The project has become an essential component of the demonstration of this belief: As an artist, I have something to say.
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I’ve been reliving words written in early July, 2017, during the time of this trip. For Beth and me, the main theme of our second St. John excursion was Togetherness: We were celebrating 25 years (plus six weeks) of matrimony. Perhaps it’s also true that we were seriously starting to fantasize about our hopes for the future – which continue coming into focus as the years pass.
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Here are some notes from my journal on 10 July, 2017, the day this footage was recorded. “So long as nothing threatening presents itself, one can easily experience sheer bravado, even while visiting a world where we are so foreign. A half mile off the coast of St. John with mostly just ocean to the east and south, and Tortola a couple of miles away to the north, we were very exposed to all the natural life of the deep, dark sea. But as we swam from just around the tip of the south side to the north along the…
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All of this started playing out 18 years ago today – thought I’d bump it back to the top of this blog to rekindle the memories… Escape from LA by Roger Darnell Wednesday, May 30, 2001: The Countdown Begins As I sat at my desk at the end of the business day (night) on Tuesday, I knew I really needed to get some sleep to be ready to start loading the truck bright and early the next morning; surveying my office, though — still largely intact — it finally also sunk-in to me that I needed to get it packed,…
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During the summer, most hours of the day, the sounds of others at play abound... but at 7:40 a.m., it's just me and the insects, birds and fish. It's second nature to imagine the history of this magical place.
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In the late summer of 1989, I had an idea to approach the University of Central Florida’s student newspaper, “The Future,” about writing a weekly column. I wrote the first one and very humbly submitted it in person to the editor, Scott Altman. Without much fanfare, it was accepted, and so it went for the next fifteen months. Ultimately, many positive experiences grew from these efforts. One esteemed instructor made much of my work and was instrumental in me winning a Scripps-Howard Foundation Fellowship for the column. Thank you, Keith Fowles.
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Where ever this day finds you, I wish you life's goodness in abundance, good friends and many loved ones to share it with.
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Featured Image: 2011 photo from our annual trip to Camp Merrie-Woode in Sapphire, North Carolina.
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In November of 1998, Beth and I were living in our Barrington Way townhome in Glendale, California, which hosted us and our cats nicely enough through a very exciting and challenging time. Going back to Arc of the Poet, that was our critical California move in the so-called “Fame and Fortune” era. While I was extremely thankful at that time to have landed on the staff of Crest National in Hollywood, my film industry dreams were still very personal, and I pressed on to the best of my abilities on every front. Externally, I continued to “swing for the fence”…
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My family members and many close friends are participating in a special project where words are essential. An early version appears here with more updates coming soon. This one is written by Lila Ridings-Darnell, Heather Turner, Bud Ridings, Tiffany Eakle, Cheri Wynn and yours truly and designed using https://www.wordle.net. And here is the final version, featuring additional input from Bob Bingham, Connie Bingham, Riley Darnell, Bernice Lurkins, Jim Darnell, Peggy Darnell, Mike LaHood, Joel Ridings, Nell Thacker, Ann Kiefert, Kristianna Bursa Myus, Sherry Ridings, Laura Darnell, Speed Jenner, Victoria Lynn Soden, Molly Gaffner-Jones, Richie Ridings, Linda Ridings, Bart Ridings, Mike…