'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.

A New Adventure - Film Investment

 In 2008 J and L decided to do something they had never done before - invest in a Hollywood movie. Real estate, stock, bonds and the lotto we were used to investing (or gambling) in but a big time film production? Never - but what sort of adventurers would we be if we didn't try something new?

Approached by a financial consultant with this 'great idea' we decided to give it a chance. After all, isn't that what gambling is about? So we put up what was to us, a good deal of cash to help finance, along with a good number of other investors, the making of Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return, an animated film. There is trouble in Oz and only Dorothy can help!

The story is adapted from Roger Stanton Baum's novel. He happens to be the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum the original author of 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' which is a mainstay in American story telling.

Due to the confidentiality clause J and L can not detail any of the inner workings of the film but we had a chance to view it on December 7th, 2013 at the Universal City AMC Theatre at the Universal Studio City Walk in Los Angeles. It was a 'sneak preview' for the investors and turned out to be a very relaxed and enjoyable evening. The author Roger S. Baum and his lovely wife sat in the seats directly in front of J and L and it was quite a thrill to meet such an accomplished man with many 'Oz' books to his credit.

The production team, the brothers Roland and Ryan Carroll were on hand to give a short explanation of the time-table for release and other facts and then Baum stood up and addressed the crowd giving the film two thumbs up.

"I truly believe this will be one of,  if not the best film of 2014."
Of course, the entire theater crowd nodded their heads in unison hoping the film will be a smash and have great returns on all our investments.

After a few moments of introductions and the like, Summetime Entertainment ran the first of a series of trailers for the film which truly knocked our socks off. It was powerful, to the point and had us wanting to watch the film.

Then the film - WOW!

Being an animated movie in 3D brought all the characters vividly to life and with the voices of Lea Michele (who plays Dorothy), Martin Short, Patrick Stewart, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, and a host of other major stars only added to the professional quality of the movie. It is truly a very well polished and entertaining work.

When the credits rolled slowly away on the screen and the lights came on we knew that we had just watched a wonderful family film which any age viewer will find enjoyable and memorable.

We smiled all the way out of the show knowing that on May 9th, 2014 in over 4,000 theaters across America there will be smiles just like ours after viewing such an uplifting piece of art.

My Last Letter

As educators J along with L get many pieces of paper to 'look over,' peruse, and to edit from our students and most of the time it strictly deals with the mechanics of writing. A task most school-aged children, especially middle school, have not yet mastered. Being a creative writing teacher, J usually has his hands full with short stories, articles, or poems which need a lot of attention from youngsters who believe the term 'edit' is a disgusting four letter word. But once in awhile a piece comes along that needs nothing but to be read. This is a poem received just this Friday from a young boy (who's name has been withheld out of respect for the family).  It is typed exactly as it was handed in. It was not a class assignment, but an act of love.

My Last Letter

It feels like my world is standing still,

I keep telling myself it can't be real,

I finally reached my biggest fear, to awake one

day and your not there. Even though all the pain,

and struggle, your still my dad and I will always

love you. The time ahead is going to be hard,

most wounds will but also most leave a scar,

I always talk to you but now you can't respond

back.

But I know you're here and still got my back,

to my family we need to try and find, a way to

band together because time is blind, you used

to smile from cheek to cheek, And now your gone

it broke me down piece by piece, But I have to

smile because your not weak, And I'm happy

now knowing your at peace, it has to get worst

before it gets better, But I had to write you

Just one last letter.

This poem was written by a thirteen year old boy who lost his father to cancer in October of 2013. When J heard the news he took the boy aside and told him if he ever wanted to discuss the matter privately anytime would be fine. November 22nd turned out to be that day when he handed me the poem.

Through this act of love and pain, a young man brings out the meaning of the upcoming Thanksgiving. Give thanks to those we love and never let a moment slip by because those moments are not guaranteed in the future.

The father in the poem must have been one good guy since he had a hell of a great son.