make any move you can - we all soon disappear.
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Today I went looking through my writing archives to find something written on or near this date in the past, and I found a poem written about 24 years and a week ago. It’s not particularly great nor too profound, but it does connect me with an important moment going even further back, to a golden day spent with my grandfather, Urban Lee Ridings. The day was sunny and warm, I remember, and I must have been somewhere around five or so. Grandpa instructed me to go and shake his money tree, and I could still walk you right to…
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Along with my mentor and dear friend Randy Baker (above left, and that’s me on the right), I am very proud to announce the release of our book, “Randy Baker: On Location” by yours truly. It’s available now in Softcover, Hardcover and Digital editions with no markup: http://blur.by/1crueUG Thank you very much for taking a look and for any support and feedback. This book is a collaboration between television producer/director/videographer Randy Baker and publisher, press agent, writer and producer Roger Darnell. When you search the Internet Movie Database for Randy, you will find him listed as a director of photography,…
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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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I wrote this poem exactly 17 years ago today. It was several months after the excitement of working on NBC’s seaQuest had given way to some different kinds of fun for Beth and me, but about 18 months before we surprised ourselves and everyone we knew by moving to California. This was written in May (always a favorite time of year), and much to my delight, those days were mostly spent handling very fun freelance production assignments (for example, shooting with Randy Baker for NASCAR), rewriting a screenplay for a futuristic thriller, and writing, editing and submitting poetry to top…
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We are very proud to be joining 10,000 like-minded friends in Washington, D.C., next Sunday (“President’s Day” in America), to be part of a peaceful demonstration. Why? For me personally, I can say for sure that a key reason is the deep emotional connection that occurred in me when I watched the above ad, and another more famous one named “The Crying Indian,” as a young boy about 42 years ago. It requested of me that I help “Keep America beautiful,” and on some level, I have been trying to do that ever since. Now more than ever, we are…
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Originally published in November 2011. After joining in the November 6, 2011, demonstration against the Keystone XL (KXL) Pipeline in Washington, D.C., we have been celebrating good news for the past two days. Courtesy of Professor Harvard Ayers, Ph.D., co-author of “Arctic Gardens: Voices from an Abundant Land,” it’s my pleasure to share the following news about KXL. “A landmark decision was made yesterday by Mr. Obama — HE PUT OFF ANY DECISION ON THE KEYSTONE XL TAR SANDS PIPELINE FOR 12-18 MONTHS, probably killing this horrible project for ever. The incredible forces lobbying him to approve it LOST!!! There…
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Looking back, I can see that – like so many others – as a young student, my education was greatly affected by certain teachers and faculty-members who went out of their way to ensure I learned something valuable during my days at school. When it comes to English classes, as I made my way through four different high schools in three different states, the lessons I received ranged from advanced and accelerated to “never mind!” Luckily, when registering for classes for my senior year of high school, the phenomenal Oak Ridge guidance counselor Carolyn Smith sounded-out my interests and aptitude,…
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I hope you've had a wonderful summer so far and that you are also creating some excellent memories.
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Wishing you all a joyous summer, too!