Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

E.C. on the NFL 2022 Season

The Buffalo Bills vs. the Kansas City Chiefs; is there two teams you'd rather see playing than these two?  Not me.  #2022DivisionalRound

Well, it's that time of year again.  This time next week will be the opening week one Sunday of the 2022 NFL season, and you know what that means...  

It's time for E.C. Henry's annual predictions and thoughts of the BEST sport in America: NFL football.

Unfortunately for me, my team of choice, the Seattle Seahawks looks like they're slated to be one of the worst, if not the worst, team in all of professional football in 2022.   In the off-season they got rid of two of their most recognizable stars: Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson.  Personally, I though it was about time for Russell to go.  I know a lot of people remember the heroics he did, but all of that came 5+ years ago.  No, I'm not saying Russell Wilson is what's wrong with the Seahawks.  Their problem is they let their talent base erode and didn't restock the self with good players.  Yeah, they's got guys.  Guys like this --

Yep, there he is the heir apparent to Russell Wilson, Gino Smith, in all of his glory; trying to fool everyone by looking in control before the snap of the ball.  Unfortunately for Seahawk fans it what happens AFTER the ball gets snapped where disappointment abounds.  First gripe with Gino Smith is that he has just about zero escapability.  Watching him play, Gino is bound to be sack whenever anyone on the opposing team is laying chase; Russell Wilson, Gino Smith is not.  But wait, it gets worse.  Gino Smith does not have an elite, passing arm.  He will NEVER wow you by the throws he can made.  Gino Smith will never make you forget Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Aarron Rogers, or even Joe Burrow. 

I predict the Seahawks will go 3-14 in the 2022 NFL season.  And by the end of it, after going back-and-forth between Gino Smith and Drew Lock, prove behind a shadow of doubt that neither of them belong to be in the NFL in either starting or back-up capacity.  Three wins will only happen because the Seahawks have a last place schedule, which means they got pre-slotted to play lesser competition based on the outcome of the 2021 season.  I predict they will win ZERO games in their division, the NFC West.  That's right the 2022 Seattle Seahawks are not in position to compete against the likes of the Arizona Cardinals, the San Fransisco 49ers, and the L.A. Rams.  Sigh.  Well, with my team so down; yet my love NFL football goes on, so what else is there to talk about?  How about this guy--

Miles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.  I was watching the NFL Network, and on one of their promos for the top 100 in the league, Miles Garrett is on camera saying that, "if you watch the tape", he is the best player in the NFL over the 2021 season.  Is that true?   Haven't watched enough Cleveland Brown games to see how much of an affect Miles Garrett has on the offence that the Browns defense is playing against.  But you can bet your bottom dollar that EVERYTIME I watch the Browns play now I'll be keying on Miles Garrett and the affect he has on a game.  Because when you boast like that you gotta back it up.  For my money the best players in the NFL are: 1) Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs), 2) Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), 3) Aarron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers), 4) Aarron Donald (L.A. Rams), 5) Justin Tucker, KICKER for the Baltimore Ravens.  Justin Tucker is just a-mazing as a field goal kicker.  With the game on the line is there anyone who is nails more than that guy?  I think not.   

THIS is what $$ looks like in the NFL.  Just Tucker to WIN the game, never bet against him.  

So here's how ol' E.C. sees the 2022 season going.

AFC EAST: New York Jets 10-7, Buffalo Bills 9-8, Miami Dolphins 8-9, New England Patriots 7-10

AFC CENTRAL: Cleveland Browns 12-5, Cincinatti Bengals 10-7, Baltimore Ravens 10-7, Pittsburgh Steelers 5-12

AFC WEST: San Diego Chargers 11-6, Oakland Raiders 9-8, Kansas City Chiefs 8-9, Denver Broncos 7-10

NFC EAST: Dallas Cowboys 13-4, Washington Commanders 10-7, Philedelfia Eagles 7-10, New York Giants 4-13

NFC CENTRAL: Minnesota Vikings 12-5, Chicago Bears 8-9, Detroit Lions 6-10, Green Bay Packers 5-12

NFC WEST: Arizona Cardinals 12-5, L.A. Rams 9-8, San Fransisco 49ers 8-9, Seattle Seahawks 3-14

2023 AFC Superbowl will be the Cleveland Browns over the Minnesota Vikings: 34-20. 

NFL MVP: Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys

Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills...  Had a great 2021 season, but something tells me the wheels are going to fall off in 2022.  For starters the Bills don't have much of a running game.

And last and least is Odell Beckham Jr.  I remember a couple years ago Mr. Fancy-pants was the talk of the league with his one-handed catches.  But these days I don't even know what team this guy's on.  Seams like he was on the Rams team last year.  But in 2022?  There are lots of great wide receivers in the NFL in 2022.  Looking for Seattle's own D.K. Metcaff to have a great year.  Hopefully he can stay healthy and give the fans of Seattle something to cheer for in the 2022 season, because it looks like Seattle will be trailing in most -- if not all -- games they play; and that SHOULD give D.K. plenty of time to wrack up some meaningless receiving yardage stats unless Tyler Lockett beat him to that consolation prize.  

Tennessee Take Two

I'm now more than a month sober.  About a year ago it was that Covid-19 ravaged my family and me causing me to lose my first job in Tennessee and in early September my father as well.  Kinda feels like a lost year. BUT I've got a new job, and in a way it feels like I'm staring over.  A type of Tennessee, take two.

So how has the past month been for me?  Well, for starters I've attended a TON of AA meetings.  In those meeting I've taken a ton of notes.  Maybe that's the writer in me coming out.  But I think I'm up to like 10 pages of notes from people sharing at these meetings.  Really encouraging to see people committed to improving their lives.  Still don't have an AA sponsor -- and don't know if I ever will -- but these meeting are help keeping me from relapsing into drinking.  Just so you know what kind of alcoholic I was; I was what I consider a binge drinker.  My problem was one Budweiser would become 6 to 8.  I was mostly drinking alone.  And I was going out for drives in the country as I drank 6 packs.  

Why divulge that?  Well, because there are a lot of different forms of alcohol problems people have.  Beer was my buddy, and it was getting worse.  Thankfully, changes were made before a serious incident happened.  

I recently got my "one month" chip at an AA meeting.

My big goal now is to stack a bunch of work checks together and rebuild my accounts.  Since I didn't have insurance, I had some hefty bill from the ambulance and hospital stay I had after my mom called to the cops on me over fear of alcohol induced suicide on the 4th of July.  That and being in and out of work over the past year ate away at my savings.  And now I just wanna stack checks and rebuild myself financially. 

Little by little, I guess is the best I can hope for these days.  Gotta fight the desire to get it back all at once.  The AA meetings help with that.  Lotta recovering alcoholics stress patience and "working the program".  That said I'm not sure how long I'll be in the "program".  But for now I think that's best for me.   

Still not excited about NE Tennessee.  Can't think of anything I want to see in this state.  The food here is for the most part AWFUL.  

Creatively I've not been into it since I finished my last completed screenplay, So Go Back & Get Him; which I completed in late May.  Getting back into Thars is still an uphill climb.  Did start work on a story for a new script.  It's a supernatural horror in the vein of...

Kinda strange that I'm endeavoring to do another horror script  at the same time of year that I did my last one: Gravesite Crows.  Hopefully this one, which I've tentatively named, Owen Decides; will turn out as well as my first slasher turned out.  We'll see.  Right now the difficulty I'm running into is mastering the driving antagonist of the story, who is an occultic witch who is bent on revenge against several about-to-graduate high school senior who were in her son's class.  It's the witch's dabbling that opens the box for what I think will turn out to be the "secret sauce" that makes this a good, teen horror screenplay by the time I'm done with it.  

I've got  the broad strokes for a one-night horror story; it's just not all there yet.  Welcome to the world of being a writer, which is constantly going up against the dilemma of taking initial ideas and fleshing them out into coherent stories.  It's just usually going into a story I know the antagonist first.  As I'm a believer that the antagonist drives the story and forces the protagonist to take action and become the hero by the end of the story.  This time I have a better grasp of the lead team protagonist who I'm going to base on a guy I know over at Scriptshadow...

Will green witches be making a comeback in 2022?  Be waiting for Owen Decides to find out!

So I'm still at it; working on being a better person, and definitely more a more responsible citizen.  One step at a time.  Still at it as a writer too, though these days I don't feel as driven as in days past.  

Next post will either be on a rom-com issue I've been thinking about lately, or my primer for the 2022 NFL season.  Was excited to see how my  Seahawks  were doing, until I watched their first pre-season game against the  Pittsburgh Steelers  and watched the  Steelers  1st team offence go up and down the field on the Seahawks  1st team defense.  I get that with Russell Wilson gone either Gino Smith or Drew Lock would have their struggles, but the defense?  They looked AWFUL.  Once again, no pass rush.  

Sigh...

Maybe be a long year for my Seahawks  in 2022, but l know I'm looking to finish out 2022 strong even if they're not.  Talk to you again soon.  Won't have to wait another month for my next post, I promise.  

 

 

 

Baby Guardrails for Grown Adults

I had my last beer on the 4th of July.  Had it before I went and saw Minions.  Was drunk as a skunk when I came home that night, said the wrong thing, then spent two days in emergency room isolation, followed by an four more days spent in hospital sponsored detox. 

So was I THAT much of an alcoholic that I needed that to go to detox?  No.  But when your mom calls in the police worried about suicide and you're too drunk to accurately defuse the situation, that's what you get.  I guess I could have lied and got out of that earlier, but I wasn't going into this "voluntarily".

I set myself up for his by being so drunk and sad when I came home of that fateful Monday night.  Yes, I was down.  Down that yet another job I had wasn't working out and was going to have to tell my employer that I wanted out.  I've had four jobs in a year since I moved here to Tennessee, and they've all been awful.  So I told my brother that I was thinking of leaving and never coming back.  I told my brother that I may end up on the streets and dying there.  Did all that in very sorrow-filled way, as I was drunk.  Remember, alcohol is a depressant.  At the hospital they did take my blood alcohol level, and it was at .69 at 1 a.m.  Last Budweiser I had was about 7:30 just before I went in to see Minions.  

So was Minions?  Good grief, it was awful.  Drunk or sober that's a movie that should have never been made.

After the cops arrived, I complied with them without making a fuss.  Went into the ambulance, answered their questions truthful and remained calm, even though I felt very drunk at the time.

Detox is just a holding area where people dry out.  Not only from alcohol but also from suicide, meth or heroin.  Yeah, it was a wild mix in there.  And the strange thing was not all these people wanted to get well.  Some of them were in there voluntarily so they could have a few days away from drugs, get a few meals in them and have a safe place to sleep.  I met a guy who was in his 60s and looks like Santa Claus without any teeth, who was a total meth-head when he spoke from the heart and from his intentions for the future.  He talked about 6 day benders of doing meth, and always being on the look-out for police.  Worse yet, the guy WANTED to remain doing that, he just need a weekend away where he couldn't use drugs.  Wow, what an eye opener hearing that was to me.  Not everyone wants to be free from substance abuse -- even in detox ward!

I tried to show those people the love of Christ as best I could, but many of the people in detox were in sad shape.  One lady was cutting herself.  My heart broke for her.  She was 29 years old and well on her way to looking 60!  So sad to see people whose lives have been destroyed by hard-core drugs.  Thankfully, I just deal with depression that's made worse when I drink to excess.

Since the 4th, I started out having to deal with a lot of anger directed at my mom who called the cops on me.  Yeah, sure, I scared her.  BUT I should have been allowed to sleep it off and discuss my behavior in the morning.  When the cops arrived to question me, I was in my bed trying to get to sleep it off...  Sigh.  Water under the bridge.  As a grown adult I have to make better decision than I did that night.  Can't binge drink my problems away.  And, yes, I was drinking BEER much more and more frequently than I should.  So, though I don't think I'm a raging alcoholic it was time for me to make a change.

So...  I'm no longer drinking alcohol.  Don't know how long I'll go without, but I definitely need some extended, sober time.  At detox I meet with councilors everyday, I quickly came up with a "plan" to stay sober.  And that's how I got the title for this post for it my guardrails.

 E.C. Henry's new drink of choice !

E.C. Henry is going to implore the "distraction plan" in effort to remain sober and not drink any alcohol.  

1. Working out more in place of drinking alcohol.
2. Attending AA meetings and perhaps Celebrate recovery and other Christian outreaches with the goal of making friends
3. Avoiding Buffalo Wild Wings, which is a place I used to frequent quite regularly, which many times began bouts of binge drinking.
4. To bed at 10 p.m. EST, and not stay up late as many time when I did stay up late I was cracking off Budweisers off a six-pack and inflaming myself further with alcohol.  
5. Putting God first and starting each day by reading a "3 minute devotional" which takes a scripture and has application of it.  I figure this is a good habit to get into.  I'm also ending my days by re-reading that day's devotional.  Prayer.  Getting more active in that.  Need to stay close to the Lord as I live my life.

Pretty simple measures right?  Exercise, socialize more, avoid a trouble spot, go to bed at a reasonable hour, and put God first.

So far, in the past two weeks, implementing this plan has gone fairly easily.  The job that caused me anguish is over.  The temp agency wanted me to go back to it, but I refused.  After nearly two weeks of looking for work, I may have found my best job yet!  So things are looking up.  And, no, so far haven't found it hard to stop drinking my beloved Budweisers, which I still site as my nectar of the gods.  Lately however:

When here I typically get either  two hotdogs  or  corndogs  and the  crinkle fries 

1. The local hamburger joint "Cookout" has replaced Buffalo Wild Wings 
2.  Watermelon shakes  from Cookout has replaced Budweiser as my guilty pleasure drink.

The people at AA have showered me with reading material too.  I have the AA book, which is really boring to read.  And I have a LIVING SOBER book that I'm excited to read.  

Not sure what's next for me, but my membership at the local Kingsport YMCA has a been a godsend.  Having a blast running on the treadmill, working out on their machines, and cooling down afterwards with swims in their swimming pool.  The cost is $58 a month, but it's well worth it.  They even have a workout machine designed to tone your butt.  I love the butt machine -- so lookout Kim Kardashian 'cuz you have some competition for best butt--by E.C. Henry no less!

That's me at the YMCA after a workout, Tuesday, July 19, 2022: still listening to Taylor Swift music, btw :)

Rehab and recovery.  May as well have fun with it.  Time to reprogram my head and learn to have fun being sober.  Time to make some friends, and stop being self-destructive.  This was a gentle, wake-up call.  Thank God it didn't take a DUI or something of that sort.  I didn't have health insurance when I went through this, as I was trying to cut corners given my job through a temp agency.  So I have that to contend with.  BUT I did apply for financial aid at the hospital where I was, which I was directed to do by my councilors at detox. 

Writing wise I'm still struggling to get Thars rolling once again.  Think the key is to just be diligent, and stick with it until "the flow" comes back.   At least now I'm writing TOTALLY SOBER.  Not mixing alcohol with anything, which was something that I was doing on a more and more frequent basis before that July 4th intervention.  Independence Day indeed!  I'm well on my way to maturing and being a more well-rounded and God-centered person.  Praise you, Jesus!

 

 

  

Florida Vacations...

Hello again!  Last week me and my mom did our first visit to the beaches of southeast America.  We hit beaches on Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina before we drove back to Kingsport, TN.  Of all we saw we thought this beach -- was the best!

And guess where that was?  

Jacksonville Beach, Florida -- where I based two of most recent scripts: So Go Back & Get Her, and So Go Back & Get Him.  

Along the way we hit --

Jykell Island, Georgia

&

Hilton Head, South Carolina

In exploring the south east for the first time, nothing really impressed me except for Jacksonville Beach; and to a lesser degree Coligny Beach at Hilton Head.  Coligny had a GREAT layout for the general public.  Me and my mom had beers and cocktails in a Tiki hut bar, and I had THE BEST barbecue wings I've ever had there.  BUT it was 101 degree, and painful to travel from beach the car.    

I found much of the Southeast unimpressive from what we saw from highway 95, and 26 coming out of North Carolina.  Don't think there's much to see or explore in either Georgia or South Carolina.  Did think Savanah, Georgia was a historic and noteworthy town; but it's not a destination must see.

Along the way I had the WORST restaurant experience I've ever had.  It happened at the Hungry Crab in Brunswick, Georgia.  The served us crab in a bag, then gave a plastic fork to eat it with.  That's it!  I'm not making that up.  I had to walk my mom down off the ledge with how pissed off she was with the place and our waitress who couldn't make an Old Fashioned to mom's liking.  It was a nightmare, AND at a high price too of $30 a plate.  

God's hand was me and mom on this trip.  When stopped at a traffic stop on Frenadina Beach, Flordia I heard a BAM!  At first I thought someone had rear-ended my mom's Toyota 4-Runner.  But I never felt the collision.  Then I looked over and saw the guy in the next lane was the one who got rear-ended.  Then later my mom had to drive in the sudden pouring rain as we drove to our last hotel after sending the day at Hilton Head's Coligney Beach where earlier in the day it was 101 degrees!  

All-in-all it was a good vacation.  My mom in now 73 years old.  I don't know how many more vacations I'll be able to take with her.  Five years ago we did the Florida Keys, then the American Virgin Islands: St. Thomas, St. Johns, and St. Croix.  I love my mom.  She is fine a Christian and loves the Lord with her whole heart.  So glad she "breathed blue" and the Lord restored her to health after she nearly died from Covid in September, 2021.

So what's next for m'wah?  Well, I just had my first day at the new job.  Hoping to work a lot and rebuild my accounts.  Currently editing the 4th book in the Thars series.  Got a new horror story idea while on vacation.  Not sure if I'll pursue that or not.    

If the Lord tarries hopefully my next vacation will be to explore the beaches of east Florida.  My brother stated he wanted to do that.  My mom wants to go to Panama City beach in Florida.  Anyway, Florida is definitely on my radar now.  What a lovely place NE Florida is, if you ever get a chance to check it out, do that.

I love my mom, Donna Marie Henrikson!
    

Getting the Old to Feel Young Again

On Friday, June 10th, 2022 I turn 53 years old.  And yeah I'm starting to feel and look it.  The hairs of my mustache are now a mix of blonde and white.  Likewise the hair top of my head is starting to change for the white too.  Welcome to getting old, baby.  Scoreboard, the calendar doesn't lie.

But when I write, I don't feel old.  I feel decided younger.  I feel like I'm still capable of landing a hottie.  Alas, that's no longer case.  #sadness 

I'm going back to Thars and going to bring that series to completion.  I should have done that a long time ago.  Need to let go of the ideal of writing something iconic, and just get the thing done.  It's time.  I don't wanna die and leave this undone.  

Just today I re-upped with Scribophile and turned in my first critique of some else's fiction.  Then in one of the groups I was in agreed to write a short horror story for a contest.  500-1500 words.  Totally doable off the prompt, "Kill the servants.  And burn the fields!"  Lets see what the writer of Gravesite Crows comes up with a starting place such as that...

Lotta great horror is DELIVERING on scenes like this

When it comes down to it, I'm not a horror writer.  I'm just a writer.   I don't think in terms of how to scare people, or desire to follow in the footsteps of people like Steven King who name a name for himself by writing horror.  That said, I think horror is an important genre.  I view it as a color on the palate of emotion.  Comedy is also an important color, probably a more important color to master than horror.  

I'm looking forward to getting back into Thars.  My problem is the story isn't new to me anymore.  I've known the end of it since 1995!  Just so down on myself for not having the inner skill to create an masterpiece through this story that evident to all.  THAT'S why it's taken so long to finish.  I wan't everything Thars related to be perfect.  And yet, I'm just an imperfect man.  

The nice thing about being on Scribophile is that I see other writers who aren't perfect either, yet are scratching away at it.  When I write I feel like I've describe everything to everybody, and if I don't l'm letting the audience down.  

But now at age 53 I need to hit the "fuck it button" and get 'er done.  So be sure to check out the side-bar tap where I track my progress.

Scribophile is going to help with the process.  It was through a Scribophile prompt that I got the kernal scene that got the ball rolling which ultimately resulted in Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School getting written.

Sometimes you've gotta mix it up and try new things.  It's important in life.  It's important in the life of a creative.  

Hopefully as enter 53 I'll be more supportive of my fellow creatives.  I can be a very harsh critic.  When in the end all that really matters is showing other people a good time.  

Writing Long

Hello all!  

 

Feels like I've been away from this blog for a long time.  Sorry about that.  BUT I did just finish my 28th spec. script; the raunchy romantic comedy that completes the So Go Back & Get Her franchise with So Go Back & Get Him.  

So Go Back & Get Her - 2020

Kathy Smith Conquers Duboose High School - 2021

So Go Back & Get Him - 2022

WGAw and U.S. Copyright protection is done.  So Go Back and Get Him is ready to show -- in  Lit Expression .

E.C Henry hath completed another script -- sound the bugle!

This post, however is about a tenant of screenwriting that I strongly believe in.  That's being "writing long".  Writing long means when you a writer puts out a first draft it has a page count that's much higher that that excepted norms.  Some people might see that as a bad sign.  I, however, think first drafts should be long.  I say this because as you edit, usually you want to be parsing out flat sections and coming up with more evocative sentences.  

When you write a story, you: as the writer; are always thinking about the ending.  How long's it going to be till I get there?  How big is my page count?  Is this in an acceptable range?  When you harbor secret fears like that, there is a temptation to set a mental, page count threshold point where you consider yourself "done".   After all these scripts I've written I face that temptation all them time.  In doing this so long you know the ins and outs of writing, and grueling the editing process can be.  It takes a lot of tenacity and inner fortitude to fight past this area of human weakness and fight to put out the best art you're capable of doing.

Hey, I'll be the first to admit.  I have my limits too.  You can only look at the same thing for so long before it becomes a grind.  

BUT if you write long you're actually helping your art become the best it can be.   Why?  Because you'r expanding the possibility of what could exist, and allowing the choice to be made for what good and should stay, and what's flat and bloated; and should be cut.

Taste will always factor into whether or not a story ends up being "good" or "bad" when critiqued by others.  If a writer has bad taste, it's not going to matter how long they write.  A bad writer can't distinguish between what's got some life to it, and when they're pounding a square box in a round hole. 

There's gotta be something good in there, somewhere!

I've cut a lot of material when I edit.  I think that's normal for making movies too, as I've watched lots of DVDs that had the extras that were cut and didn't make it into the theatrical release.  

Don't be afraid to write long, then edit back for a stronger story. 

That's the moral of this post.

So what's next for ol' E.C. Henry? 

Well-p, I'm going back to Thars, baby!  Time to finish the book series and subsequent screenplay adaptations.  Also have my eye on writing a coming-of-age ANIMATED script.   Need to do a little marketing of my script too.  Going to update and send in to Custom Ink a couple designs for promo shirts, as the last time I did this was like 5 years ago.  Time for new ones.  Will probably re-up with Scribophile and try to connect with novelist there too.  I let my premium membership lapse as I was knee deep in Gravesite Crows, then The Beautiful Kingdom, then So Go Back & Get Him.  There's also a local "International House of Storytellers" an exit away from where I work so I need to check that out.  The people at the Lamplight Theater never got back with me so I'm starting to think nothing will come of that.  Oh, well; at least I tried!  It's real hard to connect with your fellow creatives as we're all out there chasing our dreams.  

So, I'm still here.  Will try to improve my visibility and post more on this site.  Just realize I have a day job, and family obligations which compete for my time.  

 

E.C. Henry's Public, Christian Testimony

A couple weeks ago a commenter on this blog asked me to shed some details on my attempted suicide.  Maybe that commenter thought that was something recent, but alas it wasn't.  I has now become part of my "testimony".

When I hear the word, "testimony", I think of telling the truth about you know about a specific occurrence.   In Christian circles this word is usually meant for what personal experience you've had with God and how He impacted your life.  Usually someone in Christian circles will ask you for your testimony if you're new to the group and they're checking you out.  When you give your testimony in this way that your time to glorify God, because you're doing what we were intended to do since the days Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden, which is to recount how our time with the Lord went.  

Here are some of the meanings of that word "testimony" from Merriam-Webster:

1. a solemn declaration usually made orally by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or authorized public official
2. firsthand authentication of a fact: evidence
3. an outward sign
4. an open acknowledgment
5. a public profession of religious experience
6. the tablets inscribed with the Mosaic law
7. the ark containing the tablets
8. a divine decree attested in the Scriptures

For purpose of clarity let me specify that here I'm talking about usage #5: a public profession of religious experience.

So what is E.C. Henry's testimony?  Before I give that let me clarify one other thing: E.C. Henry is Eric Christopher Henrikson's pseudonym.  So when you can use the name's interchangeably, they are synonymous names for the same person, me!  Now that that's clarified here we go...

 

E.C. Henry's testimony:

E.C. Henry grew up "Christian".  I grew up with lots of exposure to the faith through the Catholic church, as that was the domination of choice through my mother, as my father wasn't an active church goer.   I was involved in some Catholic oriented activities outside of mass, but not much.  I stopped going to the Catholic church when my mom got "born again" in 1982, and suddenly it was so important that went to the Catholic church exclusively, but now went to more Christian and ALIVE churches. 

Why would I differentiate that?  Because not all churches are alike.  Catholic services are more regimented and stiff.  Later in life I grew to appreciate the Holy Spirit and His role in church especially in worship. 

As for me, though I was exposed to the Christianity for years I didn't make a profession of personal trust in Jesus until I was 21 after I nearly committed suicide in the fall of 1990 when I thought my life was falling apart.   I was several months off my time on a fisher processor boat in Alaska and hated the jobs I was doing back in Washington and thought I was going to run out of money, plus I was drinking a lot.  So one night I woke up and decided it was time to end my life.  I was going to take my 30-30 hunting rifle out and kill myself.  I remember driving to a place to do "it" which would have been about 20 miles south of my parents house.  But one night I woke up and decided to just go out in the woods.  I nearly did it too.  I was a very close decision.  But in the end, I woke my aunt: Denny; up in the middle of the night and told her I was in trouble.  She drove me to the hospital for an evaluation.

For the next couple of months I went to Christian rehab, and started attending church.  It was a charismatic and free church ran by Al Sholin and Bob Kaminsky: two of the finest Christians I've ever met.  Bob was especially instrumental in my development at a Christian, as he was also a project lead at the aerospace manufacturer, Boeing.  Bob also helped run an outreach to the street people in Tacoma where my mother frequented. I really respected Bob Kaminsky.  He had a joy about him.  Al Sholin was more of a loving people person.  He had outreaches to Mexicans, and traveled to Africa on the "Spirit Ship" where he delivered humanitarian aid and Lord's love to people. 

As for my life, I settled on a plan to go to college and get a degree in electronics.  So I attended Renton Technical College from 1991-1993 until I got a tech. certificate.  During this time I also continue to go to church, going to BSF at one point.  BSF stands for bible study fellowship, which met once a week to discuss and go through books in the bible.  Early on people used to marvel how well I understood the scriptures.  I remember early on I drew the correlation between Abraham willingness to sacrifice Isaac, his only son to the point to the Lord; and the Holy Father sacrificing His own son Jesus later in history.  I was baptized and born again in the Stuck River in a park in South Auburn, Washington.  To date I not spoken in tongues--though my mom does.  And have only received one God-inspired dream, and that was about Hollywood going in parade like procession down the street and sinking into the asphalt until at last all I could see was minor bumps in the asphalt from where they had been.  I stood aloof with an angelic being and witnessed that.  The only person I could make out in the procession was actor Jim Carrey, who looked to be in agony as he marched on with the procession making grotesque faces as he went. 

 

What E.C. Henry believes as a Christian believer:

1. That we are all called to have a relationship with the Lord, and to walk with Him in our lives like Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden.  God's original plan was to have communion and relationship with mankind on a one-on-one basis.
2. Jesus is the Son of God and the doorway to having a restored relationship to God.  I believe Jesus really did exist and that He is who He said He was, which is the Son of Man and salvation for all who believe.  If you want to get to Heaven Jesus is the way.  He is the exact representation of the Holy Father, and the example that all mankind is called to look to.  To reject or accept Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the most important decision of your life.  For He is the fulfillment of the Holy Father's plan to redeem mankind. 
3. That the bible is there so we can learn about God, and should be used as a shaping force for how we see the world, for it God's testimony about Himself in the way He chose to say it. 
4. God is Spirit and not seen but He exists and His kingdom is greater than the devil's influence.
5. Romans 8:28 "All things work together for the good, for those who love God and are called according to his purposes."  There's a key for life right there: Love God and He'll work things out for you. 
6.  I've always seen Christianity as a simple religion.  Love God, love others.  Do your best in his service.  Get baptized into the faith publically, then profess what you know and believe to others with a desire to honor the Lord as you do so. 
7. Yes, the devil does have a kingdom; but even the Lord dictates to the creature what's his.  When Jesus was being tempted in the desert, he didn't rebuke Satan and tell him, he was wrong to say a kingdom wasn't the devil's to give if Jesus would worship Satan.  Satan had control of a whole city and the Lord didn't refute that. 
8. Look to Jesus and His example to help form your character and the man or woman you are. 
9. Look to glorify the Lord in whatever you do.  Commit your works to Him and honor Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
10. God gifts us all differently.  We should always be humble because we don't know the gifting and callings the Lord has bestowed on other people.  Case and point: Aarron Caulderon.  Aarron Caulderon was a Mexican migrant worker who used to come to the state of Washington to work the fields.  Aarron spoke very little English, YET the Lord used him to give me a series of scriptures.  He is someone I came into contact with from Al Sholin and his ministry outreach to the Mexican community.  I laminated those scriptures from the early 1990s and still carry them in my bible today.  You never know God's intention towards your fellow man so treat him/her with respect.  So of the least likely people have been touched and gifted by the Lord in some truly amazing ways if you just stop and look.

I'll conclude this post with telling you what I think the secret to my storytelling and creativity is.  Back in 1977 or 1978 I watched the mini-series, Jesus of Nazareth on TV, while doing so I took clay and modeled things I saw.  I think the Lord saw that and blessed me because I took my gifts and acted out as my mind was engaged by the gospel being shown before me.  I don't know if my mom kept those clay renderings or not, but that's where I attribute my gift of creativity: from the Lord, from modeling clay figures while watching Jesus of Nazareth on TV as an 8 or 9 year old boy.  The Lord is good to Him be the glory for creative stories I've made to this point.  Amen. 

Music: I see, you see

Okay, it's been nearly a MONTH since I last posted.  But a month ago I was just wrapping up work on my spec. script entitled The Beautiful Kingdom.  Then Carson Reeves over at Scriptshadow made a post to write fast on a new script and I bit on it!  The problem was I wasn't really ready to start a new script yet.  

Why? 

Because when I write I put all I have into it, and when I'm done with that I need time (2 weeks to a month) to decompress, re-center myself, and gear up to climb the mountain again.  I didn't do that this time.  Instead I plowed ahead and actually TRIED to write a script in record time.  Why not?  The flow was THE BEST it's ever been for me when I wrote So Go Back & Get Her under Carson Reeves prompts, what's not to believe that lightening can't strike twice when writing its sequel which would make the 2nd FRANCHISE I've penned: The Commune being the first.  Give It Up For Chimpy COULD end up being my third, as I've always wanted to pen a third one in that series, I just never thought up a good enough plot.   

I'm FINALLY working again.  YAY!  Was looking for work basically from the beginning of October through the beginning of February after my mom recovered from Covid-19, and it was agreed by all of us in Tennessee that it was time to get on with our lives.  After the new year I thought more jobs would open up, they didn't.  So finally I caved and took a job.  It's from a company, just not a very good one.  I knew that going in.  Eventually I'm going to have to get a better job than what I have now, but for now at least I'm working and can contribute so my mom isn't bearing our financial burdens alone.  I actually can't wait for this Friday/Saturday when I show her my check and we divide up how much I can give her.  I love my mom.  I wish I could do more for her.  There is no one I love on this planet more than her.  Yeah, my brother is working too, but he's got two kids and wife to provide for.  I just learned today that his wife got an "on-line" job and is poised to contribute in the near future as well.  

For today's post I was thinking about getting into MUSIC some more, because as a spec. script writer I have a totally different opinion on music than most everybody else.  I look at music with the eyes of how they COULD fit into whatever spec. script I'm writing now.  Right now I have 35 songs on the spec. script soundtrack for the romantic comedy I'm working on right now entitled So Go Back & Get Him.  This --

is the song I'm auditioning to see if it fits.  I've LOVED this song for about 5 years now.  And think I've FINALLY found a place where it fits in the mix of what I've already got.  Going in with the angle that this is the stress that my female main protagonist feels at time: she feels the world moves to fast and feels the need to keep up with it, yet is in desperate need of her own sanctuary. 

Music is a wonderful thing!  If done right it captures feelings. 

One song was the genesis for a complete script I wrote.  This --

was the genesis for a script I wrote entitled, A Heart Built on the Sand.  Now I grew up in the 80s, but this song never registered with me, until my cousin Jeff mentioned something I believe.  Then YEARS later I fused that with thoughts that grew within me about a female manager who was playing the corporate game at a warehouse I was working, but I saw her DOOMED in that pursuit. 

You see: a dedicated, loyal woman.  I see: someone who's prone to snap when she finds out the corporate world doesn't value her the way she thinks.  E.C. Henry works...   E.C. Henry works...  Then a half year later I make sense of the world through through my dark urban drama spec. script entitled A Heart Built on the Sand.   Now that spec script has 18 songs on its soundtrack, and contrary to what you would think since this story is essentially a woman's decent into being a serial killer it actually does have a couple "happy songs" in its soundtrack such as ABBA's "Take a Chance on me", "Keywest Intermesso (I Say You First)" by John Cougar Mellancamp, and "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher.  Why is that?  Because there are ebbs and flows in the story.  Times it appears things are going to get better for Laura Dennison... until they don't!

I roll differently than anyone else you're ever going to met.  I've heard that Quentin Tarantino is a MASTER with fusing music to the movies.  I'm like that--only in an 80s kid product kind of way. 

I'll pick music from ANYWHERE if I think it's any good.  When I think of Give It Up for Chimpy.  THIS --

is where my mind goes: Brandon Little's unspoken desire for Stacy Dutchmen.  

Now to most people the song Brass in Pocket by the Pretenders is forgettable; it has no real meaning.  But not for me.  

You see, I see

I have an abstract way of thinking.  Give It Up for Chimpy is a screwball comedy, YET at points I hope the audience sees an outsider who wants a shot with a hottie.  That's NOT portrayed in this video, but it's how I interpret this song for use in my spec. script.

You see, I see.

I could go on and an on, I've used music in horror --

Which IS the song that plays as two drunk teens race through the woods before hitting and fatally killing a special case bum who was living in the woods.  

But I don't see myself as "dark" man as the use of Dragula by Rob Zombie insinuates.  I'm more more of a Taylor Swift guy.  In fact I'm probably going to use --

Why use that song?  A) Because it's one of my favorite songs of all-time.  B) Because it mirrors the main character's feelings when she sees a guy she's instantly smitten with in So Go Back & Get Him.  Of course for the past 7 months now I've been distancing myself from Taylor Swift, but that doesn't mean I can't use her exceptional art to highlight my own artistic works.   (Now if T.S. ever came down on me, I would relent to her and let her have her way, as her songs are her songs)  She's a proven pro, I'm an unknown.  BUT even if I were a known you still hafta secure permissions IF you profit off her copyrighted material, which is what would happen should one of my scripts go into production.

 

So why even bother using other people's music in my spec. scripts?  Because music captures moments.  I just think differently on the subject than most folks.

You see, I see 

Skipping Ahead to Spec. Script #28

Blame it on Carson Reeves over at Scriptshadow, as I'm currently writing the 1st draft of So Go Back & Get Him.  Took him up on a challenge to TRY to write a script in 3 days.  Having just started this morning as of 8 a.m. EST, after an initial blast I'm only on page 3 of the 1st draft, working off an outline that is more buoy markers than in-depth pre-writes like I prefer.  But it's all in the spirit of fun.

So Go Back & Get Him

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Logline: A morning show host struggles in handling the changing scope of her morning show amidst her raging sexuality in an ever changing love/hate relationship to the men in her life.  

The stated goal of the challenge is to try to pound a script in three days.  Unfortunately on Sunday I have to start moving stuff from storage to our new garage.  Right now those storage costs are $300+ a month.  I also just accepted a job.  Could have started that today if I insisted, but because of the storage move I pushed that out until Wednesday.  Been out of work for a long, long time since Covid hit our family at the end of August so it'll be nice to do something again.  Had several jobs I thought I'd get, but they fell through.  Been living off savings since then.  

Well-p gotta get back to it.  Only on page 3 of the 1st draft.  Goal will be to do 40+ pages.  Don't think I'll get there, but I'm an daring kind of guy, and I'm going to try...  Talk to you again soon!

P.S. Just received my first critique back from The Beautiful Kingdom -- from a guy in Ireland, no less!

Redeeming Love (2022); Movies that Move Me: Volume X

This was a movie that I had NO INTENTION of watching, but at the insisting of my mom I went and saw --

Which turned out to be one of MOST MOVING movies I've ever seen!  Definitely the best movie I've seen since Once Upon a Time in Hollywood... maybe even a better movie than that!  

So what is this marvel about?  Redeeming Love is a movie about a girl sold into prostitution, whose life is given a chance at improvement when a single farmer of comparable age sets his mind on making her his wife.  

Love is hard to find in 2022, wasn't much easier back in the the 1850s either

There are a couple name actors in this movie, but most it is Abagail Cowen's Angel/Sarah character arc that is the heart of this movie.  My mom kept saying this movie was about the biblical book of Hosea, which does start with a prophet being told by the Lord to take a wife whose unfaithful.  That's a very brief accent in the biblical book of Hosea, which is more about God's dissatisfaction with Israel playing the harlot and serving other God, despite the Lord's great love for His people.  I really wan't pulled in or swayed by the use of the bible.  I can't believe my mom's bible study group went to see this movie.

What makes this movie so good is that it really brings out how hard is for some people to love and trust others because of past pains.  You can't help but pull for Angel and want her life to improve.  The movie really isn't about Michael Hosea, the farmer who sets his sights on making her his wife, then sticking with her when she falls back into the world of prostitution a couple times.  Redeeming Love is about how hard to overcome past pains.  It's a great movie that I highly recommend unless you can't stomach violence done to women.     

You can be the apple of the town's eye, and yet still be miserable and unfulfilled inside  

This story was based on a novel by Francine River.  The script was written by Francine Rivers and D.J. Caruso, and D.J. Caruso directed it.  From my way of thinking the real magic of Redeeming Love is at the script level.  Their choice to set-up the gold rush, beginning with --

All that glitters is not gold

by Shakesphere.

was brilliant.  So was the setting the world by showing miners in a creek panning for gold.  Then you're in Angel's world and seeing how she's the apple of a small town's eye, it's most desired prostitute.   There are a lot of heartbreaking flashbacks with show how Angel got where she got.  A life she was thrust into as a child, through a series of tragedies.  I loved a lot of the choices D.J. Caruso made in this movie.  Michael showing Angel the sunrise and slowly making inroads so she can get a better life.  

This movie has the best ending I've ever seen.  I cried at the end of it.  GREAT job of building to that moment by D.J. Caruso and Francine River.  And it's not because I was moved by great performances.  Yeah, Abagail Cowen and Michael Lewis did a solid job in playing their roles; but I didn't think either role was exceptionally done.  Rather it was the story and scene construction that sings in this great movie.  

Redeeming Love is one of my favorite movies of all-time.   I loved it.  Thought it was way better than The Notebook (2004: staring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling).

Go see it!

P.S. I did finish my 2nd draft of The Beautiful Kingdom.  I sent to Carson Reaves over a Scriptshadow for a paid critique.  Will do a post on that script after I get a review from him.  Not sure if I'll do another draft of the script or not, I'm pretty happy with the story.   In a future post I'll get into "plans" to get discovered.  I've written 27 scripts now.  It's time to get them made into movies, unless the Rapture happens or the economy goes to pot, which could well happen.     

Page 1 of The Beautiful Kingdom

This is what I'm working on.  It's ONLY a 2nd draft of the 1st page.  I wanted to give y'all a taste of how The Beautiful Kingdom begins.  Probably two weeks away from having a complete draft ready to show.  The  lit expression  in this one turned out to be a much heavier accent than I thought I'd need.  This isn't even the cool stuff in the script just how the movie begins.  I look forward to posting more on this exciting story.  

- E.C. Henry from Kingsport, Tennessee