Teen Pregnancy Project

As many of you know about four months ago the Foundation entered into a joint venture to produce a series of projects to serve the “Purpose and Mission of the Foundation". The history and purpose of Itty Bitty Productions had always been to help nonprofit organizations as well as the Foundation.

One of these projects has been to create an educational mini-documentary on Teen Pregnancy. After a great start one of the Mothers of an actor decided she wanted to withdraw all video and stills showing her son. We did have a signed release from the Mother before filming. While we could have gone ahead and publish the material we did withdraw everything. A setback but not a deal killer for us.

This was a portion of the lead into the mini-doc and not the documentary itself.  That said we are ready to begin filming this fall and would like more teen mothers and fathers with related family members to interview. Cost is a factor so we would like to film much of it in our Green Forest Studio and limit field shooting to Carroll, Boone or Madison Counties here in Arkansas.

Here is where you could really help. We would like to interview at least four females who are or were pregnant as teenagers and their male partners if available. No one presently over 20 now . If they are under 18 and do not have a court signed emancipation decree we would need a parent or legal guardian to sign releases.

Now if we had our dream it would be to have one who is no more than 5 months pregnant who we could follow with scheduled shoots until the baby is a few months old. Interviews with friends, school personnel and family members would make it special.

If you are interested in helping others with one of the biggest decisions in their lives, having  baby, you can contact us via our website us by clicking here.

Insecurity is life

As most of you know I have spent a reasonable length of time and concerted effort to the study of psychology. A few have rightly or wrongly considered me somewhat of an expert in the area. That said, it wasn’t until I began studying screenwriting  in the 70’s that I ran across a fantastic teacher named Lajos Egri who understood more than anyone before or after about the construction of characters by the playwright.  In his works he declared the base human emotion and the one base driver in every case of conflict in life is insecurity.  Over the last forty plus years I have written a bit, talked a lot and most of all observed this slice of truth.

I must admit I felt that this was an over simplification.  Surely with the DSM III, IV et. al. there is a lot more than this to a dysfunctional life.  Frankly, there is when you consider the numerous organic causes for psychic discomfort and psychological dysfunction.  However, once you take away all the neuro-chemical and organic issues causing the pain and suffering experienced by so called normal folks like you and me in our day to day discomfort and fear we find the villain insecurity.

This topic became an issue for two of my friends recently. Both above normal or average intelligence, neither having what would be considered organic dysfunction, although I suspect in one case a slight abuse of prescription medications, but pretty close to normal folks like most of us si I was going to write about them. Then on July fourth at 2:30 in the morning a friend died of an abdominal aneurysm. One day short of his 69^th. Birthday. Interestingly, exactly one week short of my own 70^th. Sick as this sounds I learned about it at 6:00 AM on the fifth on, of all things, “Facebook”.  Here I might interject that should I live another six days I will have outlived every relative I have for the last three generations with the exception of two daughters. This also includes a younger sibling.

OK so here is the deal.  I feel pretty good, look OK, many are shocked to know I am seventy.  I realize however the stuff can hit the fan next Thursday night and I could join my friend gone one day short of a milestone. I might mention here that both he and I are and were still working and I assure you he looked great.

So now we come to the point and I can with great relief talk about me and my experience and not about my observation of someone else.  I, by the way, learned a long time ago, that you can make a very educated guess about what is going on in another person’s mind, but it is always a guess.  We, and in most cases even they do not know for sure.

I watched Facebook as the many friend of my friend told his wife, “so sorry”, “praying for you” and if I can help let me know. About all any of us can say when we are not in the wife’s shoes. Me, I wrote an incomplete sentence, stopped and realized I was in a mild state of shock.  That was almost 12 hours after I had learned of his death. I might add here that after a couple of hours I did write of my concern, my personal loss and my compassion for those he left behind. Saying more accurately what I really wanted to express.

So what happened grounded me in my insecurity?  It was an instant recognition and vivid reminder of how fragile we all are and that life has absolutely no guarantee or any form of predictability or longevity. Someone said  life is uncertain, eat dessert first. I don’t know for sure, but at least for me I have not eaten all my dessert yet. I at my very core, the root of my existence don’t know if I will see the dawn of tomorrow and neither do you. This is in part why humanity has invented hundreds gods of old, numerous religions and have a never ending need for things.  Money, power, and importance become what most of us live for. Surely If I am a Senator or billionaire God will let me enjoy a peaceful and long life and at last I will feel secure. How about if I am a Guru, holy person or even a Pope? No my friends it boils down to this... No one knows the future and not one of us can control tomorrow, we can however, choose to be kind, caring and respectful in thought word and deed every minute. We must realize insecurity is life and that is just way it is. We do not have to trample others, get more money or power or the next ego satisfying gain to feel secure. We have to be able to honestly say…. If I do not see tomorrow’s sunrise, I and all who I encounter are at peace and content that I have spent every minute of my life honestly and without harm to others. That is all the security anyone of ever gets. Peace of mind others will care when your time is due.

Oh, by the way, over the last year or two, I don’t remember when my friend wasn’t trying to help someone else, had a warm smile on his face and left you wanting to see him again and just visit. I sincerely feel, in his own way he already figured this all out.

I sincerely hope you, like I suspect my friend have already figured this out and this note is just another confirmation not a new thought at all.