The Boys of SummerThe lyrics to Don Henleys song about longing to return to the past hits home for me on so many levels. "Nobody on the road, Nobody on the beach I feel it in the air The summer's out of reach Empty lake, empty streets The sun goes down alone I'm driving by your house Don't know you're not home But I can see you Your brown skin shining in the sun You got your hair combed back And your sunglasses on, baby I can tell you my love for you will still be strong After the boys of summer have gone I never will forget those nights I wonder if it was a dream Remember how you made me crazy Remember how I made you scream I don't understand what happened to our love But, baby, I'm gonna get you back I'm gonna show you what I'm made of I can see you, Your brown skin shining in the sun I see you walking real slow And you're smiling at everyone And I…" Returning back to LA, I've been forced to deal with a lot of harsh realities. I'm single again after being married for over 25 years and in that same relationship for several years prior to getting married. Los Angeles has become incredibly expensive beginning to get to San Francisco and NYC of affordability or rather lack thereof. In regards to work in the film business, Los Angeles is definitely going through a slow period right now. I know the business has always been one of feast or famine but after being in Atlanta and Louisiana for the last several years where most of the time there isn't enough experienced crew for the amount of filming going on, coming back to where the film business started or least had it's golden years; it was shocking to see how slow it was. Calm Before the Storm I did manage to pick up a few days here and there on a couple of projects, but it didn't seem like much was going on so I decided to head up towards Mammoth Lakes and enjoy the mountain air and come up with a game plan. I also did a little camping in Malibu before I got rained out and my tent and gear got soaked. So I hung that stuff up to dry in my storage unit and headed for the hills. I got up to Mammoth on a Sunday and realized a couple of things; the weekend was obviously going to be super packed and crowded and Mammoth is very expensive. So I dropped down to Bishop to explore and recuperate. After several days, I decided it was time to head back to LA, visit some friends and try to stir up some work. As fate would have it, I managed to learn the hard way how seriously LA takes it's parking enforcement. I had parked my truck close to a driveway. Ok I was literally in the driveway, probably 8 inches past the part where it begins to slope down. There was still plenty of room for them to back out and I was only going to be a few hours. A few hours later when I returned my truck was gone. I walked around for around 20 minutes hoping I had parked somewhere else, finally giving up and returning to my friends to get a few hours of sleep and deal with it in the morning. I woke up early and walked a few miles over to the bar we had been to the night before even though we had Ubered over. I figured maybe I did something silly and I didn't recall. But honestly knowing that wasn't the case. I was freaking out at this point because my truck had everything I owned in it, or it least the most vital things, computer, , luggage, important paperwork like my original birth certificate, passport, bank documents etc. I headed over to the police station and lo and behold my truck had indeed been towed and was at an impound lot several miles away. I was ready to make the long walk over in the rain. I was in no rush and didn't feel like getting a cab. My credit card was maxed out so an uber was not an option at this point. The cops felt bad for me so offered to give me a lift, which was very, very cool of them. So there I am hung-over in the back of squad car, exhausted but glad to know my vehicle wasn't stolen. Out of LA I decided to head back up to Mammoth to chill out. Around halfway there I was exhausted and decided to get a hotel. After a goodnight sleep, I realized as much as I would love to run away and hang out up in mountains, I had a lot to do back in Los Angeles. So I chilled out in a Motel 6 in Palmdale for the weekend, getting some much needed rest, catching a movie, getting organized and coming up with a gameplay. Another To-Do List It should be an interesting and long day. My bank is on one side of town and my storage and mail is all the way across town. So instead of getting started on all those dull and dreary chores and sitting in traffic for hours, I decided to sit down and write my thoughts out and add to my blog; another page in my journal; another chapter in my autobiography, Lost Not Found, which luckily won't be the title of this entry. I'm Back ....Again!!!!!
1 Comment
Sean Hood
3/5/2019 10:26:12 am
Oh my god, I know that feeling of disorientation. Where is my car, bag or other life-central thing that isn't where I left it. We try not to tie our identity to things, but "my whole life is in that truck" is a sobering thought to be sure.
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AuthorJon Danniells is an adventurer and traveler, a teacher and student, a husband and a father, a cook and a farmer, a "week-end warrior" (very amateur athlete) and has not earned any money on these labors of love.When I googled myself what showed up first was my IMDB listing, which is basically a resume for my 20 and then some year career in film, for which I fortunately do get paid. Archives
November 2019
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