I know that many people have Hurricane Hugo stories. This one is mine. It was September, 1989. I was working at the downtown Belk store. The word had come to us that a storm was coming toward the SC coast. Usually, when hurricanes hit the coast, they dissipate before they get inland. This one didn't. It hit Charleston with great force. Many of my cousins who lived there lost homes or at least had severe damage. My uncle was a doctor on Sullivan's Island, and his office was spared the worst damage, so the National Guard used it as their base of operations.
We heard the storm was moving up I-26 toward Columbia. It wasn't losing much of its power. Another store employee went with me to the roof of the store. I really didn't know one could go up there, but we found a door. We watched as the dark clouds started rolling in toward the city. It was determined that the store should close early to allow employees to get home. I was living with my parents at their house, as I was their primary caregiver.
The storm hit us around 11pm and roared all night. I stayed up, as it was too loud to sleep. I kept running around the inside of our house. As the limbs were hitting the roof, I just knew that a tree would follow. Our house was surrounded by large pine trees. The wind grew stronger. I found myself in a cement storage room near our den. It was the safest place in the house. I couldn't see outside, as we had lost power and everything was dark. It was the sounds that were so frightening. The unknown. I could hear trees falling. It was horrible. My parents slept through it.
The next morning, we went outside to survey the damage. Every house on our block lost a tree except us. I can't explain why. Our trees were just as big as others had. We had a lot of debris in the yards and on the street. Despite the fact that no one had power, I felt I needed to go to work. I drove down Forest Drive and had to dodge fallen trees and debris. I got downtown, and it was dark. No power anywhere. When I got to the store, I found that the store manager and I were the only two that had made it in. We sat in the Plantation Room, which was an in-store restaurant. There was some fear of looting, so we positioned ourselves at the door to the restaurant. The manager had a gun, in case we were overrun, but thankfully he didn't need to use it. He put me in charge of answering the phone for both customers and employees to call in to see if we were open. He went looking for any food that we could eat. He found some bread and ham. We opened the restaurant to the homeless to get something to eat. We were busy all day. I answered questions from folks calling the store, and the manager walked around making sure the store was secure. We both left around 6pm before it got dark.
After the storm, I found my camping skills came in handy. It was also a time for the neighborhood to come together toward a common goal. We went to sleep, when it got dark, and we awoke, when it got light. One of our neighbors had a generator. We gathered up all of the extension cords we could find and ran them up and down the street so that people could use their refrigerators or stoves, however briefly. We worked out a schedule for when each one could cook. We had community meals. We were without power for 10 days.
Slowly, the city got back to normal. Their was price gouging for ice. They said Charlotte lost so many trees that they could be stacked six feet high, and the pile would go from Charlotte to Phoenix AZ. About a week after the storm, I drove down to Charleston. I couldn't believe the devastation I saw on I-26. Trees snapped in half. Charleston was a virtual ghost town. I did see a lot of folks outside trying to rebuild. About a year later, I was again down in Charleston. I was taking the Gray Line tour. The tour guide wanted to talk about the history of the city. Some tourists wanted to just ask about Hugo. I could tell the guide didn't want to address it. I asked him after the tour if he got those questions a lot. He said that was all the tourists wanted to know about the city.
For many years after Hugo, I got very nervous and anxious when I would hear a strong wind come up. I am a little better now, but strong wind still makes me wary. I guess I have PTSD regarding strong winds. I had been in hurricanes before. In fact, my earliest childhood memory was a hurricane. I was 2, and my family was staying in Biloxi for that weekend. I knew about hurricanes, but Hugo was different. I hope I never have to deal with something like that again.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Friday, July 20, 2018
DC & OK
One thing that I treasure about life is the people who become a part of it, however briefly. The impact that one has on another's life can be known or unknown. Such is the case with two people I came in contact with.
While at Belk, a part-time employee came to our security department. Her name was Meredith Thompson, but everybody called her "DC". She liked it pronounced "Di-See". She had played on the women's basketball team at USC, and she had majored in criminal justice. She was from the Washington, DC area. After graduation, DC wanted to work in the federal ranks of justice. We had a conversation one night about maybe her wanting to work for the DEA. She wanted to be where the action was, and she said she wanted to shoot an uzi. We talked about the danger, but her goal was to make a difference with drug enforcement, and she really wanted to serve in Miami. I told her to follow her dreams. So, she did. She joined the DEA and eventually was transferred to the Miami office. In 1994, she was assigned to go on a fact-finding mission to fly over suspected drug fields in Peru. The plane also carried some CIA folks. Under mysterious circumstances, the plane crashed and all were killed. I mourned DC's death. She probably would have gone into the DEA without my encouragement, but I have often wondered if she would have done it, or at least thought twice about it, had the conversation been different. I can't get into what I found out about the circumstances of the plane crash, but needless to say it was unfortunate.
So was another encounter. I met Bob Westbury at First Baptist in Columbia. He worked for the Federal Government in the Department of Defense. Bob was living in Columbia with his wife. He had family here. He had an opportunity to transfer to another state and receive a promotion. He was near retirement and wanted to retire with a bigger paycheck. He and I would talk about him moving to this new state. I had lived near there at one time and knew a lot about the weather and the people there. His promotion would be the Special Agent in Charge for the Department of Defense and Investigative Services. His new assignment was in Oklahoma City. I told him that he should think about the future of his family, and he and his wife moved to Oklahoma. In 1995, Bob was one of those killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. Bob had been on the fence about moving. He made the decision to move. What if I had told him not to go?
I live in a world of "what ifs". There is a little guilt in me for both DC and Bob. Neither one knew what was coming their way in life. Most of us don't either. I am glad though that they thought I was wise enough to be consulted about their future hopes and dreams.
While at Belk, a part-time employee came to our security department. Her name was Meredith Thompson, but everybody called her "DC". She liked it pronounced "Di-See". She had played on the women's basketball team at USC, and she had majored in criminal justice. She was from the Washington, DC area. After graduation, DC wanted to work in the federal ranks of justice. We had a conversation one night about maybe her wanting to work for the DEA. She wanted to be where the action was, and she said she wanted to shoot an uzi. We talked about the danger, but her goal was to make a difference with drug enforcement, and she really wanted to serve in Miami. I told her to follow her dreams. So, she did. She joined the DEA and eventually was transferred to the Miami office. In 1994, she was assigned to go on a fact-finding mission to fly over suspected drug fields in Peru. The plane also carried some CIA folks. Under mysterious circumstances, the plane crashed and all were killed. I mourned DC's death. She probably would have gone into the DEA without my encouragement, but I have often wondered if she would have done it, or at least thought twice about it, had the conversation been different. I can't get into what I found out about the circumstances of the plane crash, but needless to say it was unfortunate.
So was another encounter. I met Bob Westbury at First Baptist in Columbia. He worked for the Federal Government in the Department of Defense. Bob was living in Columbia with his wife. He had family here. He had an opportunity to transfer to another state and receive a promotion. He was near retirement and wanted to retire with a bigger paycheck. He and I would talk about him moving to this new state. I had lived near there at one time and knew a lot about the weather and the people there. His promotion would be the Special Agent in Charge for the Department of Defense and Investigative Services. His new assignment was in Oklahoma City. I told him that he should think about the future of his family, and he and his wife moved to Oklahoma. In 1995, Bob was one of those killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. Bob had been on the fence about moving. He made the decision to move. What if I had told him not to go?
I live in a world of "what ifs". There is a little guilt in me for both DC and Bob. Neither one knew what was coming their way in life. Most of us don't either. I am glad though that they thought I was wise enough to be consulted about their future hopes and dreams.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Chattahoochee
As I was going to lunch one day in Columbia Mall, a man stopped me and asked me if I wanted to be in a movie. You never know about such things, but his name was Charlie Petersen, and he was looking for extras in a film being made in Columbia down at the Bull Street Mental Hospital, so I felt it was legit. I told him I had been in two films in the past, as well as some TV, so I was hired. I went back to the store and told the manager about this opportunity. He allowed me to go, as long as I would mention that I worked for Belk, and I could work some nights to make up my time.
It was just before Thanksgiving 1988, when the filming was to take place. The movie was called "Chattahoochee". The story was about the abuse that mental patients had during the 1950's in Florida, and two people who took on the system that changed the way people were treated. It was a true story. The film starred Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Frances McDormand, Pamela Reed, M. Emmet Walsh, Matt Craven, and others.
When I showed up the first day, I fitted with denim overalls. They wanted me to bring black work boots, but I didn't have any, so I wore brown shoes. They didn't really notice the difference until the last day of shooting. When I got to hair and makeup, the hair guy asked me if I wanted them to shave my head. I really didn't, but he told me that if I wanted to be in the movie, then they would have to do it, so I said okay. They left a little hair but not much. I was to be a mental patient in the movie. I was one of several. After the first day, the casting folks said that they were going to put me in a special group of 5 extras called "The Looneys". I was "Looney #4". Our job was to make sounds and act like we couldn't help ourselves. In the film, there were three groups: The Criminals who had done some horrific crimes that put them in the hospital; The Crazies who could do for themselves; and The Looneys who had no concept of what they were doing. This made the shoot much more fun for me.
The first day had us filming one of the last scenes of the movie. I couldn't wear my glasses during the scenes, so I looked down a lot. It kind of fit into my character. The next scene filmed was walking down a steam corridor toward the cafeteria. We were told not to talk to Gary Oldman, because he was concentrating on his Southern accent, and we were not to throw him off. I had been walking next to him during this scene. Over the course of the shooting that day, we had a little break. He turned to me and asked me my name. I told him. He then asked me about the South. What was it like? He used me for his research. The director, Mick Jackson, saw me talking with Gary and wanted me throw off the set. Gary stood up for me, and they allowed me to continue working. Gary and I became good friends on the set, and I gave him pointers on how to walk and talk. He also had a dialogue coach on the set. I could see how great an actor Gary Oldman was. I'm glad he finally won an Oscar in 2018.
Another scene we shot was us walking down a walkway behind Gary and Dennis. I told the guy behind me that I was having trouble seeing, so he put his hand on my shoulder and guided me. It took a while to film that scene, so we are walking around and around them several times. I was actually in ten scenes during the movie, but only three I am identifiable.
My favorite scene was the lunch scene. As a Looney, my job was to play with my food and be hit in the back of the head by another patient with some grits. After each take, I would be taken outside and hosed off before going back in and doing it again. One of my talents has been to do the same thing over and over again to avoid any bloopers. By the end of the takes, the grits had gotten harder, but I just took it. They didn't actually use that part in the final cut of the movie. However, there was a lot of downtime during that scene. I was standing next to Dennis Hopper, as we waited for the next camera setup. Dennis turned to me and asked me if I knew anything about Charleston. He had a couple of days off coming up and wanted to go down there and look around. He said he especially wanted to look at the historical stuff, so I told him about the Market, the Battery, and Patriot's Point. Two years later, he directed a film called "Chasers", and all of the places I had told him about were in his movie. I felt like I helped him with locations. Also, while we were standing around, another guy came up to Dennis and asked him if he had been to the State Museum. Dennis said no, and that after shooting, he would go back to his hotel and watch ESPN. Dennis then turned back to me, and we talked more about Charleston. He was a nice guy.
In the afternoons, Emmet Walsh would hold court with some of us telling stories about all of the movies he had been on, and then we would tell jokes. Most of them were pretty raunchy, but it was a good time after the intense scenes shot. For lunch, the principals would eat separately from everyone else. One of the guys in our group owned D's Wings in Cayce. So, after one day of sandwiches, he called his restaurant, and they delivered food to us. The principals heard about how good we were eating and later came over and joined us. I was offered $1000 to show my naked butt in a shower scene, but I declined. I didn't think that Belk would be too pleased to have their Credit Manager nude in the movie. The owner of D's Wings took the money. They didn't have him in the final cut. If only I had known...
The one real problem on the set was the cold. It was November, and we were outside much of the time. It was set in Florida, so we wore short sleeve shirts. They gave us blankets between takes. The other problem for me was one of a personal nature. Not to be gross, but I was plagued by hemorrhoids during this time. If you see me walking kind of slow, or if I have a pained look on my face, that's why. What an actor needs to put up with for the show to go on.
The movie was released in 1989. Besides the scene of me being hit in the back of the head with grits being cut, there was also another one. It was a scene where Gary and Dennis plan a bank robbery outside of the hospital. I was in that scene. In the final cut of the film, that scene was in there, when they played the movie at the Toronto Film Festival. Some viewers thought the film ran long with that scene in it, so the film was taken back to the editor, and that section was cut out. I asked Hemdale if they had an uncut version of the film that was shown in Toronto, but they said no. I would like to see that if anyone has the bank robbery scene from "Chattahoochee". I have to say that of the four major films I have done, "Chattahoochee" was the most fun. It was grueling, but I got to be around some greats in the movies. And, just as a bit of trivia, Gary Oldman and Frances McDormand both won Oscars in 2018 as Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. They were both in "Chattahoochee" early in their careers. I didn't work with Frances, but I must say that I don't know too many people who were in a movie with the Best Actor and Best Actress in an earlier film. And, it took 6 months for my hair to grow back out.
It was just before Thanksgiving 1988, when the filming was to take place. The movie was called "Chattahoochee". The story was about the abuse that mental patients had during the 1950's in Florida, and two people who took on the system that changed the way people were treated. It was a true story. The film starred Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Frances McDormand, Pamela Reed, M. Emmet Walsh, Matt Craven, and others.
When I showed up the first day, I fitted with denim overalls. They wanted me to bring black work boots, but I didn't have any, so I wore brown shoes. They didn't really notice the difference until the last day of shooting. When I got to hair and makeup, the hair guy asked me if I wanted them to shave my head. I really didn't, but he told me that if I wanted to be in the movie, then they would have to do it, so I said okay. They left a little hair but not much. I was to be a mental patient in the movie. I was one of several. After the first day, the casting folks said that they were going to put me in a special group of 5 extras called "The Looneys". I was "Looney #4". Our job was to make sounds and act like we couldn't help ourselves. In the film, there were three groups: The Criminals who had done some horrific crimes that put them in the hospital; The Crazies who could do for themselves; and The Looneys who had no concept of what they were doing. This made the shoot much more fun for me.
The first day had us filming one of the last scenes of the movie. I couldn't wear my glasses during the scenes, so I looked down a lot. It kind of fit into my character. The next scene filmed was walking down a steam corridor toward the cafeteria. We were told not to talk to Gary Oldman, because he was concentrating on his Southern accent, and we were not to throw him off. I had been walking next to him during this scene. Over the course of the shooting that day, we had a little break. He turned to me and asked me my name. I told him. He then asked me about the South. What was it like? He used me for his research. The director, Mick Jackson, saw me talking with Gary and wanted me throw off the set. Gary stood up for me, and they allowed me to continue working. Gary and I became good friends on the set, and I gave him pointers on how to walk and talk. He also had a dialogue coach on the set. I could see how great an actor Gary Oldman was. I'm glad he finally won an Oscar in 2018.
Another scene we shot was us walking down a walkway behind Gary and Dennis. I told the guy behind me that I was having trouble seeing, so he put his hand on my shoulder and guided me. It took a while to film that scene, so we are walking around and around them several times. I was actually in ten scenes during the movie, but only three I am identifiable.
My favorite scene was the lunch scene. As a Looney, my job was to play with my food and be hit in the back of the head by another patient with some grits. After each take, I would be taken outside and hosed off before going back in and doing it again. One of my talents has been to do the same thing over and over again to avoid any bloopers. By the end of the takes, the grits had gotten harder, but I just took it. They didn't actually use that part in the final cut of the movie. However, there was a lot of downtime during that scene. I was standing next to Dennis Hopper, as we waited for the next camera setup. Dennis turned to me and asked me if I knew anything about Charleston. He had a couple of days off coming up and wanted to go down there and look around. He said he especially wanted to look at the historical stuff, so I told him about the Market, the Battery, and Patriot's Point. Two years later, he directed a film called "Chasers", and all of the places I had told him about were in his movie. I felt like I helped him with locations. Also, while we were standing around, another guy came up to Dennis and asked him if he had been to the State Museum. Dennis said no, and that after shooting, he would go back to his hotel and watch ESPN. Dennis then turned back to me, and we talked more about Charleston. He was a nice guy.
In the afternoons, Emmet Walsh would hold court with some of us telling stories about all of the movies he had been on, and then we would tell jokes. Most of them were pretty raunchy, but it was a good time after the intense scenes shot. For lunch, the principals would eat separately from everyone else. One of the guys in our group owned D's Wings in Cayce. So, after one day of sandwiches, he called his restaurant, and they delivered food to us. The principals heard about how good we were eating and later came over and joined us. I was offered $1000 to show my naked butt in a shower scene, but I declined. I didn't think that Belk would be too pleased to have their Credit Manager nude in the movie. The owner of D's Wings took the money. They didn't have him in the final cut. If only I had known...
The one real problem on the set was the cold. It was November, and we were outside much of the time. It was set in Florida, so we wore short sleeve shirts. They gave us blankets between takes. The other problem for me was one of a personal nature. Not to be gross, but I was plagued by hemorrhoids during this time. If you see me walking kind of slow, or if I have a pained look on my face, that's why. What an actor needs to put up with for the show to go on.
The movie was released in 1989. Besides the scene of me being hit in the back of the head with grits being cut, there was also another one. It was a scene where Gary and Dennis plan a bank robbery outside of the hospital. I was in that scene. In the final cut of the film, that scene was in there, when they played the movie at the Toronto Film Festival. Some viewers thought the film ran long with that scene in it, so the film was taken back to the editor, and that section was cut out. I asked Hemdale if they had an uncut version of the film that was shown in Toronto, but they said no. I would like to see that if anyone has the bank robbery scene from "Chattahoochee". I have to say that of the four major films I have done, "Chattahoochee" was the most fun. It was grueling, but I got to be around some greats in the movies. And, just as a bit of trivia, Gary Oldman and Frances McDormand both won Oscars in 2018 as Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. They were both in "Chattahoochee" early in their careers. I didn't work with Frances, but I must say that I don't know too many people who were in a movie with the Best Actor and Best Actress in an earlier film. And, it took 6 months for my hair to grow back out.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
The Trial
While Credit Manager for Belk, I got a visit from a process server. He gave me a document wanting records from our credit files for a particular Belk charge customer. I called the legal department at our corporate office, who told me to comply with the request.
It seemed that a woman from the Upstate had been raped in Columbia at a downtown motel. She said that the man stole her wallet with her credit cards. One of those cards was from Belk. The request was for any activity on the card after it was stolen. The trial was coming up, and I was called to testify. I contacted the Greenville Belk store to get a copy of her credit application, which had her signature on it. I then checked the records of charge sales from the date they told me of the crime to a few days out. I found a purchase on her card from the day after her rape. I got the receipt and compared the signature to the one on her credit application. What I found was that a purchase had been made for a dress in her size and a Belkie Bear, which was a white teddy bear. She had a small child at home.
It was time for the trial, which was in the Richland County Courthouse. I was called to testify on what I found. The defense tried to destroy the credibility of the woman by saying her card was not stolen, when in fact she had used it the next day after the rape. If she was lying about her card being stolen, maybe she was lying about the rape. The lawyer for the woman called a professor from USC to testify on DNA. This was the first trial in Richland County (and maybe SC) to use DNA technology. He told the jury a lot of scientific stuff that went right over the head of those on the jury. No one understood what he was talking about. Even when the professor said that it was a three billion to one chance that the rapist didn't rape the woman, the jury still didn't understand. So, when the verdict was read, the jury found the rapist not guilty.
About eight months later, the man was to be tried again on a separate charge relating to the rape of the woman. Once again, I was called to testify. They gave me the court records of my testimony from the first time, and I basically read my earlier testimony in open court. Then, the lawyer for the woman asked me one question: "Were you personally there when these items were purchased?" I said, "No", and the lawyer concluded that I could not assume that the woman actually bought those items. I did not see her with my own eyes. They then called the same professor from USC, and this time he explained DNA in a more understandable way to the jury. The new jury found the rapist guilty, and he went to jail.
I felt badly for the woman, because it turned out that the reason she had lied about her Belk card being stolen was that she wanted to hide her purchases from her husband. She testified on the stand that she did in fact buy those items and hid them in the trunk of her car until she could sneak them into her house. I also felt badly, because my testimony had helped sew doubt in the minds of the jury about what had happened to her. Thankfully, the new jury understood DNA, so my testimony didn't matter as much the second time around.
It seemed that a woman from the Upstate had been raped in Columbia at a downtown motel. She said that the man stole her wallet with her credit cards. One of those cards was from Belk. The request was for any activity on the card after it was stolen. The trial was coming up, and I was called to testify. I contacted the Greenville Belk store to get a copy of her credit application, which had her signature on it. I then checked the records of charge sales from the date they told me of the crime to a few days out. I found a purchase on her card from the day after her rape. I got the receipt and compared the signature to the one on her credit application. What I found was that a purchase had been made for a dress in her size and a Belkie Bear, which was a white teddy bear. She had a small child at home.
It was time for the trial, which was in the Richland County Courthouse. I was called to testify on what I found. The defense tried to destroy the credibility of the woman by saying her card was not stolen, when in fact she had used it the next day after the rape. If she was lying about her card being stolen, maybe she was lying about the rape. The lawyer for the woman called a professor from USC to testify on DNA. This was the first trial in Richland County (and maybe SC) to use DNA technology. He told the jury a lot of scientific stuff that went right over the head of those on the jury. No one understood what he was talking about. Even when the professor said that it was a three billion to one chance that the rapist didn't rape the woman, the jury still didn't understand. So, when the verdict was read, the jury found the rapist not guilty.
About eight months later, the man was to be tried again on a separate charge relating to the rape of the woman. Once again, I was called to testify. They gave me the court records of my testimony from the first time, and I basically read my earlier testimony in open court. Then, the lawyer for the woman asked me one question: "Were you personally there when these items were purchased?" I said, "No", and the lawyer concluded that I could not assume that the woman actually bought those items. I did not see her with my own eyes. They then called the same professor from USC, and this time he explained DNA in a more understandable way to the jury. The new jury found the rapist guilty, and he went to jail.
I felt badly for the woman, because it turned out that the reason she had lied about her Belk card being stolen was that she wanted to hide her purchases from her husband. She testified on the stand that she did in fact buy those items and hid them in the trunk of her car until she could sneak them into her house. I also felt badly, because my testimony had helped sew doubt in the minds of the jury about what had happened to her. Thankfully, the new jury understood DNA, so my testimony didn't matter as much the second time around.
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