Anderson Aldrich: Fragments of a troubled young life emerge, but mysteries remain
Wednesday
Jul 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMJul 30, 2008 at 7:11 PM
By Alden J. Mayo
In an interview with the Daily News, a reporter discovered a secret life long ago. She asked him if he was a hermit, or a recluse. He said he was neither.
“I just went with the flow,” he said. “I really don’t ever think about the future. I’ve made myself comfortable. If it means staying with my wife on Sundays, we go. If I’m on a trip, I just get on a bus and let things happen.”
He went on to say he had never written a book, never published a poem and never spoken publicly about his life.
Then came the surprising answer: “I did do the first book, because I wanted to,” said Paul, 48, who lives in Lakewood, Colo. It’s called “Fragments of a Broken Life,” and it’s about the life of his parents, Paul’s parents, who moved from Seattle to Colorado after his father’s death in 1965.
His bookshelves are brimming with the published works of authors like Henry David Thoreau and Charles Bukowski, as well as unpublished manuscripts that no one has seen. He is currently working on a memoir, about his parents’ life in Colorado, that he hopes to publish after his son is gone.
“I just really enjoyed writing the first book,” Paul said, “and seeing things from my grandparents’ point of view.”
He went on to say he had not decided how long it would take to complete the memoir, but a month or two. It would tell some stories that have been hiding in his mind for more than 35 years.
He recalled one night in 1968 when his parents talked about a friend named Tony Matera, who liked to drink, and who liked to get into trouble with cops.
“One night in 1968,” he said, “I was 10 years old. We didn’t know Tony — he didn’t ever come back to our house, and I remember thinking at the time that I wished he had been born someplace