A WRITER'S JOURNAL: SEEING PETER

I met with Peter on Monday

and spent the time working on Peter's Story with him. The first (and best) part of the visit was sharing a black and white mock-up of the cover with him, a photo of him as a boy on the front cover, his Confirmation photo along the edge of the back cover. I read him the text of the proposed back cover.

Then we got down to business. I reviewed various passages and incidents from the book with him, to establish a clearer chronology in my mind. These passages and incidents are in Chapters 1-8, which I have considered D-O-N-E. Well, they're not done: I will have to do some pulling apart and re-massaging to better represent the actual order of events in Peter's life. The chronology is not going to be totally accurate, because of the nature of the telling, but I need to get closer to the actual than is currently the case. One wishes for perfection, but must settle for the best that is humanly possible.

I also had questions for Peter about specific details I was unsure of - one or two questions in each of the completed chapters. We clarified those issues, and I can make the necessary alterations.

I finished the visit by reading Peter the Foreword, which he hadn't heard before, and Chapter 1, which I previously reviewed with him in an early draft. Peter's eyesight is failing, so it is necessary to read the pages to him, rather than expect him to read them himself. This is also an opportunity for any last minute additions and/or corrections to the text.

We worked together for three hours, this 83-year-old man and I, the 59-year-old young-un. It was three hours of concentrated effort. I was exhausted by the time we finished. I can only imagine that Peter must have been tired, too.

Then we scheduled our next meeting for two weeks distant, when we'll review and finalize Chapters 2-3.

A hug good-bye. Well, a couple of hugs good-bye then, and then I was headed home in Wisconsin's gathered darkness.

Peter's Story - Coming Soon to a Theater Near You.

Well, we can dream, can't we?

Comments

[Fred Garber]

I am anxiously waiting the book. Say, if you have any influence with the director, I would be happy with a walk-on part. My mother was in Children of the Corn....the lady drinking coffee in the first scene....she promptly dies. I would prefer not to die. Oh and if you can arrange, I would like my own trailer. Seriously, this project of your's and Peter's sounds great to me.

[Tom Montag]

Oh, yeah, right - much as I'd like to hand out parts in a movie, it'll be a while.

Thanks for the tip about your mother in the first scene of Children of the Corn.

People who die before the end of the movie don't usually get their own trailers. But there is some syndicate in the story, so there's a chance you'd die, so I couldn't guarantee you a trailer, really.

Maybe you would get the part of Joe A.'s uncle, sitting in the blue Oldsmobile smoking a cigar. The car gets blown up, with him in it....

Well, maybe that's not the part you want....

[Fred Garber]

I think Phil Hey would be good for that part. Me, I don't want to die in the movie. Unless you could upgrade it to a big black Caddie.

[Tom Montag]

Heh. Big Cadillac. Graham Paige. Duesenberg. We got 'em all....