Today I got to work and a friend started singing “Don’t You Forget About Me.”  I thought he was trying to tell me he was leaving.  Instead, he let me know that John Hughes had died the night before.

I don’t think I would’ve thought that much more about the death of this man, but another friend sent me a link to a woman’s blog who has a unique story about Hughes that I wanted to share with you.

As a teenage fan of The Breakfast Club, Allison Byrn Fields wrote a letter to Hughes (who wrote and produced the film) thanking him and relating her teenage experiences to the situations and characters in the movie.  A few weeks later, she got a letter back, a form letter!  This did not sit well with Allison Byrn Fields, so she wrote him back to let him know it.  I ask you to visit Allison’s blog to read the rest of the story.  Its touching and inspiring.

What I am ashamed to say is that I did not recognize this man’s name, but I certainly recognize his work.  I did a quick imdb.com search on John Hughes and discovered that he was THE movie writer/producer of the 80s.  If you grew up in the 80s, you probably know many of Hughes’ words by heart:

• Sixteen Candles
• The Breakfast CLub
• Ferris Buller’s Day Off
• Weird Science
• Pretty in Pink
• Some Kind of Wonderful
• Planes Trains and Automobiles
• She’s Having a Baby
• The Great Outdoors
• Uncle Buck
• European Vacation (Holiday Rooooooooooaooaoaaoood)
• Christmas Vacation
• Home Alone

ALL 80’s classics.  Movies I grew up on and spent a good part of college quoting from (thanks to Clark and Ferris, especially).  And I never knew the brain behind the act.

I don’t know what else to say, I guess I am just thinking about how much I loved these movies growing up but never stopped to think about the person who created the magic.

From now on I am going to start paying more attention.