America's Game

Alicia, Justin, and Jessica

There are few things as quintessentially American as baseball. You know the saying, "As American as baseball and apple pie." Well, as spring winds to a close, and the weather warms as summer approaches, you can begin to smell the fragrant green grass, popcorn, hot dogs and barbecue, oh, and yeah, you can even smell the beer.

Warming up

Catcher and Author

Not a huge fan of watching sports (we'd rather be active ourselves), we still find ourselves being drawn into the game every season. From book signings, ceremonial first pitches, western acting, to watching our daughter and son-in-law sing the national anthem, we have been taken out to the ball game. Oh, yes, there was also a minor league game or two thrown into this glorious summer mix. And these minor league players have heart -- they don't make the big bucks of the major league -- so they play with heart and soul, for the love of the game, and their loyal fans.

Love is in the air

It wouldn't be American without Cowboys

So get off your couch this summer and get out there with friends and family. Watch the game, play the game, just get in the game!

Behind the Scenes of Soft Target

Terrorists on the scene

With the release of John's latest novel, 'Soft Target', just around the corner (May 17th) the idea of a trailer seemed appropriate. After all, the filming of 'Hunted' was not only fun but sent a quick message to viewers of what the book was all about. So on Saturday the 19th of April, a trailer for 'Soft Target' was shot on location at a nearby middle school in the Victor Valley of Southern California.

The photographer and the mayhem

Director at work

A group of Islamic Terrorists endeavor to repeat the school takeover their counterparts conducted in the small Russian village of Beslan in 2004 where hundreds of innocent youngsters and adults were murdered. This time their target is an American middle school to spread terror and mayhem from misguided beliefs and point out to the citizens of the United States that no one, is safe from the perverted homicidal thoughts they harbor in their black hearts. But they did not count on Yuri Sharikov, an ex-special purposes commander who was there in Beslan and saw the slaughter first hand. It's the one man they wanted to taunt but not face.

Sounds exciting - well, back to the trailer.

A simple task this filming business?

Not so much.

This is how you hold the hostage

Twenty middle school students and numerous adults as extras, two video photographers, a 'behind the scenes' photography professional (Justin Barr), and the students parents. Not at all intimidating for John's first role as 'Director'.

Make-up, director, and more

Acting lessons from a pro

Wrong - very stressful for the author to direct an advertisement for his new novel. Thankfully he had on hand two extremely accomplished and experienced people to guide him through the process. Old friend Terry Kurtz (who had shot the trailer for 'Hunted' back in 2013) and James Fuentez who can read a script and pinpoint where the camera needs to be at every shot with the precision of a drone strike. The novelist breathed easier with these two guys by his side.

Three opinions -- one great shoot!

Fun was had by all with the director yelling directions (that's what they do) and children running in fear for their lives from would-be terrorists.


Running, screaming, more running, more screaming, terrorists barking orders while waving guns (not loaded and triple checked) more terrorists barking orders and more yelling by the director.

It was a blast!



 
Parents smiling, students believing they are now worthy of a star in Hollywood (not mentioning some of the adults who took part), and finally those wonderful words; "It's a wrap - let's go home."

The trailer's a wrap!

Will the trailer be successful? That's a question only the sales of the novel will answer but from an inside point of view it was certainly a success for all those who participated on that warm and sunny day.








We had fun.

'Tis the Season with a Reason

At J and L we believe in Christmas and the reason behind it. This may not be politically correct but it is how we feel. Since the purpose of our blog is research, travel and exploration, we recently searched and found some celebrating the greater purpose for this wonderful time of year.

Del Rosa Christian School in San Bernardino, California put on the production of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens at the Sturges Theatre in downtown San Bernardino on the 12th of December. It was a great production directed by Jessica Barr, the 6th grade teacher who planned, produced. and cajoled a large group students into performing this tale in a professional and well-packed venue.

These children did their best to do Dickens proud and succeed they did which brings this writer to the point about this season. The joy we saw on the faces of those young actors made us realize that this is really the time for giving to those we love. Parents. grandparents, uncles, aunts, and family friends were in that large audience in the middle of December and all attention was on the children on stage. Cameras snapped, video cameras whirred and cell phones flashed as these elementary school thespians went from scene to scene doing their very best to entertain the crowd but also to instill the message Dickens himself wrote down on paper.

It is the small things in life that make a difference. A smile at a stranger, a chuckle with a friend, forgiving those who have offended us and reaching across a sometimes cold surface with a hand to be accepted or not. This is what the great writer showed Scrooge and us with his prose.

It is a time of the year when we need to look inside ourselves and wonder how we can do better for those around us. We only have one chance at it.

Those children that night showed this writer they truly loved those in the audience because each and every heart on stage was bursting with enthusiasm and excitement to prove they could give their best for their family and friends.

And is not that the reason for the season?

Bravo children - bravo.

Lincoln Speaks

On President's Day weekend, where else should a patriotic American be but listening to Mr. Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States? Of course, President Lincoln has been dead and gone nearly  150 years so we relied on President Abraham Lincoln re-enactor, Don Ancell, to deliver the day's message.

The tall, thin, bearded and remarkably recognizable Lincoln greeted the noonday crowd around the water well at the north end of Calico and regaled them with tales of the past.

His past and our nation's.

Lincoln described his early years, being born in Kentucky and then moving to Illinois with his family when he was eight years old. His father hated slavery and thus the reason to move the Lincoln farm from Kentucky.

The President livened the day with stories of him growing up in a poor, strict but otherwise close family where the ideals of hard work, taking responsibility for one's actions, and to always tell the truth were utmost.

"Honest to a fault, my folks taught me well," Lincoln (Ancell) stated proudly showing a large smile while patting his backside. Lincoln only admitted that  he 'lied' to his parents once and that was all his rear end could take. We guess that is where he received the nickname, 'Honest Abe'.

He spoke of his time being an attorney and traveling the judicial circuit admitting that he helped many a 'folk' poor and rich but always demanded his clients be truthful with him. He actually walked out of more than one law case when he learned his client was less than honest. Lincoln said he was away from Mary Todd and the family three or four months at a time but he did become a wealthy man (he onced earned $5,000 for one case involving a railroad - a princely sum in those days).

He told the story of being the first president to offer a full pardon for a turkey. It seems his son Tad had a pet turkey by the name of 'Jack' which the family had received late in 1863. The young boy and bird became inseparable. The Christmas of 1864 found the bird suddenly missing from his outside pen and Tad looked everywhere, finally finding the large fowl in the cook house. The White House head chef had poor old Jack's neck streched out and was about to deliver the 'getting ready for dinner' blow when Tad screamed: "You can't do that!"

The chef asked why and the youngster stated: "My father is the President and you have to do as I tell you."

At that point the young boy marched off to see his father and interrupted a Presidential cabinet meeting (all his children had secret knocks so Lincoln would know which one of the children it was and at no time were they barred from seeing their father no matter the situation). Tad came into the meeting and begged his father to save Jack from having his neck chopped. The president nodded and wrote out on a simple piece of paper that he was ordering Jack to be pardoned from the executioner. And there we have the pardoning of a turkey (or two) each year by the President of the United States.

Ancell (Lincoln) then went into a more serious tone for the crowd discussing the great sadness which had befallen the country in the guise of the war between the states. He was saddened by the loss of life on both sides, the Union and the Confedercy (roughly 620,000 soldiers died during those four years) but knew the war had to be fought and won to save the nation.

For a few more somber moments he discussed the reason for his Emancipation Proclamation:

 First, he hated slavery and believed it was immoral, secondly, by outlawing slavery neither France nor Britain would come to the aide of the south (as they were rumored to be thinking about) since those two empires had already made slavery illegal, and thirdly once the slaves in the south knew he had freed all northern slaves, they would escape the plantations where they had worked and lived to move north which would be a benefit two-fold: allow them to enter the Union Army and help cripple the south's agriculture and industrial base without the slave labor.

 With a strong round of applause Mr. Lincoln finished his 'story telling' and bowed slightly to the crowd. We were all impressed and grateful for a history lesson we already knew but realized it never hurts to be reminded of again.


It is moments like this that remind the partners at J & L how fortunate we are to live in such a glorious country as the United States and to have in our legacy such great men as President Abraham Lincoln.

J and L would also like to thank our first guest contributor, Mrs. Jessica Barr, for her contributions to this article (the quick facts below).

1. Lincoln was the only president to hold a patent - no. 6649 - for a device to lift boats over shoals.

2. The President stood at six feet four inches and weighed in at a light 180 pounds. His shoe size was fourteen and his hat size was seven and one-eighth.

3. He did not like the names Abraham, Abe, or Old Abe and preferred to be simply called 'Lincoln'.

4. Lincoln is known to under-use his pockets and instead, put important papers in his stovepipe hat.

5. The first town named after him was the capital of Logan County in Illinois in 1853. He warned the townspeople that, "Nothing named Lincoln ever amounted to much."

6. Lawyer Lincoln made 300 appearances before the Illinois Supreme Court.

7. He was once challenged to a duel but the challenger accepted his apology when the much taller and smarter Lincoln chose broad swords as the weapons for the duel.

8. Lincoln first spoke out against slavery in a speech to the Illinois State Legislature in Vandalia in 1837.

9. Lincoln was born in 1809 and Mary Todd in 1818, they were married November 4, 1842 - inside her wedding band were the words, 'Love is eternal'.

Follow this link to take the quiz on how well you know this president!

http://constitutioncenter.org/lincoln/

Read more from Jessica Barr on her Educational Blog

http://drcsgrade6.blogspot.com/

Contact President Lincoln

http://home.tbbs.net/alp/Profiles/Ancell.htm

http://cms.sbcounty.gov/parks/Parks/CalicoGhostTown.aspx