Zirkle: We'll meet again. I have a few novels in the works ...

By Keith W. Zirkle

Teen Columnist

Forgetting that I'm not a caffeine aficionado, I have this dream where I am in line at Starbucks. A lady behind me taps me on the shoulder and asks: "Are you Keith Zirkle, the writer?"

Beaming, I offer my hand. "Yeah, I am." (I resist the urge to add, "also a talk-show host and an Oscar-winning actor.")

Through being a columnist for 757: Teens Cover the Code, that dream has become less of a fantasy. At my church, school and in my neighborhood, people (devoted fans, perhaps?) recognize me from the newspaper.

But Starbucks has yet to ask for a signed portrait.

I thought I'd give them until June - until I got the e-mail. Then, the timetable was forgotten like a list of chores on the refrigerator door.

From my editor: "The program is ending mid-March."

Gawking, I demanded, "Are you kidding me?" in a way reminiscent of Sally Field discovering that Mrs. Doubtfire was really Robin Williams.

Unfortunately, this was no "Punk'd" episode. My editor was laid off in January; thus, 757 was laid off; thus, I was laid off. Just like a food chain.

Specifics be darned, blame falls on the 2008- 09 scapegoat, the monstrous generalization terrorizing all working people: The Economy.

For some time, I've realized that the tentacles of Wall Street stretch far and deep. After all, a small bag of popcorn at most local theaters is a minimum $4. And last month, I was appalled to discover my favorite salad at a local grill has been depleted from a plump garden to a naked trellis.

Obviously, hard times have been a-rolling. Last summer, news anchors touted reports of teens' summer jobs stolen by unemployed middle-agers. Midlife crises echoed into mid-adolescent crises. Internet polls flaunted statistics that teens were suffering, too, in this slumping economy.

Still, I never thought The Economy would sucker-punch me. I'm just a lowly freelance writer paid a whopping $50 per column!

Worse, being a columnist has never been about the money. Simply, writing is me. Since fifth grade, I have drafted everything from short stories to epic masterpieces.

In 10th grade, I found the Made-in-Heaven 757, where I could be published! We eloped. Our children have been numerous. Through 757, I have met a Nigerian singing princess; discovered the unbreakable bond of a girls' soccer team; explored the aftermath of two teens' tragic death in a drunken-driving accident; and, among so much more, looked for (and possibly found) ghosts! For three years, 757 has been my life... and now it's served me with divorce papers.

I wish I could say I am leaving to move onto bigger and better things. The New York Times and I are in negotiations. Hollywood and I have a date tonight to discuss producing a television series on my exploits based upon my columns.

Alas, that's not the case. Don't cry.

We'll meet again, I assure you. I have a few novels in the works. A magazine might just take me on (wink). And I promise you this isn't the last ever column in my life; that's why I saved this document as "Last 757 Column."

But for now, I'll just be thankful that I had a good run and a great time. More importantly, 757 had a good run.

Keith W. Zirkle, a senior at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach, keithwzirkle@yahoo.com