A Miracle and Loss

In the time before I got back behind the wheel of my big rig, I had no intention of working on the movie website. But because of many "coincidences", I ended up overhauling the whole website. 

2 days ago, I woke up with all the usual frustrations- how can I get this done? I'm nobody. I'm a waitress and now a trucker. How can I get to the people who can make this happen? What do I do Lord? I can't do this. Ok, yes, the movie is all over the world by word of mouth. But what about getting it remade as so many people keep telling me to do. I can't do it!

After praying and talking to God, I said ok, I'm going to do what worked when the movie was made in the first place. "Let Go and Let God" (That message was on my phone). I'm going to paint the boat and let it sail so to speak. Feeling a tiny bit better, I got up and as I stepped into the bathroom, a miracle happened. In an instant, I felt God saying, as I was thinking, It's not your (my) movie. Then I thought, "It's not my responsibility." Immediately, I heard Dr. Charles Stanley's voice in my head about a sermon he preached.

He said he was driving to church one day in all kinds of turmoil about all that was happening and suddenly he felt God saying to him, "Charles, it's not your church. It's not your responsibility. It's mine." PHEW! He said he'd never forget that moment. A huge burden was lifted. 

THANK YOU LORD!!! It's not my movie, never has been. I just showed up and did the work. He made it happen. And I had nothing to do with it getting spread all over the world. So I am going to show up and do the work. But I am free! God is in control and I totally knew it then... and FELT IT!

Good thing because yesterday I discovered something "terrible". For over 15 years I have kept all the emails from movie cast members and musicians, waitresses, contacts with many companies, restaurants and organizations, ideas and information I used to help me with the movie. So many folders. Confirmation and verification of facts about the movie. Well, it's all gone. Not there. Deleted forever.

Why? Because I didn't log into my Yahoo account within a year. 

It's happened in the past that I was away from the account. The support person said there must have been a glitch in the system for it to have still been there then. 

But it's all gone now.  Shocked. Sad. Unbelieving. But then it hit me. God is really telling me that I am not responsible. It's His movie. He is in control.

So, I'm putting this story out there because it's the truth. I have no idea of God's plans for me, but I'm not trying to get into the movie industry. I made a movie because I know God called to me, and now I just want to use it to help others. My mission was to get a positive restaurant movie out there and I did.

What's next? I have no idea. But I'm just going to be open and in the meantime live my dream of driving the big rigs. 10-4 good buddy. We gone, ba bye!

World Water Day Tomorrow

It's really always been about restaurants and my love of the industry.

I was looking at old emails the other day and got inspired all over again. Even though I don't get comments on my blogs. I don't have many views on YouTube for either the movie or the trailer, and took my movie off of facebook because I don't have many likes, I still can't seem to give up on getting the movie remade.

Maybe it's because people like it. I know for a fact that hundreds of thousands of people have watched it and then tell their friends to watch it. How else would it have spread all over the world without a stick of advertising or campaigning? Why else would someone put "HOT NEW MOVIE" on a torrent site when it's 5 years old?

Maybe it's because when I do sit and watch it with new friends, we sit around talking about our own restaurant experiences and we relate to the movie on interesting levels and in fun ways.

Maybe because it wasn't my idea in the first place. I know in my heart and will always know that God called me to make it and this is the path of my life. How else could a feature-length movie with over 80 speaking parts, and 26 locations with multiple sets within those locations, ever get made in 25 days by basically one person? It wouldn't. But God provided everything: so it did.

I am currently working in commercials in Vancouver and am amazed at how many people it takes to make a commercial. Granted, the production value is extremely high---not like my movie as the reviews say. But they also say that my movie is sincere and honest and a gem of a story. I believe that is why it's been seen in every country of the world and then some.

So that's why I won't give up. Honestly, sometimes I really want to. My life would make more sense and be less frustrating and difficult. But, when was following your heart and doing what you believe is God's will for your life easy?

Remake 4 Water may no longer be a website, but I will never stop my passion for helping others get water. I am up to 11 wells in Cambodia now and will keep on going until I'm ashes. So although World Water Day STILL isn't on any calendars that I have seen, I will honour it and keep trying to help. 

10 Years later and still growing

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the premier of "Did I Say Thousand Island?" in Breckenridge Colorado. It's a fun movie set in the resort community of Summit County and shows what life is like in  when you work in the restaurant industry.

Movie synopsis:

Have you ever lived in a resort town? Cathy and Meagan do, and they're always having fun in the mountains of Colorado. Rodeos, skiing, sheet pan surfing, camping, horseback riding... you name it. How can they always have so much fun? They work in the restaurant business! But it's not always fun and games. This is real life: people die in avalanche chutes, parents get sick and you move home, and sometimes you darn near slice off a finger cutting peppers for the nice and quiet lady on table 15. But not everyone at table 15 is nice or quiet.

Sometimes you want to smack 'em. Sometimes you bust a button laughing with them. That's the business. Both waitresses are single, in their thirties and have college degrees. But they differ in their views of their chosen careers as well as their life situations. While Maegan's trying to catch life's curve balls, Cathy's enjoying a smooth romance with the handsome newcomer, but she gets nervous as things progress. Can this really work? We'll see. From iced tea to Opus, we re-discover the true meaning of friendships while celebrating the lives of restaurant people.

I have been on a mission to get the movie remade to use it for water awareness, but realize that I just can't make people care about water. Either they do or don't. So I am back to my original passion and that's the restaurant world.  Restaurants, especially in any resort community are a great way to spend your time working and anyone who has done it for any length of time will agree.

After hearing time and time again that I need to remake the movie so more people can see it, I am back on the road to find the right people to remake it. Seeing as it's already been seen all over the world, it has an audience, and that would grow after people see the movie. How do I know this? Because if people are still telling their friends to watch it 10 years later, and it's a no-budget guerrilla shot film, then there must be something about it. These are some of the many comments I get in emails:

"It goes even further than restaurants: not living up to someone else's expectations for your life. It's about doing what you want to do and finding your own happiness."

"Thank you for an enjoyable evening last night and the warm, friendly feeling that lingers when I think about the film."

"... I think your movie is really about finding ways to love your life...finding the heart of whatever you are in, and getting it."


"James Cameron aside, Hollywood seems so afraid of risk these days, always looking to do something that has already proven itself and so we get Home Alone 4. At the same time we see the big stars producing their own films for greater control. I could see your movie being remade by producer / star Sandra Bullock with only a few million of her own dollars invested and being a box office success. If not Sandra Bullock, then one of about 30 other celebrity / actresses." 

So I am back at the beginning again. It was impossible for one person to make a movie like this, but it happened. It's going to take a miracle to make it happen again. But... I have a great relationship with the One who makes miracles happen and I am never going to give up.

For the Love of Restaurants

Years ago in Florida, I was talking to the bartender about our jobs and he said, "Of course, we do it for the money." Gosh, I thought I did it for the fun! Grant it, bartenders can make more than servers in places, but still.

Maybe I am weird (as I have been told), but I loved working in all the restaurants over the years for many reasons. Regardless of what other people thought and think, the restaurant industry is a blast. It offers a fun and flexible life style--allowing you to spend time with family and friends, or activities that are important to you, and decent money at the right places--even great money. And, you can live in a place, while other people save money all year long, just for the chance to spend just 2 weeks in your home town. Pretty great!

When I was changing my Remake 4 Water website, I thought maybe...Remake 4 Money. Seems that money is what makes the world go round, as they say, but I didn't like the sound of that. Especially as money has never been my motivation. (My family and friends can verify that wee fact.)

So I decided while out walking in the cold clear Alberta night, I know!!! Remake 4 Love! Yeah... then people can think whatever they want. Love of what? You fill it in. Restaurants. People. Fun. Movies. Stories. Beautiful scenery. Horses. Romance. Money (for who ever remakes the movie-- that has been seen in every single country in the entire world and many territories and continues to be downloaded hundreds of times a day; it will happen) Whatever the love-- that was it. Love. Because I believe LOVE makes the world go 'round. Money is just a tool.

"It's not just a job, it's a lifestyle". That was the tagline for the movie years ago. It's a fact. Restaurant life is more than a job. Ask your friends or family who work in it and like it. Actually, when I was doing research before doing the movie, 95% of the people I spoke with really liked their jobs. It's such a fallacy that restaurant people hate their jobs and can't wait to find something else-- as all the movies, media and people outside of the biz will happily tell you. Boneheads.

So, because I still believe that the movie is a fun and entertaining coupla hours, as do thousands and thousands of people who must agree with me, seeing that they keep telling their pals about the movie, I will never give up that the right people will find it and remake it for the masses. It's just a fun movie that you will relate to in some way. So why not? Tell your second cousin on your mother's great uncle's daughter's brother's side of the family tree, that a fun movie awaits their talents, resources and savvy to remake a restaurant movie with heart.

Ok, gotta go truckin'! We gone. Bye bye...;-)

Where's The Beef?!

It's comin'. It's comin'. But not on a platter.

Do you remember that slogan? Clara Peller was the cute little ol' lady who shouted it at all of us back in the late 1980's. What a massive ad campaign THAT was. And....it worked. 

At Wendy's, sales jumped 31% to $945 million in 1985 worldwide. Wendy's senior vice president for communications, Denny Lynch, stated at the time that "with Clara we accomplished as much in five weeks as we did in 14½ years."  (Taken from Wikipedia.)

Just as a great ad campaign boosts sales, great movies boost... ah... well... what do great movies boost? There are many answers to that question and I suppose it really depends on the person watching the movie. But regardless of your answer, there is absolutely no doubt that movies and the celebrities that are in them have a huge effect on the lives of people all around the world. And this is exactly why I will never give up on my mission to find the right people to remake my indie movie.

I was thrilled a few weeks ago when I discovered that we have officially been seen all over the world: in every country...196 total, and I wouldn't doubt if there are even more. It's just that 196 is the magic number the United Nations agree is the number of countries on the planet. There are many websites where you can get the movie downloaded for free and when I check on them now and then, it's really cool to see how many people at any given time are getting the movie. It makes me realize how popular the remake will be when it happens. That is, if it's made with the same element that draws people in now. I believe that will happen, and I am not giving up!

So what did I mean by "but not on a platter"? I can't really waitress any more, but am still in the food biz--that is when you consider hauling cattle to be an integral part of the process: albeit not the most pleasant part. I love the driving... I just don't look them in the eye when I drop them off. I do try to give them a comfortable final ride and watched the Temple Grandin movie because I believe in treating animals with respect regardless of their role in my life.

What does this have to do with my movie? Well, given the fact that it takes almost 2000 gallons of water to produce merely 1/2 pound of beef, and there have been unprecedented droughts in some of the beef producing states, maybe we need to take a closer look at how we act concerning our water. If we don't make changes to our behavior, we are in big trouble. My mission is to find the right people to remake my restaurant love story movie and use it to bring awareness and funds to the serious water situation. Water and restaurants are related in more ways than the obvious one and I won't quit trying until I find the right people.

Where's the beef? Hopefully, still on its way........

Where's My Food?!

I just finished a post for Remake 4 Water and it occurred to me that I needed to post here as well, on the same subject: Documentaries.

In the Remake 4 Water blog, I gave stats about their status in the movie going public and as sad as I am about the un-popularity of them, there is one out there at the moment that needs mentioning. "Where's My Food?!" by Lee Godden.

 I watched the trailer and it seemed that he was being very honest and upfront about the restaurant industry-- which is the largest employer in the US, outside of the government, and I think it's the same in any country.

Think about it. In any small town, no matter how small it is, it might not have a bank, a gas station, or a barber, but you can bet it has a restaurant, or at least a cafe where the locals can come for the daily gossip and a cup of coffee. We all go out to eat at some point and restaurants are always a hot topic in blogs or articles and always get a high number of comments, many of them: quite heated.

Which is why I made my movie in the first place: to show waitresses and waiters as the fun and intelligent people they are and that restaurants are a great life! Even though I saw some of the negative aspects in Lee's trailer and yes of course they are there in life (and his is a doc after all), but I was so tired of movies focusing on them and portraying us as total losers, all the time. "Waiting" is a great example of that negativity and I have to say how thrilled I was to see the absurditiy of it. Again, yes I know there is a negative side, but do we have to focus on it? I had a great career in restaurants and ask Paul Paz about his.

Paul runs Waiter's World and is still loving being a fabulous waiter in Oregon. He is in "Where's My Food?!" and talks about his life in restaurants. So my message was about respect and treatment of people in the business and I hope that in the end, Lee's movie does the same, maybe with a different slant. But now I am going to use my movie for another reason, hence Remake 4 Water. Still a narrative feature length movie, but with another message incorporated into it, and that brings me again to the point I have been saying all along.

There's a message that has to get out to people, and no matter how many great and wonderful documentaries there are (and there are many about water and how it's crucial that we change our relationship with it), people don't hear the message! But if we incorporate it with a fun movie and make it entertaining, they will start to hear. But why "Did I Say Thousand Island?" ? Because restaurants can't operate without water, everyone goes out to eat and the movie has already been seen all over the world, which is amazing for a "no-budget-no-name-non-marketed" movie!

Coincidentally (nothing with God is a coincidence), a Calgary based production company, Nomadic Pictures is shooting here in High River, so I went down there to see whom I could talk to about R4W. I ended up meeting a cool guy named Zoltan Barabas--(cool name too eh?) who understood my reality about "Did I Say Thousand Island?" and how I am not a filmmaker...nor do I want to be. I am a waitress-- well now I am a trucker, but anyway, I told him my story, gave him the movie and he said he would pass it on.

I really hope that Lee's movie does well for him, and I think it would help people understand some things about the restaurant industry and its people, but also that it will give credibility to my opinion that restaurants are a popular topic-- from both sides of the table. I know that "Did I Say Thousand Island?", when it is remade by those in the biz, will be a hit, and I am not giving up.

But in the meantime, check out Lee's movie and support his efforts! Peace out from the Great White North... and Happy Valentine's Day too! ;-)

For The Record

Blogging used to be a simple way to share thoughts with others. It's escalated into so much more but I never caught on so back to basics and sharing thoughts just for the record.
 
Water. Always been my thing. Always been on water patrol everywhere I went.

Waitressing. Loved it all my life. Yup, got the university degree, and from a great school by the way, but stayed out of the corporate world. Just didn't fit my life (and I'm not alone).

Movies. Fun to watch, but never wanted to be in the biz. Still don't and won't ever be.

Why these three things? No idea. Just the way it happened. Now my mission has to do with all three.

You know? I just want to help servers to be seen in a way that isn't degrading. I want to tell the public in a nice way, that they might want to consider changing their opinions about servers. (AND I heard it again on Friday night) "People are waitresses because they can't do anything else."  Really? But I loved my job and made good money, even though I always hated filling out my tax forms and wished I didn't have to put "waitress" as my job. I hate to admit it that I allowed others to influence my feelings, but I always felt inferior, and I'm not alone it that either. "A real job"? Tried them. Made less money. Had more stress. Had less fun. I was miserable. Sure if I stuck to them for years I would have made more money, but it was never that important to me. My freedom and quality of life has always been worth more. Call me crazy that's fine with me--always have been, but it's kept me from goin' insane. Sing it Waylon!

I want to help people know that water is a concern that has to be addressed. We really can't waste much more time on this fact. So how do we address it? Stars! With stars! Not the kind that twinkle, the kind that billions of people have to know what they do. The kind that everyone wants to follow, copy or be associated with. If you put a Hollywood star and a Nobel Peace Prize winner in the same room. Who do you think will get the most attention? Who draws the crowds?

So remake a movie that has already been seen all over the world. Put together a soundtrack that has music that crosses generations (which is easy to do these days), and open it on World Water Day or during World Water Week and get money for water orgs. After that, everyone can make their money.

I haven't written this down, but have told some people: when I got back from Ireland where I lived while I was writing the script, I happened to watch "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when it was released on DVD. I ended up watching it twice in a row-- listening to the commentary the second time. I had 4 pages of notes. Nia and I were thinking and feeling the same things when we were writing our respective movie and how we hoped people would feel when they watched it! I was amazed and very happy at the time. I was on the right track, and now I know my movie hits a nerve--in a good way.

Is it crazy to think that any good clean movies, fund raising events (outside of politics) or generous group actions can come out of Hollywood anymore? I don't think so. Despite what so many people on the street say, I think there are a lot of good people there who are getting involved in social issues even more in innovative ways. Use up and coming stars. Use interns and film schools to supply the crew. Use the companies that are water conscious for product placement. Use existing music from musicians who care about water. Have the CD sales go to water. Advertize who is involved and showcase their generosity and concern. We seem to do it with all the bad, why not with some good for a change?

My friend cautioned me as what to write here in this blog, but I just want to shout: IT'S SO EASY, THIS WOULD HELP! IT CAN BE DONE! I ALREADY HAVE AN AUDIENCE! As a Hollywood movie this would be popular. It already is. Here's an idea. We already have: get this free action toy at _________when you buy a ________. Some plastic thing that is played with for a day and ends up in a land fill. Let's try: get this refillable water bottle at ___________ when you buy a  large salad  (promoting healthy eating while we're at it) during opening week. Let's use social media to promote and not spend millions on advertising. Word of mouth works we all know that! There are loads of ideas and ways to make this happen that would benefit so many people.

Being raised in the burbs of Chicago but born on a farm, my dream was always to live in a cabin in the mountains and have a horse. Well I've had that for years so I have to default to one of my other dreams. That was: to do something big that would help a lot of people. Never had a clue how, what or if that was even possible. Well it is and this is it. So crazy as it might be, I will persist. There will be someone who discovers Remake 4 Water and says, hey, she might have something there.

Horses and Chimpanzees

The average age of the crowd that went to see War Horse last Tuesday was surprising. Maybe it was the day of the week, maybe the time of year, I don't know. But I would say the average age was over 40.

When I premiered "Did I Say Thousand Island?" in Colorado, people of all ages came to see it, but I have been surprised over time that I get the most emails from middle aged folks who say they enjoyed the movie. One of the largest demographic today is women over 35, and that bodes well for a remake of this restaurant movie. Aren't most servers female? Yes. Which brings me to another interesting fact. Two of the most popular offerings the public has had about the restaurant industry in recent years have been written by men who have spent only 10 years in the industry in one city. I'm talking about the book Waiter Rant and the movie Waiting.

I thought Waiter Rant was very well written, and the content was, I am assuming, true for a New Yorker who is a waiter by default, but it certainly isn't true across the board. Too much research that I did when I was making my movie just disagrees. Many waitresses and waiters actually do enjoy their job, and I can bet more would if it was considered to be a "real job".

"Did I Say Thousand Island?" shows servers as the fun and smart people they are and as I have been told many times, is a realistic portrayal of the restaurant industry. That must be why it's been downloaded over 55,000 times in 183 countries so far. For a no-name movie made by basically one person (with awesome help  from friends) that's pretty good. Here's a link to the latest press release talking about the new project going on with the movie concerning water.

Why did I put chimpanzees at the top? When I saw War Horse, one of the ads at the beginning was for Chimpanzee, a documentary/story about a wee monkey, and if you go and see it during the opening week, Disney will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Jane Goodall Institute. That's the exact idea I have been proposing with Remake 4 Water for a long time, so see? It can be done. The difference is that my movie isn't mostly a documentary, it's a story. It's a story about everyone--everyone goes out to eat. Remake 4 Water...c'mon. Let's Do It!

Returning to "My Community"

After returning home from my 6 week trip down east as they say here in Canada, I have come to realize something. I've been concentrating so hard on the "water" aspect of this mission, that the other part of my heart of this mission has fallen by the way side.

It occurred to me this morning as I was throwing away the brochure from a restaurant that I went to in Maine. I had intended to give them feedback from our visit (and it wasn't exactly positive) but decided not to, as it wasn't positive. But then I thought WAIT, if I do it in a kind way, it might actually help them. How can they fix a problem if they don't even know it exists? Then it hit me how no matter how much time I spend away from waitressing, I will never lose the love I have for the job and freedom based lifestyle, the people and the desire to do something about the negative attitudes and stereotypes that remain. Maybe it's a losing battle, but if you don't try, how can things change?

Whenever there's an article relating to anything in the restaurant business, it always receives so many comments. Why? People usually have an opinion because it might have happened to them, or they just want to be heard. Or maybe because the restaurant biz is the largest private employer in the US and probably world.  That's why I am working to get my movie remade so it's seen by more people. I had so many emails saying that it "should get out there more so people see it".

Now after attending the International Water Forum at the UN in September, I know I'm on the right track. What was the biggest issue with the Global Water Crisis? AWARENESS!! That's right. People just don't know there are water troubles. So by combining a "fun and engaging" (quoting a viewer) and realistic movie about restaurant life with the subject of water (which a restaurant can't run without), we can get the messages out! We're not stupid people in the business, and wouldn't you love that cranky and demanding customer to hear that! It's in the movie. That, and a lot of other messages. Do you really like doing separate checks when the people are all over the place!? It's in the movie too...

Why do people think we spit in their food? It's in the movies. Why do they think we hate our jobs? It's in the movies. Why do they think we're stupid and are total losers? It's in the movies. It's about time there's a movie that tells them the way it really is. By the way, we just added another country: people in 182 countries have seen the movie and it's growing everyday! Not bad for a 5 year old nobody movie made by a waitress. C'mon. Let's Do It! www.remake4water.org

Waiters

Am I missing something? I don't get it. I can't say for sure because I'm not in their shoes. I can only say what I know from experience, but I just don't get it.

Last night I started reading "Waiter Rant". Some friends had given it to me a while ago and I have just now picked it up. Everything in its time. I was immediately zapped back to the opening minutes of "Waiting".

My immediate feeling is that Steve and Rob share the same opinion about the restaurant business. Why did they both feel the need to open their book and movie with the subject of sex? Specifically involving the utensil they both have that I don't. Obviously they were setting a tone for their work and I don't get it.

Did I coincidentally find, in all my 25 years plus of waitressing, places of employment where the waiters actually liked their job and respected their co-workers: both male and female? Did I just happen to get jobs at places where vulgar language and crude behavior were absent? Did I find the only restaurant environments where we swore and joked around, but we still had respect for each other even if it was only for a season or a year? Did people suddenly change all their language and behavior when I walked around the corner and came within earshot or eyesight? Somehow I find all that hard to believe. Ok, before you start swearing at me saying how I am 'full of shit', I will briefly tell you about a couple of the places where I worked.

The restaurant where I worked for 15 years was probably filled with the most colorful characters. Of course there were sexual innuendos flying all over the place, that's normal. That's the biz. It's not like the corporate world. You know that! Guys are always saying things... You know, like when you bend down to pick something up, and one of those guys are there and they say, "While you're down there." Or one time I had a chef say how he wanted to take my long braids and thread them through his belt hoops. It was all in good fun--whether he was serious or not, and he didn't actually say "Hey Patti how about you and I go out back and you give me a blow job". See the difference? Maybe you do and maybe you don't. But I do and it has to do with respect. Sure you have the underlying subject of sex running rampant all night long--it usually is, but we weren't vulgar about it. AND it wasn't the focus of our time there, we're busy working hard!

I didn't get far last night because I was thinking, "oh no not again". I'm going to have to read the book (research) and actually, I think it will be entertaining and fun in a way, but it will be going overboard with certain issues because it sells. "Waiting" was filled with unrealistic situations about sex that I have never seen nor heard about. I know the movie was very popular with the 18-22 year old boys, and maybe that's what they do. I'm not a boy, so I don't know about the obsession with their equipment. When I was at the theater watching "Waiting", with in the first 5 minutes, a middle aged couple walked out. I really wished I could have joined them--research kept me there. It was tough. I will say however that there were a couple of realistic scenes about what goes on in the back of the house, but only a couple and they didn't have to do with food, but rather with actions of the waitstaff and the "acting out front" that goes on in the throes of frustration.

"Waiter Rant" was a popular book and I am pretty sure I will say "oh yeah, that DOES happen" to many parts, but all the sex at work? (If it's in there--again, I didn't get far.) I'm not saying it NEVER happens, of course it does, and no I'm not a prude, believe me I'm not, but I never ran to the walkin or to a bathroom stall to have sex in the middle of a shift like in "Waiting", and I don't know anyone who has. You wait until AFTER the shift for crying out loud! What's wrong with you guys!

The back of Steve's book says and I quote, "and ways to ensure that your waiter won't spit in your food." Seriously? In all the hundreds of years of combined service when I interviewed servers for my movie, about 99% said they never had, never seen and never would, spit in someone's food. I was told about one waiter who was fired because he joked about it. FIRED! Joked about it! So all this stuff about spitting, is in the movies and in the minds of waiters turned writers. Waiters who respect their jobs and their bosses (maybe that's harder to find with some of the managers around), would not spit or worse in someone's food. Besides, they'd have to hang around and wait to watch the person eat. What do they gain and who has time for that? Yes I can hear it now from that miniscule percentage of people who actually have tampered with someone's food, how I'm the idiot and don't know what real servers do. Well, sorry but you're wrong. Have you done the research I've done? Have you worked for over 25 years in the industry and never seen anything remotely like that?

My experience is that restaurant people have more integrity and self respect than that! I worked at one restaurant in Wisconsin where even the 'F' word was never heard. One time in a panic, I let it fly and did I ever get in trouble. I was surprised to be honest, because it kinda is an accepted word in the fast furious and stressful world of serving. It just kinda happens. Nothing is meant by it usually-- just a reflex.

Yes this post is probably charged a bit more with emotion that I usually am, but I am so tired of people portraying servers as crude and lewd people. And when it's done by those in the industry just to sell their stuff, well.... Yeah yeah I know, there are people like that in the industry-- of course there are, but do you have to start out like that to set that same negative tone that those of us who actually like the industry are trying so hard to fight? C'mon guys. Or maybe it's just a guy thing. You know, I'm going to call some of my former co-workers and ask them some questions. I know they'll be honest, they have nothing to gain. And you know? I really don't care if I get any rebuttals that I am way off. At least I'll know that someone is reading this! Peace out...

Project Remake News

I have been away, but I'm back. My job in the oil patch is on hold for a while, so I am working on Project Remake. You can find out more about PR if you click on its button on the home page. My goal is to have something in place by March 22 which is World Water Day. I am waiting to hear from Water For People which is based in Denver, Colorado. They do great work and I am asking simply for an endorsement for the project. My proposal has been forwarded to their marketing company in New York city, so I look at that as a good sign. But regardless of their decision, I will march forward.

My friend Paul Paz of Waiter's World suggested that I make a short video about the project, so I did and it's on You Tube. I need to find the right people who believe that this is a good idea and that it will help others as I sincerely believe it will.



Great events happening all around us, signs that people are doing things to help others get water. Katie Spotz rowed across the Atlantic to raise awareness for water through WaterAid International (and by the way is the first woman to do so!). Right now there are 4 British men who are going across on a raft! "An-Tiki" is the name of their raft--funny as they aren't exactly 22 years old like Katie! Matt Damon and Gary White who co-founded Water.org are also making headway in the fight, and Matt's brother Kyle is using his passion for athletics to help and very recently founded TeamWater.org. These are just a couple of examples, but the time is right for many reasons. Do you know about the MDG? No, not MGD for us restaurant people, MDG! They are the Millennium Development Goals. One of them is to end world poverty by 2015, and water has a lot to do with that! Do a Google search and you will find loads of info about it.

I will keep spreading the word and finding out about the wonderful movements going on to help fight the Global Water Crisis. In the meantime, if you are reading this, go to our home page and click on the Facebook and Twitter links to follow us. As things happen I will let people know. Thanks for reading this. C'mon, Let's Do It!!!

Project Remake

Greetings from Alberta!

It's beautiful as you can see and we are loving the winter. Jimmy really loves to race around in the snow! We are settled and I am meeting more and more people. I will get right to it. Looking at the last blog, and seeing the stats from Mininova makes me excited! Here are today's stats: 39,458 from 172 countries. It's been gaining momentum and with the new project, it will gain even more.

As many people know. I lived without water for 13 of the last 16 years, so water has always been an important issue for me. Back in the spring, an idea popped into my head and as much as I resisted it, I am now fully committed to it. Here I go again! I have no idea how or when, but my mission is to get the movie re-made with stars, and have profits go to non-profit organizations that fight the Global Water Crisis.

Restaurants depend very heavily on water and I believe it's a perfect fit. Look into Peter Wentz and the UNICEF "Tap Water Project". I also believe there are issues in the world today that are being addressed, and being more benevolent to our fellow human being is one of them. From the research I've been doing, the time is right for a "benefit movie" and I am going to see this through even if I have gray hair and glasses when it happens! From what I am seeing with both the decrease in giving because of the hard times that abound around the world (oh I am sad about my dear Ireland) and the movement about treatment to servers (go to "I'm your server, not your servant" on Facebook) I know the time is NOW! What a concept. Go to a movie--something you already do- and help fellow human beings without dipping into your pocket for additional giving.

That's it for today. OK. Let's do it!