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Winter Park High

Soundtrack to the Past

October 30, 2008

I’ve written recently about finding a long-lost friend in an unlikely way, via his son’s photo on a Facebook page. Now comes word that the son — singer, songwriter, and aspiring actor — will soon release his first CD.

His father and I have exchanged emails since making contact in September and pledged to meet at some point soon. His emails took on more vibrancy today when I listened to two of his son’s songs on MySpace. They’re beautiful, conveying range and passion and artistry that remind me of entertainers who achieved stardom.

To my ear, young James’ soaring voice sounds nothing like his father’s, not that I can recall my friend ever singing. There’s certainly no evidence of dad’s touch of Kentucky accent. As I listened, the songs brought to mind — oddly — basketball. Read More

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Blown Far on the Wind

October 3, 2008

I have a high school friend named Jim. I haven’t seen him in nearly four decades. In fact, none of our other friends have seen him in years. This protracted absence gives Jim a leg up on the rest of us: he’s frozen in our minds as he was back then, young and good-natured and [...]

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No courage, no contrition

September 23, 2008

A few years ago I wrote a lousy short story. The main character, based loosely on me, carried a burden of regret for wrongs committed in his youth. Although decades had passed, he decided to make amends and began a quest for redemption.
Yes, the premise was cliched. But I was writing based on personal experience, [...]

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The Road Home

September 21, 2008

Dawn has passed without sleep, and I’m headed back to Portland, crammed into a jetliner thigh-to-thigh with strangers. But I’m elsewhere, drifting through another world, a planet of the previous three days and nights in Central Florida.
With me in this world are dearest friends, friends I’d lost for an unspeakable number of years. The occasion, [...]

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High water, deep memories

September 2, 2008

Flying into Orlando last week, I see a familiar sight: Central Florida’s abundant lakes stretching to the horizon. But something is different. No sandy beaches. The lakes are brimming over from Tropical Storm Fay’s deluges. Later I feel the land between the lakes squish beneath my feet. The newspaper where I worked is filled with [...]

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‘The Graduate,’ without sequel

June 9, 2008

On the radio, Garrison Keillor says writer Charles Webb turns sixty-nine today. Webb wrote The Graduate, the book on which the 1967 movie was based. News to me is Webb’s sequel, published in January.
A little research shows Home School is a sequel in name only. Not worth reading, not worth risking the original story losing [...]

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Class of 1968: a death, a memory

May 26, 2008

I learned today that a high-school friend died over the weekend. I last saw Jeff Schofield nearly ten years ago at our thirty-year reunion in Florida. He was frail as a twig, victim of personal excesses that claim so many.
The news naturally conjured up memories of Winter Park High, class of 1968. I remembered [...]

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