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Magazine Features Boy's Story By ANNA BAKALIS Staff Writer Published in the Courier News on March 7, 2004 BRIDGEWATER -- Imagination is key to any good work of fiction. But for one township boy, the unreal seemed all too real, and worthy enough of publication in a national magazine. That's what happened to Philip Grayeski, 12, who is the featured author in the March-April edition of Stone Soup, the magazine that publishes creative work by children ages 8 to 12. "I kind of laughed at the part where they thought it was a real story," said Philip, sitting on a couch in his Bridgewater home. "This is a fiction story." Philip's story, "Red Comet," is about a relationship between a boy and his grandfather who "are more like friends than family." They watch basketball games together, go fishing and, at the end of the story, fly in Red Comet, the grandfather's plane. After the flight, Grandpa suffers a heart attack and dies in a hospital. Parts of the story were inspired by real life. Philip's real grandfather served in the Army, but never flew a plane. In the story, the grandfather flies planes for the Air Force and later receives a plane because he "was the best pilot in the world. At least that's what he said," Philip explained. Philip said he never had a chance to get close to his grandfather, who died in May 2002. "It was hard to have a relationship with him because he had Parkinson's," Philip said, referring to the degenerative disease. "I loved him a lot, but I couldn't have a normal conversation with him. But he always watched out for me." The idea for "Red Comet" came to Philip while he was on a nature walk in October 2002 with his fifth-grade class from Eisenhower Intermediate School. Philip said he heard a plane overhead during the walk and something clicked. He started writing the story and submitted it to his teacher, Karen Amaral, in January 2003. "Philip is a great writer," Amaral said. "I knew just from the beginning he had talent." Philip is part of the Academically Independent program, in which students can foster certain talents by working closely with their teacher. Amaral suggested that Philip submit "Red Comet" for publication. "I thought the story was very moving and inspirational," Amaral said. "I knew his idea was a really good one, and I think he just needed to go through writing process and envision his writing." One passage reads, after the boy's grandfather is taken to a hospital: "The ambulance left tire streaks where they stopped. I just sat by the window and wondered how such a beautiful day can turn into such a nightmare. My dad came in and put his arm around me as we sat on the couch. We both stared blankly." Philip said Stone Soup editors wrote him in May, less than a month after he submitted his story. They expressed interest in the story, which they believed to be an actual account of Philip's grandfather. "They wanted us to send photos of his grandfather -- they thought the story really happened," said Philip's father, Rich Grayeski. Stone Soup editors told Philip they wanted to use his story in the March-April 2004 issue, and also wanted him to read the story aloud, to be played along with the story on Stone Soup's Web site. "When I got published, it was amazing," Philip said. "When I saw it in the magazine, I was thrilled because I accomplished something I never thought I would win." Anna Bakalis can be reached at (908) 707-3186 or [log in to unmask] ON THE WEB: To read Philip Grayeski's story, "Red Comet," visit the Stone Soup Web site at http://www.stonesoup.com from the Courier News website www.c-n.com SOURCE: The Bridgewater Courier News, NJ http://www.c-n.com/news/c-n/story/0,2111,920675,00.html Reference: Stone Soup http://www.stonesoup.com Writing by Children http://www.stonesoup.com/main2/writing.html Philip Grayeski's story, "Red Comet" http://www.stonesoup.com/ss2/2004/RedComet.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn