Being on the Other Side of Things

Not fun - I must say. Being the one that the firefighters carefully wrap up and strap into their stair chair is not a pleasant experience, despite the fact that the firefighters themselves are absolutely wonderful.

So there I was on Monday afternoon, sitting on the floor behind the cash registers at the bookstore, pre-counting the special orders in preparation for our inventory. Another employee was ringing up a customer and had to take a security device off of a CD. The key for that is underneath two display shelves behind the registers. As she pulled up to release the CD, she bumped the shelf above, which was overloaded with books - hardcovers, of course. Couldn't have been on the other side with the paperbacks. Anyway... four copies of Janet Evanovich's latest Stephanie Plum novel came flying down off the shelf and I caught them with my head. Yup - that's right - with my head.

Good thing I have a thick Irish skull... or not. You'll understand why when you read on.

So being the thickheaded Irishman that I am, I filled out an accident report and just kept right on counting, despite the fact that I felt like I had a railroad spike driven through my head. Finished my workday and went home, where I spent the evening nursing the phenomenal headache that resulted from my book beating.

The next morning when I got up, I wasn't feeling well, but I wasn't sure if it was a result of my allergies acting up or if it had to do with the beating that I took the day before. I got ready for work, drove in and as I drove along Rte. 295, my left eye started to twitch badly and I started getting shaky all over. I made it to work, parked my car and went inside, hoping that the feeling would pass. By the time I got into the employee break room, I could not stand by myself. My manager called 911 and the great guys of the Cranston Fire Rescue Department came and scooped me up, swiftly delivering me to Kent Hospital's ER.

Yup - ironic, but true. The guys, of course, were great. I tried to stay upbeat with them as they took care of me, because I know the kind of crap they put up with all of the time. It was tough, though, because when your blood pressure's through the roof and it feels like Andre the Giant is squeezing your head between his hamhocks - well, not exactly the easiest time to be jovial.

So, I've decided that I much prefer NOT being the one strapped to the gurney. It really is not a pleasant thing to go through, even when you have the nicest guys around taking care of you. No offense to my newfound rescuers from the Edgewood fire station - none at all. I greatly appreciate their excellent care and made sure I thanked them, too.

Needless to say, I won't be filming this weekend - unless, that is, I'm cleared on Friday to return to work. We'll see what happens.

Oy... I'll tell ya.... never a dull moment at the bookstore. You'd think it'd be a boring place to work!

Non-Filming Type Weekend

Hey, All -

Didn't get a chance for filming this weekend, but worked out some of the storyboarding in my notes. I'm getting the flow of the film down and figuring out how to get it out of my brain and into some intelligible sequences. The hardest parts - figuring out what footage to use - are pretty much done. I think my only stumbling block there will be with the interviews. They're all so great and I would love to use every single second of each one, but I would have to make the film about three and a half hours long for that. Not an option, sadly. Who knows, though? Maybe I can put together a Special Features DVD and have one section called "Cutting Room Floor" for that stuff.

I've been very surprised in the last couple of weeks by three or four complete strangers who have come into the bookstore where I work and mentioned the film. They apparently saw the re-airing of "Street Stories" on Channel 12. Still, that was a month ago. It does my heart good to know that so many people are looking out for it, though and are interested in seeing the finished product. Thanks again to Walt Buteau and John Villella for that!!

All righty... hoping to get in some shooting time this weekend. We'll see what happens with the weather.

Stay tuned!

Got Some Filming Done

Hey, Folks - just a quick note to let you know that I got some filming done on Friday; about half of the exterior shots. Hope to get more done this week. If I can keep on track, we'll get this thing done yet!

Thanks again to all for your support and encouragement. It helps more than you know!

This Has Nothing to Do With the Film...

But my father had the last of his radiation treatments today and all seems to have gone well. Now that we've gotten through all of that mess, I will be able to complete filming. Hope to get some done on Friday this week - it'll depend upon the weather. Outdoor stuff. I'll post updates as I have them.

Another thing that has nothing to do with the film, but more with the friends I've made along the way in my journey through it... I've become good friends with a lovely girl from Baltimore, MD named Tricia Fike. She and her little boy, Liam, are wonderful people Trixie (that's what I call her) and I are both big fans of the '70's TV Show, "Emergency!". Funny how something so trivial brings good friends together. Anyhow, Liam is an aspiring filmmaker, himself. I just had to share a drawing that he made for me of a talking fire hydrant. Enjoy... I know it gave me one heck of a laugh. And thanks, Liam... because I REALLY needed that laugh today!

Fixed? I think?

I went back to Elwin Electronics yesterday to pick up my camera. Tested it there and it seems to be working properly. Let's hope for the best!

My father began his radiation treatments Tuesday, had the second today and has one more next Tuesday. I will be focusing on him until then. Once that's done, I'll try to get some filming in next weekend and get this show on the road, folks.

Thank you to those who sent e-mails of support about my dad. He seems to be doing quite well thus far - no side effects and such.

Be well & stay safe, everyone. I'll update soon.

That Screaming That You Heard

just about 4:00 PM EST yesterday was me. Yes, me. Why? Because I finally had the chance to pick up the recommended DVC tapes and really test the camera. Guess what? It's still not working correctly. Yup - that's what I said - still messed up. Mercury must still be in retrograde...

So, into my car I got and off to Warwick I went. I dragged myself through the door of Elwin Electronics (mainly because I was feeling crappy, but partly because I'm tired of this situation!) and walked up to the lovely young customer service agent, Megan, at the front desk. She's a very sweet girl and very well suited for the job (I know - I've been doing the same sort of work for a very, very long time). Anyway, when I told her that it was still not working correctly, HER heart sank. "I'm so sorry," she said, knowing that I'm trying to get a film done. "I'll assign it to him first thing Monday morning and we'll get it straightened out." She did up the paperwork and I signed off on it. She apologized profusely and I told her it was okay, but I know that she saw the major disappointment on my face. "I'll call you as soon as we know something," she said.

Funny, it sort of felt like when you bring somebody to the Emergency Room and the doctor tells you they'll call you when they know something.

So, folks... that's where we stand. Camera's back in the ER and hopefully the CAT Scan will show something and the surgery will be successful.

Camera's All Better

Got it back... seems to be fine. Just have to pick up some fresh DVC tapes and I'll be on my merry way.

My Dad will be starting his SBR treatments next Tuesday and will finish on Tuesday the 17th. Once we get through that, I'll be good to go.

Be well & stay safe, everyone.