I wish I had a few million bucks. You know what I’d do with it? I’d buy a piece of land, way out in the middle of the country and build bunkhouses for kids who are having rough childhoods. Kids without parents, or kids who are neglected, or orphaned. I would call it Camp Okie Dokie.
Camp Okie Dokie would also be a shelter to many, many stray dogs and rescue animals. We would have the largest collection of cats, dogs, horses, pigs, zebras, and giraffes this side of the Mississippi River.
So you’d have a bunch of kids and dogs and livestock living together in one enormous summer camp. Therefore you would also need lots of Glade plug-ins.
Oh, and the library. Our library would be ridiculously big. Monumentally big. Existentially big. The building itself would be about the size of a medium Midwestern city.
Children would have access to a lot more than just books at this library. With their library cards they would be allowed to rent baseball gloves, Louisville sluggers, bicycles, guitars, water guns, camping gear, and fishing rods.
Fishing will be a big deal at Camp Okie Dokie. There will always be a full-time fishing guide employed by the camp, perpetually on standby, who will take kids fishing whenever the heck they feel like going. Day or night.
There will be 42 ponds on Camp Okie Dokie’s property, which will all be stocked with so much bream, bass and crappie that all you have to do is sneeze, and fish will start jumping into your boat. Kids will be encouraged to catch as many as they can since there will be a fish fry every Friday evening with hushpuppies and four metric tons of cheese grits.
At the fish fry, live music will be provided by musicians who don’t suck.
Nightly, there will be an old movie played on the massive theater screen erected on the lawn near the waterslides and roller coasters. No modern movies will be shown at Camp Okie Dokie. Only Herbie movies, old Disney cartoons, “The Apple Dumpling Gang,” “The Ghost and Mister Chicken,” and reruns of the “Andy Griffith Show.”
There will be free ice cream every weekday from 6 a.m. to midnight. Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. See Marge at the front desk about our complimentary insulin pumps.
There will be a lottery every week for residents. Numbers will be drawn on Saturday night. Every kid gets a chance to win, but there’s a catch. He or she will be paid in Werther’s Original caramel candies. And he or she will be required to share with everyone.
Free dental care will be provided at Camp Okie Dokie.
Monday nights will be game night. Game night will consist of all the classics: Battleship, Twister, Monopoly, Scrabble and all other games under the Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers labels except Operation, which is dumb. I never liked Operation. I grew up with an Operation game that had a broken buzzer, so we had to use the honor system.
Baseball will be played nightly among residents at Camp Okie Dokie. The score doesn’t matter. And trophies will be given only to those who wore the best chicken costumes.
At night, there will be a strolling mariachi band walking around to each cabin, singing songs to help get children into the proper mood for sleep. Also we will have an on-staff magician.
There will be free therapy for all kids, so that kids won’t grow up to be afraid of mental-health therapists like I was. Therapy will be fun and exciting and normalized. All our therapists will be dressed like comic superheroes because that’s what many of them are. Kids will learn that “depression” and “anxiety” are not dirty words, but terms just as ordinary as, say, “sprained ankle” and “lower back pain.”
Camp Okie Dokie will also employ adult men who will act as surrogate fathers to fatherless kids, just like I was. These staff members will be trained to teach boys that not every male conversation or activity has to be reduced to a contest of one-upmanship.
The camp will also have a full staff of women who will serve as surrogate mothers, teaching all children that a positive body-image has nothing to do with adipose tissue.
Camp Okie Dokie will have a squadron of old women and old men whose sole task will be to go around acting like grandparents to kids who have never known the privilege of the elderly.
Old women will wear aprons stained in grease and flour. Old men will wear their trousers up to their armpits. These old people will tell all wounded children that they are perfect just the way they are, and that just because bad things happen in life, it doesn’t mean that life itself is bad.
They will tell the kids that just because you don’t feel loved, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t. And they will remind kids that, when you’re older, just because you don’t have a few million bucks in the bank doesn’t mean you can’t reach out to a hurting child and change their life.
Because you can.
111 comments
Karla Baretincic - April 24, 2022 7:20 am
Sean, if I may call you by your first name, that Camp Okie Dokie is a wonderful idea. If I won the lottery I’d help make that dream come true. What a generous man you are in given of yourself to those children.
I start off my day reading your columns, whichbare uplifting to me. Enjoy in new life in Alabama.
Thanks for the stories!
PurpleIris - April 24, 2022 7:45 am
Your heart’s desires from the little boy who still lives inside you? Such a sweet story from a sweet man. Even without the lottery, you make these things come true for us through your writing. I will be spending at least part of my day at Camp Okie Dokie, I need what it has to offer. Thank you, Sean.
Wendy - April 24, 2022 8:27 am
My favorite part of Camp Okie Dokie is the grandparents in their functional clothing stained from doing things, despite their bad hips, and liver-spotted faces and hands. Here in Portugal where I live now people hike around, carrying on into their 80s. One neighbor is 102!
Linda Knight - April 24, 2022 9:08 am
Dear Lord, so be it!
Linda Knight - April 24, 2022 9:15 am
I just posted a comment but I want to add to it. I’m a great grandmother. Can I please be the one who rocks the babies?
Krista - April 25, 2022 8:02 pm
Love this.
Joy jacobs - April 24, 2022 9:44 am
❤️ I’m an experienced camp cook….. sign me up. ❤️
Laura W - April 24, 2022 9:51 am
I grew up with a complete Leave It To Beaver existence, but I am all in for a donation to help you bring this to life! With all the fans that love you I’ll bet there’s enough to donate and work for free and make it happen.
Debbie Taylor - April 24, 2022 9:58 am
You have the heart and soul to create Camp Okie Dokie. It is a phenomenal idea, Sean!
Don Bedell - April 24, 2022 10:06 am
Actually, here in the great state of Georgia, we do have a masonic home for children. http://www.masonichomeofgeorgia.com/WhoWeAre/whoweare.html and http://www.masonichomeofgeorgia.com/ It is for Georgia kids. Not big enough of everybody everywhere. Alabama also has a masonic home but it’s for old people. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/the-alabama-masonic-home,631178593/
Dee - April 24, 2022 10:24 am
What a precious soul you are, God bless you!
Lori - April 24, 2022 10:42 am
Sean, your columns give me a lift! If I had a million dollars, I would help you start Camp Okie Dokie too. My dad is a retired pediatrician. Years ago, he and two other doctors had a dream that children with chronic medical conditions could have a real camp experience, like you said, fishing, swimming, horseback riding and outdoor camping. That dream came true (https://campholidaytrails.org/) and so can yours. Thanks for sharing your writing talent with all of us!
Trudy - April 24, 2022 10:45 am
Sean, I think you just described Heaven.
Lacie Maynard - April 24, 2022 10:56 am
As always, your poignant words stir my soul and massage the thin places in my heart.
Chasity Davis Ritter - April 24, 2022 11:09 am
Sounds completely wonderful I think we need to start a Go Fund Me and make this place a real reality.
Robin - April 24, 2022 11:36 am
Every child deserves this life! I want to live there and help too. 🙂
Sally - April 24, 2022 11:36 am
Oh boy….. I’m 70 years old and I’d LOVE to be a part of your Summer Camp!!! God bless you…:-)
Let me know when you get it ready❤️
Sally Johnson - April 24, 2022 11:50 am
I wish to come to your camp, it is an awesome place. Hope someday you can get it started.
Ruth Mitchell - April 24, 2022 11:55 am
If only Elon Musk would drop the idea of buying Twitter and instead bring Camp Okie Dokie to reality, what a wonderful world this could be! (Sigh)
Marion - April 24, 2022 11:57 am
And bicycles!! Bikes give a kid independence
niobrarariverrat - April 24, 2022 12:03 pm
Beautiful!
Jennie Nearing - April 24, 2022 12:07 pm
Im In!!!! Let’s do this. I cannot think of anything this generation needs more than this! What a FABULOUS idea!
Beth - April 24, 2022 12:13 pm
Sean, I love your idea. There is an Alabama State Park north of Selma, Paul M. Grist State Park, that has an unused camp ground with cabins, a swimming pool and large barn. It’s beautiful. I went there as a child. It was a camp run by the YMCA. Thought I’d mention it to plant a seed. Maybe your camp idea could become a reality. Praying it is so.
Carroll Harris - April 25, 2022 2:43 am
There you go. Step #1. An unused camp ground. Go Fund Me can’t be far behind. I’m in.
Norman Turnipseed - April 24, 2022 12:24 pm
If you ever are able to get thank started send me a message. I would like to be there for the kids as a old man which I am.
Billie - April 24, 2022 12:25 pm
Sign me up! I’m a therapist who loves kids, animals, and camp. If I had a few million, I’d join you in building it. ❤️
peggy hayes - April 24, 2022 12:25 pm
This is beautiful. Can I please be the resident grandparent?
Dawn M Monday - April 24, 2022 12:28 pm
There’s an abandoned camp in Auburndale Florida on Lake Juliana. I’ve gone there by boat and walked around the cabins and have imagined all the activities you have described. I have no idea who owns it but would love to see it back to its original purpose of bringing kids back to the good old days!
Linda Lewis - April 24, 2022 12:29 pm
This is a wonderful idea. Maybe someone will take you up on it. It would be ideal. We need a place like this.
Connie Cagle - April 24, 2022 12:35 pm
Can us old people live there too!! I want to live there!!
Sean, you have no idea how many hearts you touch!! And help heal!
Denise Walker - April 24, 2022 12:38 pm
what a wonderful place Camp Okie Dokey would be! Can I be a volunteer? I would love to be a gramma to more children. (I have 4 of my own) Where will this wonderful place be? (I’m currently in Florida, but could relocate)
Susie Dove - April 24, 2022 12:40 pm
Sean, what a beautiful heart you have. I love this idea and dream. I’d absolutely volunteer to help there. It would be heaven on earth, and children need to see and feel that. 😊
ALISON W BREWER - April 24, 2022 12:40 pm
Sean, this may be your most precious column yet…thank you
Tupelodan - April 24, 2022 12:43 pm
Now, wait a minute. I’m a 75-year-old granddad who does not wear my britches up to my armpits. But I’ll gladly come help with the kiddos … and maybe give some other granddads some style tips. I also taught canoeing a couple summers at a YMCA camp. I can do that again because I remember all my instructions: don’t stand up and stay out of bushes. Never lost a soul.
Ed Hudson - April 24, 2022 12:45 pm
Here’s hoping you win the next lottery, and when you do Camp Okie Dokie will be built within driving distance of north Escambia County, Florida so I can volunteer.
Jan - April 24, 2022 12:51 pm
Love this plan!
Maggie Priestaf - April 24, 2022 12:53 pm
Sean…Amen, so be it.
Tupelodan - April 24, 2022 12:56 pm
Oh, one more thing: You’ve got to include Mary Poppins on movie night — the one with Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. If you don’t show it, after I win the lottery I’ll start my own camp and follow your “business model” — Camp Waytogo or Camp Wellallright (I can’t decide). But I’d rather volunteer at yours, so please add Mary Poppins to the movie lineup.
JACKIE LEON DARNELL - April 24, 2022 1:00 pm
I LOVE this one!
Shelton A. - April 24, 2022 1:01 pm
This may be the best thing you have ever written…and that’s saying a lot. A glorious dream and it would be beautiful if it came true. Thank you for sharing. God bless
Debbie Schmidt - April 24, 2022 1:03 pm
I had to look up a word today. My first thought was something my mother used to say:”Don’t get above your raising “. Then I thought, “No, we all need to get above our raising, especially those of us with traumatic childhoods”.
Cheryl - April 24, 2022 1:15 pm
Can I help out at Camp Okie Dokie? I want to play baseball with the kids.
Pink13 - April 24, 2022 1:17 pm
I’ll be a grandma counselor. And I can bake cookies.
Lifetime Chicago - April 24, 2022 1:23 pm
I am being pushed out of my job as a teacher assistant that I have had the last 5 years….some say it is because of age. I was a teacher for many years. Thank you for reminding me that it is okay to go to school with a bad back and just be grandma. I know, in my heart, that is all some children need.
Emily Pucjell - April 24, 2022 1:32 pm
Beautiful! Sounds like heaven!
Rick Putnam - April 24, 2022 1:38 pm
Keep it up
Nancy - April 24, 2022 1:41 pm
Truett Cathy once interviewed an elderly woman who had quite the success rate in fostering children who were underprivileged and had emotional, behavioral issues. He wanted to start a camp for such children. When asked her secret, she replied that when one would be upset she just held him tightly and rocked him until he could calm down. Reading this in his book left am impression on me as do your columns. I have my own rocking chair?!.
Randy Mills - April 24, 2022 1:45 pm
I have those pants .. no suspenders needed.
Tom Wallin - April 24, 2022 1:48 pm
Have you given this much thought Sean? Thought so.
Sounds like heaven. Can I come too?
Faye Helms - April 24, 2022 1:52 pm
Sean, your idea for summer camp is just The Best, As a social worker for too many years, I saw so many children who deserve to go to your camp.
I wish could make that camp real. Your passion for making the world better is appreciated. Oh, and I lived in Alabama all my life until retiring in Florida. I have enjoyed your column for so many years. A suburb of Birmingham was my home, and I love hearing about your new-old home, I think in Crestwood. I’m sure your neighbors feel honored to have you there. Your column is the first thing I read every day. Your wife is fortunate and blessed to have you; I grieve her mother’s loss. Thank you for your insights and for sharing with strangers. God bless you.
mollytoddmccgmailcom - April 24, 2022 1:58 pm
Oh, my goodness! What a perfect heaven on earth for these children! I hope each child will get to take care of and love and be loved by one (or two) dogs: to learn good responsibility and to feel unconditional love.
Julie, RN - April 24, 2022 2:15 pm
You bet your sweet bippy you can❣️ One at a time, we can all make a difference‼️
Lynn B - April 24, 2022 2:15 pm
Your heart is a beautiful place, Sean. I’d happy to play, read, kiss boo-boos, and keep a supply of warm chocolate chip cookies available!
Sheila G - April 24, 2022 2:20 pm
I’m all in for Camp Okie Dokie. I’ll play the piano for the Singalongs. And love the kids.
Robyn - April 24, 2022 2:27 pm
Thank you Sean for Camp Okie Dokie. I want to work there!! And, thank you for all your stories about your own healing…they help us all.
oldmamacrow - April 24, 2022 2:44 pm
I wish someone or something could take away your past hurt and sadness, but at least it made you know for certain what hurt and sad kids today need. I wish your Camp Okie Dokey could be a reality! Billionaires, are you listening????
Patricia Gibson - April 24, 2022 2:58 pm
Once again you hit the nail on the head❤️
beachdreamer - April 24, 2022 3:01 pm
Just reading all these comments, after reading your amazing ‘dream post’, I can really see it happening! So many from all walks of life would love to be a part of it. I’m among the elderly group, not much help physically, but could sure handle a writers group for these kids. As I’m sure you know Sean, writing is such good therapy. Just imagine all they’d have to write about! I’m excited just thinking about it. I agree about Elon Musk and so many others who could make this happen. If only people could not think of profits and bank balances, but think of changing lives! The abandoned camp in one readers comment would be a great start! It’s there, waiting to be discovered and put to use! I’ll be praying…Lord make it happen!
God bless you. Thank you for sharing your heart and your dreams ❤️
Kathy Sherrer - April 24, 2022 3:08 pm
Wonderful idea! Sign me up!
Elaine K Dempsey - April 24, 2022 3:10 pm
Sean…you have described a perfect piece of Heaven.
Lin Arnold - April 24, 2022 3:36 pm
Count me in! And my Hubby Dearest, too!
I have cooked for crowds as large as 400. And with the right equipment, I could do even larger ones. And I’d love to just be there for the kids. “Ninna’s lap” would always be a safe haven. I could even teach them how to cook some simple meals. And sewing! I could teach them to sew! And gardening! I learned a lot about vegetable gardening from my Dad.
Hubby Dearest could teach them about hunting and fishing. And he loves to go on hikes. Heck, he could even teach them how to process the animals to obtain the most meat.
And the scraps from the processing? I’d teach them very simple recipes to make dog food and treats.
But let’s not stop there. Our son is a minister and could come on Sundays to share the word. Plus, he’s an Olympic Weightlifting Coach. He could help them build their self-esteem by accomplishing something they thought they never could do. His wife is a Speech Language Professional, helping those with speech impediments. She’s great at not just helping them speak clearer, but in teaching them sign language, if necessary.
My daughter is a Kindergarten/1st grade Special Ed teacher. You should see her with her “kids”. She’s amazing at making them feel proud of every little milestone the accomplish. Her husband is a police officer. He could definitely teach them that the police are to be respected, not feared.
And the other son? Well, he’s an Electronics Engineer. He’s spooky smart but loves to unwind playing video games and outdoor games like Cornhole and volleyball. He could teach them that being smart doesn’t mean you’re a nerd. It just means that God gave you a very special gift.
Wouldn’t that be great?
Jim Kelly - April 24, 2022 3:42 pm
If I win the big lottery, I will help you do that.
Kenneth Somerset - April 24, 2022 3:45 pm
When I win the lottery I will send every penny to your camp for kids and animals. Then I will come there to work with kids and to love the animals. I can teach woodworking and lead church services. Deal?
Pat Palmisano - April 24, 2022 3:49 pm
Not quite as complete as your camp is, Sean, but Paul Newman just about made it all happen with his Hole In The Wall camps for kids. Wish you were able to make yours a reality.
LEE - April 24, 2022 3:53 pm
We have the same dream. I already know the place. It has two spring-fed lakes and a few thousand acres of trees. The people in the community are wholesome and hard-working. They love baseball. The community has a good school system and supports everything from bake sales to the arts. I had never been there until I was in my 30’s but would have loved growing up there.
If you know of someone with a spare gazillion dollars to buy the land and the lakes, I know several people who will work for free at Camp Okie Dokie.
Apric73 - April 24, 2022 3:57 pm
Sounds like Big Rock Candy Mountain.. love it!
Freda - April 24, 2022 4:25 pm
I’d even support a tax for this camp and be a volunteer!
Joy Amy Chanin - April 24, 2022 4:46 pm
Sounds like a wonderful camp. Maybe you could start a foundation and get enough donations to make it happen?!
Beth Erman - April 24, 2022 4:53 pm
Such a place exists — or at least very close to it. My brother, Michael Miller, runs The Micah Project, a group home for former street kids in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. They have good food, education, clothing, space to run and play, and counseling for all of the traumas that they have already experienced in their young lives. They have surrogate grandparents in the neighborhood next door, and they have all of the love they could want and missed out on early in their lives. https://micahprojecthonduras.org/
Harold Lenz - April 24, 2022 4:54 pm
Great idea 😎. Sounds like kids and the grownup involved will enjoy the heck out of it.
MaryBeth patten - April 24, 2022 4:58 pm
Sign me up to be a grandparent at Camp Oakie Dokie.
Karyn - April 24, 2022 5:01 pm
Sounds absolutely perfect! Also, thank you for changing the format/ print size on your blog. It’s easier to read on a phone. Keep up the awesome stories.
Stacey Patton Wallace - April 24, 2022 5:20 pm
Sean, I’m so glad I can finally leave a comment again; I’ve really missed it. For months, I kept getting an error message. My husband Mike and I would love your summer camp. Love to you and Jamie.
Barbara Pope - April 24, 2022 5:28 pm
You’ll have a few million one day–make it happen!
Sharon Allemang - April 24, 2022 5:29 pm
If I had the money, I would certainly help with your camp!! What a great idea♥️
Suzanne - April 24, 2022 5:35 pm
What an amazing start to my Sunday morning. Letting children be children. Love them, cherish them, support them, LISTEN to them, and show them Grace. I hope you have firefly or two.
Abbey Murray - April 24, 2022 5:38 pm
I love Camp Okie Dokie! Sign me up!
In the meantime, come see us at Camp ASCCA sometime. The offer always stands ❤️ We can let y’all hang with the triplets too 😉
Linda Moon - April 24, 2022 5:46 pm
Kids’ camps. A huge eclectic library. Old movies and all these other Camp Okie Dokie activities for the campers. And just maybe the care from surrogate fathers might be the best of all…even more than the fun stuff. Yes, we CAN change children’s lives, Sean Dietrich. I’ve seen it happen many times. It would have been my honor to reach out to you when you were a hurting child…whether as a children’s librarian or a teacher. I’m so very proud of you!
John Henderson - April 24, 2022 5:48 pm
Thank you for your daily dose of optimism and clean humor; both sometimes seem to be in short supply.
DiAnn A Grimes - April 24, 2022 5:59 pm
Thanks, Sean. I just LOVE your idea about Camp Okie Dokie. I am a retired special education teacher and I worked with kids who were neglected, had learning difficulties, mental issues, and Lord knows what else. None of these kids came to school to be “bad” kids, they were scared to death that they would look foolish, or embarrass themselves. They wanted to learn things just like all the other kids, they just had road blocks that kept them from learning and my job was to show them how to get around those road blocks. Sometimes it was easy as pie, but most times I had to really come up with crazy ideas for them–like for the kids who was attention deficit; he/she was allowed to take walk a about to get water are take a restroom break so they could get the ants out. I even let them stroll around the classroom if they were having a particularly hard time. So, your idea for Camp Okie Dokie is brilliant!!!
Monica Goforth - April 25, 2022 12:48 pm
Like DiAnn I am a retired special education teacher. I agree with everything she said. During my 34 years of teaching, I worked with MANY kids from single-parent homes. Most were absent a father. They needed that male influence. I was widowed when my son was in high school so he experienced that absence at a critical time in his life.
I love your idea!
Geri Singer - April 24, 2022 6:53 pm
I wish I had a few million bucks to help you do this!
Karen - April 24, 2022 7:37 pm
I will sign up to help. Let us know when you’re ready.
Lori - April 24, 2022 7:38 pm
Thank you for putting into words my biggest dream! I’m totally on board!
Dale Parsons - April 24, 2022 7:53 pm
Wonderful. That is every kids’ happy place dream.
jstephenw - April 24, 2022 7:54 pm
I will gladly sponsor a number of children to this wonderful place. Thanks Sean.
Bettie - April 24, 2022 8:08 pm
How much do you need?
Sheila G - April 24, 2022 8:30 pm
Bettie I like your direct question. And I would like to know, also! Could this really happen???
Becky+Souders - April 24, 2022 8:33 pm
What a wealth of fine ideas! However, as a born mid-westerner from Nebraska, I would remind you that the middle of the country is probably west of the Mississippi.
Barbara J Schweck - April 24, 2022 8:45 pm
Re read that post about starting a foundation-if anybody could make it happen you could. Once God puts that thought in your heart, He will be there to see it through!! Great places and lots of land for something like that here in Alabama
Floyd Budd Dunson - April 24, 2022 8:45 pm
I want to go , I’ll even volunteer to work there
Carol from GA - April 24, 2022 9:05 pm
Wow! You obviously are on to something Sean… maybe all your wonderful writings were to lead you to this (a calling!). Your beautiful wife could serve her work famous chicken and dumplings and one of her many desserts… she already makes enough to serve an entire Army! I’m ready to donate…. just tell us where and when! I think you’ve just written your next Chapter in Life… congratulations!!
sharmenoswald - April 24, 2022 9:34 pm
I will be your Librarian for FREE! I am a Librarian and love the idea of cataloging and checking out fishing rods, camping gear, baseballs, etc. I think the campers should be also be able to check out the people to have for the day. Say, a camper is missing his father because he’s fatherless, then he checks out a father to spend the day with him one-on-one all to himself. I think we all could have used Camp Okie! Dokie! at one time or another in our childhoods. When my ship comes in I’ll let you know so that we can start on Camp Okie Dokie.
Renee - April 24, 2022 9:48 pm
How do I apply to volunteer and donate to a worthy endeavor? Love a mom and soon to be grandma.
MAM - April 24, 2022 10:03 pm
Awesome idea, Sean. Where do we donate?And who owns that deserted Florida camp? Maybe the owner would donate it for a good cause like this one. Sounds like you would have plenty of volunteers. But, of course, my practical side says: “But he’ll need money to maintain it and grow it, too.” We should all pray that you make it come to pass!
Christina - April 24, 2022 10:06 pm
We are with you in this, Sean!
Bette Loyd - April 24, 2022 11:20 pm
Sounds like Heaven to me! I will volunteer as a grandma!
Rosemary Strilich Gentry - April 25, 2022 12:01 am
What a beautiful idea. You have so much love for everyone. You are truly Godly. Thank you for your daily writing!
Kay Quinton - April 25, 2022 12:04 am
Sean…I would simply love to work at Camp Okie Dokie when it’s built!! This gave me an enormous smile!
Larry Gordon - April 25, 2022 1:19 am
I would work there in a heartbeat. Love your enthusiasm
Steve Winfield (Lifer) - April 25, 2022 4:17 am
You got big $ coming in from all those books. There’s a definite need here & I’m sure the gov’t will help. Jamie’s smart enough to put this together & me & 1,000 others will be glad to help.
Why not? What do we have to lose?
Please try.
Hal Sllred - April 25, 2022 6:23 am
I agree with everything you said except everyone gets a trophy. I, like you, grew up in not so desirable circumstances. Basically my grandparents raised me to be honest. Now I’m totally not saying kids don’t need encouragement and praise. But I worked my skinny butt off to get a trophy! Anyway, I’m still going to read everything you write.
Susanne Maxwell - April 25, 2022 4:01 pm
Camp Okie Dokie sounds like Heaven !!
Kim Morris Ladoczky - April 25, 2022 4:21 pm
I’m in. Sign me up… sounds like my dream but even better.
Kathryn - April 25, 2022 4:44 pm
Love it! Make sure there are creaky screen doors and a HUGE porch with floor boards worn soft and splinter-free. The porch should also have a blue ceiling and lots and lots of wooden rocking chairs so there will always be laps available for cuddling, comforting, reading and napping.
Steve Winfield (Lifer) - April 25, 2022 5:03 pm
Look up “Kings Ranch”.
It was in Alabama & exactly what you describe. Not sure if it’s still operating but years ago it was going strong.
CHARALEEN WRIGHT - April 26, 2022 3:57 pm
❤
Alice Grimes - April 27, 2022 7:39 am
Wonderful! Praying this can become a reality.
Sue - April 28, 2022 4:43 pm
100% Awesome idea!! ❤️❤️❤️
Steven McAfee - May 2, 2022 1:02 am
Sign me up!! That’s exactly my dream too!
Dona Ford - June 14, 2022 10:55 pm
Incredibly awesome Sean….