My uncle was a relic of an era gone by. An era of farming. An era of rural America. An era of small-town religion and politics. An era of back-breaking work. An era of modesty. Even an era of sports. A devout “Bapti-costal,” Uncle Pete, also known as J.W., loved God, life and family. He also loved his team. In his final days on Superbowl Sunday, his five loyal children gathered in his hospital room to enjoy the big game with him. They cheered their favorite team together for three happy hours. As the game was winding down, Uncle Pete asked one of his kids, “How much time is left?” “Ten minutes, Paw Paw,” she answered, “Ten minutes.” With wet eyes and slight smile, he looked up and said, “OK, I think I’ll live that long.”

He knew his life on Earth was coming to an end and he made it. He had lived to see the day. Born in 1918, one of Uncle Pete’s last joys with all his children together was to witness one more unexpected miracle. A WWII vet (which I only learned about at the funeral, hence the flag-draped coffin), hard-working farmer who never missed a church service, pillar of Winfield, life-long Democrat,

unassuming cousin of Louisiana’s legendary Long family, dedicated husband of 51 years, widower for 14, proud father of five, loving grandfather and great-grandfather of dozens, he was a simple man with few needs who lived to celebrate every moment that he could squeeze out of his full life.

I never got to tell my uncle that even as a small child I always admired him. He was a decent and humble man. Although he wasn’t Catholic, I thought how he would have appreciated this sight.

Symbolically, New Orleans seems to be inspired to bury the old and celebrate the new. For all of us in the Big Easy, our new year starts now. Our resolutions aimed at a better future start today. As for myself, it means a greater connection to my home and family as well as a brighter outlook on my career as I learn the delicate balance of work and lifestyle.

That said, here’s the Aints Second Line Funeral march. Happy New Era!

But, this event is bigger than a sports victory. It’s a mix of life lessons. Here’s a few: Never give up on your dreams. In life, you must take chances to succeed. Those who are willing to succeed work hard, perpare diligently, focus on execution and not fear failure. There are many more. But, it is also a message to a troubled city devastated  by the blow of Katrina and poverty. New Orleans is a city of winners. This Championship season has lifted the spirits of the hopeless and given faith to the believers. The Saints Franchise understands that their function as ambassadors and role models is a responsibility to their fans and to the people of New Orleans. They fulfilled their mission flawlessly and are greatly appreciated for it.

THE BIG EASY IS BACK!

The video doesn’t do the vision of our hike from our steading to the Balfour estate any justice. Nature is just far more beautiful. However, please enjoy.

… and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

We’ve been in New Orleans several weeks considering and planning the move. Finally, we did it.  We flew to L.A., tied up loose ends by reducing our obligations there significantly, drove back to New Orleans with all our worldly possessions (truck broke down twice in the Texas heat! Ugh!) and moved into our own little cottage in the Garden District.

During this time, the Louisiana Legislature passed the updated film tax incentive bills and the Governor signed them into law. With the new incentives and new home and new life, my hopes hinge on the theory that more features will be produced in Louisiana opening opportunities for my film career as a local talent in the Pelican State. By the end of the year, if this theory does not prove true, it’s OK. New Orleans is an exciting and lively town ripe with opportunity for creative individuals. Besides, the fun never ends. I feel very good about moving here.

What a year this has been! Change is good.

]]> http://www.leighhennessy.com/lagniappe/2009/07/17/moved-in/feed/ 0 http://www.leighhennessy.com/lagniappe/2009/01/31/facebook-exercise-25-things/ http://www.leighhennessy.com/lagniappe/2009/01/31/facebook-exercise-25-things/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:20:03 +0000 admin http://www.leighhennessy.com/lagniappe/?p=239 Facebook has a new exercise for friends to get to know each other: 25 Things About Me.  If my daughter-in-law wasn’t the first to send a request with her list to me, I might not have participated.  But, I learned a lot about her. It’s a healthy and useful little drill.  I’ve learned a lot about several of my friends that I didn’t know before and I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn more about them.

So, for friends not on Facebook, here’s the list I provided.  I called it Here It Is: Those 25 Things About Me:

1. Whoever said that a woman over 30 had a better chance of getting hit by lightning than getting married was wrong. The greatest day of my life was Oct. 4, 2008 when I married the cute Scottish boy I met when I was only 17 years old (And I’ve never been hit by lightning) 

2. On September 11, 2001, I thought that I could never celebrate my birthday ever again. Now it seems that 9/11 has become a “Patriotic” holiday.

 3. I used to be a cat person until my allergies took away that pleasure. 

4. I thrive on the creative process. The arts that I do – dance, acrobatics, writing, acting and more – give life meaning. The arts I observe – music, painting, poetry and more – make life grand.

5. Dan Millman (Peaceful Warrior) thinks we were soul mates in a former life. In our current lives, we are both former FIT World Trampoline Champions and good friends.

6. I competed with the flu when I won my first FIT World Trampoline Championship title.

7. After I shaved my head for GI Jane, I woke up every morning for weeks thinking it was a nightmare refusing to touch my head to find out if it was true. Then I’d look in the mirror … Disappointed each time. Argh!

8. My husband gave me a tattoo for my (last) birthday: a fleur de lis on my right foot.

9. I have an obsession with fleur de lis’, stackable rings from Raffinity (in Santa Monica), my computer and my adorable dog, Nicholas.

10. Even though my features reflect my Irish heritage, I am also of Native American decent.

11. I used to live in a Sikh ashram. My spiritual name is Har Har Hari Kaur given to me during a Kundalini meditation by Siri Singh Sahib after he read my numbers to learn about me. It means “God God Creative God.” Yep, that’s me: God! ☺

12. Travel has enriched my life immeasurably. The over 20 foreign countries I’ve been to range from Egypt, Hong Kong and Russia to Australia, Venezuela and South Africa as well as the typical tourist spots like France, Germany and England. 

13. I wish my French was better, but I rarely try (even though one of my closest friends is French!)

14. My father and I are the only Father-Daughter inductees in the United States Association of Gymnastics Hall of Fame (Dad was inducted in 1997 & I was inducted in 2007)

15. Two months before I was inducted in the USAG Hall of Fame, I walked the red carpet at the 2007 Taurus World Stunt Awards as a nominee.

16. I know how to knit, crochet and sew (although I rarely put them into practice).

17. I was a Republican until Reagan’s second term, thanks to the Iran-Contra scandal and “trickle-down” (voodoo) economics.

18. I’ve concealed my age ever since I got wise to the fact that I would hit 40 one day and women over 40 in the stunt business are considered DEAD! Now that I’m comfortable with my recent milestone birthday, I’m afraid that people who always thought I was younger than them will be pissed to find out.

19. I have a form of dyslexia that makes reading incredibly laborious. This is very, very frustrating for me.

20. I’m an athletic quick study, my ace-in-the-hole of both my athletic and stunt careers. However there are two things that kick my butt: running marathons and riding a unicycle!

21. When I do high falls for the movies, I would rather view the airbag from the perch than from the ground. It just looks closer.

22. I am so fortunate to absolutely love everyone in my husband’s family – and that everyone in my family absolutely loves my husband.

23. I’ve had so many surgeries that I can’t remember them all, but I know most were knee surgeries. Both are reconstructed.

24. I’ve moved across the country several times: from Lafayette to Austin, to Washington, DC to Los Angeles to Miami back to Los Angeles. And now, my husband and I consider Los Angeles, Scotland and Louisiana home.

25. I used to hate church and religion until guilt drove me to walk into Foundry United Methodist Church near my apartment in DC one Easter morning. The minister and congregation taught me two important lessons I hadn’t learned in the Louisiana churches I grew up in: 1) The bible is interpreted countless ways and 2) God is love. Church became enjoyable (but now I have to drag my husband to go!)

TAG!  YOU’RE IT!

(Leave your list either here in the comments or on Facebook – Thanks!)

Primarily, economics dictated saving since the USA monthly dues are significant and, let’s face it, as much as I love Obama, the economy isn’t going to get fixed overnight. On the other hand, my subconscious backed up the decision with the intrigue of completely reinventing my career. 

Taking this reinvention as far as I can to me includes presenting a whole new persona, doing everything differently than I did in the past. Over the years, I followed a basic set of rules that worked in the beginning of my career, but serves no purpose any more. I trained hard at every stunt skill possible. I “hustled” several film sets a day. I politely kept a professional stance with stunt coordinators. I kept my opinions to myself. I’ve had the same commercial agent from day one. And, I joined the most distinguished stunt organization for women in the film business – USA. Today is a new day, however.

This is my Unconventional Reinvention plan:

Focus career in Louisiana.

Use married name, Leigh Hennessy-Robson, with all my promotional materials including headshots, resumes and more.

Focus on trampoline training with fitness training as a supplement.

Treat stunt coordinators like peers instead of authorities.

Increase relationships with producers, casting directors and more.

Get new agent(s).

Apply for stunt coordinator jobs.

Work on smaller productions to expand and improve my skill base, including directing, producing and acting.

Be myself, speak my mind, be independent.

Have a hell of a lot more fun!

This morning I updated my status on my Facebook page with this comment: “Leigh believes in change … (And no candidate used that one.)”  I was reflecting on the current risky personal decision I made to test the Louisiana film market to improve my career, with my husband’s loving support.  Just three hours later a young stuntman named Mario Perez replied.  

He quoted King Whitney, Jr., “Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”

Holy CR*&^*&#P!  It freaked me out at first.  It seemed as though Mario, whom I’ve never personally met, could read my mind.  The quote he sent not only elaborated on my status update, it hit it out of the park with such clarity and nuance that hadn’t entered my mind — until now.

After brief but thoughtful reflection on the quote, I replied, “No fear. Just “hopeful” for our current global sea change and “confident” about my personal sea change.” A little more thought later, I added, “Well — maybe a small, but healthy amount of fear.”  

Validation comes in many forms. 

Finally, to Mario: “You are one cool dude.”

This move will be a little different, though. I won’t be alone. This move will be with husband and dog in tow. We will not give up our current residence, maintaining two bases of operation: L.A. and NOLA.  Finally, in Louisiana, we will be near family – a plus. (Thankfully, I have a supportive, self-employed husband who can live anywhere and has lived everywhere.  The dog —  he’s just happy to be wherever I am.  We will need to find a sufficient yard in NOLA for running in large circles at break-neck speed, however.)

Once you make a decision like this, the stress level rises. How much will it cost? Will it work? How long will it take? There are so many unanswerable questions. To reduce the anxiety, research helps reassure the decision. But, I have also noticed that subliminal messages crop up everywhere like warm embraces whispering, “Everything will be OK.”  Some messages are painful epiphanies. Some are refreshing revelations.  Some are gut feelings screaming loudly. Nonetheless, they emerge and regardless how hard they can be to hear, you need to be open and listen to them, hug and entertain them.

As anxious as I feel, I know that each day will calm my nerves.  With the freedom to discover, each day toward advancement creates optimism. For example: Twice this past week I heard a new Chinese proverb that says, “If we don’t change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.”

So what do you do? You change direction.

The moment that recently reappeared again reminds me to appreciate achievements.  Here’s a little achievement that I am eternally grateful: athletic ability and fearlessness.

Dad taught me to stand in his hand balancing on one foot as a toddler before I could even walk.  This is one of the earliest memories of my life.  I actually recall performing for visiting guests one day.  I can still see my tiny feet in my father’s palm. I remember him telling me what to do, “Now, lift your foot,” and I was scared.  I was scared, but I trusted him.  He wouldn’t drop me.  So, I slowly and apprehensively lifted my foot.  People in the room cheered and it was fun.  It was easy.  I could feel my Dad’s palm grip my standing foot tight and his weight holding me up.

The trick only lasted a few seconds before it was over.  It was a good experience.  I achieved something really cool and it made me happy.

… And then I became an athlete and a stunt performer.  Taking risks was a lesson learned at an early age.