I've had Paris on my mind. Again.
My daughter has lived in Paris for almost sixteen years. She's married to an Assistant Director named Gregoire, and four months ago they had their first child, Olive. Which means I am officially a grandfather.
So I'm thinking about visiting Paris this year to see Olive. I've been to Paris a few times. I stayed in the 19th arrondissement for a month. It was a celebration of my recovery from having broken five vertebrae of my back. Three of the breaks were on the wings of my lumbar vertebrae, and there was nothing the doctors could do for that other than have me wear a brace for eight weeks.
Which means, I was pretty lucky. I don't think I'll be pursuing a new career as a stuntman. I'm like a cat with nine lives, but I've used up about half of them. When you've had near death experiences it deepens your faith in God and maybe it also brings up a few questions about why bad things happen to good people. Yes, I consider myself a good person. But nobody's perfect.
My Paris experiences and breaking my back led to my writing the novel and screenplay, 21 Days in Paris. Here is a link to one of the two promos I created. I am still hopeful a publisher or literary agent will love it. I have shared my 'elevator pitch' with over one-hundred people. Everybody loves it. Often they ask when the film is coming out. I have had five invitations from all over the world to submit the "film" to festivals. Oh, if only it was true. Here's the promo link:
I was excited when the screenplay was the finalist-nominee in the Paris Film Festival. It also placed in many other screenplay contests. I took a wait and see point of view because I know it takes years for agents and producers to make decisions about novels and scripts. Most of them want copycat type stories, that is, stories that are easy to sell. They don't want Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. What is surprising, and disappointing, is the numbers of literary agents whose wish lists contain requests for LGBTQ stories. I guess I was happy that Trump made it a law to keep men out of women's sports. I could write a book about the gay people I've known. Like, once I was romantically stalked by a transgender professor. It's like that song, Lola, by The Rolling Stones. But thankfully, I never joined the other team (as Seinfeld described it). I understand the phrase: Saved by grace. Thank God for angelic protection.
For the past two years I've had an interesting hobby. Well, I think it's an interesting hobby. I've created about 300 original art bookmarks. They're quite beautiful, with quotes on their backsides. Here's one from Anne Frank I especially enjoy: "In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. No one has ever become poor by giving."
They're often splatters of acrylic paint on multimedia paper.
I enjoy the freedom of random art because for decades representational artwork was how I made a living. Like this potato chip bag I created in 2005 for Pinnacle Foods (a Bird's Eye brand). Some people are impressed by this art and design. I got out of the advertising game a long time ago. I wrote copy and art directed print and broadcast campaigns for products I mostly didn't like that much. We have such short lives. Why spend it doing work for someone we wouldn't hang out with or agree with?
I have samples of my art on Wix and Fine Art America.
Anyway, I digress. What I do with the bookmarks is fun. I take a dozen with me everywhere I go, and give them away to strangers. Some people think I'm a fool to do this. I mean, it costs me money to create them, right? But I view it as giving back; tithing to the universe. I give to make the world a better place.
My reward? Talking to strangers, seeing their reactions. People want to be loved and appreciated. By bringing happiness, I receive happiness.
Anne Frank is absolutely right: "No one has ever become poor by giving."
It's better to give than receive because giving feels good. I wish we were all wired to be givers, but many people are takers. Imagine a world where giving was the normal way to live our lives. Wow, what a wonderful world it would be!
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