An Inspiration for Iron Brides — Realized

I begin today’s blog with a simple thought quoted by one of my childhood heroes ripped from our grasp: Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who quoted poet laureat George Bernard Shaw. The same quote was delivered by Ted Kennedy at President John F. Kennedy’s funeral:

“Some see things the way they are and ask, “Why?” I dream things that never were, and ask “Why not?

Those were days in my youth … perhaps yours … and I have never forgotten them. It meant something.

One of my mentors in the film business is David Gertner. We are close as friends, and I owe so much to his kindness and willingness to listen to a ranting director “on the edge” who felt there was no work in New England. David worked in production with Marvin Davis who owned a majority interest in Fox until his death in 2002. David has always supported me, more than a therapist and without pay. He’s helped me through the struggles of someone who envisions a dream like Iron Brides, but must “wait patiently” for it to happen … to mature.

When I told David about Iron Brides and its success on YouTube and in the media, he responded with the same enthusiasm that we all observed when Robin Williams mc’d with the whole world as Matt Damon received his award for Good Will Hunting. Robin had already received his accolades many times over, but the Good Will Hunting launched Matt Damon’s and Ben Affleck’s careers. Those Academy Awards brought a tear to my eye … perhaps yours … and I said “one day: … “one day”. That’s just good stuff and we all know it. Okay — enough melodrama. Iron Brides represents a dream that was conceived outside of the box by the Executive Producer George and myself.

Iron Brides is the budding metaphor for a new type of reality TV … a medium where all the traditional elements of the successful Reality TV programming are there with one thing added … throughout the 13 episodes. we … and yes you, get to observe “personal best moments” of our brides. Yes there is a prize. Yes it is hotly contested. But more than this which is expected by the audience, there are challenges, moments when each bride and the audience realizes something unique … perhaps special has occurred in their lives … a moment only that bride only can experience … A dear friend of mine who left this world in an untimely manner once asked me when he walked over to a wall and pretended to observe the Every Ready Bunny hitting the wall over and over again as if it would never end until the batteries ran out. He asked me rhetorically, attempting to reach down and turn the bunny away form the wall setting it free from hitting it over and over again and having now an open path without obstacle to travel miles down a road. What is it worth to this Every Ready Bunny to turn him away from the wall. I met with our personal trainer candidate yesterday and she mentioned one phrase “starfish moment” in her recall of a discussion with her husband. I smiled understanding what she meant … perhaps to her surprise .. perhaps not:

There is an old story that tells of a man walking along a beach when up ahead in the distance, he catches sight of another man acting strangely. As he gets closer, he notices the man is picking things up from the sand and throwing them into the water. Upon reaching him, he sees the objects being tossed are starfish, stranded on shore by the retreating tide.

Curious about his intentions, the first man asked, “What are you doing?” “I am saving these starfish,” he replied. “They won’t survive in the sun until the tide returns.” Totally taken aback by this statement, the first man said, rather indignantly, “Aren’t you being a little silly? Do you not realize how many hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of starfish there are in the sea and that by throwing a few back will make absolutely no difference at all?” The second man said nothing but was unfazed. He picked up yet another starfish and threw it out into the waves. He hesitated for a moment, then looked back the first man and said, “I just made a difference for that one.”

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