Risk One Eye

It is funny how some things remind you of something that happened a long time ago. In a few days, I will go for my first Cataract surgery. A couple of weeks later, I went back for my other eye. They only do one eye at a time, I guess, to reduce the risk. Thinking about this, I recalled a filming project John Magyar, Charlie Davis, and I went on in 1987. We were filming a video for a Paul Harvey Special on the 200th anniversary of the US Constitution. This was an event produced by Second Baptist Church in Houston. I was working for a company called Cannatta Communication and took time off to help with this filming. We were sent to Philadelphia, PA, to get shots of the Liberty Bell, then to New York to get video of the Statue of Liberty, then on to Washington, DC, for more video. We even went to Mt. Vernon to get a video at George Washington’s house.

It was a whirlwind trip, but one I remember fondly. Charlie was the “Producer”, John was the “Cameraman” and I was “Key Grip” since I had to carry everything. One of the best memories for me was being granted access to the National Archives in Washington, DC, early one morning to get video of the Constitution itself before it was open to the public for the day. At the Constitution display, they normally have a replica in the case, but since we were filming this special, they replaced it with the original one, as long as we did not use direct lighting. The guards brought the three of us to the area where the Constitution is displayed. After we looked around, Charlie and John went back to the van to get the equipment we needed. Since I was the one who was going to be on camera for this shot, they did not want me to get sweaty. This was in August, and even in the early morning, it was hot outside. As I waited for them, I found myself alone in the Gallery; even the guards were gone. I walked over to look in the case at the Constitution, but when I first looked, nothing was in there. Then I saw the mechanical system bringing the glass-encased Constitution up to where we could see it through the bulletproof glass. For a couple of minutes, I was alone with the original US Constitution. What a moment for me!! Then I heard John and Charlie walking down the hall, carrying the camera and lights.

Back to the reason I recalled all of this; remember, I have my cataract surgery soon, only one eye at a time. Well, when we were driving in Washington, D.C., the day before we filmed at the Archives, Charlie was driving the van, John was in the front seat, and I was sitting behind them. We were at a stoplight when a very pretty young lady walked in front of us. All of a sudden, our conversation stopped as we watched this young lady walk by. Charlie said, “You guys be careful, looking can make you go blind”. John responded as he put his hand over his face, “Risk one eye!”