A younger, more innocent Andrew

Andrew Fraley was originally born Edward Browne in Calgary, Alberta, in the year of our Lord 1912. Son of wealthy British oil magnates, young Edward was raised every bit the English gentleman. The harsh, unforgiving wild of the Canadian wilderness, however, sought to undo much of Edward’s parents’ work. The elements won out in the end, and the youthful Edward became an untamed rapscallion at his finishing school, and was kicked out at the age of twelve. From that point, Edward joined Calgary’s public school system to finish his education. At Balmoral school, Edward was first introduced to the sport Ice Hockey, with which he immediately fell in love. He attempted to join the team as soon as he could, but, being only twelve (he had been moved up to High School level from his private school education), he was thoroughly beaten (both physically and mentally) by the steely sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds. Not to mention he had been trained as figure skater! After leaving him bloodied and bruised, the senior team members promised he would never make this team, if they had anything to do with it. Edward would not return to hockey for some time…

Edward’s remaining youth passed without incident, and at the age of thirty-two he took over his father’s business, where he lived a life of quiet desperation. He married a homely Calgarian, had two spoiled children, and lived the life a a wealthy Calgary elite. But the hockey bug never left him. At night, he would dream of playing with Toronto Maple Leafs, or the Boston Bruins. He would daydream about cheering on the New York Rangers in their fancy new arena, or throwing squids onto the ice at a Detroit Red Wings game. His wife and kids were completely unaware of the hockeylust burning within the now withered, broken Edward.

On his sixtieth birthday, Edward finally snapped. At his celebratory dinner, he announced to the Calgary gentry that he would be leaving them, and setting out for a city with a National Hockey League team. This earned him quizzical looks, awkward chuckles, and jeers from his two grown, but still rotten children. He later disowned his children, divorced his wife, and liquidated all his assets, and set off for destination: unknown.

It was in 1972 that he decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia to become the first fan of the newly expanded NHL team, the Atlanta Flames. He applied for position of mascot, and became Dancin’ Sherman (the Flames’ name comes from the burning of Atlanta by general William Sherman during the civil war). He enjoyed eight year in this position, until the team went bankrupt in 1980 and were forced to relocate. Edward found it ironic that they should relocate to Calgary, the city he abandoned for dead less than a decade prior. Shocked to the core by these events, Edward wandered for six years across America, a vagrant. His listless wanderings came to an end in 1986 when, hovering outside of a Denver hospital for handouts, Edward spotted a young neonate with extraordinary soul resonance. The perfect vessel for a soul exchange! (Did I forget to mention that Edwards’ major in college had been Dark Arts at Mount Royal College in Calgary?) Taking his chance, Edward quickly performed his ritual in front of the family, became the young baby in the young mother’s arms. That baby’s name was Andrew Fraley

What a dork!.

Andrew Fraley, apart from having the soul of a 97-year-old Calgarian, grew up fairly normal. A big fan of Prog rock, comics and anime, Andrew is what one might call a nerd. He spent most of his childhood watching cartoons on the Cartoon Network, playing RPG’s for much longer than needed, and trying to sync up Yes songs with whatever shows or movies he can think of.

Currently, Andrew is a student a Stony Brook University on the self assigned 5-year plan (everybody’s doing it). He is a lackluster electrical engineer, a mediocre computer scientist, an amateur-ish photographer, a struggling artist (of sorts), and an abysmal journalist. If there’s anything he’s learned over his years of experience, it’s that The Stony Brook Press is the best newspaper in Stony Brook, absolutes must never be used, and “Close to the edge” syncs up perfectly with episode 60 of Rurouni Kenshin.

He’s also Arts Editor of the Stony Brook Press.