UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 21, Page 7
February 24, 1994
Children's book; Dale Hayman overwhelmed by urgency to write

     Harlan Dale Hayman is leaving a legacy for future generations of his
family--a book entitled The Adventures of Mark Johnson.
     Written for young children, the book is not your typical Dick and
Jane, Spot and Puff type of story. It deals with adult-oriented issues that
reflect modern society, ranging from racism to drugs to guns, but the
stories are written to make children aware of these problems in a
non-threatening way.
     The book is about a child growing up in a good environment, with
loving parents and a caring teacher who try to impart their values of what
is important and good, Hayman, a custodian with Plant Operations, said.
     Once he started his book, Hayman said, he could not stop writing until
it was completed. As he writes in the preface, "The urgency to write began
to overwhelm me....There were too many thoughts running through my head,
and I just had to write them down on paper."
     The character of Mark Johnson became an extension of Hayman and the
things which concerned him. "When I finished a section, I'd think: Where do
we go from here, Mark?" Hayman said.
     Although the stories are for children, the preface to each is a
discussion of social issues. For instance, one section of the book is about
the elderly.
     As Hayman writes, "I'm sure that many people find mistreatment among
the elderly almost hard to believe, but it does exist and it's real....The
elderly laid the foundation for us to follow in their success and the
elderly paved the way of the future....The elderly deserve respect, and we
should demand that they receive respect."
     The children's story that follows involves Mark visiting a retirement
center with his class. The children and older people get together to sing,
dance the hokey pokey, eat refreshments and have a good time. Mark
befriends an old man named Billy Brown, whose family never comes to visit,
but Mark cheers him up. In a later story, Billy Brown visits Mark's house
when none of Mark's friends can come to his birthday party and turns his
birthday into a happy day.
     Hayman grew up in Newark and is a graduate of Wilmington High School.
He would like to publish his stories, which he designed for "teaching,
understanding, discussing and educating." He credits his faith and religion
for giving him direction in writing his stories, saying that everyone has
resources within themselves that they should pull out and use.
     For Hayman, writing is a voyage of discovery and a means of helping
him define himself. Another voyage is underway--he has started to work on
another book.
                                                  -Sue Swyers Moncure