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1999 Corinth High School |
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"Storyteller Set to Perform"
By Amy Sims
Staff Writer
To say Richard Peeples has worn many hats in his 38 years would be an
understatement.
This weekend, Peeples, who has had enough job titles to fill an
inch-thick resume, will be returning to his childhood home of Corinth to
become once again, simply the son of Neal and Penny Godwin and the
brother of Kirk Peeples, and attend his 20-year high school reunion at 7
p.m. on Saturday night.
While in the neighborhood, he will utilize his current occupation as
storyteller to entertain a group of children at 10:30 a.m. Saturday amid
the smell of open books and sounds of pages turning at the Northeast
Regional Library.
In addition to his interest in broadening young people’s minds through
the power of books, Peeples is excited about the prospect of meeting the
offspring of his former Corinth High School class of 1979 peers, some of
whom will be in attendance.
Currently a resident of Orlando, Fla., with his wife, Maury, Peeples
has enjoyed the stability of going to work and play every morning at the
Orlando Public Library for about a year now, where he and three other
storytellers serve as the locksmiths in unveiling brave new worlds for
children attending daycare centers, preschools and elementary schools to
explore via the over 50,000 books in the library’s children’s wing and
some musical accompaniment originating out of Peeples’ passion for the
guitar since he was 14.
“The entire Corinth library would probably fit inside our children’s
department,” said Peeples of the five-story, block encompassing, main
branch of the Orlando facility, which has 12 additional branches,
smaller in stature and scattered throughout the city that he and crew
nomadically visit on storytelling missions abroad.
Ironclad at present, Peeples’ career path has been anything but
straight and narrow since he enrolled with a theater scholarship and
graduated from Lambuth College in Jackson, Tenn., with a degree in
marketing, as he has held positions as a ranger for the National Park
Service, a veterinarian’s assistant, a substitute teacher and a member
of the management staff at Disney World.
“I believe that variety is the spice of life. I’ve had a checkered
past that began with me getting kicked out of the monastery after a copy
of ‘Showgirls’ was discovered under my stone pillow,” the engaging
comedian joked. “I’ve never done anything because I needed a job. I did
it because it was fun.”
And fun is Peeples’ middle name, as with guitar in tow he relishes the
smiles he generates on children’s faces during his storytelling
performances.
“I always take my guitar because a third of my program includes music.
With certain ages, songs are necessary to win them over. I usually play
‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’ or songs of that nature and tell them short,
simple stories,” revealed Peeples on his attention-sustaining methods.
Peeples refused to divulge too much information about Saturday
morning’s festivities, as he hopes to surprise his audience with
anything but traditional tales and tunes.
Peeples’ musical repertoire will be in great demand during his entire
stay in the Crossroads area, as he and a couple of his hometown cronies,
Brandon Bingham and Matt McWhirter, will take the stage at Alley Galley
as the “Speckled Horses” at approximately 9 p.m. on Friday, performing
rock, blues and country covers the entire crowd will recognize. The
group that performs gigs on the rare occasions when they are all in town
will then embark on their second performance of the weekend as the
musical entertainment at the reunion.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my old friends, some of which I
haven’t
seen since I moved away,” said Peeples.
As for his future in the telling of tales, both tall and short,
Peeples admits his current occupation as one of his most fulfilling.
“I have always gotten along with children,” he said, believing youth
education to be everyone’s responsibility, including himself, a man with
no biological children of his own.
“I love my job, but someday I want to be a fireman,” proclaimed
Peeples, who this weekend, will pick up where he left off 20 years ago
as a class act in the departments of charm and witticism and wear yet
another hat, that of a role model.
Amy Sims is a staff writer for The Daily Corinthian. She is from the
Cairo community of Tishomingo County.
This web page was last modified on 04/05/00.
