Do You Remember Your "First Time Around"?

Do you remember your first crush or first love? If you're like most of us, it took place sometime during junior high or high school.

Maybe it was the boy who walked you home throughout junior high and carried your books... Maybe it was the Greek God who turned your world upside down because he was just always there... Maybe it was tennis player who wrote with the red pencil in summer school, making it difficult to read his name on his paper, but ultimately had you with that first kiss... Maybe it was the Band Geek who drove you home everyday... Maybe it was someone else.

Whomever it was, I'm sure you fell hard. And if you stop to think about it now, you can probably instantly go right back to that moment and how you felt. If you're like most of us, it didn't last. Only very few of us actually get it right the first time around.

In his second novel book, First Time Around, Michael Bellito takes us back to that time. That time of innocence, when the world was easy, yet our love seemed all-consuming and the heartbreak heart breaking.

For John Hersey High School alums, Mr. Bellito was one of our favorite English teachers and/or speech coaches. More than anything, he introduced me to my lifelong love: the love of words and how to weave them together to tell a story.

Mr. Bellito will launch First Time Around at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library on Wednesday, January 12th at 7pm. He'll do a reading and sign copies. Of course, books will be for sale. Go and say hello. Trust me, he loves nothing more than reconnecting with former students.

Can't make it on the 12th? Don't worry, he'll also be at the Prospect Heights Library on Thursday, February 3rd at 7pm. I'll be there.