70's. Books allowed me to escape my sometimes dismal surroundings when I was young. And as I got older, books allowed me to travel around the world without buying a plane ticket. I could go anywhere!
Today, I'm truly blessed to do something that I truly love, which is writing novels.
This photo was taken just outside the Buffalo Central Library. To me, having a public library card and actually utilizing the numerous services of your public library, is a great way to 'meet the world' , regardless of your family's income level. - Randolph Randy Camp

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Start A Conversation

America’s teen runaway and youth homelessness issues are increasing. Between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away each year. There are a number of reasons why these kids were motivated to leave home, and the long list of risk factors involved doesn’t seem to be getting shorter anytime soon.

There are agencies, shelters, and various youth-oriented organizations out there trying their best to reach out and help these troubled and at-risk teens but, in reality, the true helping process simply begins with you and I.

Every day we see these homeless kids hanging out on our city streets, sometimes panhandling or begging for change or food. Personally, my actual concern for these young people stems from ‘the survival question’, meaning that once a kid runs away how will he or she now survive? This is my main concern and objective in bringing more awareness to this issue. After a kid runs away, he or she will face many questionable methods of survival on the streets. And this is one of the reasons why I wrote ‘Wet Matches’.

I truly understand and am very much aware of the fact that a lot of people may feel sorry for these runaway and homeless kids but feel somewhat helpless because they feel that, as one person, their impact won’t make a real difference to such a big tremendous social issue. At one time I felt that way myself, but trust me, the helping process is honestly simple and your ‘little’  personal impact will start a tidal wave of healing and help. It starts like this: The next time you see a homeless youth in your town, instead of ignoring him or her, just simply try to start a conversation. – Randolph Randy Camp


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Book Talk: One Writer's Dream

During every ‘Meet the Author’ Book Talk I’ve been invited to thusfar, one of the questions that normally pops up is, “What do you like best about being a writer?”  And my usual response is this, “I absolutely love being a writer because I get to ‘go places’ without buying a ticket, meaning that my stories can take me anywhere. Also, I get a kick out of speaking to students about creative writing whenever I’m invited to do a classroom book talk because one of my greatest goals as a writer is to inspire others with one of my stories or with something I said.” – Randy Camp
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Writing Tip: Take The Metro

If your words and thoughts aren’t flowing, and you feel yourself slipping deeper into writers’ block, take my advice: Park the car and take the metro.
Too often we isolate ourselves from the very world in which we are writing about. For one day at least use public transportation for your daily errands. The many voices and sights you’ll see and hear while riding the bus or metro train might enlighten and possibly ignite a new spark in you. In short, don’t isolate yourself too much.
And if you’re already using public transportation to get around your town, and you still find yourself sometimes in a bit of a writer’s slump, then try taking a long walk in the city park. A good walk is one of the best ways to clear your head from all of the built-up clutter and let new thoughts flow in. – Randy Camp
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