This latest script is slooooooow going. Incredibly, excruciatingly slow going. In fact, I think it’s taken me longer to write this script than any one hour script I’ve ever written. Or, at least it feels that way. Usually, I’ll reach a point in a script where things come together, even briefly, allowing me to tear off a nice little run of 5, 10, sometimes 15 pages in a sitting. That has yet to happen with this one and I suspect that my conservative ETD (Estimated Time of Delivery) of “End of January” was overly optimistic.
It happens. Never to this extent, but it does. And in situations like these, there’s only one recourse: distraction! Read, eat, surf the net. The latter is a particularly fine option as it allows you to easily switch up, from script to amusing Star Wars meme, with a single keystroke.
During a recent mini writer’s block (more of an annoying impediment than a block), I happened across a short documentary called Girl’s Best Friend, about a woman and her elderly pug. We’re introduced to Doreen and Spanky on a beautiful day in the park and we learn that Spanky is 16. We also learn that the poor old boy suffers from a laundry list of ailments including mobility issues that restrict him to a stroller for his daily outings. As I watched, I couldn’t help but note parallels between Doreen’s experience with Spanky and my experience with my pugs, Maximus and Jelly. Whereas some viewers may have thought “So much trouble for a dog!”, I was thinking: “What a great dog mom!”. At one point, we see Doreen taking the subway with Spanky, struggling to pull the stroller up, step by step, and I thought if I’d been there, I not only would’ve lent a hand but paid for a cab ride home as well.
The parallels to my experience didn’t end there and, inevitably, Doreen makes the hard decision I too had to face twice before. It was a gut-wrenching watch but empathetically familiar and, ultimately, very touching. If you’ve got your hankies handy, and want to take a break from YOUR scripts, you can check it out here:
On a somewhat related note, I came across an article that touched on the most common regrets people have at the end of their lives.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-23024/the-9-most-common-regrets-people-have-at-the-end-of-life.html
Among the nine in-retrospect wishes: “I wish I had not spent so much time working.”, “I wish I had taken more risks.”, and “I wish I had lived my own dream.”, I’d probably add: “I wish I’d adopted more senior pugs.”. Which I won’t have to because I’m determined to adopt a couple on my return to Vancouver this summer.
Okay. Going back to my script now.
Leave a Reply