Random Connect Points:
Reba's Stories

 Our Campbell family lost its patriarch today when David’s dad, James Lee Campbell, left this earth just two days shy of his 97th birthday. He was the family’s rock, compass and strength. Jim leaves a legacy that will live on through the three generations of his surviving family. Jim was a kind, gentle soul who, with Margaret Anne, his wife of more than 60 years, raised four wonderful humans. A proud, yet humble, veteran of WWII and the Korean War, Jim was a die-hard Notre Dame fan, accomplished engineer, dedicated church leader, committed Rotarian, traveler, chronicler of family history, fisherman, golfer and good friend. He had lots of friends! He was also the best father-in-law a girl could ask for. Always, he treated me as family. From day one. And that meant the world to me because family was everything to him. My favorite memories of times spent with Jim are the evenings when just the two of us were at their house in Columbus, He was in his rocker, and I would be tucke...

Fifty years ago today, a young family moved into a house they had just built. Nothing spectacular about this. It’s an event as American as apple pie … a house in a nice quiet neighborhood with lots of kids. Friends and family members were already living nearby. It was close to schools, church, work and everything important to this family. This house was special to me because it was my childhood home. It was standard 1970s ranch construction with a façade that exactly mirrored a home in historic Colonial Williamsburg that my mother loved. In today’s times, this milestone feels especially important because I am very acutely aware of the need for everything this house stood for – security, family, friends, comfort and familiarity. Although I moved out for college eight years after we moved in, that house continues to live in my heart as my “childhood home.” The word “home” can have so many different meanings at various times in your life. A childhood home evokes different feeli...

This is another in my series of posts spotlighting some of the good circulating on social media. The word of the day is emotions. As an Enneagram 2, I have a lot of those:) Over the past couple of days, I’ve found reassurance and a sense of community from several experts on the topics of fear and grief – two emotions I’ve had a hard time reconciling as part of the events going on around us. If you’re looking for some insight and encouragement around these topics right now, these folks below offer us some good advice. I live in the shadow of Eastminster Presbyterian Church , and while I am not a member, I have long drawn peace from its physical presence. The predictability of the church bells has been especially comforting these past few weeks. Last week, the church’s FB page hosted a lesson about grief and how it affects us (scroll to post on April 3). Nancy Smith - a mental health counselor, wife of Eastminster’s pastor and a long-time family friend - led the sessio...

Another in my periodic posts spotlighting social media posts I have found uplifting. Inspiration springs from so many places these days. I’ve come up on a few things this week that brought bursts of inspiration to me – whether it’s inspired me to laugh harder, give more, appreciate simple beauty or be more thankful. Here are a few of my favorites: My sister, Elizabeth Hull Foster , and I grew up loving The Sound of Music thanks to our mother, and she later instilled that same love in my nephew. So when I saw this parody of Do-Re-Mi today, I couldn’t help but watch. Take a look if you’re a lover of all things SOM (or even if you’re not). It’s perfect to share with little ones, too. ( bit.ly/DoRiMeSOM ) I' m learning that music can move me in ways I’ve never felt before. I’ve been listening to the“No Intermission” series by Adam Parker, Post and Courier that features local musicians and stage performers in short “Tiny Desk Concert”-like videos. Today I listened to Colu...

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...