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Sat 30 May
Jane left early this morning to meet with a potential new "theatrical" agent that we met a few weeks ago at the USC film screening.
The young man's office is The Corner Bakery on Ventura Ave, so you can guess that he is not one of Hollywood's old guard.
But he did approach Jane, he is young and hungry, and none of her other agents are willing to fight for her theatrical (not
just commercial) career, so she believes that only good could come of it. She must be serious, because she left home at 8:30
without breakfast... or even coffee. But then she is going to a bakery, so she'll be OK.
Last night was spectacular at our church. After a 17-year campaign, a Schantz pipe organ has been installed in the area designed
for it in 1992, and its first recital with a renowned organist drew a packed church – the largest crowd since we began
worshiping there in 2006. At the dedication tomorrow, our choir, bolstered by several former choir members and many singers
from the Catholic church across the street, will sing a couple of powerful works chosen to compete with the mighty voice of
the new organ. We can hardly wait.
Tue 26 May
This morning after our regular dental checkups, we drove to Santa Monica where Jane had another callback. An hour later she
walked out grinning after they offered her a featured role in another movie to be shot in a few weeks. Woo-hoo! David asked
about the pay. Jane said the subject didn't come up. What a diva. We're pretty sure this is just one more "investment" of
time and talent in hopes of future financial success. Woo-hoo?
We forgot to review David's directing debut last Sunday with the Northridge United Methodist choir. The group sang two easy
anthems, and nobody fell down, so we'll call it a success. Oddly, most of the choir was shocked to find him in charge, since
the regular guy didn't mention it Thursday at rehearsal. Only a few of them know he has any such skills, so the surprise factor
helped to impress them when a "guy off the street" managed to pull it off.
David looks forward now to resuming his retirement.
Sun 24 May
The big Saturday movie shoot was fun for all, and a rather easy day compared to several others we've done. We drove the 40
miles to Fillmore, found the old church with no trouble, and signed in a little before 10:am. While Jane went for a brief
wardrobe check, David explored the building and hit the cookie table pretty hard. Three or four religious groups use the modest
country church each Sunday. The rest of the week it's available for meetings, parties and the occasional movie.
About 11:30 they called everyone into the sanctuary, gave us a brief explanation of the movie, and then shot the opening scene,
including Mrs. Keller, the crazy church lady (Jane), who stands up, screams at the pastor and accuses him of some highly un-pastoral
behavior. She was amazing, wowing the entire cast and terrorizing David badly. After they shot the scene from numerous angles,
we all filed out, shook hands with the "pastor" and his wife, and went to lunch in the fellowship hall.
During the two-hour lunch we visited with several actorly types, got to know the very personable young man who maintains the
building full-time, and learned more about Fillmore and the surrounding area.
Then we all changed outfits and returned to the sanctuary to shoot the closing scene, which occurs several months later. It's
obvious that the director isn't a church regular, because he had everyone sit in a new seat. Man, that could get you in real
trouble at most churches. Luckily, no fights broke out. In the final scene, the worship service is just beginning when the
church door slams and Mrs. Keller arrives in a wheelchair pushed by a young man. She is much calmer now; in fact she is catatonic.
We can't say more. Things are a bit intense.
Finally, they herded us all out onto the circular patio to film a music video that will run behind the closing credits. As
a young woman sang a rock tune used in the movie, we all danced about to the happy beat. If you ever see the movie, look for
your favorite characters including Mrs. Keller. She first watches from the sideline until she's rolled into the center where
she jumps up, puts on her shades and boogies down, even dancing with that hateful pastor.
As we cavorted about, David couldn't stop thinking of those calypso mice singing the Saint-Saens organ symphony at the end
of the movie, Babe. We loved that movie. Maybe there's hope for this one, too. They hope that it will be available
from Amazon, eventually... however that works.
And finally, Jane's Alzheimer's spot ran again tonight at the end of 60 Minutes. We've loved hearing from so many of
you who saw it this last week.
Fri 22 May
Each morning the squirrels drop by to entertain us. Their main performance venues are two towering date palms beside the pool
(apparently their sleeping quarters), a tall row of shrubs with small red bristly blossoms, and the medium-sized walnut tree
that shades our front door.
The squirrels race up and down the palm trunks like sport cars on the 405. The thick canopy of fronds protects them from marauding
mockingbirds and provides a splendid pulpit where they can scold us in absolute safety. And later in the year there are all
those luscious dates.
The bristly red blossoms have fleshy-sweet outer "petals" that the the squirrels have been working over for weeks. (David
likes to eat 'em, too.) They romp through the tiny branches each morning, shaking the shrubbery and dangling themselves from
twigs as they enjoy their breakfast treats.
And those cute baby walnuts, now about as big as the first joint of a finger, are plenty big enough for our greedy tree-rats.
They chew through the green husks and drop the pitiful gnawed-out carcasses to cover our sidewalks, stain our concrete and
stick to our shoes.
Squirrels are just shameless furry locusts.
A small black cat named Waffle lives here and devotes her day to moving from spot to spot in search of the ideal degree of
shade or sunlight. Any patriotic American cat would chase – and catch – those squirrels. But not Waffle. Two other
cats drop by for daily visits. They are not squirrel cats, either.
Our only hope may be to get us one of those coon-hunting monkeys that country comedian, Jerry Clower, used to talk about.
He claimed that once the dogs treed a coon, they'd turn the monkey loose. "That monkey ran right up into the tree with a flashlight
in one hand and a pistol in the other!" Jerry would shout.
Yeah. That could work.
Tue 19 May
Happy Birthday to Laurie! Sorry we'll miss spending your day with you.
David took the car in this morning, and our lady mechanic said all the transmission needed was a good power flush. We all
know what a relief that can be. So Ol' Blue is back home now and feeling fine. On the way home, David began to recall some
old kid doggerel about how "Two dead boys got up to fight." Do you remember any of that? What are all the words?
Well, as soon as he got back to his computer he did a little search and found lots of versions on the web. They each differed
a bit, but here is the version he likes best:
Ladies and Gentlemen, skinny and stout,
I'll tell you a tale I know nothing about.
The admission is free, so pay at the door.
Now, pull up a chair and sit on the floor.
One fine day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.
A blind man came to watch fair play;
A mute man came to shout "Hooray!"
A deaf policeman heard the noise and
Came to stop those two dead boys.
He lived on the corner in the middle of the block
In a two-story house on a vacant lot.
A man with no legs came wandering by,
and kicked the lawman in his thigh.
He crashed through a wall without making a sound,
Fell into a dry creek and suddenly drowned.
The long black hearse came to cart him away,
But he ran for his life and is still gone today.
I watched from the corner of the big round table,
The only eyewitness to facts of my fable.
So if you doubt that my lies are all true,
Just ask the blind man – he saw it too.
Now, if you have any verses to add or changes to suggest, then bring 'em on. We're after the complete version.
Mon 18 May
The excitement was easing off a bit Sunday, until Laurie and Sissy wrote to say they just saw the Alzheimer's spot in Houston
on Sixty Minutes. So we watched, hoping Jane could see it. Sadly, we tuned in too late. Oh well. It'll be back.
The blue Buick sang a serious transmission song today as Jane drove it home from her class. Odd that it chose this busy week
to call for the auto aid car. We'll take it in tomorrow and pray for a cure we can afford. The two choices, of course, are
Fix or Replace. Both are likely to be budget busters. Still, this might be the moment for David to seek out one of the cute
little NEVs (Neighborhood Electric Vehicles) he's been researching. Most of our vehicle conflicts involve Jane rushing off
the the big city while David must zip over to the church or another local engagement. The glorified golf carts are street
legal and cost several thousand less than a standard car, even a used one. We'll see.
Fri 15 May
Well...? Did you see it? Jane was on national TV this morning on CBS Sunday Morning in her award-winning Alzheimer's
commercial. We saw it here a little after 7:00am, and by the time we got home from church we had two emails from friends who
saw it, too – one in Tacoma and one in Massachusetts. By the way, she looked even cuter on the big screen than on our
tiny laptop. So keep your eyes open for our Granny and her lost car keys that turn up in the fridge.
This coming week is just bulging with possibilities. On Wednesday Jane goes to see another theatrical – think "movies"
– agent who invited her in for an interview. That's the second one to come seeking her in the past couple of weeks.
Thursday night, David gets to play choir director as he prepares to fill in for the real one next Sunday. And Saturday is
our big movie day. We'll put in a few hours in the tiny town of Fillmore filming the movie, Control Tower. Jane actually
has lines, and David will be an extra in the congregation of a country church. Then we will tear over to Glendale for a party
at Heidi and Andrew's home. Finally on Sunday we learn if David can still direct a choir. That's a little too much excitement
for the old folks.
Fri 15 May
We loved our Wednesday trip to the VERY COOL coastal cities to our west. At the beach in Oxnard, the air temp was 65˚.
Back in Camrillo it was 72˚. And when we returned to Northridge near dark it was still almost 90˚. If we could only
find a home near the ocean we could enjoy a very Vashon summer indeed. And maybe a very San Diego winter, too. Hmmmm.
Turns out that Camarillo is a very senior-friendly place indeed with TWO huge 55+ communities for active adults. We are not
sure we fit the "active" part, but the perks are enticing. They include yard maintenance, golf course, rec center, wood shop,
exercise classes, heated pool, art and music groups, organized travel, and lots of other stuff that we've never even tried,
like bridge and stuff. Of course, there are strict rules about what you can have in your yard, how many cars can park on the
street, etc., so we might be very short-term residents if they let us in at all. We're not sold yet, but we're thinking it
over.
And Jane has a new agent. She has greatly impressed her current acting teacher, who recommended Jane to a much more highly
regarded agency. They "auditioned" her and quickly signed her up. But such a change is not penalty-free. The standard contract
lets her former agency take a cut of anything she makes in the next four months, even though they do nothing to help secure
that work. Cute, huh? Still, they didn't find her a job in the past 4 months, so maybe it's all academic.
Wed 13 May
Just a brief update today. The Gremlins finally won, and the computer had to go in for a brain transplant [technical term]
to make it function properly. Now it works GOOD! We are giving some thought to trying the same.
Today we are off to Camarillo, a nice town about 45 minutes west of here. We've seen ads for a BBQ place, and besides we just
like looking around there. It's a nice town, usually gets the cool ocean breezes, and has a great new library. So away we
go.
Wed 6 May
This morning we got an email from granddaughter Maggie in Angleton TX with a link to this striking work of hers and the following
message:
"Hey everyone! I made finalists for the Bus Radio art competition, and could reeeaally use your help. All you have
to do is vote for me HERE. You can vote ten times, and I'd love it if you could help :-) "
We hope you'll vote for her submission in the contest. She is an artist, a musician, and a raving beauty. And she's a very
nice person, too. Is that enough of an endorsement from two impartially proud grandparents?
Tonight is Soul Food Cafe at the church, and they are serving BBB ribs with all the trimmings... Buh-bye.
Later: Great dinner. Just got this Maggie update:
"Thanks, everyone, if you've voted for my picture. I'm now in 3rd place! Please keep voting/spreading the word, though,
if you can. I would really appreciate it :-) "
Way to go, Mag!
Mon 4 May
A new month already, and we're off to a great start. Last Saturday Jane auditioned for a job as a "Crazy Church Lady" in an
independent film, and today they called to offer her the part. They offered David a role, too, as an extra in the congregation.
That's odd, since he hasn't even gotten copies of his new headshot yet. Truth is, only a few very close friends have seen
that photo taken by Mr. Ken back in February. But since he's about to make his screen debut, we'll post it here to spur interest
in our new movie. Enjoy.
Now we predict that a few of you will doubt this information, coming only a month after April Fool's day and all, but we assure
you that we are completely serious. Well, some of us are never completely serious, but all of this is true. And we will both
be paid for our efforts – a real first for an independent movie. We are modestly withholding the precise sum we've been
offered, since that is modest, too.
Yesterday morning was our Cinco de Mayo Sunday at the church. Instead of coffee hour after, we enjoyed a real Mexican dinner
while a brilliant mariachi band provided the music. Sadly, Jane had decided to sleep in and her phone was turned off, so she
missed it. And last night we drove back over to USC so she could do final touches and over-dub additional sounds on the student
movie. This director is tough, but Jane calls him the best she's worked with so far.
Her movie Bureaucracy that we went to see a couple of weeks ago just won top honors at another film festival, and their
lead actor was nominated for "Best Actor". This movie was made, like her earlier Defying Gravity, on a contingency
contract that could earn her some actual cash if it got a distributor and netted enough to exceed production costs. Hey! No
chortling. It could happen.
And finally, Jane has a new commercial agent. One of her teachers recommended her to a better-known agency and they just signed
the contract. We hope this may increase her exposure and her audition frequency.
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