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PART 2
THE PRELUDE TO 911:
My second screenplay came many years later. The influence came from my medical doctor experience at ComEd. I was awestruck by my awareness of the awesome power and vulnerability of nuclear power plants during the time I was a physician for ComED. Add that experience to my fascination of studying what happened at Three Mile Island, and I felt compelled in the writing of a screenplay for a feature film.
This movie, I soon learned would be the prequel to a major event in America’s history – 911. The screenplay I wrote predicted the 911 disaster and the Enron collapse. I only pitched the movie one time and pushed it no further because I and others felt the storyline would precipitate something like 911. And sure enough 911 did happen anyway. In all honesty, based upon what I had written to date, 911 was not a surprise to me.
Many of you may well know that the initial Al-Qaida plan was not the World Trade Center, rather to takeover and blowup a nuclear power plant. Thus, giving you the hint that this screenplay was about such a possibility. My writing of the Enron collapse in this movie had to do with all that was about to happen in the lives of baby boomers; instability, unpredictability and uncertainty.
FIREWORKS – GROUND ZERO:
In moving on to my next screenplay…. In screenwriting school, I learned about the key components that make a movie great. Those are interesting people, doing interesting things, in interesting places and a movie that has never been done before.
I looked a my life at the time and asked myself, “what is going on in my life that I am passionate about and fits that criteria for which another screen play could be written?”
Well, it was about this time in my life that long-term fascination with fireworks became center stage.
The short of it is that I got the unique opportunity to join the Bartolotta Fireworks Team as a pyrotechnic. I received my training and license through the PGI (Pyrotechnic Ian’s Guild International). I had the experience of being the “white boy” of the Italian Bartollatta family. I learned the art of the fireworks business through the stories of the young and old duffers of the family with more than 55 years of experience in the fireworks industry.
That being said, hearing all the family and friend stories of pyrotechnic fun, excitement, danger, death and near death experiences was great. I had the fantastic fun opportunity to set up, load, fire and as they say in the business,” blow that shit up” was incredibly fascinating. I too soon had my own stories and near death experiences.
During one night of a shoot, I saw the excitement on the faces and heard the voices of some “newbies” on location standing next to me at GROUND ZERO during the shoot. When one of them said to me, ”You just have to be here, this close, to see and hear this stuff blow up to see what fireworks are all about”… well hearing that and understanding that I had those same thoughts during my initial experiences at GROUND ZERO lead to the idea of another major motion picture idea.
I pitched the concept of the movie idea to the Bartolatta family and got their approval to do the movie. The storyline is about the family business, their stories, death and survival, the industry, the fascination that many people have with fireworks and my own experiences of being on the team at … well hence the name of the movie…GROUND ZERO.
SALON – THE MOVIE
The third screenplay is about the fascination of fashion and beauty industry as seen through the eyes of a conflicted late teenage girl needing to choose between college or going to the school of beauty and cosmetology. Her choice of finally leaving college and going to the SALON takes her on an unexpected career path to stardom.
YES I AM STILL A DOCTOR AND CONTINUE TO PRACTICE:
After my first 3 years of retirement, I felt the need to finish what I have started in my medical career.
I looked at the medical industry and tried to find where the new frontier opportunity was in the continued downward spiral of the healthcare system. I discovered that the model of health care that I created in the main stream of medicine was a perfect fit for a community based home health system.
Where you might ask did we bring out this model healthcare system? Well over the last several years we brought it to Crystal Lake, Woodstock and the McHenry areas. It works fantastically well. Patients love it. Providers love it. It’s an everybody wins type of healthcare delivery system. In all honesty it started in the beginning of my career. The goal has always been to create a model system of how healthcare should be delivered in America today.
The groundwork is now laid to roll out system for reduplication to the rest of the country. We are looking at Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Florida as the first states outside of Illinois.
THE DRUMMER IN THE BAND:
As many of you might remember in high school, I played drums in my band.
I can remember when I was 5 years old, I started by playing on pots and pans in my Mom’s cupboard. I got it all from my father who was a drummer and taught me to play. I got my first set when I was 7 years old.
So how does this relate to high school? I just finished 8th grade and was getting ready to go to high school just like all of you. I just happened to be standing on the corner across the street from Dick Schneider’s house by Crystal Lake High school, on a beautiful summer day, and while talking to a beautiful cheerleader with a pair of drumsticks in my hand….it was just at that time a white new convertible GTO (really hot car at the time) pulls up on the corner and fours guys say to me, “you by chance know a good drummer?”
Well, that was one of the biggest moments of my life. I left the cheerleader on the corner and went professional in my first year of high school. Nearly every weekend, the band played throughout northern Illinois and Chicago in night clubs and for weddings and parties.
- Yes, for that reason, I was always the last one to show up at any high school parties.
As mentioned earlier, during my first retirement from ComEd, I had the opportunity to pursue other interests. I had the long time desire from when I first started playing drums to play with the best most popular bands. This was no different I would guess from a kid or adult who played baseball and wanted to play in the major league. I chose however to be a doctor. But at the same time I never stopped playing drums in other bands and other venues and the desire to play with the best continued.
Playing with the best became more of a reality, when my children got interested in music, and I taught them to play the way I learned. Well one thing lead to another and through working with the kids, a whole new venue for entertainment in the music industry was created. Because of intellectual properties rights and patents, etc, disclosure is not possible at this time. Here however is a hint. It is an alternative to Karaoke.
HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIES:
Memories too numerous to mention, but the one that stands out most…
The Chris Jones All Night Party:
Who is the one that woke me up at 3:30 in the morning while I was sleeping on the floor and said, “Nina Hoekstra’s father is on the phone and he wants to talk with you!” Who was that person?
Some of you probably remember what happened next. I was in the police department with my parents. Then all things really got crazy.
In looking back, it was this event that actually led to my screenwriting career, as mentioned earlier in this document.
HIGH SCHOOL SONGS:
- Endless list but have to mention…
- The Dave Brubeck Quartet and all our favorite music and bands from soul to the Beatles
