A Creepy Home Companion

I used to work in an office with two actors. The male actor did mostly commercial work. He was in a nationally televised ad for a financial services firm where he posed as a young, good-looking day trader sitting in front of a computer.

The female actor had a number of small roles in TV dramas and did comedy sketches for Conan and Letterman. Years later, she went on to have a small but recurring role on 'The Sopranos'.

I didn't know the male actor well. I met him one time in a meeting, but it was only later that I learned that he did acting on the side. The woman, I knew better, because she and I worked on a project together over the course of a year or so. As we worked together, she shared details about her acting work.

Garrison Keillor's 'Prairie Home Companion' was a popular radio program at the time. Most of the shows were produced in Minneapolis, but every year, he took his show on the road and performed two shows live at the New York City Center theater. The year that I was working with my actor colleague, Keillor hired her to perform in these live New York shows. It was a delight to hear her performing on the radio; she was amazingly talented.

It was a thrill for her, as well, and she felt that it could lead to more work with Keillor and to more exposure for other projects. The show's producers gave her excellent feedback, as did Keillor himself. My colleague is quite tall for a woman, and the six-foot four-inch star remarked that he liked the fact that it was easy to make eye contact with her while performing. The only negative from the whole two-week experience came when one of Keillor's friends hit on her after one of the shows. She told him that she wasn't interested in going out with him.

After those two shows, she never worked with Keillor or PHC again. The call never came despite the glowing feedback that she had received.

Perhaps this was due to the reality of show business, a business where many, many eager, talented, hard-working people compete for every role that comes along. But something about the situation never felt right to me. I always wondered whether my friend had paid a professional price for turning down the advances of that creepy friend. 

I felt bad for thinking this. I figured that these were probably unfounded suspicions, an emotional reaction to my colleague's disappointment. Keillor was a highly-regarded performer, respected by both the critics and the public. He had an extensive, devoted fan base and a glowing reputation as a performer, author, and story-teller. He's widely regarded as a comedic genius, and his show was consistently successful for decades. Why would he jeopardize his reputation by letting a creepy associate hit on the female talent that he hired to work on his shows?

Given that allegations of sexual misconduct have been leveled against the Prairie Home Companion star this week, suddenly those long-standing, gut level suspicions don't seem so far-fetched. We'll never know the real truth, of course, but it makes you wonder.

New York Minute 68 - Rock and Roll, Baby!

I’m having lunch in a crowded Italian restaurant. Popular music is playing from the speakers. I don’t know the names of the songs, but I’ve heard most of them before.

A family of four is sitting at the next table. The adults might be the grandparents judging from their age. Sitting with them are two boys, about five and eight years old.

An rock song plays over the speakers. Again, I don’t know the name of the song, but I’ve heard it many times in the last couple of years. It’s anthemic. It might be featured in a television commercial, if I recall correctly.

The five-year-old apparently likes this song, because he knows all of the words. He begins to sing LOUDLY right there in the dining room. 

Mom/grandma is aghast. “Stop it! People are eating. You’re being rude.”

The kid continues to sing. No amount of parental admonishment is going to stop this young rock and roller from belting out his favorite tune. Yeah!

The waiter must have assumed that I was annoyed. - I wasn’t. I thought that the kid was GREAT! He sang so passionately, and he was even in tune! - Anyway, they ended up giving me my coffee on the house. Double bonus! Rock and roll, baby!

Copyright © 2017 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

Today I Am Thankful

Today I am thankful -

- for life 

- for health 

- for family 

- for love 

- for music 

- for the arts 

- for words and thoughts 

- for dance, and for the people that make it such a memorable experience 

- for a beautiful planet, and for the opportunity to see some of it 

- for the opportunity to teach and inspire others 

- for the friends that have stood by me through good times and dreadful times 

- for dreams and the courage to chase them 

But mostly, I am grateful just to be here for another year, to have the opportunity to live and love and share and work hard on things that have importance in my heart. May God bless every one of you and keep you and your families safe and fulfilled as we find our way forward in an increasingly troubled world.

DRS

23 November 2017

California Moments - Part 3

Valet parking is popular in California. Pull up to a hotel or a fancy restaurant, and a bunch of guys will be standing there waiting to park your car. I even saw a mall with valet parking.

I prefer to park the car myself under most circumstances, but at this one L.A. hotel, valet parking was the only option. A young, nice looking fellow with a big smile greeted me at the valet stand. When I opened the trunk, he took one look at my tripod case and the special backpack that I use for my camera gear and asked, “Are you a photographer?”

I answered in the affirmative. Impressed that he recognized the tools of the trade so readily, I asked whether he was a photographer, too.

“No. I model.”

California Moments - Part 2

At the same Beverly Hills restaurant that doesn’t bother to put prices on the menu, I ordered the Insalata Caprese with my gluten-free pasta. I wasn’t sure how much this item would cost, either, but I was in an adventurous mood, so I went for it.

The waiter indicated that they served the Caprese Salad heated, but he offered to serve it cold if preferred. I said that although it’s typically served cold, I was willing to give the heated version a try if they thought that it tasted better that way. 

He assured me that it was delicious and went on to explain that they serve it cold in the summer and warm in the winter. The temperature had been in the upper 70’s that day with abundant sunshine. I thought to myself, “If this is winter, sign me up for an annual subscription.”

California Moments - Part 1

I walked into an Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills and asked them if they had gluten-free pasta. The hostess handed me a menu. At first, I was confused. “Which of these pastas is gluten-free?” I wondered. “It’s not clearly marked.” Then I realized that it was a special menu listing only gluten-free items. 

(Editor’s note: Of course they have a gluten free menu. It’s L.A.)

I noticed something strange. The menu had no prices on it. None. You place your order, and whatever it costs, that’s what you have to pay. Mentioning the price is just so gauche, so tacky, so 2016!

I felt a little nervous about ordering. “How much is this pasta going to cost?” I wondered. The only number beside each item was the number of calories that it contained. 

(Editor’s note: Of course the menu listed the calorie count for each item. It’s L.A.)

Not wanting to seem like an awkward out-of-town tourist, I went ahead and ordered my meal. Fortunately, the prices turned out to be reasonable. The pasta that I ordered was fifteen and change. (I was relieved that it wasn’t thirty bucks. Or worse.) It was an inexpensive bill for diner in the global center of new wealth. 

I have to admit, though, that placing the order without knowing the prices was a strange feeling. I was preparing myself to get jacked.

Violence In America

Gabby Giffords. Steve Scalise. Rand Paul. Even our congressmen and women aren’t safe from violence in this country. How many more people have to be hurt or killed before we start treating violent crime like the epidemic that it has become? It’s not enough just to lock people up after they commit crimes. 

We need to understand the root causes of this scourge on American society, and we need to have the courage to do something about it. And for once and for all, stop blaming immigrants for this. They are not causing this problem; our American-born neighbors are.

Awkward Dinner Conversations

That moment when a couple at the dinner table proudly proclaims that global warming is a hoax, Black Lives Matters is a bid for “special treatment,” and alleged victims of sexual abuse are “me too-ers” who were “aggressively pursuing their acting careers.” 

That moment when you realize that the only way to keep from ruining the evening is to be the bigger person and say nothing.

A Perspective On Violence And Public Policy

Yesterday’s terror attack in New York City was shocking. Acts of senseless violence have become part of our weekly reality, and we would all like to see steps taken to prevent future attacks.

But it’s important to keep the impact of violent attacks in perspective. On the same day that eight people were killed and twelve were injured seriously by the lone wolf attacker, well over one hundred people in the United States were killed in ordinary car accidents. When was the last time you saw politicians demanding “extreme vetting” for driver’s licenses? Nearly one hundred Americans were killed by firearms on the same day. Yet politicians steadfastly refuse to address the issue of gun violence.

When a lunatic kills a bunch of innocent people, it’s shocking and tragic. It makes us feel helpless, and when we feel helpless we long for solutions. The important thing is to avoid policies that do more harm than good. Do we really want to embrace laws that undermine basic freedoms in response to crimes with limited impact? Would it not be better to focus our attention on major issues that kill hundreds and hundreds of citizens every single day, issues such as healthcare, obesity, and gun violence?

Governments don’t enact harmful policies in a vacuum. They do so when the public loses sight of what’s truly important.