We set the clocks back an hour last night and I was so immersed in writing something that I got confused. I looked at the clock in my computer taskbar, saw it said 1:25 AM and had to wonder, "Is this the first 1:25 AM today or the second?" I had to look around the house until I found a clock that didn't automatically update itself to realize it was the second.
Tonight, of course, is the gala Stan Freberg Tribute at the Egyptian Theater. I'm not sure if any tickets are still available — there's no one I can call at this hour — but if you want to be there, you might try this link and see if it'll sell you a seat.
I'm co-producing the event with two great guys named Howard Green and Arthur Greenwald, and I'm amazed at how much there was (and still is) to do. I think Arthur and I talked on the phone twenty times yesterday. Howard and Arthur have both done a lot of these and their wisdom is invaluable but, as I'm learning, wisdom and experience are essential but so is the commitment to just plain doing the work.
I'll probably write a long post about the process next week. I'm less interested in telling you folks about it than I am in having a written reminder to myself. Next month when someone asks me to get involved with a tribute to Gallagher, I want to be able to re-read that piece, remember how much time 'n' attention the Freberg evening required and then say, "No, I don't think so…" I'd do it for Stan but not too many other people.
One friend of mine once told me something about organizing an event of this sort. He said, "Something will go wrong that you can't possibly anticipate. You can sit down and make a list of 100 things that might go wrong and what does will not be on that list." Can't wait to see what it'll be. I'm thinking the projectors will blow up and we'll have to simulate the clips from Stan's career with hand shadows. I'm going to go practice doing the Lone Ranger commercial…