Vol. 4, No. 14

Greetings, fellow travelers, and welcome to the 14th posting of volume four of the Blog.  Well, it's been three weeks since we last met.  I'm still recovering from my trip to Los Angeles.  Let me say that said trip seems to have stoked my creativity and given me a renewed interest in my writings.   In fact, I seem to doubting my new career as a film maker and am now wanting to go back to being a writer.  This requires a bit of looking in to.

 

Now, let's take a look at the world events that happened while I was gone.  Well, as I headed off on my trip, the world learned of the passing of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  One of the top world leaders of the 1980s, she's either a well-beloved person who saved Great Britain during hard times or a political leader who made life harder for people.  Whatever your opinion of her, she and President Reagan were the reason the Soviet Union turned back into Russia.  Think about that.

Then, en route to California, I was waiting for the morning newspaper that Amtrak promised us (yes, I took the train.  It's a nice ride.)  Anyway, I finally got it.  Now, the reason I wanted it was to find out who won the NCAA Championship Game.   Seeing that Michigan blew a halftime lead didn't prep me for when I flipped the folded paper over and saw the obit for Annette Funicello.  At that point, the old saying that death comes in threes came to my mind.  I didn't wait long.

Two days later, I was again looking for a newspaper because all CNN could talk about was North Korea, the world's most bratty country.  I found a copy of the Los Angeles Times and again, it was folded and I flipped it over... to find the obit to one of comedy's best-ever people.  Jonathan Winters was a favorite of mine and he inspired... practically every comedian alive today.  He was the idol of the man I idolize, Robin Williams.  The life and times of Winters will be the centerpiece of its own posting, so stay tuned.

As I mentioned, the world looked towards North Korea as it made threat after threat.  Mind you, it actually followed through on some of those threats.  However, it has yet to follow up on its biggest ones.  I also called it the world's most bratty country as it makes those threats like a bratty three-year-old trying to get attention.  With the world's attention now on other parts of the world, expect North Korea to set Seoul on fire.  After all, Seoul must feel like curtains for it lets us look into said northern neighbor.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Beyond that, not much happened to the world while I was on my trip.  How I spent said trip will take many more postings over the next few months.  As I said, it has stoked the fires of my creativity and it seems I might be heading back into book writing.  Whether I continue on my path to films or go back to trying to write books remains to be seen.  Before I close out this week's posting, I must make mention of the passing of one of country music's greatest heroes.  It's a sad week for my favorite music.

George Jones was country music to a lot of people.  The way he sang those songs of heart break and drinking were the way he lived his life.  His drinking led to broken marriages and cancelled concerts, leading him to be called No-Show Jones.  He was supposed to have one last tour leading to a November farewell concert with a star-filled roster.  Now, he is forever a no-show.  To have such a talent now silent is horrible to me.  As he once sang, "Whose gonna fill those shoes?"  The answer: no one.

Now, to close this week's posting.  After being away for three weeks, it's hard to get back into the whole blogging thing.  I think I get back in the swing but time will tell.  With my ideas running in every direction at once, it'll be fun to see where I go next.  I could make a movie or write a book or doing a thousand other things.  It depends on what next thing I choose to do that lead to either of those goals.  In conclusion, that thousand mile journey starts with a single step but where to put that first step?

Yours Truly, John Maxwell
Your Fellow Traveler 

Vol. 4, No. 13

Greetings, fellow travelers, and welcome to the thirteenth posting of volume four of the Blog.  As some of you know, I have been trying to branch out with the Blog.  I have also been trying to branch out in life.  That is why I have started my own film production company.  I call it Golden Shawn Productions.  The name comes from a meme I had as a kid with a friend of mine based on a commerical.  However, I mentioned last week that it is a special week.

Last week, I called it a birthday celebration.  This week, I call it the Debralee Scott Turns 60 Celebration.  Now, I have profiled her in an earlier Blog posting.  Since in that posting I gave her life story, I won't mention it here.  This time, I thought I would mention how my fanship of her has changed me.  It stems from my love of old game shows and seeing her on them.  However, it was simple notice of her.  The way I became a fan was through my writing.

I mentioned a few postings ago that when I created the character of Cy Scott, his background was very different.  His name was Cy Jones and Debralee wasn't his mother.  As I said, things changed when I made that decision.  However, it wasn't just the character.  I suddenly found myself a fan of Debralee Scott.  I enjoyed watching her on game shows and watching the shows she was on.  It took me a while to realize I wasn't alone in my fanship.  A lot of people enjoyed her while she was here and miss her now she's gone.

For those of you who don't know when during the week the big day happens, it is April 2.  She shares this birthday with some other famous people.  On this day this week, Emmylou Harris, one of my favorite singers, turns 66.  "Dragnet" creator Jack Webb would have been 93.  It is also the day I chose to officially start my film company.  I thought it was the least I could do to honor Debralee.  I also purchased a movie that she was in, the 1973 television movie "Lisa, Bright and Dark".  Let me tell you about it.

It's a film about a young girl who slowly loses control of her sanity.  At this point, I've watched a good chunk of it.  My mind is excited when Debralee is in the scene.  In the scenes she's in, you can see the talent within her on full.  I'd like to think that in a parallel universe, she is still alive and polishing an oscar or two.  We all have actors we'd wish had gone to bigger and better things.  Sadly, the world of Hollywood run on different rules than the rest of us.  The fact that Hollywood chooses some people over others will always be with us.

Let me encourage you to seek out a clip of Debralee on YouTube or rent something the IMDB said she was in.  To be a fan of hers serves to remind me of the talent Hollywood missed out on.  However, you know the old saying, "You don't know how good something is until it's gone."  All this love we have for her only comes to us because she is gone from this world.  That tells you to fight for people while they're here.  Gives them a chance to enjoy that love we give them so much and so often.

Let me close out my tribute to Debralee Scott on the occassin of her 60th birthday with a few lines lifted and reworded from Shakespeare.  It comes from "Hamlet" Act I, Scene 2: "She was a woman, take it all and all, I shall never see the like of her again."  I must end this week's short but sweet posting by telling you that for the next two weeks, the Blog will be silence.  I am going on a trip to California and then recover from it.  So, I will be unable to bring you the joys of me.

So, the next time you'll see a posting is on April 27.  Also, you may notice a lack of Oddley.  That is because Oddley has decided to stop telling his story for now.  He promises he will resume it at some point.  According to him, you people weren't exactly giving him a reason to give his story.  So, I will conclude this week's posting with a thought about the last 13 weeks of the Blog.  In the world of television, thirteen weeks is sometimes all you get.  Make every one of them count.

Join us in three weeks, won't you?
Yours truly, John Maxwell.
Your Fellow Traveler.