The boy’s eyes follow me around the room.
His thinly painted lips purse nary a hint of a smile, only a telling, a knowing far beyond his tender years—or maybe he does know, maybe he knows everything, staring out from the portrait with generations of patterns and sufferings pouring through him.

The mother next to him [...]

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“You cannot capture happiness no matter how hard you may chase after it.  Happiness is something that follows you.”The words of the old sage echoed in the young man’s heart, sounding a constant beat like the song that plays over and over without reprieve.
“What does that mean?” he asked himself. “Time to walk,” he continued, [...]

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I greeted her in the hallway with a gentle squeeze, that kind of hi-I’m-happy-to-see-you-and-have-no-idea-what-to-say embrace, as if words mattered anyway.
“You know?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “I’ve been praying for you everyday.”
She forced a smile and nodded before she turned into the salon.
When I made the appointment, they asked me at the front desk if I [...]

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“The last year of hard work has finally paid off,” he said. “Your delivery, presence, modulation—all of it work.  I’m proud of you.”
I beamed.
 
“Of course,” he continued. ”This is only regional theatre and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Many speakers make excellent money doing regional theatre.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, sensing a set up.
“Well, [...]

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Did you ever read the words "…this is a true story…" and wonder just how "true" it really was? I know I have and since making statements is all too easy, yet pictures say a thousand words, I thought I’d show you a few photos from where The Great Ones story takes place—along with [...]

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Prologue

Torredembarra, Spain, 1964—

The Boy heard the scuffle from his bedroom at the end of the upstairs hallway.

His mother and father screamed at each other, not surprising to him as it happened almost daily, though the routine of it seldom masked the pain that tore at his heart.

As usual, he burrowed his small body into the covers and buried his head beneath his pillow, as far into the recesses as he could hide.
Underneath the anger and the angst lurked that other familiar feeling—fear.

"Will he come for me next?" he thought to himself.

Quietly, he began to hum.

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The girl spun on her toe for the last time, stopped, flexed and took a bow
as the audience burst into applause.
She smiled, curtsied and ran offstage into the waiting arms of her
classmates.
“That was sooo fun.” they cooed and squealed.
Outside, a bevy of family and friends showered her with kisses and
congratulations.
“A perfect performance,” her mother praised. [...]

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The boy pushed his way through the brambles and scrambled up the embankment
that led to a bed of rocks.
Into the distance, as far as the eye could see, stretched two rails on top
of treated wood beams.
His favorite place, a place to dream, a place to explore and discover.
He knelt down and placed his ear on [...]

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The man plopped down on his chair, defeated.
His father’s maxims bit his ears and nagged him like tired Christmas jingles.
“No pain, no gain. No guts, no glory. No risk no reward. Gotta’ pay to play. You never know until you try.”
On and on.
He sat, dazed, in a semi-trance, half-comatose, half numb, with tinges of remorse and disappointment punctuated by [...]

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