Toronto author has drawn on childhood in the Gem City
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TORONTO -- Like many writers, Robert Petras has been asked how he comes up with his stories, though many fellow Toronto residents know at least part of the answer.
The author of two books about growing up in the Gem City, Petras will appear from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Main Street Museum at its new location within the Karaffa Recreation Center on Dennis Way.
"I do a lot of writing in my head," said Petras, who explained that's not limited to ideas for stories but can include full sentences.
"I might be driving or mowing the lawn and words will come to me," he said, adding, "I'm almost squirming like a kid who has to go to the bathroom. I have to stop and write it down."
Many know Petras for the outdoors columns he penned for the Herald-Star or his coverage of local sports for the former Toronto Tribune.
But he also has written articles, short stories and poetry for more than 200 publications, including Field & Stream and Outdoor Life.
Petras said he began writing as a boy, often creating comic strips that lampooned rules set by his parents that he considered unfair.
Published last year, his first book -- "River Rats" -- contains 25 stories about his experiences growing up in Toronto.
Asked if he'd always wanted to write a book, Petras said, "I always had that in the back of my mind."
He added that as he grew older, he felt he should not wait too long to record some of the many people, places and experiences of his younger days in the Gem City.
Tales in his first book center around, among many things, early dating experiences at the Manos Movie Theater, the local Halloween prank of corning and the many days spent at the Ohio River swimming or fishing with a gang of other boys Petras likes to call River Rats.
Petras said the name originated from students at rival Jefferson Union High School, who intended it as an insult, but he came to see the creature as a symbol of the character of Toronto youth.
In his first book, he states, "A river rat is tough, resilient, stubborn, scrappy, intrepid, adventurous, impulsive, unpredictable, a little bit mythical, and most of all, damn near indestructible and downright ornery."
The description appears on a plaque displayed at Toronto High School's Clarke Hinkle Football Field, which Petras considers an honor.
He said his newest book, "Release the Belgium," consists of two halves, the first a longer story of the same name that also was inspired by his youth but is more serious in nature and may be more accessible to readers who aren't from Toronto.
"If you live in California, you definitely will be able to understand it," he said, noting it also involves coming of age while noting not everything about that stage in life is pleasant.
Petras said after attending a strict Catholic school until he was 12, it was difficult to adjust when he transferred to a public junior high school.
He said the book's title is the name of a game played by many Toronto youth.
"Every neighborhood played it and they all called it Release the Belgium," Petras said while acknowledging it's similar to a game known as Capture the Flag in other places.
Unlike "River Rats," some of the characters in "Release the Belgium" are fictional beings only inspired by people he has known, and some are composites, while he admits the protagonist is himself.
But Petras stressed, "It's a true story. People won't believe it, but it is."
The second half of his second book includes more humorous stories drawn from his youth, including a few he considers his favorites.
Petras said while his first book included some tales that had been percolating in him for some time, it took four or five months to complete. It apparently was a warmup for the second, which he penned in about two months.
The books are sold through Amazon and Kindle, and Petras will be bringing copies to the museum to sell and sign.
He said he "made some money off the first but I'm not ready to move to Beverly Hills."
Petras is considering basing his next book on his experiences as a college student and called the current two "a labor of love."
"It's been fun. It's been a trip going back to my childhood. There was not a better time to grow up than Toronto in the 1960s," he said.