Mike Kolasky was seated at his desk in the basement of The Orrville Journal office in Northeast Ohio when he asked if I knew how to spell the word ‘February.’
“I was born in February,” I replied.
He glanced at his computer screen and then to me, and back again, with one hand on his chin. Mike always had a calm Zen-like presence from what I remember, and those sort of memories remain with me all these years later.
There was not much else to be said that particular day. I quickly realized he was editing a story I’d just written, one that was likely littered with typos and run-on sentences. I told myself I’d never be so careless again.
My guy Swamburger was offering a holiday special on hip-hop beats and I felt the time was right to make a move on the offer. The intent was to have two of my younger brothers put together a complete song, something I figured they’d be suitable for after so much time spent rocking the 8-track recorder without much direction up north.
So I sat with Swam for an hour, nodding my head and making facial expressions as he fleshed out an instrumental. Then I sent it to Ohio for Arron and Jayson to begin putting their pieces in place.
Jayson drove to Orlando two weeks later ready to roll with two verses sometime in late January/early February. Arron flew down with no idea what he was planning to record, which I guess could be considered both a gift and a curse depending on your viewpoint.
All I did was figure out words for the intro and hook, and guide the creative direction.
Check out the track “Matters of the Mind” by clicking here on the link or hitting the play button below. Leave a comment and let us know what you think. And stay tuned because more music is on the way later this year.
(The following story is an alternate version of what will appear in the Jan. 9, 2014 edition of OrrViews in Orrville, Ohio)
ORLANDO, Fla. – It didn’t take long for Hannah Plybon to showcase the kind of impact she could have at the highest level of college basketball.
Hannah Plybon (left) earned as spot on the All-MAC Freshman Team a year ago.
On the heels of successful runs in three different sports during her senior year at Orrville High School in Ohio, Plybon made an immediate impression on coaches and teammates upon her arrival at the University of Akron.
Plybon worked her way into the starting lineup as a freshman before her rookie season ever got underway, on a team featuring six seniors that had returned from a 23-win campaign.
Plybon has since blossomed into a leader at Akron, on a squad that opened the 2014-15 season by winning its first 10 games.
She’s now less than a year removed from being named to the All-MAC Freshman Team after starting 32 of 33 games for the Lady Zips, who qualified for the NCAA Tournament and won the Mid-American Conference for the first time in school history.
Not bad for someone hailing from small-town America, where the pride of being hometown to former college coach Bobby Knight and a jelly manufacturer is offset by two decades worth of factories closing shop and families relocating elsewhere.
