Boys of Summer Book - Entry #161

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

July 9, 2006 - Bob
Walnut Creek, CA

Some ups, some downs...

We didn’t get the New York Post article as we had hoped. They loved our story, but were looking for something a little more local. Easy enough to understand as we’re on the left coast and all.

The good: the Oprah Winfrey show has expressed interest. I’ve long felt we’d be a perfect fit. The producer who contacted me said they keep projects on file to see if they fit with any of their upcoming shows. There’s no guarantee this does anything but put us into what I’m sure is a very big vault, but hey, it’s Oprah’s big vault. Here’s to hoping.
August 1, 2006 - Mom
Walnut Creek, CA

The difference in therapy now and then, is huge. I feel like I’m on a road -- it’s a good path. Before it was like a report card -- 1/2 hour and goodbye. This is working. Our therapist is working with us, helping us to work directionally.

I came from a place of fear with Kaiser. What I learned at the  clinic (in Seattle) was I don’t need to be afraid. It was having dad with me, that he was learning right along with me, that love and support that he showed was absolutely incredible.

The staff there were just so direct. They made me look at the disease, take responsibility. Giving me the actual tools was just amazing to me. It definitely empowered me. It’s a lifelong process. It’s like having diabetes -- you are never going to get rid of it. But you can manage it by your insulin (medication) and through behavior modification. Here are the tools. Each of us had particular behavior modifications for each of our temperaments, personalities and behaviors. It was specific to each of us -- not generic. I wasn’t categorized. I was dealt with as a PERSON, not a disease.

The spiritual aspect was huge to me. It was an important level to connect to. It wasn’t thrown in my face. It wasn’t fundamental or judgmental. It was comforting, informative and still challenging... but it was in a way that I like. It spoke to me.

 

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #160

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

June 30, 2006 - Bob

Walnut Creek, CA

Mom and dad have enrolled in a program in Seattle for them both to get more understanding about her bipolar. I’m so proud that mom’s brave enough to go to it and through it. I also admire my dad for standing by her to encourage, support and sometimes offer the bits of information my mom’s disease would rather leave in the dark. There is that odd distinction that I’ve come to accept with chronic diseases like Parkinson’s and bipolar: they are both part of us and separate from us. When we “have” them or are afflicted by them, they do become part of us. They can, in fact, overtake us and become us. We must fight daily, hourly, minute-by-minute to manage them.

Therein lies the rub: “manage” not “cure”. Some things, at least as far anyone I know understands them right now, are not curable. That’s a very contradictory thought for a people and a culture here in the U.S., in particular, that often believes it can accomplish anything, cure everything and defeat anyone.

Diseases like these are like a full plate of humility served cold. Victory, in the classic sense (i.e. annihilation, surrender) is not an option. Management is the only thing on the table.

Diseases thrive in dark, stagnant areas devoid of life, light and circulation. In the light, where they must be dealt with and where those with experience, training and compassion can help is where we can all learn to manage our difficulties, whatever they are.

It’s scary, exposing one’s self to the light. What will people think about me? What does this say about who I think I am and how I present myself? What if no one loves me? What if I am weak? What if I am worthless? What if I am a fake, a fraud, a fool?

I look forward to seeing my parents and sharing this new segment of their adventure with them.

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #128

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

Mar 21, 2005 - Bob
Walnut Creek, CA

Well...a rough cut was made, though yours truly was the chief architect/editor. Mike is a great guy and an excellent editor -- his time is just not available right now as he's getting married. In all fairness, doubling his rate would have left him with the same amount, so I can understand where his loyalties may be.

I sloughed through it and REALLY enjoyed what I came out with. I showed it to my mom, dad and Annamaria in the Bay Area and got some excellent feedback. There were some blank looks and questions from time to time, but that’s okay (when I say rough, I mean it; for instance there were whole five-minute long sections with no audio. In my mind, I hear the dialogue, the voiceover, the score and the background in perfect harmony. Mom, dad and Annamaria are left with my descriptions of such things).

I am now recutting and moving forward. Mike may do some work after he gets back from his honeymoon, but that's a solid month away. In the meantime, I'll be adding, subtracting and keeping an eye on upcoming festival possibilities.

We received a fee waiver from the Seattle Film Fest. It takes place in late May/Early June. They need my cut at the end of the week. They said it’s okay if it’s rough. Okay...

Next up on the docket is an A's game in Oakland (for the final scene/denouement) -- this will wrap the movie, so dad can talk about his Parkinson’s, the progression of it and the incredible need to do things when the time is available rather than the ubiquitous "tomorrow". Our wrap-up game was scheduled for April 17th vs. the despised Angels of "Los Angeles/Anaheim" (Booooooooooo...), but, because of the Beverly Hills Film Fest (which Annamaria and I are very happy to be part of with “Luckey Quarter”), we'll be down in L.A..

As a matter of fact, Annamaria and I are loading up the trucks and moving to...well, not Beverly Hills, but Mar Vista (near Venice/West L.A.) at the end of this month. We’ve both lived in L.A. previously (before we knew each other). I have found the Vegas market has simply dried up when it comes to what I’m trying to accomplish film-wise. I need the challenge and the opportunities L.A. has to offer.

As for our wrap-up game for “Boys of Summer”, we’re now looking at May first versus the Mariners. Fingers crossed that all works out. It’s a wonder I don’t have arthritis with all this finger crossing.

After that we’re hoping for a Bay Area friends and family screening at the Parkway Theatre in Oakland. They’ve screened several other films of mine and one of their programmers, Will Viharo, has always been kind to me. I know we'll pack the house.

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #118

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

January 16, 2005 - Dad

Walnut Creek, CA

Paulette had a conversation with Monica Cooke of Aptos, CA where in she relayed to Monica my exploration into alternative approaches to treating P D. Monica told Paulette about two people she knew, one with eye cancer, one with prostate cancer who had been cured by Edward Feng, Reflexologist.

January 18, 2005 - Dad

Walnut Creek, CA

I phoned Dr. Feng to ask what experience he had treating PD. He said he had treated many successfully and I should come to see him for an evaluation. He treats people 7 days a week with no appointments except for odd hour requests.

January 19, 2005 - Bob

Walnut Creek, CA

The new year is just past a fortnight and post production presses on. 

The deadline I’ve given my editor for a rough cut is mid-February so we can submit to the Seattle Film Festival (May-June). Fingers are crossed!

My dad is really struggling with his new treatment. I can’t begin to say how courageous I think he is for going forward with it. As a man who lives by and through his logic, I think he just couldn’t see continuing on the same course that offered nothing but more of the same if there was a possibility (even one filled with unknowns) that a better solution was out there. What my dad is reaching out for is something that offers hope. The other path offered to him is one of placation. Regardless of the path of hope ever bearing fruit, it gives more inspiration on a daily basis to live well, openly and at his highest good because there is a possibility that what he’s doing may have a positive effect. 

I applaud that choice with all my heart. 

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #116

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

December 31, 2004 - BOB

Las Vegas, NV

Mike is making significant progress with the film. He hopes to have a two-hour cut to show me by next week. He's very hopeful and excited about his process. I am too!

The first rough cut (for the festivals consideration ONLY) should be together by mid-February. That leaves me with a main target of Seattle’s Film Festival. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this festival and we have a tremendous amount of support up there. 

There is a lot of work to do between now and then. 

January 5, 2005 - Dad

Walnut Creek, CA

I wrote Dr. Sawchuk to explain my intention (of getting off of the Parkinson’s medications I am currently on so that I can begin the Parkinson Recovery Project) and ask his advice. 

This was his response:

I have briefly reviewed the techniques proposed. I have not seen any published literature on the results of the techniques.  

Based on what is known about Parkinson's disease (and we certainly don't know everything but do know quite a bit) I do not see how these therapies have any chance of "curing" Parkinson's disease. They might make you feel better for a short while.

  

Additionally I am concerned that you might be worse off overall coming off of medication. It seems that they offer no expectation of how much or when any benefit of their treatment will occur. I am concerned that you will spend a lot of money, be worse off while you are off of the medications, and end up no different in the end. I say this without malice or smugness and wish someone could come up with a curative treatment. Hope is not always reality though.

However, to come off of medications, I would taper the Mirapex to 1 mg 3 times per day for 3-5 days, then 0.5 mg 3 times per day for 3-5 days, then discontinue it. If you only have 1.5 mg pills, I can prescribe 0.5 mg pills for the taper. Since you didn't give me your medical record number I can't check or prescribe anything.”

I had already begun cutting back on my medication and by now was at half my previous dosage. At times I felt like scenes from movies about drug addiction. I was very anxious, unable to find a position of comfort and had great difficulty sleeping.

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #105

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

August 12th, 2004 - Dad 

Lake Sawyer, WA

We had a great turnout of family and friends, a beautiful day and a great new facility, Safeco Field.

We have a few days for the family reunion at Lake Sawyer. With the help of our sister-in-law, Anita, we got Paulette to fly up. It was a very welcome rest.

Aug. 12th, 2004 - Bob

Lake Sawyer, WA

WHEEEEEEEEWWWWWW is the feeling. We made it. We’re with family. No need to do nuttin’ but hang out for a few days. Great food, great people, my Bella is here, my sis and her partner Migdalia are coming -- and mom has, through some coercion, decided to fly up with her brother and sister-in-law. I’m so glad she’s coming. It’s a HUGE relief for my dad, who had actually been talking about flying back immediately to be with mom otherwise (we’re planning on hanging out ‘til Monday or Tuesday, I think). Nice. 

It’s weird, not having any planning to do. The Giants game on the 20th is our last and it’s set up. It’s at home. Wow...I haven’t done the math yet, but we’ve put somewhere near 20K miles on the Explorer in just under two months. That is movin’, boy. 

I won’t be able to wrap my head around this stuff for a while, nor do I really want to. I just want to kick back. I know I owe my body and mind some down time, so I offer now.

Detroit 5, Oakland 3

WP: Mike Maroth LP: Justin Duhscherer

August 18th, 2004 - Bob

Walnut Creek, CA

The Home Stretch

I'm at the folks place in the Bay Area. This last stretch has been difficult as illnesses have taken their toll. My mom has been having a hard time for some time, it seems. I'm hoping with Dad back home she'll feel more able to get back in the swing of things. 

My Bella has been out for three days now too, coming down with an infection that has sapped her normal boundless energy. Just for good measure, my cousin Jeremy busted up his knee while wake boarding and my cousin Kaili took a header off the table she Annamaria and my cousin Sarah were dancing and landed in a bush with some seriously sharp branches. One of those branches ended up poking through her eyelid! She took it well -- was in fact joking about it the next day as part of this silly yearly video we do called the “Lake Sawyer News”. 

I didn’t have last year’s “Lake Sawyer News” package edited for this year (been a bit busy, as you may have been reading) and was told by my younger cousins not to come back next year without it. 

Sure is nice to know your worth.

Among the walking wounded, I came down with some kind of allergic reaction to the lake we were staying at in Seattle and went down for a day myself. Migraine, stomach pain, membrane insane...good times.

At any rate, we're back in the Bay Area now and have just one game to go -- the Giants on Friday. We have sold our 25 tickets and have our tailgate goodies ready to pick up from Whole Foods. We are also having a Public Service Announcement shot by a crew for the National Parkinson Foundation. Fingers crossed all goes well. This PSA is supposed to run nationally and there are several big celebrity names being tossed about as the possible voice over for it. 

I still haven't been able to wrap my head around this entire trip yet. It's too much, too soon. I look forward to pulling the plug for a few days, then getting back to Las Vegas and really seeing what we've got. There are a number of excellent interviews coming up and one with Joe Buck may also be coming up very soon. 

I think having finished the road trip element of the trip may go a long way toward showing people that this is more than an idea. Showing what we've done, where we're going and what it's all for is going to get more people to understand the tremendous possibilities and perhaps get involved themselves.

Oakland 5, Baltimore 4

W: Mark Mulder L: BJ Ryan

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #104

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

Aug. 12th, 2004 - Dad

Seattle, WA

Bob and I were tired going into the trip but we were exhausted to the point of  hallucinating during it. I think we pulled over at a rest area but I don't know for sure. I think we arrived in Seattle around 7 a.m.. Time to catch a little sleep before our pre game party at Pyramid Brewery.

Bob:

Fourteen hours after departing the Bay Area, we pulled into our dear friends, the Auters, home in Seattle. I have many warm childhood memories of this house. We take a quick hug from our hosts, Don and Judy, then trudge on up to their daughter, Julie’s, old bedroom. We’re out in a flash...

...And up nary three hours later. I’ve never seen my dad this kind of tired. His face is literally hanging down. I decide not to look in the mirror.

We’re out the door and off to the Pyramid Brewery right next to Safeco. Pyramid is INCREDIBLE. They have given us a prime slot in their beer garden, provided beer, soda, water, delicious hors d’ouvres and all on a day they could have easily sold this spot for prime dollars. Instead, they’ve donated to the cause. Thank you Alex Krawless and Pyramid.

Our friends and family have indeed come out to the old ball game. I think all of the 62 tickets have been claimed. Quite a group!

Park Number 29 (of 30), Safeco Field

Minnesota 6, Seattle 3

WP: J. Santana (12-6)   LP: R. Franklin (3-11)

Detroit 5, Oakland 3

Boys of Summer book Entry #77.2

Dan drives back onto Fort Knox, KY

BC:

How do you feel driving on to the base?

DC:

Probably old more than anything. Last time I was here I was twenty...Let’s see, in ‘67 I was...(laughs) 23 years old. Just about to turn 23, actually. I was 22. Mom was 23.

BC:

How’d she get so old?

DC:

She just gets there a little quicker than me.

BC:

Were you nervous when you came out here the first time?

DC:

No, I wasn’t nervous. I was kind of excited.

BC:

What were you thinking about in terms of -- you and mom were just married, right?

DC:

We had been married for 10 months. Nine months. I’ll get it right.

BC:

Were you thinking you might have to serve in Viet Nam?

DC:

Yeah. But everybody was going so it wasn’t...it was kind of like a herd mentality. It wasn’t a reality yet. And it was something I was trained for. I was looking forward to the experience.

BC:

Did it cross your mind that you’d have to go over there and that you might have to actually see action -- fight?

DC:

It crossed my mind but the reality of it I don’t think crosses your mind until you actually get involved with it. I don’t think you can actually think what it’s like to kill a person without having done it.

BC:

But at the time, did you think if you had to do it you’d be able to?

DC:

Yeah, I thought so.

BC:

And as it turned out you didn’t have to go.

DC:

I didn’t have to go.

BC:

What was the flight like, you were one of 144 (that didn’t have to go) right?

DC:

Well that wasn’t the flight. That was the class. My armor officer basic class, which I took here, was 144. And I was one of 144. Three or four went to Germany. And another three or four went to Korea. And everyone else went to Viet Nam. Except me.

BC:

So you were the only one not to go serve, basically.

DC:

Yeah, as far as I know. And I know fairly well. We used to keep track of who was going and I think we had it on pretty good authority that I was about the only one that didn’t go.

BC:

And what was the official reason for that.

DC:

There was no reason. It was just luck.

BC:

Have you thought a lot about how that luck has affected your life?

DC:

Sure, yeah, I’ve thought about it. That’s why I thought I would never get sick. One of the reasons. I’ve always been lucky.

Dad turns to camera and gives a knowing smile.

DC:

I just missed one bullet here.

BC:

You feel like the Parkinson’s (bullet) has grazed you?

DC:

Yeah, that’s right. In the big picture...you know, they say in the big picture Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease, well so is life. You can’t get out of it. It’s coming a little quicker. It speeds things up a little, maybe. Maybe. Maybe not. Actually it’s slowing things down a little. I don’t know where I’m going, I’m just driving.

BC:

Sounds okay to me.

DC:

I hope to see something familiar.

BC:

Now you were also a tank leader, is that correct?

DC:

Tank commander. Platoon leader and tank commander.

Dad sees a tank off the side of the road.

DC:

Just like that one. M-48A1. The top priority in terms of equipment was Germany. Even though we were in Viet Nam, that’s where the real threat was considered to be for a conventional war. The second priority was Viet Nam. Third priority was still Korea. The United States was the fourth priority so we got the worst equipment and the worst repair and support. It was kind of a difficult situation but it’s just a matter of priority.

BC:

Now you had an episode one time where your driver, late at night, didn’t see the cliff coming.

DC:

Right. We were on night maneuvers and in simulated warfare you can’t drive with your lights on. It was a dark night without much of a moon. And he didn’t see the cliff we were approaching and I did. Our communication, we were linked by an internal radio, was not working. I was yelling at him and he didn’t hear me. So I ended up finally kicking him in the head. He stopped just before we went over the edge of a cliff. That was a close one.

BC:

The other near miss you had was when you were flying.

DC:

That was in ROTC. That was before I got in the army at Renton Airport, south of Seattle. I was just beginning, as part of my flight training, to do my cross country solos. That’s where you go up without an instructor. I was behind in my training so I really wasn’t as familiar with radio procedure as I should have been.

BC:

You were working a lot of hours then?

DC:

Working a lot of hours, taking a lot of classes. Just pretty well taxed.

BC:

Dating a hot woman.

DC:

Yeah. Dating a hot woman. Late nights, early mornings. Ha. I better stop or I’ll get myself in trouble here.

BC:

Okay, so you’re taxed...

DC:

I was up flying solo and I was waiting for landing instructions. And I didn’t understand them, so I said, “Say again, landing instructions”. So they said them again.

BC:

And what did they sound like?

DC:

They sounded like garbage. it was just all garbled. But I knew where the airport was and I knew what had been the landing instructions. So I took what I thought was the correct path. Third leg, you’re lined up with the approach, with the runway in your eyeline, and I was about to touch down when I saw an airplane taking off into my landing pattern. So I turned as sharply as I could, circled around, parked the plane and I never flew again. I thought, ‘somebody’s trying to tell me something -- this is not for you’. And it turned out to be a very fortunate decision because I probably would have been a forward observer. And in Viet Nam there was nothing shorter than the life span of a Second Lieutenant forward observer. The average person died in less than a month after reporting for duty over there. Very hazardous. That might be a little exaggerated but it was not a good situation by any means.

BC:

And, again, somehow you were able to avoid that again...

DC:

Another one of those bullets. Maybe I was supposed to do something great.

BC:

You don’t think you have?

DC:

Maybe in a “It’s a Wonderful Life” sense.

BC:

Well I think you’ve done some great stuff. And I think you’re still sucking in air, too.

DC:

Sucking in air...sucking in air...things have changed so much since I was here last.

BC:

Well you haven’t seen it in 37 years.

DC:

That’s quite a while, isn’t it?

BC:

Do you think you still might do something that you would deem great at this point in your life?

DC:

It’s possible. I’m not planning on it. Who knows? Maybe this film will be great.

BC:

Maybe.