The Fate of Brad Renfro

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #29:

Back in the Day

Way back in the days of 1995, I was in the latter stages of my Jonathan Taylor Thomas attraction when the cinematic masterpiece, Tom and Huck was released. I went to see this movie with my good friend and fellow JTT fanatic, Cheyenne, at the the Reel Theater.

The movie was fine. I mean, it was no Man of the House, but it had its moments.

There was just one problem: fellow teen heartthrob Brad Renfro was cast as Huck which meant he got just as much screen time and magazine space as JTT. I recall muttering, “Brad Renfro. Grumble, grumble,” on several occasions. You had to be in love with one or the other, not both. That’s the way we rolled in 1995 – completely loyal to our heartthrob of choice, and if we had one less JTT poster to hang on our wall because a magazine picked up an article about Brad Renfro, boy were we mad about it!

(We were lucky none of our friends favored Brad Renfro – the division would have been tragic).

By the time Wild America was released in 1997, I had moved on from my JTT devotion, and Cheyenne had migrated her affections to Taylor Hanson. 

Years later, in 2008, I was watching the news one morning when some startling information came on screen: Brad Renfro had died.

In truth, I had entirely forgotten that Brad Renfro existed. His run in the spotlight had been short, and he had disappeared from the public eye, for the most part. That made his death all the more tragic because I think the rest of the world had forgotten him, too. The poor guy didn’t even have any family.

I was still processing his death when exactly one week later Heath Ledger died. How was the world supposed to mourn the loss of Brad Renfro when HEATH LEDGER was dead? People knew Heath. People loved Heath.

I have to admit that even I forgot about Brad Renfro when Heath died. 

A few weeks ago, I was at the library when I looked down and saw Tom and Huck nestled in the children’s movies. Old feelings surfaced, and I instinctively reverted back to, “Brad Renfro. Grumble, grumble.” Then something didn’t feel quite right, and I remembered that he had died, and I felt awful! 

If I could go back to 1995, I would try to be a little less stingy and let Brad Renfro have his moment.