A bookshelf is the daytime equivalent of a campfire, and hand-writing has a bit of campfire magic in it, too. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter, otherwise enjoy!
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To New Beginnings
The hidden success of failure
Have you ever heard that saying:
“You can’t be a hero in your own hometown?”
The first podcast
Well, I think the same sort of applies to initial success.
Success too early in a process, or life, may feel good at the time, but can also be the kiss of death in the long run. Why? Success breads complacency in the same way failure inspires you to overcome.
My point is this:
Rudi and I co-wrote three books which, when we were done, inspired us to do a podcast. Both the books and the podcast were utter “initial” failures by traditional metrics. The silver lining was that I never lost faith. And it made me realize: Less about selling a product, the trilogy of books was the ultimate deep dive into exploring “big canvas” ideas that required 450,000 words of space and six years of time to properly spread out, metabolize and incubate in our minds. If you think writing a book, let alone a trilogy, is hard – try co-writing it with a Rudi! The mystery of the creative chemistry of our unlikely partnership became a reoccurring theme in the books. Our brief foray into a poorly-produced podcast (to discuss the books) was a dismal failure, too. Please listen to them and I think you’ll agree.
The second podcast
But all clouds have a silver linings:
The process, and those failures, was how the Nature Folk Movement (NFM) was born.
Thank God for failure – really it’s the only way we improve.
Handwriting workshop
I’ll be the first to admit …
That this isn’t the best handwritten note.
But the truth is you’ve got to start somewhere. And in retrospect, it’s not all that bad, even though it started poorly and really didn’t have a strong finish. The secret? When in doubt go for the margin to write a good P.S.. In this case, actually, the P.S. wasn’t all that good. What it did show was extra effort, and when it comes to letter writing, effort counts.
What really makes this letter stand out is the play by play analysis.
Ranger Days
A Bob and Rudi Campfire
Rudi joins Bob around the campfire …
To reminisce about the good old days.
Bob and Rudi collaborated on 12 campfire talks and three books called the Centennial Campfire Trilogy: (1) The Legend of Campfire Charlie, (2) Last Stand at Boulder Ridge, and (3) Final Campfire.
Hindsight as we say is 20/20. The reason? We have the benefit of seeing how the future played out. We survived the past, so it must have been good, and so seeps in the “nostalgia effect.” But make no mistake, they were good times, too. At this campfire, Bob interviews Rudi about the ups and downs and many memories of his rangering days. Bob does his part by introducing a new “experimental s’mores” recipe that Rudi doesn’t seem to like much. It could have been intentional on Bob’s part knowing that if they were too good Rudi would have ate the entire stockpile.
Return of the Lone Pencil
Cap'n Killivine Rides Again!
It’s not easy being a pencil …
In a smart phone dominated world.
Cap’n K discusses the lost art of writing
Such is the plight of Cap’n Killivine in his quest to be the hero of the day. Or is he just trying to get by? Really, when it comes to letter, writing — it’s a little of both. You write a letter as much for yourself as the person you send it to. That being said, of all the letters I’ve ever written, I’ve never made a copy. I just send them and forget about them other then what conversation or follow up dialog they may generate. I remember as a kid my grandfather using a sheet of carbon to make a copy of everything he wrote. And by carbon copy, it was a sheet of just that — carbon paper — that he dutifully put underneath the sheet of paper he was writing on.
Listen folks, if I’m hearing Cap’n Killivine correctly, we don’t have to revert back to those days. Texting still has its place. But good old-fashioned letter writing (to anyone, or no one in particular) will never be replaced.
Nature Folk Inc
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
The Nature Folk Movement and the need for Nature Folk Inc was born organically and accidentally around a campfire at Collier County Museum in the heart of Naples, Florida at the tail end of a gala event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the formation of Big Cypress National Preserve.
The festivities had all but wound down when a fellow acquaintance named Ranger Rudi (soon to become a close friend) and myself found ourselves hunkering down at the campfire eating whatever food was left. “Before the smart phone, before TV,” Rudi lamented, “– the campfire was where people let their guard down, connected with one another and talked about life.” Ranger Rudi continued on about how he was “gearing up” to give a series of campfire talks at a cluster of campgrounds in the remote swamp preserve. At the end of the conversation he mentioned that he’d be using a Power Point. “A Power Point!? At a campfire talk!?” I interrupted in shock.
And so was born the idea of Ranger Rudi and Hydro Bob teaming up. In place of Rudi’s Power Point talk, we opted to developed a Shakespearian (or shall we say Vaudevillian) campfire skit. And here’s the real cincher: I would bring along my guitar (and a bunch of self-written nature ballads). In total, Rudi and I gave about a dozen campfire talks, each one building on the next and each one also leading up to the National Park Service’s 100th birthday, or Centennial celebration, of its formation in 1916. By our final campfire talk, on the eve of that fateful anniversary date, Rudi and I had already pivoted towards a new project: A book-length version of our half-hour campfire tale. It was just a half-year into that project when the new epiphany emerged: Not just one book, we had enough material for three (i.e. a trilogy). And so the odyssey began. In total, it took us 6 years to complete all the books. It was at that finish line that another moment of clairvoyance struck: We weren’t so much interested in hawking the books as we in continuing the conversation of the many overarching themes our literary endeavor opened up.
By the summer of 2020 the larger vision had finally coalesced: Nature Folk Inc was born. Nature Folk Inc is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization located in Naples, Florida focused on environmental education and outreach, but with a twist. Our goal is to reconnect people to nature by rekindling the traditional values and activities that the internet and smart phone culture have diminished or devalued … and finding a way to get them back.
Nature Folk Inc is an umbrella organization that integrates an ecosystem of websites and creative content aimed at raising environmental awareness and outreach for the Collier County, the Big Cypress Swamp, the Everglades, the Great State of Florida and pretty much the entire Earth. Our mission? To be positive and proactive and not stop what we’re doing until until the Nature Folk Movement (NFM) touches every corner of the Earth. What exactly is the NFM? It’s a growing societal responsibility and urge to become connected to and restore the natural world around us.
Our growing ecosystem started with a rather well-known and highly regarded water-cycle awareness website called Go Hydrology (https://gohydrology.org) that sprung to life in 2008. From the start, its goal has always been to give people an online avenue for feeling “at home” in the water cycle. As the availability of online information has exponentially expanded over the years, we also feel there is a growing gap. Technology has created a divide between humanity and nature. But why?
That’s where Nature Folk Inc’s unique approach steps in to fill the void. Our secret? We aim to connect with your heart as much as we do your mind. And we’re not afraid to go out on limb. And yes, a little dash of humor also helps out. It’s primary websites include GoHydrology.org, BobbyAngel.org and CampfirePark.org.
We’re not saying we have all the answers here at Nature Folk Inc. But we do feel like we’re on a promising track. Our aim is to be a voice in the wilderness that gives the water, the trees and the animals a proper seat at the table where the decisions are being made. And we’re not alone. If you’re reading this, you’re part of the club and we value your feedback and ideas.
Last Stand at Boulder Ridge
A campfire book review
In this campfire talk …
The Cowboy at the Campfire provides a thought-provoking review of Book 2 of the Centennial Campfire Trilogy.
Buy the full trilogy of books, in kindle or paperback
Among his observations:
- You’ll need a good book mark,
- The book is part sequel and part prequel to the first book,
- It’s a story of growth and idealism giving way to reality.
And spoiler report:
- It sets the stage for the stunning cascade of conclusions Book 3.
The Centennial Campfire Trilogy by Robert V. Sobczak and Rudi Heinrich consists of three books: (1) The Legend of Campfire Charlie, (2) Last Stand at Boulder Ridge and (3) Final Campfire.
It’s what you call an immersive read.
Why do I like most about the book?
To me, it’s a “rereadable” through a through. It’s the type of book you can pick up off your bookshelf and read front to back, or one chapter at a time, or even a few sentences. It is also what I call an immersive read. It takes you across the globe and deep back into time, to the point you can really get lost (in a good way).
As for my favorite scene?
It’s probably the campfire banter between Rusty and Kenny while in the desert overseas. Or maybe it’s Rusty’s airboat ride with his father? Or maybe his boyhood encounter with Edward Abbey? Or maybe it’s the journals of Col. Stanley Powell. Or maybe it’s the Bone Wars era archaeological dinosaur dig. Or maybe it’s even the prologue to the book.
It’s an adventure through and through
What I can say for sure is this:
My mom loved it so it must be a great book!
How To: Write a letter
And save the stamp
Sick of searching for a pen pal?
Write a letter to yourself.
Firelight Radio is available on Apple Podcasts and Podbean
Cap’n Killivine is filling in for Guitar (who is out with a broken spring) to describe the inner dynamics of using a pencil and paper to communicate your thoughts. And the truth is, it doesn’t depend what type of pencil or pen you use.
Trilogy Sneak Peak
How one simple campfire spawned 3 books
Hey there,
Thanks for stopping by. Today, I wanted to write a short piece on the three books that I co-authored. If the books were ever featured as a movie, the Hollywood-style trailer would probably go something along the lines as written below (and shown in the video.)
So without further ado …
As Ranger Rusty raised the flag at the crack of dawn, he thought it was “just another day. Little did he know his day would turn into a 3-book odyssey. Or am I talking about myself?
Little did I know (or imagine at the time) that the endeavor of writing those three books would take six years of my life. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, and not that I did it all the time, all day long. It was usually in the evening and early morning hours – before embarking into work at the nearby National Park/Preserve – that I did most of my writing. The caveat is that I did it every day. Rarely did I let a day go by without working on some aspect of the sprawling work. The other caveat is that I had a co-author, as elaborated in the video above. But even he would say when it came to the grindstone of writing it the book was primarily me. The other caveat, and there are lots – is that the three books chime in at just under 500,000 words. That’s quite a bit by any metric. A short book, like the Great Gatsby, is around 60,000 words. Could we have used an editor to help us shorten it up? Maybe so, but I stand by every word.
My Point:
The trilogy didn’t start as a trilogy. It started as a single book. And that single book didn’t start as a book. It started as a 30-minute campfire talk. The rest, shall we say, is campfire history. At the start of a journey usually you have no idea where it will lead. You can check out the books here: Visit the Trilogy’s website
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Sharpener or Bust
Getting ready for the Doodle Challenge
Yes, it’s true …
Cap’n Killivine is lonely.
Cap’n Killivine is sick of sitting around all day!
But that’ doesn’t mean he’s giving up hope. In fact, he’s never been more optimistic about the course of events. True – the Boogie Phone has the upper hand for now. But more and more people are rediscovering the joys of handwriting notes. And doodles! Is there anything more soothing to the mind and also invigorating in a strange way than filling up a blank piece of paper with a doodle?
That’s where the Doodle Challenge comes in.
Now there’s a doodle!
Draw one yourself and then hang it on the wall. You’ll be amazed how many people will admire it, and then use it as inspiration to doodle their own and similarly tape it up for display. Early estimates are that one doodle leads to ten and from their the doodles geometrically expand.
When it’s all said and done it will be a doodle revolution!
Literary Campfire Archive
as seen on YouTube