Doing What You Love

 

My dad always said that if you can find something that you love to do, you’ll never need to retire.  That happened to me last year.  I sold my software company and started a new career in writing.  It wasn’t really “new” since I wrote technical manuals, computer help guides, and magazine articles over the years for work – but now….I could write whatever I liked.

I tried to have a writing “job” two decades ago and completed UCLA’s screenwriting and advanced screenwriting program.  I wrote a dozen screenplays and got my first gig of writing a screenplay for an animation studio and my first check of $1200.  Wow!  But then, financial worries crept up, and I had to abandon that dream of being a writer and take on some pretty hefty responsibilities.

One of my first screenplays was based on a woman I met at an assisted living center, Lily.  At 86, she joked that she was “in God’s waiting room,” and often told me that she was ready to die.  I would see her weekly when I would help the elderly send and receive emails from their families.  It was a volunteer program that we developed called Web on Wheels.  I would set up my computer in the activity room and envied the residents with so much time on their hands to do crafts, play bingo, and even learn to dance!

Time for Lily was a First-Round Finalist in Script Magazine Open Door Contest back in 2000 – 23 years ago.  I’ve rewritten it 19 times – including the most recent one after getting coverage.  Now, I think it is finally close to being “screen-ready,” and I’m submitting it again to various contests. If you’d like to read it, here is the link.  https://sandijerome.com/free/TimeforLilyComedyRW.pdf

The real Lily that inspired me died in 2006 at 92, and now I’m closer to Lily’s age when we first met, than to the “young” character, Megan, on who I based my hectic life.  But today, I am truly doing what I love – writing.

I recently met someone who appears to also be doing what he loves.  The Festival of the Arts at Disney’s Epcot is my least favorite festival – with the Food and Garden being my first choice.  At the arts festival, the food is often “deconstructed,” – but this year, they had a hummingbird cake and soft-shell crab – that were amazing.  Along with not being big foodie lovers of elevated cuisine, we also don’t appreciate fine art that much.  But we’re huge fans of Grogu, and The Mandalorian and this print caught Keith’s eye.  We bought it for $89 – which after our annual passholder discount and tax, was $85.  Then, the Disney cast member told us that the artist was back in Germany at the Thomas Kinkade booth and would sign our print.

Well…that was quite a signing.  Not only did I get it signed, but I got to pick out what was on the back and I picked Yoda.  It was also a special treat for the artist Dirk Wunderlich to explain to me why Grogu cannot be Yoda as a baby.  Dirk is about seven years older than me and is a Thomas Kinkade legacy artist who has done images and logos for Disney.  We talked about my ties to Anaheim (my great-grandmother once owned orange groves where Disneyland now stands) and my hometown of Escondido and why I now live in Clermont – at 300 feet.  He has selected a home in Northern California at 400 feet! We’re both trying to avoid death by earthquakes or hurricanes/global warming floods.

I would imagine, at about 75 years old, that Dirk can live anywhere or do anything, but he spends long days at Epcot, drawing on the back of his prints – for free – and talking to people like me.  He appears to truly be truly doing what he loves and will probably never retire.

Visit my website at sandijerome.com to read my screenplays or books - or if you want to buy a book, there are pictures and links on my website. I hope you are doing what you love!

Here's a link to my YouTube about my visit with Dirk Wunderlich at Epcot - https://youtu.be/oeq9eSz-yos