Thought For The Day
Fred wowed the crowd with his peerless performance. He was born to be on stage or in front of people at the very least. He thrived on it.
He actually won the grand prize.He refused it, saying it was in violation of the rules of a fraternity he belonged to which did not allow him to accept gifts.
We did a few songs together and the crowd seemed happy enough with our offering. It was one of those times when part truth and part fiction becomes a real event. It was good enough to find it's way onto the header for section two of the local newspaper.
Other than create the expectation of an article on Hoxeyville in Life Magazine, we did nothing terribly wrong. While they believed that, they stood taller and dreamed larger than before. We told them there were no guarantees that it would make the final cut. We told them that it would be a while before anything happened at all. And the whole time it lived in their lives, life was good and they were special. Who knows when they finally gave up on the dream? Maybe they never did. I hope not and in a way they are more famous now than they would have been in a magazine article then. Approximately 2.3 billion people have access to the internet. At it's peak Life's circulation was just over three million.
And the girl? She was a lovely young lady and it was my privilege to spend a little time with her on that evening a long time ago. Nothing we did would compromise her beauty or character. She made me the envy of our little group and that made me happy. And the truth is, she didn't believe a word of our story.
Fred Doerr died in April 22, 2009. He was 68. I hadn't spent much time with him since college. He was living in Saginaw and I live near Atlanta. He left me with a lot of memories. I will cherish them.
Doug Jensen is teaching business law at Reed College near Seattle. I have kept in touch with him over the years. He is still ever the gentleman, perfect manners, thoughtful and a lot of fun. He still loves to wet a line as fly fishermen are fond of saying. He goes to the Bob Marshall Wilderness every year to renew his outdoor spirit.
So there you have it, Hoxeyville - The Life Magazine Project
©Herb Ratliff, July 20, 2012, All Rights Reserved
I loved this story from beginning to end!
ReplyDeleteHow very nice of you to say so. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe magazine of "Life" is still thriving and does indeed reach more than your original fictitious tale. Consider it a published! I particularly liked the non compromising wood nymph.
ReplyDeleteManners appear to be maintained. How delightful to read a mannerly memory.