Made for TV movie special

 

 Way back in 1973 when I was a 10 year old, I walked to Eugene Field Elementary school one day (April 25, 1973 as it turns out)  and got to the playground.

I was then immediately surrounded by a mob of kids.

   They were all excitedly shouting   "We're going to watch you on TV tonight!"  

Me: "What are you talking about?"

Crowd: "It's in the TV Guide!"

Me: "Must be a mistake"

Crowd:  "No my mom told me it's about your story"

Me: "Really? I have a story?  Could this have happened somehow without me knowing it?"

Crowd: " "You are going to be FAMOUS!"

Me: <thinking> "Hmmm Maybe this is how that works?"

All day long kids and even teachers kept coming up to me and telling me how they were going to watch me and my story on TV that night.   After a while I started to think that maybe I did have a special story somehow and that it would be on TV that night.

I ran home after school and found the TV guide that indeed showed that my life's story was going to be on that night as a TV Movie Special   "The Going up of David Lev"    It was a story about a 10 year old boy. 

With Brandon Cruz as David (Cruz was the kid in "Courtship of Eddie's father"

also with Melvyn Douglas and Claire Bloom

The Going Up of David Lev IMDB

MOM! MOM!!!!!    I'm going to be on TV tonight!!!!

Mom: "No you're not..."

Me: "But it says right here."

Mom: "That isn't you."

Me: "It's about a 10 year old named David Lev  I'm 10 and am David Lev so..."

Mom: "Listen kid it isn't about you ok?"

"It's about a Jewish boy in Israel, Lev is a common last name there and so is David, 

it's like John Smith over here"

Me:  I don't know any other Lev's and If there are so many David Lev's out there why does dad keep telling me I have to keep the family name alive?

Mom: Sorry to shatter your illusions here.  

So we watched about half of the movie on tv till I realized it wasn't my story and that the movie kinda sucked.  Then we changed the channel and watched something else....

Me, Monica Raymund and the women's bathroom

Typically while on location bathrooms are hastily marked or are unisex.   They can be difficult to locate in general.  Really I usually have to ask where it even is.   

I was playing as an office worker with 4 ladies in my group on the set of  "Chicago Fire" and had to go to the bathroom pretty badly.

I just noticed that one of the ladies in my group had just come back from the bathroom.

Me: "I see you found the bathroom"

Lady: "YES! been drinking a lot of coffee"

Me: "Where is it?

Lady: "Oh, just down that hall over there, make a right, then another right and it's right there can't miss it"

I walk down the hallway, made a right, and another right, I BURST through the door!  And BAM it's me and Monica Raymund who is adjusting her blouse.. 

Monica: "Um were you looking for the Men's room" she says very nicely. 

Me:  "I err um that is to say uhhh ya"

Monica:  "Lot's of stalls here it's just me and you, go ahead, I don't mind"

Me: "umm noooo thanks"

Monica: "Do you want me to show you where the Men's room is?"

Me: "No I think I'll figure it out"

Monica:  "I'll speak with production about marking this better, see you on set!"

Me: <Thinking>  "That's it, I'm so getting kicked off this show..." 

I feel comfortable posting this as she was very nice/sweet about it....  

The Spanish Simpsons episode

As nearly everyone else in the 90's me and Eileen enjoyed watching "The Simpsons" from time to time.   They had unique humor where sometimes you could not be sure what they would pull next.

For example:  One time they broadcast the show entirely in spanish!!  we watched the entire episode wondering what they were going to do with this.     Afterwards we looked at each other and said "Ok that was weird, I don't get it."  and went off our merry way.

The following week it was a typical episode, and definitely NOT in Spanish.  For a few weeks more all typical episodes.  




And then...  the spanish Simpsons episode returned.    Hey EILEEN!  they are replaying that Spanish Simpsons episode again!?    What the Hell?       We watched about half of it before realizing that it actually was a different episode in Spanish.       

Would they DO this for TWO episodes?  

Why is this even funny?

A friend comes over and we tell him about the Spanish Simpson's episodes.    He says

Umm  Is that a new tv you have there? 

Yes! 

Have you ever heard of SAP?

Second audio program (SAP), also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over-the-air and by cable television.

Yes.. 

Could you possibly have it set to Spanish?

DOH!!!!!

SNAKES!

As kids in the early 70's we were easily amused.

For example:

Snakes... on the 4th of July, you would burn them & they would coil up and stretch out.....geez we had weird fun.   

So I got these one year to show my girls what great fun we used to have as a kid.  The looks I got back after lighting those suckers up was priceless.

The girls:  "Dad whats gonna happen???!!!"

Me: Umm that's it.

 The girls:  "Nahhh really whats gonna happen?" 

Me: Thats it!

  The girls:  "Quit kidding dad! Whats going to happen?"
Me:  THAT'S IT! Damn it. Ehhh we are gonna go inside and eat ice cream. I quit 4th of July

Vegas Vacation

VEGAS VACATION!

 

In 1995 (or 1996 I forget) Me and Eileen went to Las Vegas for a vacation.  Pete (friend of ours) decided he wanted to fly up and join us.   Pete had always wanted to see Hoover dam.   I had already been there a couple of times on previous trips, and was kinda "Meh" about taking the time to drive out to the damn dam yet again.     Pete REALLY wanted to go.   I said "well if we are going to do this, we need to take the extra long in-depth tour inside the damn dam,  deal?"   I had not managed to do this previously,  it would make things more interesting.     We all agreed 

 

It was going to be a spectacular but HOT day.   For whatever reason, only the earliest tour time slot was available, I booked it.    We arrived early in the morning before the heat, parked, and noticed that there was hardly anyone at the dam cause it was so early.  

We quickly checked things out on top and then    

 headed inside for the damned 2 hour tour. 

 

It was a pretty interesting tour and indeed it took a very long time to go through.

Lots of blah blah blah,  eleventy billion gallons of water blah blah blah can you imagine?  blah blah something something.    Hey I think the damn dam is leaking ha ha  blah blah something words words words.

More words, blah blah something something.

Eventually the tour ended and headed back up to the top and headed outside.   When we got outside there was a mass of humanity all around.    Then we felt the heat like 114 degrees WHAT THE HELL?  Not wanting to fight through the crowds to get back to the car right away,  me and Pete decided we could cool off a little by hanging over the top of the dam and feel the rush of air push us back that occurs when the wind hits the damn and is forced up.   

Eileen at this point is MISERABLE from the heat and decides it's time to stop messing around and make our way through the crowds to get to the car.    LET'S GO! she says..  And thus we start working our way through the crowd single file.    I end up following this tall guy who was wearing green shorts, Hawaiian shirt, straw hat, and carrying a FISHING POLE!     "REALLY" I think to myself.    I'm not a fashionista (fashionito?) or anything, but was thinking "what the Hell?" again.      I can't see where we are going behind this guy when suddenly the crowd parts a lil bit.  I look around and see a movie camera sitting by itself with no one next to it.  I was like "hmmm I wonder what it looks like looking through that camera  so I walk up to it and see what I can see.   No one tries to stop me.   I take a step back as a few of us were still around me including the big dude in the Green shorts and Hawaiian shirt.    I'm thinking maybe they are filming a documentary about the dam.    I go to ask the guy in the green shorts what he thinks, and as I turn towards him, he looks at me.     It's  OMG it's Randy Quaid!    I turn to my left and notice that standing right next to me is a short woman who is shooting me a look like "Who the F*ck are YOU?"  My eyes grow wide and I realize wait a sec! It's Beverly D'Angelo  the mom from VACATION THE MOVIE!

They must be filming a new Vacation movie!!!   AND Just then up the escalator comes Chevy Chase! 

A couple of production assistants come out and push the crowd back including Eileen "Get back!  Back I'm BEGGING YOU!"        No one is telling me I have to leave.  I just stood there.    Chevy Chase starts cracking jokes about how "Chilly it is outside" and how many autographs does he have to sign before he can start charging for them.      We stayed and watched them film a short bit where the family goes down the escalator and into the dam for their Damned tour.

It was a very cool, and very lucky experience.  Eventually I just walked back and out through the crowd found Eileen who had been watching all of this from a distance.    We laughed about it all the way back to our hotel.     That was fun Damn it!

"Oh ya I'm an Ironman"

Some days I'm just really tired for no apparent reason.  No worries, this is not anything new or whatever. It just happens...

Today training was just a 2 mile easy run. Let me tell you I was SLUGGISH!! It was the kind of run where I'm like ugh I'm so tired, can I do this? Then I remember "Oh ya I'm an Ironman!"

WAY back in 2011 I did Ironman Wisconsin. yup 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on the bike and then ran a freaking marathon. Before actually doing it, it was all about proving something to myself. I should have thought about what would happen if I DID do it.

See it kinda mocks me whenever I think I'm tired and I start making excuses... DUDE you did IRONMAN!!!! WTF!

I'm Freaking tired!! Can't run 2 miles? DUDE WTF!

Can't wake up? ummm DUDE you woke up and then did....

You get the picture.

Same thing happens around the house. Even if I forget, Eileen won't let me.

Cut the Grass?
"Eileen! I'm tired ok?"
"Dude you did Ironman"
Arrggghhhhhhhhhh

It could be worse, I could have also got an Ironman Tattoo.
Then strangers would give me SH*T too!
You know like when the girls are clothes shopping, and somehow I'm roped into going. OMG I'm so TIIIIRRREEEED Maybe if I can sit down in that chair over there. Wake up!!!! What's wrong with you?!!!

Stranger: Dude! You are SNORING! Me:
Me: Well I'm just so tired.
Stranger: Is that an M dot tattoo on your calf?
Me: Arrggghhhhhhhhhh

So what nags at YOU to keep YOU going? let it nag you and drive you. ‪#‎Getitdone‬!

(Not my calf  also not my tattoo!  I don't have one)

Wounded animal defending it's young.

Thoughts while running a recovery (RH knee recovering) paced 2 miler this am:

Testing the injured knee on a short 2 mile neighborhood course. I wanted to make sure to go easy.
In fact, I began this run thinking if anything felt really wrong before a line of demarcation I had plotted, then i would abandon it, and turn around.

"Hmmm its ok I guess.... IDK looks like maybe continue" I told myself after passing the line.

As I went along I began thinking about what led to the knee issue to begin with. (really too much too soon)
I started thinking about my form.  I had Achilles tear injury some years ago,  Was referred to a physical therapist who then was helping me on my road to recovery.
I had not been allowed to run for what felt like eternity.

Me: "Can I run now?"
PT:   "No"

3 days later,
"Can I run now?" No

"Can I run now?" No

"Can I run now?" Yes.... right here, right now, one mile on the treadmill over there,
"Yay!" (can't wait to show off)

"SOoooo, what do you think??" (I said proudly)

PT:  "Dave-<clears throat, takes time to choose words carefully> You are a miracle of adaptation!"

ME: "Say what? is that good?"

PT:  Do you ever watch nature films?

ME:   "Well ya where are you going with this?"     

PT:  You run like a wounded animal defending it's young....

Bison mother protecting young

"WHAT????"
Your form is horrible. It's amazing to me that you are able to run as fast as you do. This being said,  it's also how you ended up seeing me.   BUT don't stop running, just work on your support exercises cause you will really need that to keep from seeing me in the future.
Whenever you do have an issue just "modify" and do something else.

Ok so I had that in my mind as I continued to run and by the time I was finished with that thought, I realized I was running pretty well and things felt good.

By the last 1/2 mile I was running fairly hard cause well yes I can be that stupid. BUT it did feel good and the knee cooperated soooo.