Dogs in Quicksand

Back in the early 1990's I landed a great job as Operations Manager for a video production company that specialized in producing industrial films. I figured with all of the access I had to professional equipment and crews, I should make a feature length film. So I did. The result was a mixed bag of art and insanity called Dogs in Quicksand. And yes, that's me on the video jacket.

I had been making short films my entire life, starting around the age of 12. Using my dad's World War II Bell and Howell 8mm movie camera, I would gather up the neighborhood kids and together we would make impromptu little movies.

Eventually I figured out that I needed professional equipment, as well as the ability to write an actual script in order for the finished product to be enjoyed by more than just my friends and family. And after years of making short films that were either too long or just not very good, I figured out what elements to include in my script and what should be left out.

Many years into adulthood, my short film, The Story of Mommy and Daddy, was nominated for a Vision Award, sponsored by Sony, and the American Film Institute. And since Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg's long time producer, Kathleen Kennedy, were on the nominating committee, I felt I was ready to write a feature length script. And that's when Dogs in Quicksand was born.

And even though the movie managed to get a distributor, the now defunct Sub Rosa Studios, I made little money, along with mixed reviews which were far from glowing. My shot at success had been handed to me and I blew it, or so I thought.

This actually turned out to be the turning point of my writing journey. It's an adventure that has given me more failures than successes. But as I dabbled in screenwriting, playwriting, short stories, and novels, I have begun to realize we're all nothing more than a work in progress. And it's our efforts, not our rewards, that control our destiny.