The Happy Cigarette

From Musings of a Dysfunctional Life

It was the winter of 1992, a winter of discontent indeed. I was now living back with my father and stepmother in Western New York while trying to rebuild my financial life.

When I arrived my father told me they'd put a roof over my head and food in my stomach, but nothing else. That was fine with me, but perhaps a little bit of love and support wouldn't have hurt either. I was a successful engineer for seven years and it wasn't like I was responsible for the poor economy. Still, they had no sympathy, and my father kept referring to me as a failure. I was now living back in hell.

Up in the attic room where they stowed me, I tried to figure out how to reclaim my life. This wasn't easy to do as the room never got above fifty-five degrees. It was literally too cold to think, and I wasn't allowed to have a space heater for the possibility of "starting a fire."

I didn't have a single penny to spare—not even in the bottom of my pencil holder where stray change often finds its way. I craved a Mountain Dew, but couldn't afford to buy one. The credit card companies tracked me down and threatened to take my car away. I had only six payments left and knew that if my car was taken away, so would be my freedom.

For Christmas that year I received just socks and underwear. With the remaining gas in my car, I drove to Eastern Hills Mall in Buffalo and returned them for money to buy resume paper. That was the day I stopped in at the nearby Kinko's, saw they had an opening for a desktop publisher, and landed the minimum-wage job that would begin my recovery.

During my darkest moments I would drive away from my parents' house and spend the day anywhere else. Often I'd sit in my car in the parking lot of a shopping center. I couldn't afford to buy anything, but what I needed was more than material. I needed peace of mind.

One day I found myself in front of a K-mart. There was just a hint of snow on the ground, but the sun was out and quickly melting it away. I watched the people moving in and out.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw this teenage kid smoking a cigarette while making his way across the parking lot. I'm guessing he was around 17 or 18. It became obvious to me that he was developmentally disabled by the expression on his face and by how he walked.

It's not wrong for me to admit that I recognized this, or that it made me want to look at him longer. I think all of us do this. We look for peculiarities in others, and often those are the people who intrigue us the most. I also wanted to see that he got along safely since nobody was with him.

When he was directly in front of my car and one aisle over, he dropped his half-smoked cigarette on the ground and began to put it out. What caught my eye right away was the smile on his face. He was happy. Extremely happy. He began crushing the cigarette with his left foot over and over again. He'd twist and turn his foot several times while maintaining that beautiful smile. When he was through, he took two steps away, looked back to make sure it was out, then returned to crush it some more. Surely the cigarette was far from being a fire hazard at this point; the fragments of unsmoked tobacco and filter were already smeared about the pavement.

I wondered why he kept coming back to the cigarette. I imagined that someone had strictly warned him to make sure he put out his cigarettes when he was done. And from what I saw that day, he was darn sure he was going to follow through. I watched him return to that cigarette on the ground at least three more times.

What remains in my mind today from that incident, some seventeen years ago, was that smile. He didn't have a look of this being a bother, or that he was in any hurry. This was one moment in time that, regardless of how small, he was going to enjoy to its fullest. There was nothing to worry about.

He was free, he was on his own, and he was happy.

Scarechi Virus Turns Cell Phones Against Users

Washington, D.C. - A newly discovered virus that only infects smartphones appears to be spreading rapidly throughout the world after its first appearance outside of Beijing, China. Named "Scarechi" for the green sign-off screens it leaves after infecting a user's phone, the virus has already caused the accidental deaths of dozens of people.

Authorities believe that the virus attached itself to an update to the popular SmoGo app, which helps citizens of China determine locations with safe, smog-free air quality. Since then it has spread to the U.K., India, and the U.S. where it is known to have killed at least sixty people.

"What the virus does is analyze a user's likes and dislikes, emails, and Internet searches, then plans various attacks," explains Marc Brenner at the Center for Smart Phone Safety. "They can range from violent and loud audio outbursts, texting people on the user's contact list, or insidiously noting emotional weaknesses in its victims, like Aashi Sarin from India who jumped to her death at the Malshej Ghat gorge where her sister had died years before."

Smartphone users are advised to read People Who Need To Die on Amazon.com to prevent their own phones from becoming infected. ;o)

10th RVA Environmental Film Festival (February 9, 2020)

This past Sunday was a good day. For the first time I watched one of my films on a big screen at a film festival. Who's Protecting Our National Bird? screened at the RVA Environmental Film Festival in Richmond, Virginia at the historic and absolutely gorgeous Byrd Theatre. It won the grand prize for the Virginia Film Contest.

Left to Right: Scott Burger (Co-Founder and Past President), Me, Lori Schamerhorn (Steering Committee)

My previous documentary was accepted into two film festivals: the All Sports Film Festival in Los Angeles and the ImageOut Film Festival in Rochester, New York. I couldn't afford to travel to either. I tell this story of how when it screened in LA, I celebrated by eating a Mexican pizza at Taco Bell in Manassas, VA at the time. Five years of hard work and I couldn't afford to sit with an audience of viewers who each paid $13 to see it. And as you might guess, I received none of that. Being a filmmaker is not always profitable, but you hope that your films will make a difference.

This time I chose a few local film festival venues: the RVA Environmental Film Festival and the DC Environmental Film Festival. I won't know for a few more days if this documentary is selected for the latter, so keep your fingers crossed. Here are some photos and a video from Sunday's event.

Me and my friend Bill Briscoe. Bill was a major contributor to my film and is also an eagle photographer.

Documentary Wins Grand Prize in RVA Environmental Film Festival Contest

(Manassas, VA) - The nature documentary "Who's Protecting Our National Bird?" has been awarded the grand prize for the Virginia Film Contest of the RVA (Richmond, Virginia) Environmental Film Festival. The mission of the RVA Environmental Film Festival is to showcase films that bring awareness to the environmental issues facing the city, region, and planet.

Now in its 10th year, the festival was founded as The Biggest Picture: Richmond’s First Environmental Film Festival under the James River Film Society. In 2011, the Sierra Club - Falls of the James Group backed the event as the RVA Environmental Film Festival. Support from the community for the festival grows with each passing year. This year the festival runs from February 7-14 and will screen twenty films around the Richmond area. The complete schedule can be found here.

Producer of the documentary, Victor Rook, writes, "I am humbled and honored to have received the award of grand prize for our documentary on the plight of bald eagles nationwide. Though they have returned in numbers, bald eagles are increasingly challenged by habitat loss as developers encroach upon their large territories. When I saw what was happening to our only eagle pair in Manassas, Virginia, I knew I had to document and investigate it. This film is a first-hand account of citizens taking on local, state, and federal agencies that are failing to protect the environment for these wonderful, majestic creatures."

Scott Burger, co-founder and past president of the RVA EFF, commended Mr. Rook in an email. "Our judges were impressed by your determination in telling this sad but important story."

The grand prize includes a check for $1000, which will be presented at the time of screening. "Who's Protecting Our National Bird?" will screen on Sunday, February 9, at the historic Byrd Theatre at 2:50 p.m. Admission to the public is free. Byrd Theatre is located at 2908 W. Cary Street, Richmond, Virginia.

DVDs for the documentary can be ordered here.

Make-a-Book March

If one of your New Year's resolutions was to get your book finished and published, I am here to help you keep that promise to yourself. And there's no better time than the present. I'm calling this month, Make-a-Book March. You'll save 20% on book design services purchased before March 31, 2020, even if you're not quite ready to submit your manuscript.

Wouldn't it be nice to have your book on someone's bookshelf? Let's make it happen.

Book Design and Publishing
Take advantage of my $550 Book Publishing Package, which includes:

• Book Cover Design
• Interior Formatting for Print
• Formatting for Kindle
• Publishing on Amazon KDP

With the 20% discount, that comes to $440. Read some of my author client recommendations. I can also proof/edit your book. Rates are based on word count. I make two passes through your manuscript and provide a pdf markup file of suggested changes.

Website/Blog Design

I also create fully-functional blogs and websites. Every author needs a platform to market their books, especially if they are self-published. And there's no better way to draw in followers than using social media and maintaining a blog.

I can work with both Blogger (recommended because of all-free hosting) and WordPress. If you already have a website or blog that needs fixing, just let me know. A four-page website (Home, Books, Blog, Contact) designed on Blogger with header artwork, book links, and subscriber form is just $250. I will even provide you with a blogging tutorial.

Marketing Materials

Yes, I am a man of many talents. I can produce bookmarks, posters, business cards, and flyers from your artwork, or the artwork I design for you. Prices vary; just let me know what you want.

Video Production
I've won three Telly Awards for my work on documentary films, and I can also whip together a nice book trailer with some flair. Check out more of my video work here.

So contact me today by email and let's get started! I'm good at holding hands and making the process run smoothly, even if it's just through emails and phone conversations. You write, and let me do the rest! Vic

Manassas 'Snow Day' Becomes Relaxing Film

It isn’t rare for Manassas to receive its share of inclement weather. But winters tend to be on the sleety, slushy, icy side, with most snowfalls disappearing in a few days. Set aside the occasional snow-bomb, like in 2009 and 2010 when the area was pummeled with car-cloaking white, Manassas winters are a bit more tranquil than those farther north. So many of us welcome a good ground covering.

Now one of our most recent snow days, January 13, 2019, has been forever memorialized in a new DVD video titled, Snow Day Relaxation Video. Manassas filmmaker Victor Rook set out early that Sunday morning to capture the essence and beauty of it all.

Watch a short promo clip from the video.

“Last year I made my way out to Cannon Branch Park to photograph the snow before it fell from the tree limbs,” says Rook. “At the edge of Gateway Blvd. and in front of the park, there sits a patch of woods no bigger than the small pond beside it. You wouldn’t think much about it, but when it is covered with snow, it’s like walking into a winter wonderland. I was giddy that day to revel in all that beauty.”

Just a year later, that same wonderland would return, and Rook was ready with his camera.

“I wanted to capture that area and how it made me feel that day with a film that people could enjoy when they needed some winter pick-me-up.” So Rook watched the weather patterns very closely. “The night before, they predicted the snow in our area. But it doesn’t take long for snow to blow from branches. You have to catch it early.”

On the morning of the shoot, Rook checked his Radar app on his phone. “The snow had stopped around 9:00 a.m., but a new patch was coming through. So by the time I got to the park, it had started again. Nice big flakes.”

For the next several hours, Rook hauled around his high-definition camera on a tripod, and stood silently above each shot with an umbrella to keep the snow off the camera lens. Over the next week he pulled out the best dozen winter scenes and edited the 60-minute film. Much like the Yule Log, where you can turn your TV into a crackling fireplace, his Snow Day Relaxation Video allows you to enjoy each scene for 3-6 minutes before it dissolves to the next. And underneath is a tranquil piano score by noted composer Kevin MacLeod.

The film can be purchased on DVD on Victor’s website for $10.95 or on Amazon for $14.95.

'Vic Video' is Student's Alter Ego

That was the headline of the Michigan State University newspaper (The State News) article on me printed April 25, 1985. I recently found a copy of the paper stuck inside a box of Christmas decorations. It must have been kept by my mother, who passed away in 2008. Also in the box: a giant-size print of my high school graduation photo. Just look at that red hair (picture below).

A lot of red and a lot of hair. Circa 1981.

This was the first article written about me specifically, and it made me a bit leery of journalists and accuracy in reporting. They had gotten wind of my interest in producing music videos. This was in the heyday of MTV, when students watched Madonna, Prince, and Sting videos 'round-the-clock.

I was about to graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering when the year before I got hit with the videomaking bug. I asked my dorm mates to be in a music video to Alan Parson's "Games People Play" in 1984, and in 1985 we followed up with Earth, Wind & Fire's "Fantasy." In between all that was a lot of on-camera lip-syncing fun.

I remember being asked if I regretted not studying filmmaking and telecommunications, and I told the reporter that I did not. I knew Mechanical Engineering was a wise choice if I wanted to get a job. But in the article she wrote the exact opposite: "With just a few weeks left until graduation, Rook said he regrets that he didn't major in telecommunication, but said that it wouldn't stop him from making videos." When I called the editor after the article came out to kindly point out the mistake, he responded, "Look, we are not your PR firm." Imagine that? From a student editor. Such a bad way to start off a journalism career.

Since that moment I always get both excited and apprehensive when an article is written about my work. I'm thankful that they care enough, yet wondering what way they will twist my words to fit their view of how my story should be. And it's happened again and again. Which is why I mostly only answer questions by email, so at least I'll have written proof of what I said.

You hear about this all the time: how words are often taken out of context. Sometimes downright untruths are printed. I'm not talking about Fake News, just news that isn't completely accurate. As a documentary filmmaker, I take that to heart. Whenever I trim an on-camera interview, I make sure I'm careful with the subject's words. Outside of knocking out ums and stammers (cut to B-roll), you always keep whole sentences or statements intact. My goal is to allow the person to project their best responses.

What I would tell anyone reading any article today is, realize that you are not getting the full picture. That there are probably inaccuracies. In this Washington Post article on my Beyond the Garden Gate film, the reporter wrote: "'Birds were extremely difficult,' forcing him to crouch still for long periods of time, then sending him dashing through shrubs with camera held high."

Not once did I ever dash through shrubs to chase birds for the video. More like stood still for a long time, and focused. Just as I've done for countless hours for this film. But I guess that doesn't sound quite as exciting.

If I can find them, I will post some of the video clips we shot in college over 30 years ago. We had a blast.