Author Mark
Twain wrote
about a group
of youngsters
growing up in a small
town along the Mississippi
River when he developed
the literary classic, The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Fred Hosley has followed
in Twain’s manner with a
story about seventh graders
in Clearwater in 1957. The
way Clearwater was then is
as much a part of the plot
as the characters, which he
based upon his personal
experiences growing up
in Clearwater during
that era. Most names are
fabricated, but some are
not, such as Mr. Brown at
Brown Brothers, and an
English teacher named Ms.
Vernotzy. Hosley lived this
adventure, yet some of it
has been reconstructed, if
only due to what the memory
does after so many years. His
attention to detail gives this book
an authentication that transplants
the reader into the time period with
a sense of reality. We often stopped
reading this book to reflect on our
own personal memories that were
triggered by his writing.
Like Twain, Hosley manages
to incorporate humor and social
commentary into the time period
and the individuals involved in the
storytelling. We assume a portion
of this novel is autobiographical
because we know Fred on a
personal level and can recognize
traits of the author within the
book’s leading character.
This is the author’s first novel,
despite the fact that he is in his
mid-70s. It is because of the long
productive life that he has lived that
he can reflect back upon the past
with such wisdom, understanding
and compassion. He has ventured
back into his youth, when life
was different and simpler. His
discovery of how fortunate he was
to have these experiences should
help to remind everyone that life
is filled with both challenges and
opportunities. What we do with
them determines both who we are
142 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
and who we will be.
Fred is planning on
releasing his next book in
the near future. Much of
it was already written for
this novel, but was deleted
during the editing process.
His writing has a universal
theme that illustrates that
as much as things change,
they remain the same. The
angst of being a pre-teen will never
go away, even though the world
continues to change daily. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Fred Hosley was
born in Australia, but grew up in
Clearwater. He practiced dentistry
in Clearwater for 35 years and is a
lifelong fisherman. Sorry You Missed
It is published by Backwater Bayou
Books and is available at Back in the
Day Books, 355 Main St. in Dunedin,
(727) 221-0025, at the Clearwater
Historical Society Museum, 610 S.
Fort Harrison Ave. in Clearwater,
and at amazon.com.
BOAORKT S
SORRY YOU MISSED IT
Memories with Meaning
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Dr. Fred Hosley, author
/amazon.com