Staying Humble

No, I don't drive a fancy car or have an assistant or an entourage. Instead, my riches come from my readers who take the time to send me an email with a question or two about my writings and sometimes a question or two about myself. It always brings a smile to my face when I check my email and there's a long list of messages from my readers. Coming from humble beginnings as a child I try not to let my head swell too much when I'm getting any attention or requests for an interview or a book talk.

A couple weeks ago, I'd received an email from a young lady in Amherst, New York, which is a very affluent area outside the city of Buffalo. She'd explained to me that her small book club had just read one of my novels and they would like to have me come in person for a meet-the-author book discussion.

A few evenings ago, I went to this young lady's residence (which actually is a mini-mansion) in Amherst and I took part in their book club's very lively and engaging discussion. When I first arrived there I saw colorful finger foods and appetizers that looked so delicious but I surely didn't know what they were or how to pronounce their names, and I was treated like I was really somebody.

The very next day, just to keep myself in check, grounded and down to earth, I went to volunteer at the popular soup kitchen near Utica and Main Street in Buffalo, and I helped the staff there with serving lunch to a sizeable crowd of homeless and street people. I truly know what it's like to be standing in line at a soup kitchen, and sometimes I have to physically revisit that reality just to keep myself humble.
Randolph Randy Camp