Wednesday, October 13, 2010
BROOKSVILLE — Every year, all Parrott Middle School students and teachers read the same book.
Sixth-grade life science teacher Billy Lee said he and the kids didn't like last year's selection, so he started looking for a new book for this year.
At the same time, he was looking for a possible fossil-hunting field trip for his students. He was on fossil expert Mark Renz's website and saw the books Renz had written.
Those include mostly nonfiction works: Fossiling in Florida, Giants in the Storm, Desert Sharks and Megalodon. He also wrote a fiction book, Doug's Ark.
Lee approached principal Leechele Booker with Doug's Ark, which she read and approved for use as the school's book of the year. She and Lee worked out a deal with Renz to get 900 books, along with a visit from the author to the school.
Sixth-grader Alex Bloxson-Joiner, 11, said he liked Doug's Ark. "It was funny and entertaining," he said.
Sixth-grader Bryce Hearn, 11, got a message from it. "If you fail the first time, you keep trying until you succeed," he said.
Renz visited the school Oct. 4 and told stories from his life. He recalled being in middle school and having a writing assignment to describe a place. He chose the inside of a book. He didn't get a good grade (the teacher said he didn't follow directions), but he said he was inspired to communicate with writing.
He talked about his water-skiing, roller-skating, paddle-wheel boating stepgrandfather. He told the students about his time in the Coast Guard, his attempt at being a songwriter in Nashville, his 6,000-mile bicycle trip, raising money for orphans and his fascination with fossils.
"Whatever you do," he told the students, "do it as an adventure."
The students listened attentively. Sixth-grader Robin Durso, 12, said her favorite of Renz's adventures was "doing the bikes, because it's adventurous; reminds me of Forrest Gump."
Sixth-grader Rebecca Harvey, 11, seemed more impressed with Renz's more recent activities. She liked hearing about "when he was in the river and he found the cousin to the manatee," she said.
Renz, 55, author, adventurer and fossil guide, visits paleontology groups, historical societies, Audubon groups and schools several times a month.
"My resume would read like the yellow pages," he said, "but they all had a common thread: adventure, fun and trying to make a better world as you go through."