May 25, 2007

Star Wars, I am Mel's floppy colon, & have you ever been stabbed by a sword?

When I was knee-high to a grasshopper, my folks took me to see The Empire Strikes Back in the theatre. I had seen Star Wars: A New Hope on TV and at the Wellfleet Drive-In (the home of the very first movie I ever saw: Jaws) and I had fallen in love with both Luke and Han, wanted to be Princess Leia, had nightmares about Darth Vader, and generally believed the whole story to be actual fact, not just entertainment... Heck, to this very day, I believe in The Force and Jedis more than I do God and Jesus.

Star Wars did not just change my life, it shaped it, guided it, showed me a different path.

George Lucas is the reason why I am in LA. He is the reason I studied film in college. He is the reason I did not give up. The reason why I knocked on every door until someone said yes. He's my inspiration as a screenwriter, as a filmmaker, as a human being.

"It is better to give than receive," George Lucas prior to giving Scorsese his Academy Award.

So, here I am in LA... I had a meeting today, but had to reschedule. Attack of the killer ovaries. See, a little over a year ago I started getting pain in my side that escalated into what I imagine being stabbed by a sword feels like (cue shot from Excalibur where naked Lancelot pulls the sword out of his side. Now imagine that sword being twisted as it's pulled out, then shoved back in, then wiggled around a bit. Now you get the pain in my side.)

Three cysts, several doctors, many pain killers that hurt my stomach, and one surgery later, I am no closer to less pain than when I started.

During the surgery they removed my appendix, y'know, just in case... (The pathology came back free & clear.) They found a bunch of fluid around one ovary and a complex cyst in the other. They also discovered that I have, and I quote, a "floppy colon." Um. What? The doc suggested I eat more fiber and have Omega-3 (I'm a veg, so I don't eat fish... Makes sense I'd be low on that, but still... Floppy colon?!?).

Anyway... So, here I sit, having missed my meeting due to pain, rescheduled for tomorrow and all the while almost right down the street is the celebration of all celebrations -- the filmmaker who is the sole reason I am even here -- and I'm gonna miss it.

I'm kinda bummed, but, then again, C'est la vie, right?

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