A while ago I blogged a series about women in my life who were mentors. At the time, I didn’t think about the men who have been influential in my life. Maybe I should. Maybe I will! I saw on line this week that someone special to me passed away in February at the age of 93. I think he knew he was important to me. I hope so.
Lee Roddy was a famous writer. You might, if you are old enough, remember the Grizzly Adams TV show. That was Lee Roddy. He wrote over 62 books – most of them for younger readers (5th to 8th grade). I met him in the mid-1990s when he came to my school as a guest speaker for a celebration of reading that we did every year. My first impressions were that he was an elegant older gentlemen with a tiny touch of gruff. He shared with the kids his love of reading and writing and gave them some encouragement and tips on becoming a writer. I say he gave these to the kids, he was, after all hired for that purpose. But, in reality it was me who was encouraged and given insight about writing. You see, at that point in my life, with a job and husband, two teens at home and working sometimes two jobs to just get by, writing a novel was on my wish list but nothing more. I had stories in my head and the desire to write, but not one word on paper. Lee Roddy inspired me. He made it sound do-able. If not easy, he made me think maybe someday I could write.
That first visit to our school turned into a second visit to my classes a year later when I used one of his novels to teach the Civil War. It was the first book in a series he called “The Between Two Flags” series. While he was in my classroom, he told me that he was nearly done with the second book in the series, but that since he only had sons and grandsons, he was worried that his female lead character might not be ‘real’ enough. He asked if I might be willing to ‘edit’ it for him and give him my thoughts. Oh man! Since he wanted more than one point of view, the librarian at school, Kristin, read the manuscript when it came, and so did I. We also gave it to two of my eighth graders and ask for their input. Then, we sent the manuscript back to Mr. Roddy with all our notes. It was so fun to read it again a few months later, published and polished, and see if he’d taken our ideas to heart (he had). It was also amazing to read the dedication page, because he’d dedicated the book to Kristin and me . Unbelievable!
I kept, distantly, in touch with Mr. Roddy over the years. We’d exchange emails once in a while, nothing too close. When I first finished Mountain Time and didn’t know how to proceed, I emailed him. In my email, I admitted to him that at my age, I didn’t know if getting my novel out for others to read was a silly pipe dream. His email was such a blessing to me, full of encouragement and hope. I still have it on my bulletin board so I can read it any time I get discouraged or think I’m wasting my time as I write. It was a gift of infinite value at a moment when I needed it most, and from someone who was gruff enough to be honest.
The first time I heard Lee Roddy speak, he said, “I write with the hope that heaven will be different because I wrote.” The idea of that made such an impression of me. For the rest of my teaching career I had a small sign on my desk saying the same thing only about teaching. Now, as a writer and blogger, I feel the responsibility and the joy of that sentiment. I don’t know whether Mr. Roddy is in heaven meeting people who are there because his words pointed them in that direction. I hope so. But what I do know, is that my life has been influenced by him, and my life is different because Lee Roddy wrote.
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