What I Did On My Summer Vacation

     

Kings of the Mountain

This article is about what my son Max did on his summer vacation. It wasn’t really a summer vacation because he was working at an exclusive camp in northern Maine (so exclusive I can’t mention its name). Let’s just say, if your child attends this summer camp, money is no object. Along with all of the usual camp activities including swimming, horseback riding and arts & crafts, this camp also offers classes taught by top-of-their-field sports trainers and professional artists.

     The faculty at Berklee approached Max and asked him to consider taking a position at the camp to teach guitar lessons to campers during the summer. Along with his paycheck, he got room and board as well as use of the campground facilities during his time off. Max never taught classes before, nor had he ever gone camping, so he was happy to try both of them for the first time. I wished he was going to be a little closer to home; the camp was over three hours north, somewhere west of Augusta, Maine. The more I watched the news about the sudden rise in violence in Boston, the better I felt about Max taking his chances with severe weather and wild animals in the great north woods.

     In mid-June, we packed his luggage and musical gear into my Dodge Nitro and headed to the far north. Thanks to my GPS (and my wife’s driving) we arrived safely. Even though the camp facilities were immaculate, I still had reservations about abandoning my son in the middle of nowhere. Everything seemed too perfect, from the politeness of the camp greeters to their perfectly polished good looks. They were all super athletic, with golden blonde hair and gleaming white teeth. And there was Max, with his scruffy goatee and pasty white skin with only his guitar case for protection. As I drove away, I had visions of my son chasing my car down the perfectly groomed dirt road screaming, “Wait! Don’t leave me here!” But that was not the case. In fact, Max’s experience was the exact opposite.

     Max’s weekly telephone calls kept me updated on his progress as he adapted to his foreign surroundings. Although he’s very much a city person, he loved being immersed in something completely different from what he was used to back home.

     He made a lot of friends with the other counselors, even though there still exists a huge dividing line between athletes and artists. Max was able to navigate both worlds comfortably. He quickly bonded with Alan, a 22 year-old neuro-scientist who specializes in ceramic pottery. Like all of Max’s friends, Alan was intelligent, talented and living beyond the rules of classification.

     Time flew because of the camp's busy itinerary. Max taught guitar classes every day as well as working as Camp Counselor to the children assigned to his cabin. When another counselor left on short notice, Max was reassigned from his group of eleven year-olds to managing a group of fifteen year-olds. Although it was quite a challenge, he (and the campers) survived.

     At the end-of-camp Field Day festivities, Max and his fellow art counselors won the First Place trophy in a stunning victory over the shocked Athletic Division. So many close bonds were formed between campers and counselors, and between the counselors themselves. Max’s description of the tearful goodbyes at the bonfire on the last night of camp made me realize what a special experience this was for campers and counselors alike. And I’ve only scratched the surface of the stories I was told. I hope someday Max writes his memoirs of this special summer. It was quite eventful on a personal as well as physical level.

     When Max returned home, he was a much richer person from his two-month camp experience. He discovered he loves to teach. He understands how instructors can shape the lives of young people, much like the musical mentors Max encountered when he was beginning his musical journey. Being a guitar-teaching camp counselor was secondary to what Max learned about being a good person, and how doing the right thing is not always the easiest road to take, but it is the best one. The insight he got from hearing about the lives of these children from elite families who attended the camp was more educational than anything he could learn in school. Max wants to return to the camp next year to help other young musical artists find their career paths. I have a feeling he’s going to learn a lot more about himself as well.

Live Shot

     

Station to Station: The Joe Mullowney story

The recent murders of Virginia television reporter Alison Parker and her cameraperson/videographer Adam Ward affected me more than all the other senseless violence stories currently grabbing headline attention. The images of the murder victims were etched in my mind because of their familiarity. Adam Ward's career so closely paralleled my own son’s life it was uncanny, not to mention the uncanny physical resemblance. I’m still shaken by this story two weeks later.

     My son Joe is the same age as Adam Ward. He is employed at a major Boston television station working as a camera person with reporters on the street. Joe is at the same point in his career as Adam Ward was, a career he loves with all his heart. He loves the art of videography. Nothing brings him more joy than capturing a perfectly lit scene while he films the reporters who bring the world crashing into our living rooms during the nightly news broadcast. The breaking news stories are big and brash, full of bluster and noise, with lots of drama and intensity – kind of like Joe himself.

     Occasionally, Joe sends me photos from inside the news van of himself and his reporters when they are between stories. I love getting a rare glimpse behind the scenes of broadcast television. These photos show happy, smiling faces of people who work hard and love what they do. These photos are identical to the ones I saw posted on the news of Alison Parker and Adam Ward from WDBJ-7 in Virginia. Every snapshot of their young faces broadcast during the murder reports chilled me to the bone. I've seen the same photos before, sent to me by my son working with his own smiling reporters.

     Being fatally shot during a live broadcast makes the story even more grotesque. The time of the murders, 6:45 am, is a time you would least expect anything earth shattering to happen to you. And the location – inside a children’s water park – could not be less threatening. No wonder the television crew's guard was let down before they were gunned down.

     I worried about my son Joe when he graduated college and began his career as a “stringer”, chasing news stories in his beloved Crown Victoria. When his dashboard police scanner beeped, he sped off to the crime scene like a superhero, armed with only a video camera. He was always first to arrive, before the short-staffed local television networks could find an available reporter. He sold his news footage to all the Boston networks. He even contemplated contacting CNN to see if they needed a young roving reporter to do first person war correspondence in Afghanistan or Iraq. I was relieved when a Boston television station offered Joe a full-time job. “At least he’s safe,” I thought. I didn’t know how wrong I was.

     Working in a top ten news market gives Joe inside access to people, places and events the rest of us only experience second hand – from the finish line of the Boston Marathon during the 2013 bombings to President Obama playing golf on Martha’s Vineyard. Sure, there are glamorous assignments at Gillette Stadium and Boston Garden, but there are also tragic stories from inner city neighborhoods and uncovered horrors in picturesque small towns.

     “Do the news stories you cover affect you?” I asked my son.

     “I see these stories through the filter of my camera lens, Dad. It’s just me doing my job.” he responded.

     Good answer, I thought. But it’s a different story when he puts his camera down.

Heroes For Hire

   

First family: Marvel Comic's Fantastic Four

The 2015 Boston Comic Book Convention (or Boston Comic Con for those in the know) arrived in the city last weekend. And with it came the usual (unusual?) collection of dedicated costume wearing individuals who spare neither time nor expense to manufacture dead-on make-up/costume recreations of their favorite fantasy characters. Now that comic book culture has gone mainstream and infiltrated everything from television, movies and toy stores, there is no shortage of dress-up material for these unique individuals who want their inner geek voices heard.
     Along with the cosplay aficionados, there was an array of celebrities making guest appearances. The exalted creator of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, was happily meeting and greeting fans. At age 90 he is inspirational and revered by everyone in attendance. Also appearing were Brett Dalton (CBS's Agents of Shield), Hayley Atwell (Marvel's Agent Carter), Robin Lord Taylor, (Gotham's Penguin), and my personal favorite, Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark).
The center of the crowded convention floor is called Artist's Alley, where many big name artists are sketching commission pieces and signing autographs. I spoke with Annie Wu, artist for the hot new Black Canary series. Her comic book combines super-heroes and rock bands. Annie Wu's unique, edgy art style fits the tone of the book perfectly.
     I spent most of my time speaking with artists, writers and creators from the independent comic book market. These are people who love comic books so much, they spend their own time and money creating and self-publishing their work in an effort to make a living doing what they love. It's endless self-promotion and salesmanship as they try to get their material noticed in a hugely crowded field. With enough perseverance, talent and luck, some of them succeed against insurmountable odds – much like the heroes in their books.
     I have a deep kinship with these writer/artists. These people are born with stories to tell. The excitement in their voices is contagious as they describe their work. Matt Bessette, the creator of the comic book Daemone, Slayer For Hire, told me how his character evolved from the artist's years of attending Catholic school. He was fascinated by stories he learned about angels and demons.
     Equally excited about her work was Kata Kane, writer and artist of a series called Altar Girl. Her unique artwork caught my eye and drew me to her table. Altar Girl looked like a Japanese cartoon version of Archie from Riverdale combined with Sailor Moon from outer space. Kata gave me a brief outline of her story – angels, demons and keys to Heaven and Hell; there seems to be a reoccurring theme in the independent comic book world. Kata got funding for a second volume of her work from donations from fans on Kickstarter.com, where enough money was pledged so the artist could produce her next book. It's nice to see someone succeeding in doing what they love through their own perseverance (another recurring theme in the independent comic book world).
     I left the convention inspired to continue my own work. I've been marketing cartoon ideas for quite sometime. Cartooning is genetic. It's in the blood. Add some sweat and tears and you've got the formula for success. I'm looking forward to attending the convention next year to speak with more of these amazing artists and writers who create impossible dreams out of nothing but a blank sheet of paper and a few strokes of a pen. Don't give up! There's a market for your work. You just have to find it.