This week, my short film had its final step: the online release (it’s kosher with the strike under a SAG micro-budget agreement). I’ve been running a weekly comedy workshop for older adults since 2020, and about a year and a half ago, I had an idea for a short film starring them. It’s a story of two long-time friends attending a seniors-only singles retreat in the Poconos, which leaves them both feeling a bit more optimistic at the end. This incredible producer, Harris Mayersohn, got involved, and after that it was off to the races. For three nights the cast and crew all slept on circular beds at a love resort called The Pocono Palace.
It’s a bittersweet story, because Richard Marshall, who plays the role of Dick with a twinkle in his eye, passed away this fall. He and Alix Elias, who plays Linda, were married in real life, and their love story is an inspiring one. It’s nice their chemistry is preserved in some way, even if it is in a 16 minute short. Here it is if you want to watch:
Anyway, passions this week include: shooting hoops, pita chips, and the Reddit self-publishing forums.
On a whim I bought a basketball from Target. And when the place is not swarming with strong, active teens, I drag my boyfriend to the basketball court and we shoot hoops. We do not play basketball. We just take turns shooting hoops. If one of us makes it in, we get to go again. I’m not athletic at all but the feeling of making a basket is enough to keep me coming back for more. Shooting hoops gets me outside, it stops me from thinking, and sometimes I even make a basket.
Pita chips are so much crunchier than you’d ever expect them to be. The amount of gnawing it takes to get them down makes me hungry all over again. So I’ll eat more pita chips. It’s a never ending process that makes me wonder what hardtack was like.
There is nothing like the self-publishing Reddit forums. It’s at times too supportive, but there is an undercurrent of tough love which I admire. A lot of people wondering where they’ve gone wrong, and a lot of people responding saying there was no way to go right. It’s demoralizing, encouraging, and I close my computer feeling a part of something larger than myself.
And now some from the readers…
Emily: “I'm really excited about hiding under the covers to read. Our baby is still sharing our bedroom so if I want to read at night I have to burrow under the covers with my book and reading light, making sure I am safely tucked into my blanket-tent so that no light escapes. It's absolutely thrilling and I feel like I am getting away with staying up past my bedtime without my parents knowing even though I am the parent now.”
Marina: “Hot water bottle. It is a wireless, mobile, inexpensive heating pad + weighted blanket in one. Not only great on chilly days but also any other day for cozy comfort or help to fall asleep when there is no cat/dog nearby to provide the service of weighing on your chest.”
Ethan: “My passion of the moment - the word “chinchilla.” I've always loved just saying that word; the combination of sounds and syllables both rolls off the tongue with ease and just sounds so interesting and exciting and heck, even funny. Try saying it and tell me you're not enjoying yourself. If you say no, I'll buy you a Diet Pepsi. I used to have my default password for every website as "chinchillachinchillachinchilla" but I'd since forgotten the word for several years - until recently. I don't have much interest in the animal itself; in fact, I could barely tell you what they are. That just doesn't matter.”
If you have a passion you wanna share, just reply to this email with 1-2 sentences about what you love and why you love it!
“Hubba Hubba,”
Jo