An early memory was going out with my older sister and my father. The ground was wet and I was dragging my bag behind me as we went from house to house. We all used paper bags back then and by the time I got home the bottom of my bag had gotten soaked and disintegrated. Yep, the candy was all gone, there was nothing in my bag but a hole. Apparently a lot of tears were shed and my sister had to share her candy with me.

Alan later chastised me in front of the whole group. He said the moment I realized the guy wasn’t interested I should have just cut the meeting short and left. Now there was “No Way” that guy would ever take a meeting with me again, because I “wasted his time” with my questions. I foolishly thought politely getting a little more information, in case there was a next time, was a good move. Oh well…

One of the crazy parts of the documentary was the Death Zone.

The climbers pass through this area and there are bodies lying around of people who didn’t make it. It is considered too dangerous to bring the bodies down from that level so they are left where they fell. A creepy reminder that what you’re doing is pretty damn dangerous.

I rarely ever like both the book and the movie of anything. They are two different mediums and you often have to make major changes to make a film work based on a book. There are exceptions, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Grapes Of Wrath, and in my opinion, very few others.

I know a lot of people will probably disagree with me but I find that whatever I encountered first, either the film or the book, I always prefer the first version. Now, if there’s a book I love, I won’t go see the film. It is almost always a let down.

When we were kids we all had dreams. At various times I wanted to be a fire fighter, auto racer, cowboy, an explorer, mountain climber, astronaut, and after watching a few episodes of The Undersea World Of Jacques Cousteau, an oceanographer.

As I got older my dreams changed.

I just finished reading a wonderful book, AS I KNEW HIM: My Dad Rod Serling by Anne Serling.

I’ve always been a fan of Rod Serling and when I read his writing I am always blown away by his storytelling and his use of language. We all know him from the Twilight Zone, and Night Gallery, but Anne reminds us of all of the other things he wrote, (including Requiem for a Heavyweight – which I loved), that we have either forgotten about or didn’t realize he had written.

One film I truly loathed was Fellini’s, La Strada. I didn’t like anything about it. I remember being not just bored, but actually irritated by the actors. I hated everything about this film and the more people told me it was brilliant, the more I hated it on principal. Very mature on my part I know.

So I watched it again over the weekend. I saw so much this time that I was oblivious to the first time I saw it. I understood the emotions, the motivations, and the short comings of the characters. It’s a wonderful film.

As an Independent Filmmaker for 40+ years, I handled everything myself. I didn’t have an agent, or a distributor, and I didn’t want one.

I make films because I have to. I have stories I need to tell. I wrote my own scripts, made the films, and distributed them. I have never said “I self-make my films.” I am an independent filmmaker.

I’m on set. My crew is all here, although I don’t recognize any of them, they assure me they are the crew.

The gear seems to be here, but there are no cameras which is okay as I don’t have a cinematographer? I don’t have a cast either.

Someone just told me it’s starting to rain. It’s not a big deal, I say, I have planned for this.

It’s that time of year. I just got a notice in the mail from my health insurance company, updating my plan. Apparently this update is to inform me that their contract with my current medical provider is ending. This means that my provider will no longer be part of my plan starting October of 2026.

Do I stay with the providers I like who do an amazing job? Or stay with the giant, rich, soulless corporation that only cares about the bottom line?

Gosh, what should I do?

“Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!” - Peter Sellers – President Merkin Muffley

I continue to show this film every year and it always sparks discussions. I’m amazed that younger kids who come to college still remember what happened in 2018 in Hawaii.

Sitting in the dentist chair waiting while they are preparing my new crown, gives me too much time to think.

Why do they call it a crown? When you think about it, it’s really jut a cap put over your old tooth. Then again who would pay that much money for just a cap? They have to make it sound better than what it is. I was hoping for something smaller, perhaps they could place a tiara on that tooth?

Many people today continue working after they turn sixty-five, because they can’t afford to retire. I can’t stop working, my monthly Social Security check isn’t enough to support myself. At my 50-year high school reunion I found that those of us who are unable to retire were all self-employed.

First off, the judge was pissed that I was making a film about a “live case”. It just wasn’t done she told me. How dare I? Even thought I explained I was trying to cover everything from both sides.

Of course I was nervous, bordering on scared-to-death. I had shot all of this film and committed all of this time and money and to have it shut down was a real concern. What was going to happen? Would I end up in jail? This is stuff they don’t teach you in film school.

I interviewed and explained my intentions to both attorneys, the Victim’s Assistant, the victim’s family, and one of the victim’s friends, who was a witness. I thought I was pretty well set.

The defense attorney left me a voice message, she decided not to cooperate. Okay, fine.

I was hit with a subpoena by the defense almost immediately.

One Easter, my Mother sent me a package, which was odd as she ordinarily didn’t do things like that. It had been very hot in Southern California and when I opened the package I pulled out two boxes that were for those hollow chocolate Easter Bunnies, but there were no bunnies inside, just empty boxes. I thought what a weird cruel joke my Mother was playing on me.

Then I noticed that the boxes were kind of heavy at the bottom.

I was working as an editor straight out of school. Even though I was editing on an old upright Moviola, I was working in a building in Hollywood. I had arrived!

AF Rant - Social Security Is Not An Entitlement! I paid into Social Security all of these decades, and have earned the money I’m finally receiving.

I am opening up my Substack paywall so I can take pledges although everything will still be free to read. I have a health update featuring my Health Team. I’m wondering about audio book platforms, and is four minutes too long for a promotional video?

All this and me reading from The Gas Mask, in my latest blog post. Check it out!

I made up three film ideas with titles right on the spot. I still don’t know how all of this came to me so quickly.

“Those sound wonderful. Could you send me the scripts with the video masters of the other films tomorrow? Maybe I can help you out in the funding…”

“Sure, no problem.”

I had nothing. How the hell was I going to write three scripts by the following day?

I recently bought a new office chair. Not a big deal right? Except the one it’s replacing I’ve had for 35+ years. It should have been replaced years ago.

There is nothing special about the old chair, in fact I probably got it on sale way back when.

I don’t buy things for myself all that often.