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IN THE MISTS OF THE MORNING, I HAVE MET MY DEATH A samurai spirit
with a blade of words, I have roamed plains of consciousness,
seeking truth and slaying illusions. All is impermanent, imperfect,
and incomplete. In the vast river of existence, there is a serene
melancholy and a spiritual longing which pervades all. Yet all is
not lost, for it is only in being lost, that we are found. It is
only in imperfection, that we find perfection; in brokenness, the
unbroken. We are necessarily confused, before we are clear. That
which is lasting, and perfect, and beautiful surrounds us, all of
the time. As a young man in Japan, I learned the great philosophy
of Wabi-Sabi: rustic simplicity, quietness, and understated
elegance combined with the patina of beauty and serenity that comes
with age. Wisdom is to be found in natural simplicity; beauty in
that which is flawed. May you find them, too, my good friend, here
in these words: The Bushido Poems of a Samurai Warrior of The
Spirit.
WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE UP FOR LOVE? He's a lonely waiter.
She's a rich heiress. He's younger, twenty-eight, and she's a
little bit older, but not too much older. He doesn't know what he's
doing with his life. He's lost; he's been struggling. There is some
hole within him, some void, which he knows has everything to do
with how he was raised and with the fact that he was adopted. Some
deep sense of rejection; of not being wanted. Would he be rejected
again, as he was rejected by his biological mother when he was so
young? He feels like he carries this within him, a memory from that
very early rejection. It makes him fear people, and not let them
close. Will they attack me, as his adoptive father was so attacking
and critical? Will they reject me, as his biological mother
rejected him? This is how he feels, what he fears, about other
people. This is why it is hard for him to let people close. What
does it mean to be intimate? What does it mean to be loved, and to
love? Can he learn to overcome his fears and let someone in close
to him, in his life? There's some chemistry there between them,
something inexplicable. He knows it, almost immediately it seems,
from the first moment she comes in the restaurant. From the first
moment he talks with her. She's beautiful, and engaging, and he
can't help but to feel himself falling into the scary territory of
vulnerability; that scary territory of falling in love. Can we ever
hope to find a permanent and lasting love, or is that just
something for fairy tales? Thomas McAllister decides to risk
everything and bare all of the scary uncertainty and vulnerability
of love to find out if he is lovable, and if this woman, Jezebel,
might be the one who loves him. 'All That Is Unspoken' will draw
you into what it means to love, and be loved, leaving you touched,
inspired, and surprised by the capacities of the human heart.
HOW MANY LIVES HAVE YOU LIVED? A child, an adolescent, a man. A
student, a cadet, a beat cop. A homicide detective, a husband, a
father. And now a widower, and a father who had lost his child. So
many different lives. The pain of it, the images, I don't want to
see them again, but there they are: how I imagine it happened. What
I imagine it was like. Putting them together, because this is what
I do. I've seen it before, I know, and you always think it's going
to be someone else, you never think it's going to be someone you
know. You think the odds are too far against it. You tell yourself,
things like demographics. Areas. But anything, can happen,
anywhere. And odds are odds because things do happen to people.
Isabelle is on the swing. I am pushing her. 'Isabelle' because she
is, is a beautiful. It's an idyllic moment: the sun shining, her
golden hair streaming back. How old would she be, in that memory?
How many times had that moment occurred: me, pushing her on a
swing? In my mind she is five years old, six years old. Somewhere
between four and eight, maybe even ten. I can't choose an age. Her
age changes, shifts in my mind, when I try to see her. How old are
you? Where did you go? It's like a pain in my heart which I shut my
eyes to feel more deeply. This loss, my daughter, gone. Once, and
then again: to love again. How could you want something and not
want it at the same time? Why was it my fate to lose everyone I
love? "I lost my daughter," he says to himself, "to a homicide."
Could he bring himself to love again? Would he find his daughter's
killer? What new life would he create for himself? Life did go on.
Once, and then again. It just kept going on and on, and he felt
like he'd lived so many different lives now. Riding this mysterious
journey which is fate, in his search for redemption, justice, and
forgiveness Thomas McAllister finds himself being dragged into the
darkness which resides in his own soul.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO LIVE? Surely he must be some kind of fool.
Trying to prove his manhood; trying to fit in? Coming because
Theresa had come. Sweet and beautiful, Theresa. Wanting to be near
her; wanting to be with her. Not wanting to be the one person who
said, "No, no thank you. I'm afraid. I don't like tight places.
Always been a touch claustrophobic." "Spelunking? What's
spelunking?" Theresa asks. The steps, all of the pieces that had to
fall into place to get them where they were, they flash through his
mind - an ocean of panic, held back by a barrier which was
breaking, into terror. "Exploring caves," Maxo The Maximizer says.
There were caves here, on campus? Yeah, for sure. All of the
coastal mountains, they were interlaced with them. Like catacombs,
honeycomb. Swiss cheese. There was laughter then. Joe and Danny and
Max and Brian and Theresa and Jezebel laughing, maybe because of
the way Max had said it. The way he'd articulated, 'Swiss cheese, '
saying it in a funny way. Everyone laughing as if it was a light
and laughable affair, going down into caves, then crawling around
in the earth. Spelunking. You could already see it, that they were
all going, and Thomas would be going, too, because he was a sucker
for Theresa. "Yeah, sure, alright," he'd said. "I'll come." Famous
last words. An earthquake. A tunnel collapse. Holy, holy, crap.
Trapped beneath the earth. That panic, that fear, that terror.
Buried alive. Was there another way out? Limited food, limited
water. Limited battery on the lights. No cell service. Venturing
further into the darkness, then getting separated from his friends,
Thomas McAllister is pressed up against his greatest fears and his
very own will to survive. Would he die down there like a worm in
the earth? How long would he continue through these tunnels, in
complete darkness, before giving up? Caught in a pit of terror and
wrestling with despair, then slipping into a strange delirium
half-way between life and death, Thomas McAllister discovers
something extraordinary in the darkness, and within himself. He
discovers just how far he's willing to go to live.
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN YOU DIE? Life is too good for Michael
Sojourner to stop and think about it. He's got it all: a home in
the hills, fancy cars, a nice bank account. Producing movies in
Hollywood, he even gets to date a lot of hopeful starlets. Life
couldn't be better for Michael Sojourner, at least until, after a
long night of drinking, he wakes up and, where the hell is he? On a
dirt floor, in a hallway. The last thing he remembers, he'd been
going home with another hopeful starlet. Maybe she'd slipped him
something then dumped him. His Rolex was missing, his iPhone was
missing, his wallet was missing, maybe she'd taken his Ferrari,
too. But where'd she dump him? Michael got up and wiped the dirt
from his hands. In the distance there was some kind of a faint
roar, like from a furnace. There was also a distinct smell of
sulfur in the air, like rotten eggs. Maybe he was in Chinatown.
That hopeful starlet, she'd had a Euro-Asian quality to her, so
maybe she had connections in Chinatown, too. Maybe that noise up
ahead was a laundry. This was going to make for a great story, if
nothing else. Maybe he'd make a movie out of this. He was already
getting ideas, and that hopeful starlet, well, that bitch would
never work in this town again. Hell, she was going to serve jail
time for this. Walking towards the noise and the light, Michael
Sojourner embarks on a journey which will teach him about
redemption, forgiveness, karma, and empathy; leaving him forever
changed.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LIFE? He's on a cruise. Thirty-eight. Joe
McAllister. He has hopes and dreams for the future. He's with his
girlfriend, who he's thinking of making his fiancee. Proposing to
her. If she'll accept. The first night on the cruise, with their
two friends Marlo and Roger who have come along, also, Joe excuses
himself and goes to the bathroom, then, when he comes out,
everything has changed. He's an old man now; he's lost forty years
of his life. He no longer remembers them, those forty years. They
take him to the infirmary; they do tests. A DNT scan, which is,
apparently, some piece of medical technology in the future. It can
see everything in your body, and nothing is wrong with him - except
for the fact, that he can't remember, the last forty years of his
life. All he knows is that he went to the bathroom, and then he
came out, and now forty years have gone past. He's forty years
older, seventy-eight, and he's on his anniversary cruise with his
wife, now, Theresa, celebrating forty years of marriage, once again
on this cruise with their friends, Roger and Marlo. A mind bending
adventure, being thrown into old age, Joe begins a journey to
discover who he is now, and how he has lived in the past. In the
process, he also discovers what he'd been searching for all along -
what it means to truly live.
IN NATIONAL PROVENCE IS FANTASTIC WONDERFUL WRITING The Great
People love poetry and celebrate The National Pride. We eat time
and steep in soul while body laboriously. All is not effort but
many opportunity of growing and encountering rigorous exploits in
beauty. Ice cream memories in the park with hands sticky from
punctuation. Reminders of points sharp and important. Laments of
sorrows not overdone. Choirs of triumphs for winning great defeats.
Pure liquid honey drooling from the brandywine of existence. The
magistrate of writing is spoken and kindly received like ripples on
water magnificent. You realize all when you realize nothing. In the
golden economy of our success, we party the country booster which
ferments this book. For many moons we linger in the currency of
these reflections.
A dream, surreal. All the people I've know'd. Every moment, gone -
here then gone. Spent so much of my life, complaining, what is
there to complain about - wanting a different life - not leaning
into this life, not living this life. Live your destiny. And this,
too. This, too. This too. Did I define my life, or did I default
into it? NOT IN CONTROL / NOT KNOWING RELEASING CONTROL / RELEASING
KNOWING The HALL OF SOULS - maybe I did choose this life Making a
baby - RIDGE wheezing DESPERADOS No hope, without hope can't be
redeemed - nothing to lose What are they going to do - sentence me
to death? Kill the president if I wanted. Falling - nothing to hold
onto, nothing onto which I could hold - just, a freefall. The
emptiness of thought. Thoughts, here, then gone - just ideas -
nothing compared to the reality of experience - something I'm
watching - not me. So I'm gonna die. I'm going to my death.
Acceptance. Being with others, not being alone. It happened to
everyone, this wasn't just you; everyone would go through it.
Grieving and crying being a normal part of the process. "I'm going
to kill myself," I read. "Kill myself. Blow my brains, no, do
something else. Die spectacularly. Instead of chemotherapy. Better
to burn out, then fade away."
IS THERE A WILD ANIMAL WITHIN YOU? He's a high school PE teacher. A
water-polo player, a surfer, a swimmer. He spends his winters in
San Francisco, working and living in the city, and his summers in
the mountains, backpacking and hunting and fishing and living off
the land. Engaged to be married now, Toby McAllister knows that
being gone all summer is off the table. How long is he going to be
gone? A couple of weeks. A couple of weeks? Toby can't give his
fiancee a definitive answer. "That's exactly the opposite of what
this is all about," he explains to her. He's going to get away from
things: going to get away from schedules, going to get away from
tasks, going to get away from having to do certain things by
certain times. He's returning to the wilds where he can just live
for a while, the way man was meant to live, though in the end he
finally consents to be gone for no more than three weeks. What can
he do about it? He loves her, and he's moving into a new phase of
life now. Heading off on the trail, glad to be on the trail, Toby
can't shake the feeling that someone is watching him. Someone, or
something. Watching him, and following him. He turns around several
times and looks back, but maybe this is just getting used to the
wilds again. Or maybe it's a bobcat tracking him, like he'd been
tracked by a bobcat once before. What Toby doesn't know is that
he's about to embark on the greatest adventure that he's ever been
on in his life --- an adventure from which he may never return.
I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING Bob's got a magic cup. When he drinks
his green tea from it in the morning, for the rest of the day, he
can hear people's thoughts. If he doesn't drink from it, then he
gets splitting headaches that feel as if somebody's driving a
sledgehammer into his head. Seriously incapacitating. It's a good
thing he doesn't own a gun, because he might just use it to end
this pain. It's as if the cup is demanding of him, "Drink from me,
drink from me." And then when Bob does drink from the cup: Ahh,
sweet peace. Sweet Peace. What does it want, this magic cup? Maybe
it's the evil cup. Hearing other people's thoughts, it's incredibly
cool, and it's also incredibly terrible. People are horrible, the
things they think. Learning to work with it, to dial it down and to
hone it in, it's as if the universe has given Bob Dawson an
awesomely powerful tool, one that was a bit unwieldy at first, but
now that he's getting the hang of it, it's a skill that he can
probably use to change the world for the better, though first he's
going to Vegas. Imagine how well he'll be able to do at the card
table, being able to read people's thoughts ... and as for dating,
well, the phrase "unfair advantage" doesn't even begin to apply.
Join Bob Dawson as he ventures into the dark territory of other
people's minds, and his own mind, embarking on a journey from the
stable shores of how he once viewed the world, and entering new
territory from which he will emerge forever changed.
What's Important? You're an old man and your days are numbered, so
how do you live them? What's important? He's a young man, drunk,
unlucky in love and heartbroken, breaking windows on Main Street
when the limousine pulls to a stop and an old man gets out. "What
are you doing?" The old man asks, and so begins the unexpected
friendship between this young man, Boomer, and a group of old guys
who live in a house together on Brewster Avenue. A big beautiful
house. "We're like a fraternity, or a brotherhood, or a club,"
Kenneth, one of the old men, explains. "Each of us have been left
behind by the one we loved, we've all been widowed, and now we live
together for friendship and to look out for each other. We're The
Brewster Avenue Dead Man's Club," Kenneth says with a laugh,
"because at any moment, any of us could be dead." No longer wanting
to live with his girlfriend who cheated on him, and not having
anywhere else to go, Boomer accepts the offer from the old men to
stay in their basement until he gets a place of his own. What
Boomer doesn't know is that he's beginning one of the most
transformative journeys of his life, that while living with these
old men, they will mentor him and teach him all of the great wisdom
they have garnered through the years, showing Boomer what it means
to be a decent human being, how to live one's life with integrity,
how to overcome difficulties, and how to enjoy and savor the
precious time that you have while you're here - showing him the
answer to the greatest question that any of us could ever ask:
What's important?
What Is It That Leaves You Breathless? Moments of beauty; moments
of loss. It was funny how both of these things could take your
breath away: life's beauty, and life's losses. It was like getting
punched in the gut, losing those that you loved. You found yourself
on the ground, decimated and wondering if you could ever go on. How
could you go on, but how could you not go on? What was the
alternative, suicide? That was no alternative for Charlie
McAllister, and so he was going on, day by day, moment by moment.
The saddest book ever written, that's what his life would be, if he
was to put it down into a book. Losing his parents, losing his
brothers and sisters, and now losing his wife and his lovely
daughters. The grief was immense, almost unbearable, but then Scoop
came into his life - a kind and lovely dog which Charlie had
scooped up from the road after she'd been hit by a car. Scoop, her
name was appropriate, as she was now scooping Charlie back up,
living with Charlie and showing Charlie that he could find joy
again in life, and love again, too. Life doesn't always move in the
ways which you envision, and "Breathless" is no exception. An
unexpected friendship between a man and a dog, and a testament to
the power of fate and the resilience of the heart to go on, this
lyrical and heartfelt story with its surprising and compelling
unfurling will show you what it means to find true and lasting
love, then leave you as if in the arms of a lover, feeling
breathless.
What Are You Willing To Do To Get What You Want? Perhaps the most
important thing about Cory Boatright was that he had an affable
personality. Life was hard, the odds were against him, but that was
okay because he was still enjoying himself. He had an easy smile
and a nice laugh. He joked around with people, he chatted easily,
and he could also be serious. He was good looking, smart, cool,
calm and collected. A Stanford graduate with top honors in
literature, he was now working as a waiter in Los Angeles, trying
to make it as an actor and meeting all kinds of people, like Howard
- a bumbling old eccentric man with a scarred up face who was
interesting, really brilliant, and a good tipper, too. It was no
coincidence that Howard always asked for Cory as a waiter. He
wanted to ask Cory a question, but how was he going to ask it?
Look, I'm a genius. I've written a ton of books. All I've ever done
in my life is write books, and now I need your help bringing them
into the world. I can't do it on my own. I'm helpless with people.
I get all tongue-tied. I'm ugly, scarred, old. Who wants to read my
books? Who wants to hear that story? But imagine if you, Cory
Boatright, were the golden boy of literature. A protege. Imagine
that. Wrap your head around that story. That's a story that can be
sold, that's a story that's presentable, desirable. Cory looked at
the manuscript, then turned the page. "Hey, my name's on it," Cory
said. "But this isn't my book." "Who says it's not your book?"
Howard asked. An intriguing story which is beautifully and
poignantly crafted; a story which examines the desires and fears
which guide and drive us all; a story of two men pushing to realize
their own unique dreams; "The Author, The Actor, & The Whore"
will surprise you and touch you with its heartfelt unfurling, while
also making you question just what you would be willing to do to
live the life of your dreams.
What Is Beyond Your Greatest Sorrow? Losing his parents when he was
nineteen, Douglas now lives in the place of his sorrows: the house
he'd lived in as a kid, his parents gone and his dreams broken.
It's not all blight; not all darkness. He has his dogs, and his
roommates, and a job, and he enjoys riding his bicycle, fast,
through the streets of San Francisco. There is loss, there is
grief, there are ways in which you wish life was different, but you
go on, and you come to terms with things, and you still have good
times. A beauty arises in the midst of your sorrows, you start to
think that in the place of your sorrows, there is this, just an
easy going life, a day to day existence, which is nice, and which
you enjoy. But then life brings you, another twist. Riding fast to
work, Douglas McAllister swerves to avoid a young kid, and ends up
directly in front of a truck. A flash of light, that crumpling
sound, the crinkling of breaking glass, his body on the hood of the
truck, that was his body smashing into the truck, and then he was
flying through the air, flying and flying and flying, towards
another black unknown of a future. When Douglas awakes, he's in a
hospital and everything about his world has changed. An exploration
of loss, grief, and healing, the adventure which Douglas embarks
upon will lead him to connection, redemption, spiritual
transcendence, and the discovery of an all-pervasive love which is
like a warm golden light permeating all things. Unexpected in its
twists and turns, a story which is both heartfelt and inspiring,
and extraordinary and beautiful, "In The Place Of My Sorrows" will
show you the secret beauty which resides at the heart of all of
life.
Who Is It That Lives With You? Brookstone, Colorado. Picturesque.
Beautiful. The Rockies; a gorgeous lake. Winter skiing. It's an
idyllic place to live, until someone begins murdering people,
brutally. Who would do this kind of thing, and could it by my
neighbor, that strange man who lives by himself two houses down?
Could it be the janitor at work, or this man walking towards me on
the street, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets? Who is it,
that lives here amongst us? The twists and turns that life can
take: after serving in the war then working homicide in Dallas,
Terence Mosi ends up in his hometown assigned to the case. All
around Terence are the ghosts of his past: his childhood, the
people he killed during the war, the friends he lost in the war, an
old high school buddy. What does it take to go crazy? Terence
wrestles with his own psyche, trying to control his "post-traumatic
stress disorder" PTSD, and wonders if he should get out of this
line of work. But what else would he do, and who would stop this
killer? Some things happen, and they change you, and never leave
you. What do you see when you explore the personalities of those
that you know, including yourself? Loose thresholds, shattered
spirits, unmoored identities, poor foundations, tenuous holds on
reality and sanity. A descent into the ravages which warp minds,
and an exploration of the deep longing for love, safety, and
belonging which resides in us all, "The Roommate" will forever
change the way you see those with whom you live, including
yourself.
WHAT ARE THE LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED IN MY LIFE? And what did I have
to do, what did I have to go through, to learn them? What happens
isn't as important as how we relate to what happens; the only true
wealth any of us ever have is time; there is so much to be grateful
for if you just stop and look; perspective is everything; the most
important things in life aren't things at all; what you do to
others, you do to yourself; treating other people decently and
living with compassion and kindness and tolerance and consideration
are all important; everyone around you, your whole life, is just a
reflection of your consciousness - these are some of the things I
have learned. Where is happiness to be found, and what does it take
to find it? What gives meaning to life and makes you glad to be
living it? Come with me and see how I discovered the answers. From
the shores of Hawaii to the streets of California, from my
childhood to my young adult years, from Pentecostalism to
BurningMan, join me on the journeys I took to learn some of life's
greatest lessons. An adventure which is insightful, tragic,
laughable, and inspiring, "American Son" will touch you and leave
you forever changed.
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO, TO SAVE SOMEONE YOU LOVE? She died in his
arms, and there was nothing he could do about it. Her blood all
over his clothes, her body across his lap, he held her while
sitting in the middle of the road. It had been a morning like any
other. Who would have thought this would be the last day of her
life? Looking into her eyes, staring dead and empty, specks of
blood on her face, her mouth slightly agape, Marcus wondered, What
had been her dreams? What had been her hopes? Where had she been
coming from, and where had she been going? This was what he did,
being a homicide detective. San Francisco's finest, the city by the
bay, now beleaguered, under siege, by The YouTube Killer. A killer
who's putting his kills, online. Filming them, then uploading them.
Can Marcus stop The YouTube Killer before he strikes again? Marcus
chose this path, and now he walks it. Living with the dead.
Visiting them. Trying to understand their last moments. What were
they telling him? The ghosts from his own past. The losses he'd
faced in his own life. Could he redeem himself? He hadn't been able
to save his mother. He hadn't been able to save his wife. And now
the YouTube Killer was testing him: San Francisco's most famous
detective, how much was he willing to give, in order to save the
lives of others? Would Marcus be willing to give up his own life?
Caught in a deadly game broadcast to the entire world, Marcus finds
himself unwittingly becoming the most popular reality television
star of all time, all while his life, and the lives of others, hang
in peril. A spiraling descent into the darkness of his own past,
Marcus fights to not only save the citizens of San Francisco, and
his loved ones, but also himself.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MAN? It was a terrible feeling,
addiction. The pull was so strong. The feeling, so sublime. I tried
to resist it but I knew that it had the best of me. I was its
slave. At first I was just doing it once a weekend, but then I
started doing it twice per weekend, and then I started doing it
every other day, and pretty soon I was doing it every day. I would
tell myself, "I'm never going to do this again, this is the last
time," but then I'd find myself scoring from some dealer, sneaking
into some back alley, squatting down and shooting that amazing
elixir into my arm. I had lost complete control of myself. There
was an impulsive urge within me that I could not resist. I would
try to fight it but then all of a sudden, in a rush, I'd just give
into it. In an impulse, I'd rush into the garage, get on my bike,
then ride furiously across town into the ghetto, to the places
where I knew I could score. Things stopped mattering. I'd stopped
going to school. At the end of it all, I'd even stopped going home.
I was on the streets, destitute, driven by one thing and one thing
only: my next fix. It was better than sex, better than
masturbating, better than anything I'd ever experienced. It was
pure bliss, the greatest feeling of peace and contentment. When I
was high, I was completely at ease and without a single concern in
the world: all of that from a little vile of that magic clear
fluid. Vile - it was vile, all right. To pay for it all, I started
doing crime, and that's how it all came to an end, the life I'd
been living. That's how my new life began. That's how I met my
uncle. That's how I learned the greatest lessons that life has to
offer: how to find true peace for my body, my mind, and my spirit.
What life do you want to live? The world is your oyster when you've
got money. Rich in a way that you didn't know people could be rich,
this is Mikhail Khachaturian, also known as 'Ketch.' A mega-yacht,
a private plane, homes around the world, and women, these are the
perks of the trade for a man who's willing to do whatever it takes
to get a deal done. Someone's standing between you and something
you want, well then, move them out of the way. This is the law of
the jungle, survival of the fittest, the way we're made. This is
Capitalism: caveat emptor, buyer beware. This is Adam Smith's
Invisible Hand: if you're too slow, or stupid, you get eaten.
Struggling as an academic, Ketch's brother, Dimitri, asks Ketch to
teach him his trade. Well, brother, what are you willing to do to
get what you want? Are you willing to shoot the cow to eat a
burger? Are you willing to kill a man standing between you and a
billion dollar deal? Wrestle with your conscience, but know that
your hands are already dirty. You are already complicit in your
nation's war to preserve its "Way of Life." The American Way of
Life: bombing people, exploiting the third-world, military
imperialism. Why not be your own nation? Why not fight and kill to
not only preserve, but to also enhance, your own way of life? Why
not be, just, a Nation of One? Join me, my brother. Take this gun
and shoot that cow, so that tonight we can eat burgers. At a
crossroads, Dimitri wrestles with the dilemma which we all face: at
what point do I stop thinking of others, and only think of myself;
how much do I take for myself, at the expense of others? A
spiraling descent into the ambiguity of morality, a Nation of One
will leave you questioning the very foundations upon which our
society, and our humanity, stand.
What Is It That Haunts You? Is it something you did, or something
you wish you had done? A moment passed, never to be lived again. An
action taken, the wrong choice made. Let me tell you about Johanna.
The way he sees her, the way he remembers: the one that got away,
true love, never to be found again. Your heart is broken, but you
go on. Your friends lift you up, if you're lucky enough to have
such good friends: they come around and console you; they talk with
you and sit with you; they are there with you, silently, as you
cry. Time heals all wounds, or so many people say, but maybe some
wounds can never be healed. A trip to Europe, just because your
friends suggest it, just because you need something to get your
mind off it, and maybe it will help you move on: a change of
scenery; new people, new places; Amsterdam, France, The Bay of
Biscay; surfing and sitting around campfires; Brad playing his
guitar; Dash, reading and writing. You, hearing the songs she used
to play. The lines she used to sing. Sweet, sweet music. Sweet,
sweet tenderness. Maybe, now, and forever. You and I. You weep some
and you look at yourself in the mirror, as if some answer might be
found there in your eyes, and you tell yourself that this is just
the way of grief, the way of loss, the way of letting go, but then,
then, then you see her: Johanna, with her beautiful red hair. Is it
her? Just a glance, a woman walking in the distance, then moving
out of sight. It couldn't be her, that's what you tell yourself,
but then you see her again: this time on a subway car, just pulling
away. Maybe you're losing your mind. These visions of Johanna,
haunting you. When you see her the next time, you can't help but to
chase her. Running into the street, dodging traffic. Johanna
Johanna Again, she slips away. Who is this woman, and why does Cal
keep seeing her, and why can't he catch her? What was their
relationship, and what is it that happened that tore them apart? A
tale of love, loss, regret, and one man's quest for forgiveness,
long after you've heard this story, you will continue to be haunted
by, Visions of Johanna. (this story is written in SCREENPLAY
format)
What Gives Life Meaning? Tabo Mosi retires from boxing: the longest
reigning Heavyweight Champion of The World. He lost his mother when
he was young, and now he's lost his father. The Grim Reaper, Old
Father Time, this is the opponent which none of us can defeat.
Tabo's life emptied out of everything which once gave it meaning,
how should he now spend his time? Fatherhood and marriage call to
him, having children and raising them with a woman he loves calls
to him, but the only woman he ever really loved, he already let go
when he was young. Life unfolds like in fights: it's always the
unexpected which makes it great. A new kid with a ton of potential,
Tabo mentors him and teaches him the wisdom of The Ring: the things
Tabo learned from his father; the things which allowed Tabo to
succeed. Focus. Dedication. Decency. Digging deep because you've
only got one chance, one opportunity, to see how far you can reach,
to see how far you can go, to see if you can become, The Champ. The
older generation makes way for the younger generation, and nobody
can be The Champ forever. We all get old, and maybe Tabo has
already passed his time and will never find a woman with whom he
can fall in love and start a family. He's made his choices, and now
he has to live with them. It seems as if everyone knows him. Look,
it's The Champ The Champ There's The Champ There are plenty of
women who are interested in him, but Tabo wants to find someone who
loves him for who he is, and not for his fame, nor his fortune. At
a party, Tabo meets Sofia, a high school English teacher who knows
nothing about boxing, nor of what Tabo has accomplished. Tabo is
drawn to her, but can he keep his past from her a secret so that
her love for him can grow before she discovers what he's achieved?
Once Tabo stepped into the ring, and this was his life, but now in
the warm embrace of Sofia, Tabo thinks about other rings, and
wonders if together, he and Sofia will go all the way. Humanizing
and heartfelt, a testament to the sweet tenderness which resides in
us all, The Champ will leave you with the greatest riches of all -
gratitude and appreciation for the life you have, and the people
with whom you share it.
I Know When You Are Going To Die. This is what has plagued Marcus,
all of his life, the gift he was given, the curse: being able to
see the future. Being, The Seer. Knowing when someone is going to
die, and seeing the fate which awaits us all, it softens you when
you open to it, makes everything sweet, and fills you with
gratitude: the blessing, the gift, of just even being here; the
sweet tender poignancy of our tenuous existence. As a young man,
Marcus wandered the country on his motorcycle, taking odd-jobs and
never staying in one place too long. Never getting too close to
anyone, never letting anyone in, close to his heart. But then,
while working for an old man named Walter at a gas station in Three
Rivers, Wyoming, Marcus meets Janine. Beautiful Janine. Can he love
again, in the face of loss? The last time he tried to change the
future, he lost those that he loved more than all others: his
parents. Is the future immutably written, or can it be changed?
Even the thought of trying to change the future triggers a terror
within Marcus as if he's defying Mother Nature, or God, or Life, or
maybe it's just the memory of losing his parents which brings the
terror up for him, but he can't ignore the visions which come to
him: first for Walter, then for Janine, then for all of humanity.
Maybe he was given this gift for a reason: to make a difference, to
help others, to help the world in its final hour. The sweetness,
the softness, of seeing how it's all going to end, our time here so
short, in the end, all that is left for Marcus, is love.
At what price do we sell our souls? Subtle compromises; false
promises; empty dreams. Chasing things we thought we wanted, only
to realize when we got them, they weren't what we were seeking, at
all. Thomas McAllister awakes, unable to live the life he'd been
living. Some whispering within him, subtle at first, calling him on
an adventure - to where, he doesn't know. Giving it all up,
abandoning it, letting it go, the life he used to live. Taking to
the road; having adventures. In search of self, in search of some
meaning that goes beyond the material veneer of this commercial
world. Was everyone asleep? Did others experience this calling?
Surely he must not be the only one. Seeing things in a new way,
finding new perspectives, Thomas arrives at his family's farm in
Canada, returning to his roots. How can you know where you are, if
you don't know where you came from? Living with his Uncle Bud,
Thomas discovers the Harvard Trainer and also discovers himself. An
anthem to freedom, an ode to the road journey, a manifesto of
personal liberation, the ultimate ballad of the broken heart, The
Harvard Trainer will take you on a ride you will never forget.
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