America: Writing Love

Saying what’s in your heart and expressing yourself sometimes can be risky, but it’s such a freeing experience. Although I’ve experienced racial bigotry during my childhood in rural Virginia, and unfortunately during my military years in the U.S. Air Force, I try my best to hold on to the belief that there are still more good people in this world than bad people. And that’s one of the things I enjoy about writing. It allows me to display some of my inner-most thoughts. The White family who places a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign in their front yard knows that some of their neighbors are saying derogatory and cruel things about them. But, in the long run, the White family who’d made the decision to place the ‘BLM’ sign in their yard had chosen to satisfy their own souls, instead of choosing to be silent. In writing ‘America: No Purchase Necessary’, one of my greatest challenges was to showcase an interracial love story amidst America’s heated racial and political climate. Being yourself and exposing your deeper self is always the best way to go. Sure, you may offend and upset some of your neighbors and some of your (so-called) friends while doing so, but in the end, you realize that they weren’t your true friends anyway. Shifting gears now, on another note, September is ‘Library Card Sign-Up Month’. As a young boy I have fond memories of waiting for the mobile library to make its stop in Spotsylvania County. Today, I’m grateful to that same library system, the Fredericksburg Central Rappahannock Regional Library (along with the Los Angeles Public Library, the Baltimore County Public Library, the Des Moines Public Library, the Erie County and Buffalo Public Library, the Urbandale Public Library, etc) for having my books in their collection. Please visit and take advantage of the many services provided by your local library. – Randolph Randy Camp More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

The Teacher in You

This on-going pandemic has definitely changed our lives. Some of you parents have become teachers, whether you'd wanted to be or not. And, to your own surprise, maybe you're the greatest teacher ever. In a way, there's a teacher inside all of us. This pandemic has brought that to the forefront.

If you're doing a lot of teaching and schooling at home, please don't forget to utilize one of your greatest assets, which is your local library.

For any parent or teacher, creating your syllabus and following your state's strict curriculum guidelines can be a real challenge. But, finding a way, maybe a creative way, to set aside let's say an hour or so per week, for your kids (students) to simply talk about anything they want to is arguably your greatest tool as a teacher.

In school settings, a student's classroom participation is a vital part of his or her final grade, but sometimes the quiet kid in class gets misjudged. It's common knowledge that these quiet students have a lot of hard stuff on their minds, especially nowadays with the pandemic going on, and at times, their 'stuff' is traumatic and not so easy to speak about. (Similar to military veterans, like myself, coping with hidden scars and a tendency to bottle things up.) But given the right avenue or outlet, even the quiet kid comes out of his or her shell and momentarily at least, they'll have their moment and comfortably feel relaxed enough to share some of their more-deeper thoughts with the class.

Back in elementary school, 'Show n' Tell' time was great because it laid the foundation for some of you who currently have no issues whatsoever with public speaking. As a student gets older, they may or may not have teachers who will set aside classroom time for them to talk openly about their 'stuff'. But for those teachers who do create these special moments the payoff is great.

I feel so strongly about this issue that I created 'Sit n' Talk' time in my latest short novel 'America: No Purchase Necessary', whereby Miss Pritchett's students gets to speak about whatever they want to in front of the entire class.

Lastly, although it's challenging, try to enjoy the teacher in you. (It can be rewarding sometimes....and please utilize and take advantage of your local library whenever possible.) - Randolph Randy Camp

More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Randie's Free Library: Finding New Readers

Randie had an enormous book collection. If you'd watched AMY POPILLION 's Facebook live streamed April 9th event you would've seen a portion of Randie's books, and heard how every book has a sticker that says "This book once belonged to the personal library of Randie Camp. To honor her memory, it has been sent out into the world, by her loved ones, to find new readers. May it be as special to you as it was to her." After the April 9th ceremony, guests were invited to take books from Randie's huge collection. Randie's Free Library (located in Des Moines) had many books from Randie's personal collection (but most are already taken, which I know puts a big smile on Randie's face). Also, there's an additional Little Free Library, honoring Randie Danielle Camp, located in Ames, Iowa, near one of Randie's favorite city parks.

Fantastic Book Art done by talented art students from Ames, Iowa in memory of Dr. Randie Danielle Camp, who devoted most of her adult life to teaching the importance of literacy and bibliotherapy.

No Purchase Necessary: This is America

Winning is great, but being accepted is greater. ‘America: No Purchase Necessary’ is a feel-good story about acceptance. One of the many perks of winning the national ‘America’s Family’ Sweepstakes is the chance to meet and to make appearances with the President on his reelection campaign. Unbeknownst to the public, the President and his shady campaign manager are profiting off of these appearances, which are beginning to make the headlines as campaign contribution corruption. When an eclectic African-American family becomes the unexpected winner of the prestigious ‘America’s Family’ contest, the President and his shiesty reelection campaign manager tries to get the family disqualified, thinking that this particular family isn’t ‘American-looking’ enough, and to appear with them on the campaign trail will hurt the President’s chance of getting reelected. Oblivious to a shrewd reporter being on their tail, the President and his cocky campaign manager tries to spin their dirty politics through their unsuspecting press secretary. Without being preachy, ‘America: No Purchase Necessary’ gives a lighthearted glimpse into American politics while simultaneously showing a realistic snapshot of life in contemporary America today. Unable to get the Lantern family disqualified as ‘America’s Family’, reluctantly the President meets the family on his reelection campaign trail and, ironically, America begins to fall in love with young Ronnie, who narrates and provides us with his unique autistic insights of his colorful family, while the President’s approval rating dwindles as America begins to see his true colors. Just like any other family in America, the Lanterns have autism, transgender issues, and even a grandmother who’ve come up with her own interesting alternative to plant-base burgers. Ultimately, the Lanterns become more popular than the President, creating a huge problem and causes a gigantic PR headache for his reelection staff. ‘America: No Purchase Necessary’ is an entertaining political satire that looks at race relations in America, and it shows the sometimes-ugly side of America while, at the same time, reflect the goodness in certain people that highlights America’s beauty as well. The Lantern family won the national sweepstakes fair and square, and they only want to be treated as such. If you or your family ever felt left out, pushed out or shut out then Randolph Randy Camp’s ‘America: No Purchase Necessary’ is a story for you. Available in Paperback or Ebook online at Amazon

This on-going pandemic has definitely changed our lives. Some of you parents have become teachers, whether you'd wanted to be or not. And, to your own surprise, maybe you're the greatest teacher ever. In a way, there's a teacher inside all of us. This pandemic has brought that to the forefront.

If you're doing a lot of teaching and schooling at home, please don't forget to utilize one of your greatest assets, which is your local library.

For any parent or teacher, creating your syllabus and following your state's strict curriculum guidelines can be a real challenge. But, finding a way, maybe a creative way, to set aside let's say an hour or so per week, for your kids (students) to simply talk about anything they want to is arguably your greatest tool as a teacher.

In school settings, a student's classroom participation is a vital part of his or her final grade, but sometimes the quiet kid in class gets misjudged. It's common knowledge that these quiet students have a lot of hard stuff on their minds, especially nowadays with the pandemic going on, and at times, their 'stuff' is traumatic and not so easy to speak about. (Similar to military veterans, like myself, coping with hidden scars and a tendency to bottle things up.) But given the right avenue or outlet, even the quiet kid comes out of his or her shell and momentarily at least, they'll have their moment and comfortably feel relaxed enough to share some of their more-deeper thoughts with the class.

Back in elementary school, 'Show n' Tell' time was great because it laid the foundation for some of you who currently have no issues whatsoever with public speaking. As a student gets older, they may or may not have teachers who will set aside classroom time for them to talk openly about their 'stuff'. But for those teachers who do create these special moments the payoff is great.

I feel so strongly about this issue that I created 'Sit n' Talk' time in my latest short novel 'America: No Purchase Necessary', whereby Miss Pritchett's students gets to speak about whatever they want to in front of the entire class.

Lastly, although it's challenging, try to enjoy the teacher in you. (It can be rewarding sometimes....and please utilize and take advantage of your local library whenever possible.) - Randolph Randy Camp

More at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

America: No Purchase Necessary

We all have our different ways and methods of coping with stuff, especially heavy stuff. Writing ‘America: No Purchase Necessary’ has helped me a great deal during the past year. ‘America: No Purchase Necessary’ is a reflection of contemporary America, showing America’s ugly side as well as its beauty. It’s a fictional story, and here’s a teaser… Winning is great, but being accepted is greater. One of the many perks of winning the national ‘America’s Family’ Sweepstakes is the chance to meet and appear with the President on his reelection campaign. When an eclectic African-American family becomes the unexpected winner of this prestigious contest, the President and his shady reelection campaign manager tries to get the family disqualified, thinking that this particular family isn’t ‘American-looking’ enough, and to appear with them in public will hurt the President’s chance of getting reelected. Ultimately, America falls in love with the Lantern family and, in the end, the American people ‘disqualifies’ the President. ‘America: No Purchase Necessary’ is a feel good story about acceptance. If you ever felt left out, pushed out or shut out then this story is for you. More details available at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp

Randie's Free Library: Always Growing n' Always Giving

Randie’s Free Library is growing n’ growing, and Randie is still giving, as she always has. A kind neighbor humbly dropped off the new addition, and it was filled with free books immediately. Honoring Randie Danielle Camp, who devoted most of her adult life to teaching others the importance of literacy and the healing benefits of bibliotherapy, Randie’s Free Library is located on Kirkwood Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa.

Randie's Free Library: The Kindness of Neighbors

After several weeks of severe freezing temps, I was surprised to wake up to a bright, sunny March morning…and, on top of that, someone had left a bag of books for Randie’s Free Library. The kindness of strangers and neighbors is amazing. RANDIE'S FREE LIBRARY honors Randie Danielle Camp who devoted most of her adult life to teaching others the importance of literacy and the helpful benefits of Bibliotherapy. RANDIE'S FREE LIBRARY is located on Kirkwood Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa.