Random Connect Points:
Reba's Stories

Another in my periodic posts spotlighting social media posts I have found uplifting. Today it's mostly about music. One of the songs I’m working on learning in my Freeway Music - Downtown Columbia guitar lessons with A.J. Lang is “American Pie,” a favorite from my youth. While there are many theories about the meaning of this really really long song (about 8 ½ minutes), several of the song’s first lines kept looping in my head this week. A long long time ago I can still remember how That music used to make me smile And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance And maybe they'd be happy for a while Yesterday, music did make the people dance in my neighborhood. Our much beloved neighbor was released from the hospital and rehab this week (nothing virus-related) and we organized a welcome home parade for him. It was all social distancing appropriate but seeing kids and adults alike literally dancing and singing in the street to welcome him h...

(This was a FB post from March 25 that I'm reposting on RCP as requested by several friends. My hope is to find a (somewhat) daily practice of sharing a few social media posts that uplift, encourage, inspire or just make me smile. You can subscribe to get an email when a new blog post goes up - just email rebahcampbell@gmail.com  or follow @randomconnectpoints or FB, Insta or Twitter) Yesterday’s post inviting my FB “lurker” friends out of the social media shadows got a huge response. Wow! I had no idea so many people would read my long post and send such encouraging words – both on FB and off (and yes, I did hear from a good many lurker friends. I’d been trying to find a daily discipline to keep me connected to people and maybe this is it. I’ll try each day to post 2 – 3 uplifting or engaging posts that I see – things that inspire or encourage me and might do the same for you. I’ve pretty much blocked all the trolls and complainers off my FB page and am working to make it...

(I posted this on FB on Tuesday, March 24, and am reposting on my blog at the request of several people. I was overwhelmed with the response from lurkers and regular posters alike. My point was to encourage my lurker friends to dip a toe into posting because others care and want to know how you're faring. The links take you to the individual FB pages of the people I mention so the specific posts I mention may be somewhat far down their feeds by the time you read this. Some may be private so they may not be accessible publicly.) This post is long and for my many FB friends who are lurkers. Friends, family and colleagues who know me well know I thrive best when I can be connected to people – whether it’s with friends, family, colleagues, neighbors or students. I’m also a fan of social media when it can be a positive for social interaction. I’ve enjoyed using these platforms to share my writing over the years and maintain connections with friends near and far. In my idleness scr...

DIxie Beaufort There are people in your life you trust with important things like your house key, your alarm code, your kids. Then there are the people you trust with your dog. They just fall into a whole different category. This is National Pet Sitters Week, so it only seems appropriate to give a huge shout out to our pet sitter extraordinaire. Linda has been taking care of our dogs since the first puppy, Beaufort, came home more than 25 years ago. Since then, Linda has also loved Dixie and Flossie as her own. Her kind attention and unconditional love for our animals has allowed us to travel with complete peace of mind that our fur babies were in the best possible hands. Sure, she has all the great attributes of trusted and loving dog sitter. She loves her canine charges as her own. They get hugs and walks and kisses and treats galore under her charge. We always get pictures and texts so we know all is well back at home. But I’m convinced she also has a pair of a...

I confess. I’m a word nerd. For me, writing is a passion, not just a way to communicate. I see writing as an intersection of creativity, experience, knowledge and connection. It's an art and a science where clarity and crisp communication converge with inspiration and flow. Writing, editing and proofing are a fun puzzle, not a dreaded chore, for me. I love reading anything connected to words and language. The day the new AP Stylebook comes out is always reason for celebration. I’m on a text thread with several friends who love trading messages when we find atrocious editing errors in newspaper headlines. And doesn't everyone still have their high school grammar book? Working with a good editor is a writer’s nirvana for me. There’s usually a way to tighten things up a bit, improve the flow or find a more vivid word. I’m constantly trying to make my personal writing more creative, open and insightful and work toward clarity of message and purpose in my professional writing. ...

 I don't have the fame, voice or money of the "real Reba," but I do have her poster.  Now that this blog has finally joined the social media bandwagon, I’ve been going back through some old posts and sharing a few of them through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. A favorite I came up on today is about the importance of your name and the “Cheers” factor (a place “where everybody knows your name”). In this 2016 blog post , I wrote about the discomfort of having an unusual name when I was a child. I hated that my first grade teacher was trying to insist on calling me Rebecca because she didn’t like nicknames. I lamented that I was never able to find my name on the racks of hundreds of embossed keychains at the Gay Dolphin when I visited with my friends in middle school. In the past week, I’ve eaten in three of my favorite local restaurants. While the food is always good at all three, that’s not really the main reason I frequent Eggs Up, Crave or Labraskas. It’s b...

At first glance, the pairing may have seemed to be an odd juxtaposition of two authors on the Charleston Music Hall stage recently as they discussed their newly published books - one about dogs and one about politicians. It was a sold-out show. These writers’ careers as two of the best photographers in their respective areas of expertise have brought them accolades, awards and left them with thousands of photographs. But their recently published books share deeper insights than just pictures from their travels. These writers have taken years of observation, connections, creativity, and a sensitivity to the world around them and translated it, through their own unique lenses, into two compelling books. Callie Shell spent more than 25 years photographing world leaders and international events just an arms-length away from some of the most powerful people in the world. For eight years, she chronicled Vice President Gore’s two terms. For the last two decades, her work ...