An Alternate Hollywood Ending

Sometimes stories keep going even after you think they’ve ended.

This past January I shared a 7 Minute Story titled Rookie of the Year.

You can listen to it HERE.

It starts off by detailing my love for the early 90s film Rookie of the Year and how it made childhood a little easier for both my brother and I after our parents got divorced. Then, the story flashes forward to 2019 when I was given the assignment to interview actor and musician Thomas Ian Nicholas.

If you didn’t know, Thomas played the lead character of Henry Rowengartner (pictured below) in the film.

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So, I interviewed Thomas (now in his 30s) in Akron, Ohio about some of the important charity work he was doing on behalf of a local hospital. We had a great conversation but something was missing…

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Maybe it was my desire to try and remain professional. Or maybe I didn’t want to come off as a fanboy, but I never told him how much the movie he starred in all those years ago meant to me.

And so that was it. That was the bittersweet ending to my story.

But shortly after I shared the 7 Minute Story, I got a direct message on Instagram that caught my eye…

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It was from Thomas Ian Nicholas.

He told me that he enjoyed and appreciated the story and even shared it with his Instagram following.

I was on cloud 9…

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I guess this is the alternate ending to my “Rookie of Year” story. I originally set out to tell a story about the role that movies play in our lives. That they’re essential because they provide something life usually doesn’t.

A Hollywood ending.

In this case, my life played out more like one of my favorite childhood films. A gentle reminder that maybe the optimism and hope of youth is the reason we make movies to begin with.

*THIS BLOG GIVES 7MS LISTENERS A DEEPER INSIGHT INTO MY STORYTELLING PROCESS.