Here I sit in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the quintessential Small Town, at the Southern Winds Film Festival. The next-door state, Texas, is in the middle of a hurricane, so the rains are torrential. My film screened yesterday at noon, the first slot of the day. As with the Texas festival I went to in July, we had six people in the theatre. We screened first in the day there too. I will test my theory about that tonight at the awards cermony - I suspect that they program winners in the evening slots in these small festivals, as there is an audience then.

It is so surreal being here after being in Ireland a week ago... I had three days home then jumped on an all night flight to get here for a TV station interview (which they weren't ready to do, so it got put off 5 hours grrr). I have slept here two nights and will one more, as the plane reservations were way cheaper if you stayed another day. Tomorrow I hope to get some writing done.

I have watched all sorts of things I never would have been exposed to, including a doc about "Okie Noodling", a sort of muddy river hand-fishing sport where you reach down in the mud and catch huge river catfish from underwater tunnels. Oh, and it happens to be illegal in some states.
I have passed, and smelled, two dead skunks, and a live one walked down Main Street yesterday night before the Outdoor Screening.

I get all sorts of comments on my hair. Hair is big here. Wish I had brought my video camera for the doc I am shooting about that.

I met another very nice lady filmmaker, Sandy, who made a movie about saving the farm...sigh.

Met some nice guys here from LA with a very funny short film with a SAG cast called "Man's Best Friend." They wisely give out copies of it to everyone. A DVD of one's short is a very good CV.

I am fighting the loneliness as much as possible. It is a privilege for any filmmaker to be invited to any film festival anywhere. I miss my three boys so much . . . and home.

They are very sweet and very grateful to have us here. Fingers crossed for the awards ceremony...