Wayne, The Nerd from Arizona

Wayne is a good kid but has always had a hard time making friends. His dad is an air force master sergeant. He travels a lot, even overseas. Now, Wayne is in a new school and feels unsure of himself. Join Wayne on his adventure from Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona, to Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Welcome to this edition of Newsgram.  Today’s program is dedicated to all the military families out there and anyone who has ever raised a family with a job that requires a lot of travel and frequent relocation. It can be hard on the kids, especially the ones that have trouble making new friends.  Wayne Rankin – I had bad skin. I had pimples, buck teeth. I needed braces but you can’t do anything about that. It’s just the way it is. You might see that as a flaw but people look past those flaws and real friends, true friends will look past that and continue to communicate with you.  That’s Wayne Rankin, retired Master Sergeant from the US Airforce and the real life inspiration for his new children’s book Wayne, the Nerd from Arizona.  Here’s the premise. Wayne was living on Luke Air Force Base on the west side of Phoenix, Arizona. A real place. He was born and raised there, and despite his family’s many moves, it was the only place he could truly call home. When his father was transferred to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany he found himself once again not only alone in a new city but in a new country and for Wayne making friends was not that easy. In fact, Wayne’s first day of school was a disaster. All he could think about was how little he had in common with the other kids. Wayne Rankin – It was tough. you’re in a foreign country, not to mention not having any friends but making new friends. You don’t know anybody. You’re making new friends and trying to sort out with those friends for the next four or five years is pretty tough.  One of things that worked for Wayne was not focusing on the negative but finding the positives which is great advice for any situation.  Wayne Rankin – You’re parents or your dad is  in the military and that’s life in the military, a nomad, a gypsy as they say. It’s a good experience. You got to go to a country you never dreamed about and you gotta make some friends because you’re on your own, an island and that’s that.  And the book is great for five to eight year olds who find themselves in this situation because it demonstrates how that’s done…or at least what worked for Wayne. Wayne Rankin – It goes to that period where kids are trying to check you out and see what you’re made of and if you’re gonna make it or not. You feel very alone but that’s only a temporary situation. Eventually somebody is gonna gravitate towards you and you gotta make a friend.  We’ve all been there. Can you remember your first day of school, moving to a new neighborhood or even starting a new job. Human nature takes over and some people thrive in that environment but if you’re an introvert it may be more challenging so Wayne’s book is a tool for helping kids to understand that. Meet Anita… Wayne Rankin – She tells him that, you can be anybody. Be yourself. Be true to yourself. You don’t have to change to be this or that, appealing to different groups. She looks past his flaws or what he perceives as flaws, his crooked teeth and his bad skin and says Look, I’m just here to be your friend because of who you are. You gotta realize that everything is temporary and you might have crooked teeth but they’re got braces. You might have bad skin but now they’ve got soap that clears up that stuff. It’s just temporary. You change. Your body changes. You’re just going through those awkward moments in your life where kids try to pick on you but that doesn’t last long.   We tell our kids this stuff all the time but what do we know, r