Johnny Peyton saw me walking toward him in the locker room at the University of South Florida's preseason media day last month, and the freshman cocked his head, giving me a look that, politely put, said, "What are you doing here?"
It's a look I've come to know well. The former Pasco receiver didn't realize I had become a former Pasco reporter. Like Peyton, I've moved on to USF, where I'm sure he'll keep me busy. Every day at practice, whether he's making a big catch or just walking and talking with that Johnny Peyton swagger, he reminds me of Pasco County: proud, colorful and eager to put himself on the map.
So now, for the first time since 1999, I'm not covering high schools, and that's the real departure. I still live in Wesley Chapel, so I'll be able to follow the teams and players I've enjoyed getting to know since I started working in Pasco in October 2001.
Years from now, instead of more useful information, I'll think of G-H-L-M-P-RW-RR-WC-ZH. Dozens of times, I've written those initials in a vertical line on a notepad, hopeful of reaching coaches from all nine high schools for stats or a weekly notebook. Each time, I'd wonder if RW or RR should go first. Should I alphabetize them by their actual spelling, or their abbreviation? These are the things a reporter thinks of when coaches are not calling back. I'll miss the coaching Castelamares, John and Heidi, who have found remarkable success. Heidi, like her River Ridge volleyball teams, is unabashedly confident and candid, while her husband, despite a great run of local dominance with Wesley Chapel football, is happiest somewhere between cautiously optimistic and optimistically cautious. I'll miss Dale Caparaso and Tom Fisher, another set of opposites, one wild, loud and unpredictable, the other memorable as a genuine man of quiet, simple contentment. They are the ultraviolet and infrared of my high school coaching spectrum, with a rainbow of memorable shades in between.
I'll miss the long, hard road a wrestler takes to a state championship in Lakeland. I'll miss the simultaneous looks of pride and confusion the first time a teenager gets interviewed for a newspaper article after a game, and the way his or her teammates are always, always there to shout inappropriate things from a few feet away.
I'll miss baseball season perhaps the most, with so many talented teams hoping each spring to make a run like Ridgewood pulled off in 2002. A disappointing final won't keep that from being one of my favorite memories, and if my 18-month-old son grows up with a love of baseball, I'll drive an hour each way to take him to Larry Beets' summer camp.
I could not say a proper goodbye to this county without thanking the colleagues who have made working here far less like work. I've had dual citizenship in our Dade City and Land O'Lakes bureaus for the past three years but always felt at home in both. At some point, I will stop coming in to write at your desk and inadvertently spilling 44 ounces of Cherry Coke on your keyboard. That includes the writers I've filled many a page with the past three years, Jamal Thalji and Steve Lee. Jamal's moving to cover Pinellas County next week, though I know his heart will remain here in Pasco. Steve will be here, and someday, when the Red Sox finally win, I'll think of him and smile. Or, on my deathbed, I'll remind my grandkids to do the same.
For now, I'm just a Pasco resident and reader, trying to finish up a volleyball preview for Sunday. After that, I'll have my hands full with Johnny Peyton.
You still can reach Greg Auman at auman@sptimes.com If you have a listing for Around & About, those can go to Steve.
