The Prodigal Altar Boy Blog 26 October 2013 - At Ease!

At Ease!

I was walking home from the cleaners one Saturday last month (before summer left town for good) and as I headed down Charles Street, I saw a man on a bicycle.  From a distance, he waved and I waved back.  I had my cleaning slung over my right shoulder so I walked especially upright to compensate for the load.  Just as the gentleman passed me on his bike, he yelled, “At ease, soldier,” causing us both to laugh. 

 

I think people have a sixth sense for picking out people who have served in the military.  Whether it’s the way we dress, groom, talk or act, there is something people can discern and some people are quick to acknowledge.  When I see military people today, I am inspired by their commitment to service and humbled as a veteran, to be considered “part of the club.”  

 

While we shared a laugh with his street side command, the order, “at ease,” resonated on a personal level in that we all need to take time to relax, assess and enjoy where we are.  Making “The Trouble withTQ” is a full-time job I’ve squeezed into my “spare time” since 2008.  Every now and then, I needed to “come up for air” and do things completely unrelated to the documentary and that sustained me throughout the process. 

 

Looking back on where the project started and where it is now always brings that Grateful Dead lyric, “What a long, strange trip it’s been” to mind.  I never imagined the film would turn into what it is now and the only reason any of that happened is that I kept pushing it along.  For all the planning I did, what sustained the project was being open to new directions.  Whether it was commissioning the paintings, licensing the photos or experimental shots, being open to how they fit into the film (as opposed to how I planned to use them in the film) allowed the overall creative impact surpass the sum of those individual elements.

 

 

 

Finally, enjoy where you are.  This was a busy week for the film; juggling event planning, DVD production details and a tribute reel for TQ meant laser focus on those tasks.  At dinner out last night, my wife started talking about how successful I was and what she thought I deserved.  Her words caused me to pause (“at ease”) and take a moment to enjoy where I am with the film and where I am in life.  To quote that gospel song, “My soul looks back and wonders how I got over…” 

T-18 Days to Go 31 December 2012 Prodigal Altar Boy 100 Day Countdown

T-18 Days to Go

31 December 2012

Prodigal Altar Boy 100 Day Countdown

Goal:  2 hours per day working on the film

Details: 

·     Web Site work (Advisory Board)

·     Review Web Site Stats

·     Deposit donations

Total time:  2 hours

Goal:  30 minutes per day music practice

Details:

• Warm up on ’68 Hendrix Black Beauty Clone
• Fretboard Domination (modes) w/metronome

Total time:  60 minutes

Goal:  15 minutes exercise per day

Body Opus Week 17

Escalating Density Training

A1 – Incline Dumbell Bench Press

A2 – Dumbell Row

35lb dumbells X2

15 minutes 16 sets

Roc-It Lat Pulldown

113lbs 8X8

Treadmill work

60ses/30secs intervals

4mph/5-6.8mph

22 sets 3.10miles

Total Time: 1:08:55

Goal:  30 Minutes “Tangential Endeavors”

“The Fundraising Houseparty” – Morrie Warshawski

Total time:  30 minutes

                                                                                                                          

“The Trouble With TQ” Donor Roll

Carrie J. Hughes

Toni Fesel

Minnie Thomas

Nancy Dixon

Mary Emmert

Bruce McKenna

Eugene Strelka

Fr. John Dorgan

William J. Griggs

John & Katie Zawacki

Eileen Kanzler

Hank and Claire Tessandori

Pete and Margie Langlands

HaveScripts.com

Richard Mooney

Rev. Francis J. Gargani

Hal & Sally Neher

William T. Prince

Tom and Mary McFeely

Linda and Garry Cooke

Ed and Maureen Marroni

Sal Vitale

Kathleen Waugh

Joseph McDonough

Jone Langlands

Young Ja Jun

Mary Minkowski

Rev. David Ungerleider

Jean and Bob Young

Sisters of Notre Dame

Bob and Adele DellaValle-Rauth

John Buford

Kathy Heatwole

Mrs. Jean Thompson

Mr. James Wilson Jr.

Eileen Lyver

Charlotte Pacheco

Rev. Louis Benoit

Kim Howell

Kathy Dowdy

Bridget Browne

Amber Medalla

Howard and Sarah Malloy

C. Douglas and J. Claudette Starrett