Charles Beers Interviews His Hero
Charles Beers has probably been in and out of Book Revue many times but he will always remember one particular visit to the Huntington village store. That's because the Huntington High School freshman had an opportunity to interview former New York Yankees great Bernie Williams for Newsday's Kidsday.
The interview took place over the summer, but Mr. Beers is still on a proverbial high. You see, Mr. Williams is the teenager's hero. The retired Yankees star is 43 years old now and hasn't played since the close of the 2006 season. But, the mere mention of his name is like music to the ears of his fans.
The Huntington freshman is on the staff of The Dispatch, the high school student newspaper, is a member of the Key club and has participated in Mathletes. He's also vice-president of the Class of 2015. "He's such a responsible person," Class of 2015 faculty advisor Patricia Dillon said about Mr. Beers. "He is so conscientious and seems to enjoy participating in the many opportunities offered at the high school."
Mr. Beers has been writing on- and-off for Newsday's Kidsday for about a year. "His first published article was last fall when he went with the editor to a New York Jets game and wrote about the pre-game activities for the kids at the new Meadowlands stadium," said Susan Beers, the teenager's mother. Mr. Beers has also interviewed Tim Green, an NFL player and novelist.
"When Charles noticed that former NY Yankee Bernie Williams was going to be signing books at the Book Revue in Huntington, he contacted the Kidsday rep and asked him to find out about an interview," Mrs. Beers said. Once Mr. Williams had agreed to the session with the teenager, Mr. Beers went about reading the Yankee player's new book, Rhythms of the Game and formulated questions about the book and baseball.
Mr. Williams signed more than 1,200 books at Book Revue and some fans waited in line for hours. Mr. Beers interviewed some of those folks on the line and then bided his time until the end of the signing session when he was ushered to a seat next the five-time All Star for a little Q and A.
In the book, which Mr. Williams co-authored with Dave Gluck and Bob Thompson, the 16-season Yankees veteran discussed his playing career and his love for music, his new full-time pursuit. Mr. Williams, who has earned strong reviews as a guitarist, stressed that practice is the key to success in both baseball and music.
Mr. Beers turned the interview into an article that was printed in Newsday. A video of the session was also posted on Newsday's website. "He was really excited about meeting Bernie," Mrs. Beers said.
Mr. Williams came to the plate 9,073 times during 2,076 regular season games. He batted .297 with 2,336 hits, 449 doubles, 55 triples and 287 homeruns. He played on five World Series championship teams.