Gone But Never Forgotten!

Troy is fading in the distance.  Mary's P.O.V. is the light ahead with all those who have gone before her, Annie, Aunt Rose, Uncle Henry, Alexander, and others in spirit form walking towards her.
V.O. Mary: "I knew it ....  Death is not the end, but a magnificent and glorious reunion." 

This quote  from the screenplay, Trolley to Lumina (aka Lumina Love) was spoken by Anna Pennington, playing the character of Mary Nicholson at a table read I facilitated last year in Leland, NC.  Little did we all know she would be having her own glorious reunion, much sooner than I would have liked.  Anna passed away yesterday, having found out this morning from Bill Presser, her good friend,  someone I hoped to use as my aeronautical consultant for the film and a big help with my table read by bringing Anna.  She was such an inspiration and what a privilege to have met her.  I have never known anyone quite like her.   She was originally the lead character in the screenplay I had written while living in Wilmington, but she told me she didn't fly until the 40's and my story was set in 1928.   Anna was the 2nd woman to receive her pilots license in Wilmington around 1941.  She suggested I ought to use the name Mary Nicholson, who was actually the 1st woman to receive her pilots license in North Carolina in1929.  What a gracious lady and I don't want to believe she is gone.   May she rest in peace! 

If you are interested in reading more about her, here is a link http://bit.ly/1lzGBz8 to a very succinct news story written about her life imparting her sense of humor and love of life.  Wow, she even had two streets named after her in Wilmington.  I first met her at her home.  I googled the name Anna Pennington to see if she was a real person having created her name for my initial script.  When I found out she was a functioning, live person, I tracked her down through Bill Presser and found a way to interview her.  I went to her home and was taken aback at her sharp wit and lovely nature.  She shared her history and was as humble as a Buddhist priest.  As you can see from the photo on the left, she was quite the beauty too in her younger days.  She lived in Los Angeles long ago and expressed to me her wish to have made it to the the silver screen.  I may even write a whole screenplay about her life someday.  It would make a terrific story.  You never know...

My deepest sorrow and regret is that she won't be able to play the character of Mary Nicholson at 91 years old, boarding a small plane with her grandson to fly over the farm fields of St. Helena, and over Wrightsville Beach where the Lumina Ballroom once existed, fulfilling the top item on her 'bucket list.'(fiction)  I pray she is flying high in Heaven and meeting all her close friends, her spouse 'Skinny' Pennington and any other family that proceeded her.  Thank you Anna, for your participation in my table read and for giving me hope for my own life.  It is never to late to do what you love and be who you are!

    (Table read of Trolley to Lumina w/Kim Henry and her daughter Jaya)

Nothing So Fine ....

It was my ex-husband who used this phrase and it has stuck with me always. "There is nothing so fine that God can't replace it with something finer."  There is so much truth to this bit of advice/wisdom.  I have applied it in so many circumstances.  Having to let go of a marriage or the  possibility of a relationship, moving to another place not knowing how it will be, letting go of all my belongings to allow an adventure to unfold which forbids me from hanging onto my possessions.  This stream of thought comes at the coattails of what I wrote in my last blog, so to continue, I'd like to share with you my new environment, how it is "so much finer" than where I've been and how hopeful I have become.

I walked up the street last Sunday and found a walking/jogging area called Hansen Dam. Quite a few folks were there, very early I might add,  walking the pebbled trail, along with groups of serious joggers embracing the path with a mission, and whole families on bikes pedaling the distance. The view was killer and I took a few photos but they will not even come close to the pristine beauty that I experienced enjoying this popular path.  My whole body and soul were transported by such picturesque beauty.  I'd have to admit I was awestruck.  The bluest sky, the whitest clouds, the greenest trees, giving no hint of a drought that has plagued Los Angeles this last year.  I didn't want to leave but it got very windy and as I witnessed others losing their hats, I clutched onto mine as I left this amazing, pastoral view of  park, hillsides and even mountains.

Then I realized, that was what I was missing living in NC ... at least in the area I was in.  Flat, flat, flat, for miles.  I really missed the hills and mountains, the terrain of peaks and valleys. Even living in Hawaii there was the gorgeous Pali mountain with sporadic waterfalls gracing the sides of the greenest crevices.  Yes, I need something to look up to and tell me if I'm going East or West, North or South.  Here is a link to this video I took when I went up in a small plane in Burgaw, NC.  http://bit.ly/HTq8bv You can see for yourself.  Only farm fields and not much else.  

Not to find fault with a beautiful place like Wilmington, NC with its own charm, I am only saying I prefer my dear and beloved Los Angeles, with all its shortcomings, traffic problems, demands to know at least a little Spanish(especially in my area), and fortunately I do saber un poco de español .. I find it an easy language to learn.  As I take the bus, since I'm still working on securing a vehicle, I'm surrounded by a Spanish speaking community. (a story/blog for another day) Actually, it's good preparation for my journey to Puebla, Mexico in August, God-willing.  I am looking forward to that adventure and a reunion with so many of my brothers and sisters from all over the world.  

In closing, I hope I will continue to be inspired by my surroundings and what God puts in front of me to do.  It's not always easy, mostly it's very challenging with my mind and it's eagerness to accomplish so much when I really need to surrender and be patient.  To temper my impatient desire to get out there and take on the film world,  I have this wonderful view from my window.  I witness these goats(my neighbors across the street) who

graze away all the live long day and don't do much else.  Reminding me to relax and just let the current take me.  I know eventually my life will all become a dream come true if I just let it unfold gracefully. And speaking of dreams, I've had some amazing ones lately. In one I was being told, "you don't always get what you want, but you get what you need."  Yes, lyrics from a Stones song but also sage advice to really put into my stable of truths.  And "if the truth be told"  I'm very well taken care of.  Thanks to my Highest Power!