Evolve to tropical jungle Illinois

As a result of some of the legal issues with the Wrestling Show, and also a man power shortage for the Sabian documentary coming up, plus the breaking down of both our HD cameras, the few days that I was home where filled to the max to say the least. As it turns out, a very important opportunity came up for the Sabian documentary in Burlington Vermont. Master drummers from all over are meeting there to teach workshops and play shows…I am supposed to be there to film. Unfortunately it lands on the same days that I will be in Chicago for the Coaches documentary, so I can’t go to Vermont. Tidby graciously has taken my place and will be shooting with Semra down there, I know it’s a pain in the ass for him, and there certainly isn’t much money involved, but he really has bailed me out.

I was home for 3 days, and then I got back on the road. Friday morning Tidby, MacCormack and I filled the outback with sleeping bags, tents, beer and cameras and headed up to Antigonish Nova Scotia for the Evolve Music and Awareness Festival. I have been filming this festival for years. In fact my very first independent release was a doc about the festival called REVOLVE. You can watch this on my website www.hemmingshousepictures.com , click into the screening room and you can see what I’m talking about. I also filmed a lot of my next documentary called A Head’s Tale at Evolve one year. You can also see that on my webpage. The only year I didn’t film there, my good friend Kent Sobey of Farmhouse Pictures, also co-producer for my last film Rubarbicon (also filmed at Evolve), filmed a great concert documentary complete with Wassabi Collective, Jimmy Swift Band, Grand Theft Bus, amongst many many others. As I film a lot of concerts fro Aliant, the years that I wasn’t filming for docs, I would film the shows to post online. This year, the 8^th year of the festival was one of those times, unfortunately I have a big weekend with other commitments so I will only be able to be here for Friday, MacCormack will film the rest of the weekend as I put more miles on the Subaru.

My good friend Alex’s band The Divorcee’s started the festival off for me, and rocked it…these guys have nailed the outlaw country sound. I’m going to be shooting a music video for them soon, I can’t wait. Sadly this is the set where my camera audio package blew. Believe it or not I do get stressed, and this breaking as our only camera to film the whole festival hardly phased me in comparison with some of the other things I’m dealing with currently, however I still am facing every challenge with a positive attitude, trying to find the lessons to be learned in ever situation…plus I’m at Evolve, the highlight of every summer for me.

Musically, the two bands that I came to see on Friday night where Lotus and Do Make Say Think. Lotus where ridiculous…live techno at it’s best. I can’t say I have ever danced do hard. Somewhere in the midst of the crowd my sandals came off for no logical reason and the rest of the night I was forced into bare feet because I totally lost my shoes…no worries, dancing barefoot really is the only way to go…who needs shoes…right? Last time I saw Lotus was at the Langarado Festival in Southern Florida a couple years back. I was coming back from 2 weeks in Belize shooting a documentary about missionary work, and on the way back I stopped in Miami for a few nights, rented a car and traveled up to the festival and had a great time on my own. I met a bunch of great people and Lotus was my highlight, as they where this year! The Belize documentary is sadly not finished yet, I’m getting there though…2 years late mind you. It’s hard when the projects that you do for no money, but for the pure sake of making a film are put on the backburner, put aside to lesser soul filling projects that actually pay for things like mortgage, car, food, salaries etc. I need to overcome this so my business is making money on cruise control and I can focus on some of these important projects. I will write more later about the Belize adventure.

The festival night was a lot of fun; I was with some of my closest friends, enjoying some barley sandwiches, gin & juice and chocolate. Even though Do Make Say Think was my priority band to see, I didn’t get to see them. Do Make Say Think are an incredible collective from Montreal who are part of the Godspeed You Black Emperor family, another one of my favorite live musical experiences. Anyway, Halfway through the Lotus show a friend and I ended up sitting on the field and taking in the natural beauty, the moonlit clouds, the fields, the warm air, the music, the beats it was all so beautiful, truly God’s gift to us. My friend and I talked for hours about many things philosophical. I really feel that on that night I was made aware again of the truths of the Spirit, of nature, of humanity, and of God. I had a similar experience with the exact same friend back in 1998 in Toronto at a Phish concert….all the setting was there, it is amazing what doors the environment, the natural surroundings, music and a strong bond of a friendship can open.

We where both good friends with Leslie, and when she died everybody took it so hard. I, as a typically emotionally shielded male, suppressed my feelings about her loss. Life goes on, I always say that, and when I die, people will be sad for a short time, but then they will quickly move on and soon I will be forgotten. That sad point of view is what kept me from properly mourning the loss of my good friend, and such a beautiful person Leslie. This night was very important for my friend and I because we really got to talk through the whole surreal thing and emotionally deal with it, for the first time I really had a concept that her death was OK, she was fully in a better place and I actually know that now. The most amazing realization I have ever had I think. I also know that she was with us and that she didn’t want us to be sad, but rather she wanted us to know that “she made it!” and she is exactly where she needs to be. I know it sounds fluffy, but this experience is why I had no problems missing seeing one of my favorite bands…it is rare when you can share experiences like this with a close friend and be able to feel some collective closure.

After a long night of Drum and Bass beats, and deep conversations, Tidby and I left for the 5 hour drive back home where we picked up our friends Mike, Vanessa, roomy Brian and Leanne, the 5 of us headed up to Public Landing on the St. John River where Leslie’s family was holding a celebration in her name. That night they raised $12,000 to go towards an environmental scholarship also in Leslie’s name. There is no way this girl is girl is going to fade away into the memories of her friends, family and international community. There where bands, fireworks, a bunch of boats on the dock, lots of old friends, a huge dinner, even my band Something French ( www.somethingfrenchmusic.com) Played a midnight set. Sadly though I won’t be playing with them anymore as my busy travel schedule has let them down too many times, I keep missing shows. My good friend Pete will be playing bass full time from this point on. I’m really happy for them because they are all great folks and friends, and the songs are amazing, I had a lot of fun playing and recording with them. Sadly if you go full heartedly to pursue a passion, it is hard to feed a secondary one. This is the struggle of a passionate person.

The next morning my old roommate Mark Doyle and I packed the Outback and headed 3 hours North to Pert Andover to attend a fantastic folk party. This older hippy cat named Dan has been holding this gathering campout for 24 years now. It was beautiful, probably 100 real wonderful folk there, playing music around a campfire, collectively cooking meals, swimming, playing horseshoes…it was wonderful. My buddy Matt Anderson who I have been producing a DVD for (hopefully to be released this fall, shot last Christmas with Ross Neilson) is from Perth Andover, and he and many others have told me about this party for years. My good friend Karen Palmer played at it last year even. Anyhow Chris Dunlap from Calgary is also from here and was visiting home for a week and invited me up. I was so exhausted that morning that I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it, but I did and it was the best decision all week. A great way to put the stresses of the week on the back burner, even if it is only for 3 days.

Last night Jay MacLean and I went Skateboarding in town, then met my bro Mark and old friend Marney for a Martini at Sebastian’s. We talked about the industrialization of Saint John, the weight of corporate oppression, and love. This morning I said bye to Tidby who drove my car to Vermont to get the Sabian footage for me, and I hot the airport. I am currently flying over the Great Lakes en-route to Chicago for more Coaches shooting.

Chicago and Cornfields

August 2007

I landed in Chicago just as a tornado was speeding through, my plane was the last to land before they shut the airport down. The storm came quick, I was in the tram when the rain started to pelt down. The storm forced a diversion in Alison’s plane so I had to wait a couple hours for her. She finally arrived, it was so nice to see her as usual, and I know I say this all the time, but this Coaches project has put me in the presence of some of the most highly motivated people around, and it’s contagious. My confidence in life and in business is always boosted after hanging with these types of cats.

Alison and I hopped in a limo and headed into the heartland of Illinois, Republican country! “Jesus Saves...VOTE BUSH 2004”…I love how there is a perfect gay marriage of politics and religion in this country, it brings a tear to my eye! Ha ha. We ended up at one of Alison’s great friend / coaching colleague Amy’s beautiful home in the depths of what felt like the Amazon rainforest. Their home and property is amazing, I had no idea the heartland was so lush and alive! The sounds of the bugs in this lush wet and humid forest reminded me of my time in the jungles of Surinam. Instant memories of my South American adventures flew through my mind…and the smell! Amy’s husband Brian, very cool fellow with a beard halfway down his belly, has been building this amazing fence around the property out of this raw wood that really took me back. When I was in Surinam we where loading the cargo sailboat with custom selectively cut wood for the construction of a Martha’s Vineyard wooden sailboat. The smell of the fresh wood was intoxicating! When we hit the seas even in the middle of the ocean the smell of the wood was dominant, I haven’t smelled that until now, funny that it was in Illinois!

That night we had a great dinner, talked about a hold bunch of fun stuff that I won’t write about, suffice it to say, Alison, Amy and Brian are my type of peoples! I can only hope that I end up living lives like them when I become their age!

The next morning we hopped into Amy’s truck and hit the road for 2.5 hours South, truly into the Heartland, the Red White and Blue proudly displayed on every standing structure…this is America! It’s funny how different the spirit is here compared to the North Eastern states, which I am far more used too. Truly religion is number one, I choose the word religion…not spirituality, and like I mentioned earlier, I could even secularize it and drop the word religion and replace it with politics. The more I think of how politically religious Christianity has become, the more I want to move myself from it. I am faithful to my personal Christian based spirituality, but religious Christianity makes me upset…for a week minded person this dichotomy could cause much conflict within one’s self, I feel just fine about it however. Not to get into the religious trip right now, but I feel that God has given me an incredibly gifted life with the artwork of nature all around, great friends and family, yadda yadda yadda. My personal beliefs don’t seem to jive with a lot of other people in my life, and that’s just great.

Back to the bass… (Fat Tala R.I.P.). We arrive in a town called Normal Illinois. And like the name suggests, it’s a pretty Normal place, very typical small town mid America. There we met with a great group of folks from the executive of the Hospital Corporation. They had been previous clients of Alison’s and we interviewed them to get their perspectives on coaching, and how it has affected them personally and collectively. We got some good stuff.

The ride home was hilarious, Alison and Amy are constantly in giggle fits, they are a couple of very funny ladies. We got back to their jungle paradise, drank some very strong martinis (Amy likes a good proper mix of Vodka in her shaken drinks!) then we met up with Brian for a great Thai meal in this real cool little “bring your own wine” Thai restaurant. Its great how much in common we all have, I had a great time with these folks, can’t wait to roll back through again sometime. We stopped into a popcorn shack on the way home, the place has been serving popcorn since the 1920’s, and it’s no bigger than 2 porta-potties stuck together, but his popcorn was killer!!! After a way too short sleep I caught a limo at 5:00 am, got to Chicago, flew to Toronto where I am currently writing from the Maple Leaf Lounge. My wonderful friend Aisha is picking me up at the airport and we are going to check out the Saint John art gallery hop, always a happening time in the port city. We might go for a sail with Brian later tonight as well. Tidby is still in Vermont and I owe him my life for bailing me out, I’ve totally put him in an annoying position, but when things get crazy and double booked, I can’t be in 2 places at once, and I really appreciate his help…yo Tidby, thanks!

Sub Arctic Meltdown

Today is Monday and I’m writing all of this on the Plane to Newfoundland. I just met Federica and our Italian camera man in the Halifax airport, we where fortunate that my flight was delayed for 3 hours so now we are on the same flight! So good to see her again! I spent the last few hours in the maple Leaf lounge working form my laptop, Google Talking to my Goddaughter Chloe (so cute) and enjoying the on-tap privileges of the Maple Leaf Lounge, no other way to travel! We are about to film the first episode of the Weather Bomb for RAI television in Italy. The first episode is called “Melting Lands” and is about the affects of Global Warming from the perspective of the Inuit. Tomorrow Newfoundland, the next day Gander / Grand Falls / Star Lake, next day Montreal, and the next day the Arctic Circle!!! More to come!!!

DAY 1

Newfoundland

July, 2007

Federica, Genti and I had a fine flight to St. Johns, checked into the hotel, ate and crashed. Early the next morning we where blessed to be taken out into the St. John’s harbor and then into the ocean on this incredible whale research Zodiac, man did we see whales! We probably saw 10 to 12 Minke whales, so beautiful. Some where 20 meters off the side of the boat, others 5. It is hard to believe that people are still killing these magnificent creatures. We filmed into the coolest little harbor in all of Newfoundland; Quiddy Viddey, we filmed out at Cape Spear, the most Eastern Part of North America. Memories quickly came back to a few years ago when Tidby, Mackenzi, Miller and I shot 4 episodes for our TV series “Useless Fact Travel Show”. We spent a long time exploring all the cool and “useless” facts that exist in regions of Atlantic Canada, Newfoundland was my favorite, anyhow when we shot here for that show we got up very early in the morning and filmed a time-lapse of the sun rising in the Eastern-most part of the sky.

It is always nice to be able to be in such a wonderful natural environment and step back and realize that this is your job! I love those moments of clarity that remind me that I’m on the right path…or so I let myself believe!!! After we got back to shire we got back to the airport and flew to Gander where the nicest man on Earth picked us up. Nigel works for the hydro power plant that we filmed the next day and he was sent to take care of us, and that he did! We drove an hour to Grand Falls and the company put us all up in obscene luxury! We stayed in the Grand Falls House which is owned by the mill, and is reserved for VIPs like royalty and CEOs etc, there pictures of many high profile people who have stayed there!. And what a liquor cabinet! Ha ha. Nigel and is lovely wife Susan and I enjoyed some Scotch and fine wine together and had a great time. Federica and Genti where very jet legged so they went to sleep early.

DAY 2

The morning came far too early and what a great sleep I had, I felt like an 18^th Century lord staying in this incredible mansion! We drove 2 and a half hours into the Newfoundland Interior; saw Moose, Caribou, and all sorts of other animals. We where so far into the middle of the island that there was absolutely no communication with the outside world. We arrived at the dam and filmed the turbines and interviews, and learned all about green power, and also about what the company has done to compensate for the damage they did to the forest buy flooding the head pond. They have a fish hatchery that introduces new fish into the head pond on a continual basis, that was a pretty cool thing to check out, they even had an underwater window under the salmon stream and we could see the Salmon climb the fish ladder, great place for filming.

They took us out in a boat to explore Star Lake (the head pond) and saw more caribou and got to breath in the great fresh air…another moment of clarity. Even though it was sad to see how flooding land destroys so many acres of wildlife habitat, it was nice to see and understand the environmental commitments of this project. The reality is we need energy, we can get it from fossil fuels, or from wind and solar, unfortunately wind and solar aren’t always consistent, or you can get it from Hydro. The initial footprint is large and destructive, but there are no CO2 emissions at all…not that I support this process, it was just cool to see how it all works, and to see the honesty in the people who work there.

We where supposed to get a Helicopter back but it cancelled on us so we drove the 2.5 hours through the woods and got back to the mansion. This is when Genti and Federica became Newfies! Yes, we got Screeched! I’ve been screeched many times before so Im pretty much a Newfie now, but they had no idea what was going on, it was hilarious! And they loved it. After taking back double of the darkest screech in the house I had to call it an early night. This morning we got some shots of grand falls, drove to the airport, got into St. Johns, and one of my favorite friends of the past Melissa Taffe picked us up and we went out to lunch. We paid a quick visit to the Batterie which is in my opinion the coolest little cliff side neighborhood in the world, the she dropped us off at the airport and I have a glass of Port that I need to finish before we hit our next leg…Montreal! See you then!

DAY 3

Montreal – Nunavik

Montreal last night was nice; the Quebec Tourism officer who has the Italy Portfolio took us out for a great French meal, then hooked us up for a night at the swank Fairmont Montreal. Quebec also hooked us up with some sweet discounts on the flights up North which is necessary, man tickets up to here are ridiculous! It’s cheaper to fly to Italy than it is from Montreal to the Quebec Arctic…same province!!!

Today has been incredible, we flew from Montreal to a town right on the tree line called Kujjuak Here a handful of people got off the plane and a few more got on to continue up North. The pilot came in and announced that the plane was full and asked for someone to come up front into the jump seat with them, I quickly volunteered and next thing I know I’m sitting up with the pilot and copilot drinking coffee and chatting about life in the North, I brought the video camera and got some AMAZING aerial shots, breath taking! The cliffs, the water, the ice burgs, the caribou, and to top it off the pilot flew only 300 feet the whole way for me so I could get great shots, I couldn’t believe it!

We landed in Kangiksujjuaq and our guides picked us up and drove us to the school where we are making our new home for 5 days. We took a walk around and I must say strangely enough it was very similar to my memories of places like Jamaica and Belize, the homes are all up on jacks, some of them very shack like, barren dirt roads, just no palm trees or Red Stripe. Anyway it is a beautiful little settlement nestled at the bottom of a great fjord, huge vertical, and perfectly clear Arctic Ocean water. The sunset was unlike anything I have ever scene in my life, it is currently midnight and it is still light out. The sun took about 30 minutes to go from on the horizon to setting, I’ve never seen that happen before, down close to the equator the sun sets so quickly that if you blink you may miss it, up here you cant avoid it, and it was the most flaming red sunset I have ever seen, to top it off there was a massive rainbow arcing the whole community. The only other experience I have had of this caliber was sailing out of New York City once right after a crazy rain storm, the big black clouds where blood red and deep grey-blue as the setting sun beams filtered beautifully through the polluted Manhattan skyline, a rainbow arced the whole horizon in fore of the ship, and the sunset in the stern…then no kidding, at least 20 dolphins started playing and surfing in our wake…tonight’s sunset over the inlet and the mountains was just as astounding!

The people here are very timid and shy, they don’t make too much notice of us and are a bit too intimidated by us to say hello back to us, but at the same time they are very friendly and I don’t feel threatened, I only hope they wont feel threatened by our presence, especially with our cameras. One other thing I must add, it feels like the apocalypse here, or at least Mad Maxx…EVERYONE races there motocross bikes, or their quadrunner ATCs up and down and all around the dusty streets of this VERY small community of 540 people. It sounds like the buzz of a thousand bumble bees there is so much wheeler action kicking up dust in this arctic town…I LOVE IT!

DAY 4

Today was as an eventful day as I could have ever asked for in the arctic. We woke up early and Genti and I took a walk about the own getting some great shots of the towering mountains engulfed in fog. It was such a peaceful morning with not a sole awake. Around noon we met our helicopter pilot and started getting the aerial shots that we are in such need of, and man was that ever a view!!! We where specifically on the hunt for polar bears. We had a local hunter and 2 rifles on board the chopper jut in case. We got some great cliff and ocean aerials, circled a great big iceberg and then flew down to 40 feet on top of the freezing arctic water to get an incredible shot of a walrus and her baby pup. This site is even more of a rarity than seeing a Polar bear, we where so blessed, and the water was as smooth as glass.

We then flew inland over the tundra and flew over herds of hundreds of Caribou. What beautiful animals, the sight and sound of the chopper gave them a good fright but the shots of them running along the riversides and cliff tops where priceless. We ended up in a ravine with a rapid river racing down the middle. This valley of high and very narrow cliffs wound down the arctic tundra over waterfalls and past herds of Caribou for …at leas 20 minutes of flying, that’s quite a distance!!!

After 2.5 hours we flew back to the airport and Federica and I changed places, Genti stayed aboard. They flew up again to get some more incredible shots of a meteor site, a lake, now provincial park, that is a perfect circle 3.7 kms wide, it was formed by a meteor hitting Earth many years ago. The footage looks great! Meanwhile Mateo (researcher) and Julio (2^nd unit DOP) and I met a dude named Louis form Montreal who works for the Northern school district. As it happened Louis owns Canada’s largest indoor skate park in Montreal. We talked about skateboarding, and how I used to own a skate shop, and how my dad used to own one as well, he offered us a ride through the tundra for more shots so we excepted. We got some great shots of arctic flowers, lakes, inukshuks, and landscapes.

When we finally got home 3 wonderful new Inuit friends showed up, Tacka, Laurie, Elyja, and 2 very neat girls from Gaspe and Montreal (one named Elody with the exact same humour, voice, and, and mannerisms as my friend Claudine), and the other Kate who had the same wonderful smile and loving energy as my friend Tracy, it all goes to show that wherever you are there is another you, and another equivalent of everyone you know. It is a comforting feeling when you are so far out of your comfort zone. Tacka brought a great amount of fantastic Caribou meet, Kate brought some fantastic Shiraz boxed wine (a delicacy around these parts) and Elody brought another delicacy for this region, apple, lentil and celery salad! What a treat! Truly an international meal was had, 5 native languages where represented at our humble table. We ended the night and it is now 1:15 a.m. and its still light out. Good night!

DAY 5

This is my 3^rd night here, and already its getting darker! They told me today that each day they loose 6 minutes of daylight, 2 nights ago it was light all night, now there is an almost dark sky. Today was a very eventful day in many ways, one I had great experiences, two, I met some more wonderful people, and three, I found a real weakness in my directorial abilities.

The morning started slow, it is Sunday morning and no one is on the streets, only a few children on bikes that we hung out with for half an hour. All the adults where either still sleeping at 10:00 am or where at the weekend fishing camps. Our good man and new friend Louis from yesterday saw us on the beach and drove down t say hi, we hopped into the back of his pickup truck and traveled half hour all the way to the other coast this time, all I can say is it was “F*#king Ansel” (ask me about that one some other time.) Such a beautiful land and sea scape with huge towering cliffs. Scattered around the huge arctic bay where little canvas round tents or small shacks where the Inuit in the community come to fish. We strolled over to one tent and the 4 ladies who lived there where very open to talking to us. One woman let us film her as she showed us how to cut open an Arctic Char, then prepare it for air dry. I hate to make this reference, but she was straight out of a National Geographic magazine, her beautiful soul truly shone through her weather beaten eyes. She looked to be in her 80s but we soon where told that it was her 61^st birthday next week! The rugged climate and exposure to sun really ages people in these regions.

She also showed us the gutting of the seal that was just killed earlier in the day. She eats everything, not a piece goes to waste. I think when idiot celebrities like Pamela Anderson take up a fight against cruelty to seals in Canada’s North as a “cause” they only re-enforce the fact that they are ignorant morons. (no offense Pamela, I know your probably a nice person). Before the recent modernization of the Northern communities the only diet was fish, seal, caribou or polar bear. This is what they ate since the beginning of time, why expect them to stop living their traditional lifestyles now? Because it doesn’t conform with our comfortable little Southern values? Being here has really given me some interesting insight on the way people live up here.

After a great interview she invited us to come into the tent, it was so cozy in there with a big bed set up and a Coleman stove with fresh seal meat melting in a pot. After we said goodbye we saw a boat coming into the rugged coast, it turned out to be 2 geologists from Quebec City who where out on an archeologist expedition for the last 10 days in the wild, just them, sleeping bags, tent and guide / protector Johnny. They needed a ride back into town so we all jammed in the back of Louis’ truck and cruised back to civilization. As it turned out the hotel of 6 rooms (just a large trailer) was fully booked and they had no where to go so they ended up coming back to our pad and now they each have their own room and a shower for the first time in a long while. Two very nice women, in fact we interviewed them because their studies are specific to climate change through the ages with data collected from archeological sites. They had some great perspective on the topic.

After a lunch of Italian pasta (of course!) we headed back to the tundra to see if we could find some other fishers. We hiked a long way along the river bed finding many caribou antlers and bones. The rocks where huge in this area, lots of fun to jump over. We finally found a few people in their different tents, they are all so very friendly and peaceful people, and are very welcoming to talk to, but very shy. Because I have issues of media exploiting peoples like this I always need to make sure they are comfortable with have a camera on them, so I ask if we can roll camera and they always get nervous and ask not to be shot. It is frustrating, but I totally respect their decisions, its just making this documentary very hard to make, I guess I need more balls, but its just not who I am, I always struggle with this, especially when I was in the Caribbean, I don’t want to be the ignorant media person to being sensitive to the peoples I am interviewing…this has cost me many good opportunities, and I’m really struggling with this. I'll have to bring this one up to coach dave I think!

Anyhow we came back and I was down in the dumps because of my failure, but things got better when we got back and started to make Sushi with the Arctic Char that we got from the old lady. What a meal we made! Louis, the 2 geologists (Elsie and Nagette), and Elody joined us for the meal, the baked Arctic Char was incredible, we had the sushi, smoked muscles, and a potato / carrot mash…now I’m in bed. VERY TIRED! But I’m constantly reminded how great my life and job really is, I love meeting so many wonderful new people and traveling to so many magical lands. I’m listening to Phish’s “Chalk Dust Torture” tune, which incidentally was the first live Phish song I ever saw at Clifford Ball Vermont in 97. The lyrics keep repeating “Can I live while I’m young”…hell yeah!

DAY 6

Another quite incredible day in Nunavik. We started our day off with an elder of the community named Lukasi who showed us how o put out the fishing nets at low tide. He has seen many changes over the years in the climate and the culture. He, like many other elders are very concerned for the next generation, if the climate keeps warming, then the hunting will become far more difficult with less ice, and they will loose their food supply and be forced to fully adopt the ways of the South. It is very sad to see a way of life diminish before your eyes, especially when it is the carelessness of the industrialized world to blame for the most part.

Another elder who is in his late 80’s allowed us to interview him in his house, so much experiences this man has gone through and I was honored that he would share some of them with us, all in his native tongue. His son Jaaka (Yak-a) translated for us. He was a true nomad living and moving all over the place in igloo and tents following the food. He also is very concerned and saddened about the affects of global warming.

Jaaka afterwards took us to the green mountain side and showed us where the perma-frost was melting, and how the mountain was literally cracking apart because of it. This was evidence before my very eyes that global warming is rapidly affecting the people and the arctic lands of the North quicker than anywhere else in the world.

The 2 French geologists Nagette and Elsa got us in touch with Johnny, their Inuk guide. He took Genti and Matteo out to get footage of his hunt for seal and fish. Meanwhile Federica, Julio and I where invited to the school for a gourmet meal prepared by 3 local women under the guidance of a very nice Quebecois chef who was teaching them a course all week. We had pasta with goose and caribou and more arctic char. After the meal I was so tired that I went to sleep good an early for a big day to come

DAY 7

We started the day splitting up, Genti and Matteo out with Johnny for another hunt, the rest of over to Jaaka’s waterfront home for coffee, what a view he has right on the bay! He told me horrible stories of the past about how the Canadian government decided that there where too many Huskies up North and they had to kill them all, including his little puppy. It didn’t make sense, but then when he mentioned his theories it started to make sense and it made me quite angry and compelled to possibly look into it further to make a documentary about it in the future.

Theory 1

Bombardier is the mega corporation responsible for many atrocities, and also for the snowmobile. When the snowmobile was invented the company was having a very hard time turning a profit in the south for this new vehicle. However they where an instant success overnight and made millions of dollars the months following by selling then to the now dog-team free peoples of the North. Without the dogs around as the main mode of transportation the Inuk where forced to take advantage of the speed and efficiencies of the snowmobile. Conspiracy is written all over this one.

Theory 2

The Hudson Bay Company certainly has their share of a culturally abusive history. Before the dog slaying of the 50’s the Inuk where far more spread out living as Nomads hunting for their food. Communities certainly existed, designed perfectly for the conveniences of the Whiteman, but there where still a large percentage of the peoples who lived out in the wild tundra or along the coast. Jaaka theorizes that maybe the Hudson Bay Company used their political pull to have the dogs destroyed to “urbanize” the Inuk, thus forcing dependency upon them, with great profits as an extra bonus.

2 very interesting theories, enough to make me interested that is for sure! Jaaka then took us out to find Polar Bear in his boat, he found one swimming 2 days earlier and got a great picture of it. Unfortunately the winds picked up when where out there and things got a bit sketchy so after some time we turned back.

Tonight before another breath taking sunset we met up with Lukasi again to see if he caught anything in his nets, which he did. We filmed him and his grandson take the fish from the net, gut them and clean them.

DAY 8

All I can say is I cant believe that I haven’t mentioned the mosquitoes yet, they are enormous and EVERYWHERE. It is very surprising to see them in such cold weather, but they are a constant here and it’s enough to drive someone mad!

We started the day again with Jaaka, I interviewed him again about the dog slaying, I’m stoked to pursue this story, it was so touching hearing him speak so emotionally about this horrible experience that he witnessed. We also rented an SUV from a nice girl named Sally, picked up Lukasi and his grandson and we headed across the tundra to the other bay where fishermen where landing in their canoes. He taught his grandson all about wild berries, plants, canvas tents and the old way. We filmed it all, it was quite beautiful actually seeing a grandfather pass down to his grandson all the needed knowledge to become a man, all in Inuk.

We had some really good interviews and I’m feeling more comfortable with my directing and the crew. It has been a challenge ( a positive on) working with 4 other crew who all speak Italian, filming a peoples who speak Inuktitut. We are all getting along great despite some of the style differences and pace differences, and I’m taking it all in as a positive learning experience. To be honest, even though we are getting some great stuff and this documentary is going to be wonderful, I’m not 100% satisfied with my directing on this, I think its because I didn’t do the research, Matteo was the researcher, If I wasn’t swamped with the Wrestling show I feel I could have come up here more confidently, however the footage looks amazing, Genti is a great cinematographer, he is always after the “money shot”. I also feel that my ability to lead when there are multiple cooks in the kitchen to be a challenge as I am far too diplomatic. Things to work on, over all, I’m very very happy!

DAY 9

Today I saw and ate a beluga Whale…whoa…never thought I would do either! It was a very busy day today as it is our last day in this incredible village. We interviewed Lukasi again, as well as his father who is very old and wise. They both told us of the old days, how the climate was different, how the culture was different. They also told us about the low tide under ice mussel picking, so interesting. Despite the claim that the Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world, as it turns out it is actually here on Wakum Bay. In the winter when the sea water freezes at minus 40 degrees, Lukasi drills a hole 10 feet through snow and ice, waits for low tide, lowers himself down and picks from a field of a million mussels. The temperature under the ice is a temperate plus 3 degrees. He says that it is his version of going south to Florida! He picks hundreds of mussels every low tide, but they must be very careful as the ice could collapse at anytime, and when the fast tides rush in through the darkness they rise very quickly and it is very easy to lose your way under the ice and get swept away as it happened to 2 women many years earlier. He has invited us back in March to experience this, I’m stoked.

We also met with a fellow named george who caught a seal and he let us film him cut the seal apart, take its skin off, and prepare it for the community freezer. We also interviewed an incredible man named Charlie who works to preserve the Inuit culture, he had a great perspective and gave me more information on the dog slayings, he was there as a child as well for the nightmare.

One of the coolest things I got to hear today was the throat singers. We got 3 girls together in their traditional dress and they performed five throat songs for us….what a trip! I am looking forward to using some of this as soundtrack for the film. I also want to take the samples and mix it with drum and bass. The children of this community are incredibly cute, they always cling on us and I have become quite taken by them. They follow us all over and are always wanting to help, even though they know no English or French. It is amazing how open youngsters are to everybody. When is it that we learn about racial differences and racism in the later years? I’m sure that many of these kids as they get older will be taught about the crimes the white people, and our governments and sadly for many of them their openness will begin to close. I am shamed when I hear the stories about how their culture was stripped away. I hope that the next generation can forgive the sins of our forefathers, I have a real desire to help bring healing to these people through my gifts of filmmaking, and maybe I will be able to offer that some time.

We met and interviewed the Mayor of the village and she invited us over to have dinner with her husband Lukasi (cousin of the first Lukasi), and our new friend Sally (we rented the SUV from her yesterday). It is here where I had the ultimate country food...Beluga whale. It was raw blubber. We dipped it into the melted whale fat (similar to melted butter) and took 'er down. It wasn’t my favorite meal, but I enjoyed the experience, I also had so dried whale meat, this was very similar to beef jerky, much more palatable. So for my country food so far I have tried Caribou, Arctic Char, Goose, Mussels and now Beluga. Maybe next time Polar Bear and seal…we shall see.

To top the night off there was an incredible late afternoon light with amazing clouds. Sally drove up and told us that there are many Belugas swimming close to the beach, we raced down and what a site! There where at least 30 Belugas, what beautiful creatures. And the water is so deep that they where literally 12 feet away from me, we got some amazing shots of them, I felt truly blessed. I am thankful that I was able to see them so close and understand that the meal I had earlier was provided for from these creatures. I let my previous attitudes of meat eating down and forced myself to truly experience the culture, and I did.

DAY 10

Sadly today we must leave Kangirsujuak, this certainly is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I really look forward to coming back in the winter when it is a white wash of snow and ice. We flew a few hundred kilometers South to Kujjuak.

Kujjuak is a very interesting landscape because it is right on the tree line. The forest literally ends here, 15 K North and you will not see a tree again until you traverse past the North Pole and end up somewhere in the temperate regions of Russia! The landscape here is far less mountainous and less beautiful in my opinion. Climatologist Martin Tremblait picked us up at the airport. He reminded my very much of a combination of two of my friends from back home Adam and Nick, a French version of the both of them. After we settled in the Co-op hotel we met Martin and his girlfriend Anne-Marie for drinks at the other Hotel lounge. Kujjuak is the only town in Nunavik that is not dry, all the other towns have large restrictions on alcohol. Most likely for the best I’m sure.

The weird highlight of this night is when we where sipping on our Johnny Walker Black Labels who enters the lounge but Liam Neeson (Star Wars, Shindler’s List, etc)…what the hell is he doing in this small Northern Community! Ha-ha. My Italian crew where star struck and needed to get a picture with him. Even in the sub arctic a celebrity can’t be left alone! It must be an incredibly annoying life not being able to escape recognition! I thought about asking him what my friend Miller wanted to ask Tim Burton when he met him…” Excuse me Mr. Neeson, would you be kind enough to take a picture of me?”…but I didn’t! We ended our night at the night club where I bought a drink for $20.00 and called it a night! It’s cheaper to buy a drink in a luxurious Mediterranean resort!

DAY 11

Today was another typical day, we hooked up with Martin, he gave us a great interview about his studies of climate change and how he studies adaptation of the Inuit in respect to the rapid change of environmental conditions. Back at the Hotel is was cool to scroll through the TV satellite guide to see Planet Luxury screening, as well as my good friend Kent Sobey’s documentary called “Air Guitar in Oulu”, one of the funniest mocumentaries I have ever seen! Kent is also the co-producer of Rubarbicon, which is also on the Independent Film Channel.

DAY 12

As it turns out we have all the shots we need. We all agreed that spending a few more days in Kujjuak would be a waste, and fortunately we where able to change our tickets without a problem. Before we left however we got some great shots of the tree line which is so close to the outskirts of town, as well we paid a visit to Dr. Chubbah at the hospital to explore some of the health risks associated with climate and cultural change.

I was happy to say goodbye to the North and head south to a balmy 35 degrees in Montreal. Old cruise ship friend and longtime bro Fun Peter and his girlfriend Linzy picked Federica and I up, the others caught a cab to the bed and breakfast. We all met for dinner at a great little Irish pub on Crescent street. Pete set up his tent for me and I slept outside on his back deck beside the palm trees, such a difference for the previous week! J

Day 13

Today is the last day of this section of my journal. I was able to get a flight changed back to Saint John today, I’m in the airport currently waiting for the plane to arrive. This morning Pete and Linzy made us a great breakfast that we ate out at my campsite under the palm and banana trees (so tropical). I had a conversation with my lawyer, there are some very big challenges awaiting me when I get home, both legally and financially in respects to the Wrestling show…what a nightmare. I am surprisingly chilled out about the situation though, getting over stressed will accomplish nothing, I need to move forward in faith and know that all things work out in the end, and if the concept of Karma exists, I feel that it will work out in my favor, all though it certainly doesn’t look that way currently. I know that I will have many stresses to deal with when I get back to reality, but I’m ready to plug through. In 5 weeks I get to see Jessica and we will be taking a couple weeks off to drive across Canada, this will be very good and needed for the both of us.

It has been a truly enriching experience being up North, the humility of the people is very inspiring, the landscapes where breathtaking, and one of my lifetime to do list items has been accomplished. I just cant wait to get back in the winter when I can experience the real North! Although I am far from rich monetarily, I feel like I am very rich and blessed with experience, if traveling and meeting wonderful new people, trying new foods and experiencing new cultures had a dollar value to it, I would be a billionaire.

Calgary to Meductic

Calgary and Back

July 2007

What a quick trip to Calgary, but it was packed with greatness and I loved every minute of it. I flew into Calgary at noon and Jessica’s wonderful roomie Niki picked me up at the airport, I immediately met Alison, and Coaches Mark and Dave for lunch to discuss the next day’s shoot. The three of them where great, we had a wonderful lunch; I drank a big local beer and got pumped for the next day. Alison and I recapped our experiences from a month ago and made an action plan for the go-forward on the Coaches documentary. At the end of lunch we all decided that I should join them to Long Beach California in October to film the International Coaches Federation yearly shindig…”alright….”

That night I met up with my love Dr. J and we had dinner then hooked up with Chris and Courtney to see Michael Frenti and Spearhead play at the University of Calgary...WHAT A SHOW!!! He truly is the Bob Marley of our times, such uplifting positive vibes flow through his music. We danced our asses off.

The next day I headed to the college where the “Coaching Out of the Box” session was being delivered by Mike and Dave (with Alison checking the scene out…after all this program is her baby…). The session was very cool, and even though I was filming and behind a camera I learned a tonne, especially with the right way to manage people and deal with people in your team effectively, this all falls in line with my 2007 business development goals. I filmed the whole day and was happy to get back to Jessica’s after with a case of cold beer and a BBQ awaiting my return! We BBQ’d chicken and at in the smoldering Calgary heat in the shade on Jessica’s backyard. Then we went for a post dinner Mohito at a local patio a few minutes walk down the street.

The next day Jess and I went on a date to the swank riverside café for lunch right along the Bow River. Truly a memorable culinary experience…with the hottest girl on earth. We finished our champagne and headed to the movie theater to see Michael Moore’s newest film “Sicko”…WHAT A FLICK!!! My favorite Moore documentary so far, really makes you appreciate public health care, I know our system is far from perfect and needs a whole new face lift, but damn, we have it good…go see the film, you won’t regret it.

Back Home, SABIAN

July 2007

The next day I flew back home and my wonderful parents picked me up and took me out to lunch at Saint John’s newest French restaurant; Chocolait and Nugatine. Saint John is definitely on the ups when it comes to quality restaurants and bars; I’m digging where this city is headed. I could go on and on about this subject, maybe that will be another journal entry some other time. In fact a couple days ago the Telegraph Journal interviewed me about the state of the Arts Scene in Saint John. When I get a chance I will scan the article and add it to this blog.

After lunch with the folks I headed to my house to find a bunch of late afternoon half dead and hung-over bodies scattered throughout my house and property! Ha ha, the backyard hammocks where also filled with suffering headaches. Yes, the boys had an Acamac hoedown without me! L That’s ok though, the night before there was a great dance party down at the Marina around the corner of my house, God Made Me Funky, Dr. Defunkt amongst others played live and apparently it was a ripper, and yes the whole party ended up at my house afterwards and apparently the last of them cleared out at 10:00 am that morning. Fortunately there was nothing wrecked, we always have good guests at our hoedowns.

The next day…I know I always start my paragraphs with “THE NEXT DAY” but truly, every day there’s something going on and every time I write in my blog I’m on a plane with a glass of wine and my ability to create an alternate way of starting a paragraph is hazed, so I will always resort to “THE NEXT DAY”…so the next day one of my new employee’s Andrew MacCormack and I hoped in the Subaru and picked up Semra in Fredericton then cruised up to Meductic to the Sabian Family picnic. We shot a lot of cool interviews, that company truly is as much of a family business as it comes…and you can feel it. We ate hamburgers, watched relay races, ate cake and filmed it all. We also got to see the local fire truck that actually has Sabian crash cymbals as hubcaps, only in New Brunswick.

THE NEXT DAY I had another Coaching session with Dave that my newest employee Steve Foster assisted with for the filming portion. Every time I meet with Coach Dave I truly get refocused, I love it. We realized that all my sacrifices of this year are prepping me for a blowout 2008!!! Good timing considering I have a full time woman in my life starting in 2008. I really can’t wait to get married to her, she is perfect!

THE NEXT DAY I headed back up to Meductic with Steve and Semra to film interviews with ever so inspiring Robert Zildjian, his wife Willy, daughter Sally, and son / President Andy. The only family member we didn’t get was Son Billy (Artist relations) he lives in Maine. The name for Sabain as we learned through Willy’s interview was born out of the first 2 letters of all the kids: Sally, Billy, and Andy. All of the interviews where truly inspiring. For being the most successful Cymbal makers on Earth, they lack one thing…Ego. What a treat to meet and work with such a top shelf, humble family. I as a drummer will never buy another cymbal other than Sabian, truly wonderful people. And Robert is in his 80’s you would never know it, they live such an active life, and he is still very present in the everyday workings of the company. He told us his whole history from childhood, to wartime, to the family and company split of Zildjian Cymbals, to the birth of the new Sabian Company in New Brunswick. Not only was this day inspirational, it really taught me a lot about patience, integrity, and perseverance.. We also filmed the whole process of cymbal making, from the alloy to the melting to the shaping to the hammering to the polishing to the packaging, very cool. Another incredible jazz drummer was in the vault testing some cymbals and he was hilarious, and what a drummer! We filmed him laying down sweet grooves for an hour. I love this job!

Sabian Cymbals, Grave Concerns & Jack Karouac, Coaches

June 2007

 

My good friend Semra Yuksel has asked me to shoot; edit and segment direct a documentary about Sabian Cymbals. As I am a drummer, I am quite excited about this project. So much on the go! Sabian of course is owned by Robert Zildjian, who left the Zildjian Cymbal Company many years ago to start up his own factory on the edge of the beautiful Saint John River in Meductic New Brunswick…who would have thought? My first shoot was to go to the factory and film the arrival of Jeff “Tain” Watts. Jeff is an incredible drummer; he used to play on the Late Night Show. Anyhow, he was coming to the Sabian factory to try out some new cymbals…I was in awe at all the varieties of cymbals. It was very cool to see how they where hand hammered, and produced from metal bricks and melted down in an oven very similar to a pizza oven. Jeff played drums for a couple hours testing out new crashes, rides, high hats, it was like being in a candy store for him I’m sure! This project will be ongoing so I will write more on it as time goes on.

 

Grave Concerns

June 2007

 

My friend and Saint John folk hero Brent Mason had an idea to make a coffee table book all about famous people’s graves throughout America. The idea evolved into a television series that we are going to produce together called Grave Concerns. Brent and I just went down to Lowell Massachusetts to film the pilot so we have something to pitch…its going to be a great show.

 

Grave Concerns is a road trip / biography series. Our Hearse driving host will criss-cross North America on a road trip in search for the graves of deceased pop icons. During the half hour road trip our host will visit milestones of the icon’s life from the seedy bars, to chapels, from schools to hospitals, and from part time burger joints to the record labels, all to find humorous facts that have never before been revealed!

 

Following is the “One Pager” synopsis for the project:

 

Jack Kerouac is dead. So are Babe Ruth, Hank Williams, Alice B.Toklas and Billy the Kid. All Icons who've influenced our culture and our lives, and been woven into the fabric of pop culture mythology. And they are all still resting here among us, spinning slowly in their graves.

 

It's takes a life to be finished before it can be considered completely. The successes and failures, the subtle intricities that make up someone's story can only be truly understood once they have passed, and the details can be properly exhumed....sorry, examined. You can't always get what you want from books and screens, though - sometimes it takes a trip to the final resting place to get to where the action is.

 

Grave Concerns is a 13 episode travel series (half hours) with our host(s) in a '65 Cadillac Hearse as it rolls across the back roads and cities of North America looking for the graves of the heroes and outlaws, sinners and saints, prophets and poets each episode will focus on an individual icon that people are never tired of getting new perspectives on.

 

Jack Kerouac, French-Canadian poster boy of the Beat Movement which had such a profound effect on a generation, is buried in Lowell, Massachusetts. Our hearse driving host will chronicle the trip to Lowell and Jack's grave, weaving a story that combines archive footage, interviews and spontaneous happenings which occur along the way. He will speak with those who knew him as a profound artist and human being, people who can put his accomplishments in context and possibly with a bartender at a local pub who should, but doesn't have a clue who Kerouac was...It's enough to make our driver go sit at the grave and have one with Jack.

 

Then we head south for the next episode, finding out where Shoeless Joe Jackson is interred, or Hank WiIliams or Bessie Smith. We weave our way through America on a deadly road trip with an endless list of the dead to visit and have a drink with!

.

The purpose of this travel series is to shed a fresh light on how some of the giants of our collective history are remembered. Grave Concerns will be entertaining, enlightening and a lot of fun to watch. Imagine our hearse rolling across the country, joining the present and the past - who says dead men don't tell tales!

 

 

I am currently in Boston Logan Airport getting ready to fly to Toronto to se Jessica (I can’t wait!) and to film more for the Caches documentary. Brent just dropped me off and is driving my Subaru back to the “John”. We just had an absolutely incredible adventure in Lowell discovering Jack’s life in that town. We actually got to see the original scroll that Jack wrote “On the Road” on in a 3 week speed-powered writing session. It was breath taking to see this piece of literary history right in front of me, the fact that On The Road is one of my favorite books of all times didn’t hurt either. We got to hang out with David Amram who was Jack’s first musical collaborator…this guy is a brilliant jazz player / composer. He offered to possibly help us with the sound track music for the documentary…what an honor. We also met up with Billy Kousomokous who was Jack’s best friend and one of his Paul bearers standing next to Alan Ginsburg. Billy was great with us, he showed us many pictures of Jack hanging out with Billy in the very living room that we where sitting in. Last night the weekend ended for us at a hip little art gallery where a real fun heady bluegrass band called “Hot Day at the Zoo” played for a couple hours. Brent and I picked up David Amram from his hotel and drove him to the gig and he sat in with the guys playing tin whistles, French horn and a hand drum. What a night!

 

Ontario and Buffalo

June 2007

 

The next day Brent dropped me off at Logan International airport in Boston. He drove my car back home and I flew to Toronto. When I landed I went to the rental car place and decided to spend a few extra bucks and rent a convertible, hey I was about to pick up Jessica, had to impress her right? I had a few hours to spare before her flight came in so I drove up to Atwell Rd and pulled into the parking lot of the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship. This complex / church was at the forefront of the Christian spiritual revival in the 90s. Thousands of people made pilgrimages to this place, I used to go to youth conferences there when I went to film school in Niagara, it was always a place of peace for me and some of most intimate spiritual experiences happened there when I was younger. It was a nice trip through memory lane. Maybe sometime I will write more about those days in this journal.

 

I picked Jessica up in my hot new roofless ride and we spent a great evening together. The net day she was in a conference all day and I had to race down to London to interview Brian Volmer, lead singer of heavy metal legends Helix for my Coaches documentary. Last year Alice Cooper came through Saint John and I was hired to film some interviews and get some shots of the sound check. Helix was opening up. During my interview with Brian he tells me that he is an opera coach, I found this very fascinating. However this was long before the Coaching opportunity presented itself so I just stored it in the back of my memory…until now!

 

I showed up at Brian’s door, and what a house he has, he collects antiques from all over and has literally rebuilt his home out of old pieces of wood from churches, old homes and buildings, it is truly a work of art. Before we started filming he suggested we hop into his car and cruise down to Tim Horton’s for a quick coffee, so en-route he throws in Helix’s latest album, soon to be released. I was honored! Of course he cranked it…Helix still has it!

 

We got back to his pad and we spent the next hour checking out every corner of his house, and what a cool house it is! I filmed a full hours worth of tape. Then we started talking about opera, vocal coaching, the industry, everything…he is a very inspiring guy…and he still has lots of hair! The gold records, the posters, all the old photos scattered throughout his house made this experience a real trip back to the 80s for me! After a full day of hanging out I hopped back into the convertible, cranked my latest compilation CD from Relix Magazine and got back to Toronto just in time for my next meeting.

 

If you remember back when I went to Cannes a few months ago I met a producer named Garry Blye, well he was kind enough to meet with me so I could present to him a few interesting projects. He gave me some great advise on how to present my projects better. It was a real trip, Im so fortunate to have access to these high level people in my life. It certainly keeps me in check and keeps me inspired. I really want to produce something with Garry sometime soon, after I edit grave concerns together I think I will present it to him to see if he would like to co-produce it with me…we shall see. The most important part of this visit was a little piece of advise Garry have me in regards to editing Wrestling Reality in Asia, he cautioned me that even though I wouldn’t be paying and cash money to the post house, that it is still considered outsourcing work which could conflict with my CAVCO (federal and provincial tax credits). This is equal to a large portion of my financial structure. This was very scary to hear, but Im glad he gave the red flag.

 

The next morning I met with Angelika my lawyer and sure enough, as she finds out, we cant do the editing in Manila, I will have to find a way to edit it in Saint John with no money. This is not good news. Later that day I had a great lunch with my distributors Jenna and Natalie from Buzz Taxi. It is always nice to see these girls and catch up. I am really keen to do some regular work with them.

 

After Jessica was finished her meetings we hit the QEW and headed south to the Niagara Peninsula. I drove her through the backlands of wine country where I used to live. I took her through Vineland where my friend Sarah Hedar (now an editor in Vancouver) and I lived in a leaky motorhome on a vineyard for a year, we drove through Jordan Valley, St Catherine’s and then the destination, the dreaded yet strangely enticing Niagara Falls…yes we did the ole romantic traditional, got a suite with a hot tub in the room overlooking the neon glow of Niagara.

 

We met with one of my favorite television professors Alysha and her husband for drinks later in the evening. It was so nice to see her, I’ve been out of that school for almost 9 years now, man time flies! We had great talks and shared memories, it was really nice to see her and to let her know what I’ve been up to, I think it would be nice for a teacher to actually see the results of investing so much energy and time into shaping a student, for her involvement in my life (along with all my other teachers) I am very grateful.

 

The next morning Jessica and I drove to Buffalo New York to meet a truly inspiring coach, Joe Crozier. Joe works for the Buffalo Sabers, and his history as a hockey coach in very impressive. He was actually Tim Horton’s coach as well as Don Cherry’s…to name only a few. Joe has owned many teams and has been a committed coach all his life. I was able to meet Joe because as it turns out, my friend Monsignor Sheehan is his brother in law. Who is Brian Sheehan? Well he is a Catholic priest that I have befriended in the last few months since Leslie’s death. He did her funeral, and what a compassionate and beautiful service he put together for her. Since then we have become friends and from time to time we hang out at his incredible waterfront property on the Saint John River. One of the times that I was visiting over a barbeque he tells me that his sister was Joe Crozier’s wife…immediately I knew I had to meet this guy for the Coaches documentary!. Brian is also hooking me up with another priest Father Brennon who is a spiritual coach, as well as a great hockey player…he plays with the Flying Fathers, PERFECT!

 

Joe is in his late 70’s and you would never know it. Man this guy has energy, he is up at the office at 5:30 every morning and works full days. His stories on camera about his days as a coach where truly inspiring. Once again I am so blessed to be able to meet these people.

 

Jess and I said bye to Joe and took the American side of the river back to the falls. The American Falls Park is very beautiful. I showed Jessica a few places where I tempted life with a few friends by climbing over the fence and standing on a rock inches from the edge of the falls, I was a bit more adventurous back in those days!

 

I dropped Jess and her grand parents farm and said goodbye, caught the flight just on time and got home just in time to face a very intense 2 weeks of commercial production, post production for WR, surprise visits from old friends driving back from Bonnaroo, Canada Day celebrations, bridge financing issues, and frustratingly enough legal issues. Wrestling Reality is being sued before it is even released. It’s a long story but I will get through it…my head almost exploded yesterday when I found this out but after a nice dram of Scotch I sat back and looked at this as another challenge that will be quite an accomplishment when I successfully arrive at the other side a stronger person and a more experience producer.

 

Today Im in the air flying to Calgary to meet with Alison Hendren again, we are going to shoot some more for the Coaching documentary.