Hi everyone! This week, I want to write about those times where we’ve felt something was not quite right. Not necessarily with ourselves. Not necessarily with everyone around us either. In those moments, it just feels like you don’t belong. I had that bizarre feeling last week when I attended a local book fair. I had had my hopes up that could sell a few copies, and maybe connect with a few people who would become subscribers to this site, but alas, it was not meant to be. I had a sinking feeling when I started seeing the other authors set up their goods at their respective tables. I had a look around the room, and all I could see was poetry, novels, and plenty of other things that had absolutely nothing to do with sports or history. And that’s when I knew I was in the wrong place. And that there were still another four hours and fifty-five minutes to this five-hour fair. I learned a valuable lesson last weekend, which is to know your audience, and to follow it. People who are looking to buy poems and mystery novels are not interested in hockey, and even less interested in parting with their money to support your hockey-writing career. The day wasn’t a complete bust, however, as one out-of-town publisher was offloading many of his poetry books for free, so I took a couple in the hopes it could rekindle my old university interest in this art. And someone put the event’s free food on the table right next to mine, so I had my fair share of chocolate brownies that afternoon. All in all, I can’t complain.

Mike Laughton might have felt out of place from time to time too. After all, before graduating to the NHL he had once been a figure skater, and even wore figure skates during hockey games. We all know, of course, that the Seals also felt out of place just about every time they stepped onto the ice during the Charlie Finley years. Laughton, the actual figure skater, was not around when the Seals introduced their white skates, which fans and media members often said made them look like figure skaters. This week’s new article comes from December 1967, after Laughton had only played about 15 games with the Seals, but already he was making an impact with his new club. This Spence Conley piece is all about Laughton’s other athletic skill and how he chose hockey over a promising figure-skating career.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Until next time, stay gold!