Why this Lightning team may NEVER win the Stanley Cup
You could see it in their eyes. They weren’t the eyes of champions, confident and determined to do whatever it takes to win. Watching...
top of page
TheOnlyFredSmith.com
Author | Screenwriter
Search
- Apr 13, 2019
- 5 min
Everyone Knows his Work. Few Know his Name.
I’m going to print a single word. An adjective, if you’re curious. And when you read this lone word, you’ll know exactly who my favorite...
- Nov 15, 2018
- 3 min
On Writing Racist Characters
The charred corpse of Jesse Washington hangs from a utility pole. His ashen body is naked from the waist up, arms flexing like a body...
- Jul 24, 2018
- 6 min
Finding True Love in the Seas of Cheese
I’m in love, have been since March 23, 2002. That was the day my twenty-five-year-old eyes first took in the woman who would one day...
- Jun 6, 2018
- 3 min
When I Use The “C-Word,” I Mean It.
Add me to the group for whom the “c-word” (you know, rhymes with runt) induces a cringe. We've heard a lot of the word lately, thanks to...
![On Working with a [Future] Star](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/6f6d4a_75b0bd23a8ce40c9ad920f68e4301f16~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_474,h_249,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/6f6d4a_75b0bd23a8ce40c9ad920f68e4301f16~mv2.jpg)
- Apr 9, 2018
- 3 min
On Working with a [Future] Star
"This kid is a heck-of-an-actor." We'd just concluded the first take of rehearsals for a short film I'd written and was directing called...
- Nov 8, 2017
- 3 min
What It's Like to be on the Losing End of a Hail Mary
Twenty-four years later, it still stings. When the ball was snapped, we led 10-7. All of three seconds remained in the first round...
- Sep 27, 2017
- 1 min
Remembering Rayzilla
In the early Summer of 2016, Ray Villadonga and I spent an afternoon at his Tampa home, filming an interview session about his latest...
- Sep 25, 2017
- 1 min
Cigar City Poet: James Tokley Remembers an Urban Kaleidoscope
The corner at 22nd Street and Lake Avenue in Tampa's Belmont Heights neighborhood isn't what it used to be. Gone is the Red Top Bar and...
- Jul 25, 2017
- 2 min
Historic Bungalows, Pawnshops, and Hos...Maggie Council's Nebraska Avenue
I had been living off of Nebraska Avenue when I first heard Maggie Council's song about Tampa's notorious thoroughfare more than 10 years...
- Jul 25, 2017
- 8 min
Twenty Years Later...the Greatest Senior Year in Miami HS Athletic History
On June 4, 1996, Markeith Cooper was dressed in a suit and sitting in the Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel next to two of the greatest high...
- May 18, 2017
- 3 min
Don’t Judge a Book by its Netflix Series
School officials in Mesa County, Colorado, recently decided to pull a young adult novel about teenage suicide from its district’s...
- Mar 23, 2017
- 5 min
Lessons Learned in a Bench-Clearing Brawl
Youth baseball in Miami isn’t just a game. It’s a battle that starts when you’re six years old and doesn’t end until you hang up your...
- Feb 26, 2017
- 4 min
Watching #59 Fight
On November 10, 1992, Manny Valdes played the final football game of his high-school career. That afternoon the Palmetto Panthers beat...
- Feb 7, 2017
- 2 min
Ray Villadonga: Tampa's Musical Raconteur
Ray Villadonga prefers to identify himself as a "Tampan." While many Tampa natives opt to be called a "Tampanian," Ray thinks his way is...
- Dec 24, 2016
- 15 min
Sammy Wilson's Last Christmas
My tear ducts are no match for the Christmas card Sammy Wilson gave me when he was five years old. Every Christmas Eve, it’s the same...
- Nov 19, 2016
- 3 min
98% of the country won't understand Gainesville Punk. The rest will love it.
Reading a history about a time and place you experienced first-hand can make your emotions waffle. On the one hand, you’re proud as hell...
- Nov 11, 2016
- 8 min
Twenty Years Later...the Greatest Senior Year in Miami HS Athletic History
On June 4, 1996, Markeith Cooper was dressed in a suit and sitting in the Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel next to two of the greatest high...
- Nov 10, 2016
- 2 min
Florida's Amendment 1 is a Microcosm for the 2016 Presidential Election
One side was methodical. The other was passionate. The passionate side convinced voters they were being trounced by an establishment...
- Oct 7, 2016
- 3 min
Talking Politics with a Refugee
My neighbor Eduardo is an American citizen. He holds the First Amendment sacred, particularly the part that protects freedom of speech in th
- Sep 21, 2016
- 5 min
The Most Violent Hit in High School Football History
Violence like this isn’t supposed to happen on a high-school football field. Teenage players aren’t supposed to collide with such...
- Sep 20, 2016
- 4 min
The Fall of the American Teenager
Only a few things can happen when you’re middle aged and listen to music on the radio. Most of them are bad. If you’re lucky, you’ll...
- Aug 16, 2016
- 9 min
Connie Moore: In His Words
This is the part II of Connie's story, for part I click HERE. Connie Moore has two sons currently in college. He has two more who are on...
- Aug 16, 2016
- 13 min
Why Miami's Greatest WR Never Played in the NFL
If you saw Connie Moore play football, you likely have a story or two about him. If you were a fan, he probably did something spectacular...
A Crack in the Room Tone
Stories for a noisy world
bottom of page