Amateur Radio!

HooHaw!We Were Extra's In The Movie:
The Work And
 The Glory!

Below is a story I wrote for the local paper of ours. The Advocate & Democrat on Sunday 1/30/05

 All Work, Little Glory

     Three years ago about this time Beth hollered into the garage: "Its only going to
get to a high of nineteen degrees tomorrow." Now that was something to ponder. Nineteen degrees, seventy miles an hour. Dead by Chattanooga. Common sense would dictate the motorcycle would have to go inside the van for the trip.
     Zoom forward in time and here it is Friday, Jan. 21, 2005. The first showing of the movie my wife Beth and I were extras in entitled "The Work And The Glory". By mapquest.com directions its 135 miles. I checked the wind chill factor by plugging my speed and temperature I'll be encountering in the govt. website. It seems thirty degrees at 70mph equals a mind boggling 9 degrees above zero.
     It was eight thirty in the morning when I waddled out to my motorcycle, I had so many clothes on I looked like the Michelin man. It took a couple of minutes to convince my hibernating scooter that yes, you’re not dreaming I really want to go for a ride. Reluctantly it coughed and sputtered to life.
     My wife wants me to wait 'til March 11, 2005 when the folks that I have been in touch with in Utah said the movie would come to a theater in Knoxville. Months ago I had phoned Utah and argued my case that the film having been made here in Vonore, Knoxville, Johnson City, and East Tennessee in general, should be shown here first. Well that idea fell on deaf ears and now here I am rowing through the gear box ever increasing my speed and lowering my body temperature.
     As I puttered past Tellico I was thinking about the thirty degree temperature and it dawned on me that my bike was thirty years old. Hey, maybe a sign that the trip was meant to be.    Yeah right, maybe delusion is also one of the first signs of hypothermia. Up over the mountains toward Coker Creek its getting colder, but the beauty of watching the land wake up is worth it. I had gone online the night before and printed out step by step directions and mounted them to my tank bag. Didn't seem to help a whole lot, I still managed to get lost. One good thing about getting lost is it doesn't seem to take as much time as it used to. I've heard it said that an optimist is a person who, that when treed by a bear enjoys the view. Such as it is with me, I enjoy the ride.
     Whizzing down a two lane road I wandered into a town called Nelson, and met the town clerk, police officer and I believe the mayor. Very nice, friendly folks. They pointed me in the right direction, once outside I called Beth and told her what happened and that I was still on my way. Suited up and on the road again it wasn't too much more of a ride and I was in Buford Ga. buying yet another Rand McNally Atlas to add to the growing collection of them at home.
     On to the Mall of Georgia, wow is that place huge. I arrived twenty minutes before the second showing. So much for getting there when it opened. I passed on the small popcorn and soda which would have set me back close to ten clams. The theatre had maybe twelve people watching, most of which I met after the show and found they were LDS or Latter Day Saints. They had read the book "The Pillar of Light" and said it was just like the movie.
     Puffing out my chest I told them I was in the movie and the beard I wear isn’t fake. They quickly deflated my ego when they all excitedly asked: “Where were you, what scene were you in?“ Humph, where was I indeed. We all had a good laugh, they and myself had enjoyed the movie to no end.
     Sitting in the theater I wasn't paying attention to the main actors. I was on the lookout for the scenes Beth and I were in. I saw her once and I was in several scenes: sharpening an axe in the town street, the barn raising scene, walking across the bridge, on the barge, etc. It was exciting to watch all the extra's Beth and I had worked with while listening to the movie. When Beth had her street scene I realized my big scene where I stood in front of Tiffany DuPont was coming up! Boy was I stoked, and then poof! It showed my back as I left the set. What! That couldn’t be! Some nincompoop had the audacity to leave out my greatest moment of glory! Did they know who they were dealing with! Hey, I was the guy getting up every morning to be on set at 6AM! I drove to Vonore, Knoxville and bought my motel room in Johnson City for the barn raising scene! Well phooey, I guess they did. After all, they did cut me out of the scene and left me laying on some cold, unfeeling, desolate cutting room floor. Bummer.
      Slumping back into my seat I felt the same way once years ago when my Mother called me by my little brothers name. I told her: "No Mom, I'm Bobby. Ronnie has curly hair like the milk man". Boy, now that's a sure way to tell when you have problems in your marriage. When you move from Ohio to Florida and you have the same milk man.
     All seriousness aside, the movie was well worth the trip nearly freezing to death on a scooter to go see. The film has a great story to tell and was excellently directed by Russ Holt. Everything about the movie will excite you, the sounds, the plot, the action scenes. Everything. The people of East Tennessee will get a kick out of seeing themselves on film as much as I did watching them. The talented folks that created the sets did an outstanding job and should be rightfully proud of their crafts. If anyone reading this article would like a collectable one page pamphlet of the movie sent to them. Please send a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) to:
                                                         www.mckahans.com
                                                           4501 Highway 360
                                                      Vonore, Tn. 37885-3824
     I would be more than happy to send you one. You can also go to The Work And The Glory for more information and see a trailer of the movie. Cheers, Bobby McKahan