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Fourteenth Job of Bob - Park and Rec Part XI - special events, facilitaters of art, Robert Mitchum films in the barrio
This entry was posted on 1/24/2008 9:41 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob.
One of the memorable things I did while I was a supervisor with the City of Dallas Parks was to set up special events. It was one of those tasks that always loomed in the back ground of a job already full of responsibilities. My crew set up modular stages for the mayor; we set up the City Hall Christmas Tree; we set up tables for gatherings; we monitored events as they we in progress like addressing the trash; we built and set up booths for things like the various ethnic, food, and art fests; and, we helped set up athletic events. There seemed to be no end to last minute and annual special events we were summoned to set up at any given time. This, on top of our usual parks' tasks.
Stages were extremely complex to set up. You see, they had to be solid enough to hold many people. The city had a variety of stages. A couple were wheeled clunkers we had to pull around town when needed. One of the most interesting things we did was reassemble a piece of wood artwork that an artist moved around Texas. We were to place it on the slope in front of the Dallas Convention Center. I believe the artist had some clout because we where given quite a bit of latitude in time to build the thing. It was one of those modern menageries that really did not look like anything. I and my whole crew were given letters of appreciation by the Mayor and Park Director. One thing I remember was that we had to drive several trucks out to the boon docks to pick the parts up. They were stored under a tree out in the middle of the prairie.
Around 1985 I got a strange call from City Hall. The worried voice on the other end said she was transferring me to a call from Hollywood. Nothing surprised me after four years of having worked for and in the city that killed Kennedy. I said, "Put'em through."
"Robert Mitchum is making a movie in your Buckner Park area," the polite Hollywood voice said. "Can we dig a hole in your park about two feet deep to put a camera in to film from ground level?" the kind voice continued.
Buckner Park was in a rough neighborhood. It was primarily a Mexican neighborhood and did not enjoy the economic prosperity of the new and revived 1980s economy. We had a continual battle in Buckner Park with vandalism and crime activities. We had to close the restrooms. Few people would rent the ball field because we had to clean the broken class off the infield morning. The ball field lights were continually shot out.
I thought for a second and then said, "Just use one of the existing holes if you want," I said.
The Hollywood voice did not even flinch and said, "Thank you - will do! Goodbye now!
I went over to the park on one of the filming days. Ol' Robert Mitchum sat in a director chair in an entourage of attendants. They used an abandoned gas station for a staging area. I have always regretted not stepping up to him and saying, "How you doing?" The movie was a TV construct called Thompson's Last Run (1986). It also starred Wilford Brimley as an old cop chasing an old safe cracker (Mitchum). My Buckner Park only got a couple seconds in the film.
Stupid pop culture, media-complex, distraction-from-reality story
I am thinking, each day I should jot down the stupidest news story that is foist upon us by the big-media-complex as a distraction from the reality that has become America. So here we go - welcome to today's "Stupid Pop Culture, Media-complex, Distraction-from-reality Story."
Hey everybody, Uncle Sam is planning to give us some cash to buy us off. First it was 800 Bucks, now they have trimmed it to 600 Bucks. It has not even arrived yet and it is already suffering from inflation. Oh, to hell with that depressing shit. Now here is the real damn story. Every wish you could just lash out at "The Man?" A couple in Philly has had enough. Couple protests jet noise with obscene rooftop sign. Now there is some real God damned news!
Wisconsin military service person of the week
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Army Specialist Charles A. Kaufman, 20. Specialist Kaufman was killed when a car bomb detonated near his Humvee in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sunday, June 26, 2005. Charles was in Company C, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, Wisconsin Army National Guard. His unit was from Arcadia, Wisconsin. Kaufman was from Fairchild, Wisconsin. Fairchild is about 30 miles southeast of Eau Claire and has a population of 511. Charles Kaufman was a Humvee driver with the National Guard. His Charlie Company was stationed in Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Kaufman's cousin, Kelly was also in Charlie Company, and the two went through Osseo-Fairchild High School together and graduated in 2003. They had joined the same National Guard unit. Charles Kaufman was the 41st Wisconsin service member to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
3,931 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
475 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
28,938 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1,855 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
85 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
6 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
125 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
14 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; and, icasualties.org.
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