A Great Man - An Amazing Life

Col. Gene T. Boyer, Ret. Has got to be one of the onyl REAL heros I have ever met in more then 15 years. According to his business cars he is the "Pilot To The Presidents", boy he ain't kidding! This guy began in Korea flying M.A.S.H. helicopters (just like in the TV Series) and got shot down in Vietnam, flew one of the first Presidential helicopter flights and continued to do so until his retirement from military service in the 70's.

I only spent a few hours with this now man in his 80's and had a hard time keeping up with him. His stories of the famous and the infamous People In The News kept me riveted. He had more stories of such people as Nixon, L.B.J., Ford, not to mention his Vietnam stories to keep you enthralled. But what really gets him going now is all the political upheaval going on in the White House and the congress these days. he has already gone up against the President and his plans to purchase a whole new fleet of Helicopters for himself. He is an outspoken advocate for the "every soldier" specifically when it is involving Veteran's Benefits. And he is one of those Veterans too. He is a victim of Agent Orange and the continuous battle with the cancers that that single product of war has left on his life.

Despite all of his battles this elder man of the military and of history seems to revel in the "fight". He has, even in his advanced years, begun to take on the Veteran's Administration which it would seem wants to take away his benefits completely. The "reassessment" as they are calling it has been handled through sub-contractors and small unknown clinics where the individuals running them are interested in seemingly one thing only and that is finding a way to deny our veterans their benefits. Gene has vowed to fight them to the bitter end.

But I am worried that in the broader scope of what the current administration is doing "to try to make all of our lives better", that they are really taking advantage of some of the very people that have already given far too much of themselves to and for this country while attempting to give it to various groups of people that would rather have a free lunch on those individuals backs. That is wrong no matter how you say it. This country, The Greatest Country in the World, needs leaders that can unequivocally SHOW their patriotism and now shun it. Children of all races in this country need to believe that the President of the United States above all stands as an example of the pride and history that this nation has, and not be shown an example that a President can refuse to hold his hand over his heart for the pledge of allegence (with or with out 'under God' in it). They need to see that we should respect our fighting men and women through a salute when they parade past us. That the singing of the national anthem, which has been an inspiration to people all over the world, MUST be sung whether you agree with any specific line in it or not. I am appalled that a person as seemingly unpatriotic and disrespectful as our current President, Barrack Obama can show my daughter that disrespecting this country's long and proud history is OK.

Update of the Dr Natura Cleansing

I am already in day 4 and I haven't had anything really noticeably change in the way that is described yet. I must admit that I have never taken so many pills on a daily basis though. and it has turned my waste water the same color as if I were taking a large dose of iron. You know neon color. According to all the reports though it really begins to hit in the 2nd week so I will have to wait and . . . (yuk!) see what really comes out later.

It really has been a bit of a rocky start since I am stuck behind my computer for the last 4 days for as many as 20 hours at a time attempting to finish some work for a client. Which is getting a great deal for all the work I am doing. For now I am taking in over 10 pills (of herbs?) as well as some (not too terrible tasting) psyillium fiber drink mix. The actual hardest part for me is getting all the recommended water into my system. According to the instructions (and what every mom and doctor) tells us to do is take in at least 8 - 8oz. glasses of water between waking up in the morning and going to sleep in the evening. It doesn't sound that tough but it actually is for me. Now I have been a soda-pop-aholic (like a lot of people) since junior high school. I know that drinking that much sugar enfused "stuff" really takes its toll on your liver and kidneys not to mention the additional weight that the sugar enables your body to retain as well as a plethera of other ailments but it is truly an addiction of our time. . . at least for me. I have done really well of lower the amount of "pop" I drink everyday but getting as much as 2 ltrs. of water into my body everyday feels like I am drowning sometimes. And I like the taste of water for the most part. I would really not like to see what someone who didn't like water would go through.

For now though I am keeping up the system the very best I can. The only thing that seems to get missed, and I am sure that I will get it into a habit soon is the Keri-Tea that I am supposed to drink before bed. As soon as I am able to get to bed before 2 AM I am sure I will be able to get that worked into the ritual as well.

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Beginning of the cleansing process

I am definately not into the whole spiritual cleansing idea but now that I nearing my . . . I hate to even type it . . . mid-forties I think that a whole body cleansing and detox is a really good idea. I bought into the Dr. Natura system of herbal cleansing and started the 3 month regiment on Thursday. According to the instructions there really isn't a reaction for the first 5 or so days so we will have to wait and see what manifests itself over the first month. It may even allow me to loose a few pounds along the way. Another good thing is that a friend of mine got me some really good water containers to keep with me so I won't ever be far from a good clean drink of water. This is especially nice since I am absolutely addicted to soda pop.

Health, Websites, Sales, and Customer Service

Late last night I was browsing the internet and chatting it up with FaceBook (FB) friends when I remembered that I really wanted to do something when it came to detoxifying my body. I spend too many hours behind a computer screen and far too much money eating fast food. I know that my insides probably look 10x worse then my outsides. Thats saying something as my outsides aren't the prettiest in the world either.

As I browsed around I remembered all the research that I had done a few months back and that I had saved the weapon of choice that I had researched with regards to Colon Cleansing and Detoxification. "Dr. Natura" was the product of choice and I was actually in a position to try and get it now. I had read all of the testimonials and many of the blogs that people had posted with regards to their own outcomes. So I ventured into the shopping cart system. I began my order with the 3 month supply of each and then saw that the price was a bit too high for my budget. Frustration again! Oh wait, I have a promotional codes that they had sent to me. I found them again and to my surprise and joy they were still good and working. I entered the first one which gave me a free 1 month Detox kit and another that was a $20 off promo code so I was now saving nearly $80. I was very happy since that now, barely, fit into my budget. All was right with the world and I was happy.

I awoke the next morning to the usual order confirmation e-mails and of course a few others. When I read the invoice that was generated for me I was . . . lets say upset. The total that was charged to my account didn't accept any of the discounts. In fact it was as if the website had lied to me. (Pause for effect.)

I was on the BlackBerry (BB) faster then you could believe and dialing the "happy" customer service department to vent on them. I first talked to Jennifer who was doing her job and deflecting as much of my anger as possible. She did the usual song and dance about me having to receive the shipment and then send it back to get my money back; I wasn't having any of it! I demanded, to a point of meanness (sorry Jennifer), that i speak to a manager. She made it as clear as I was able to understand that the managers were unavailable at that moment and that someone would have to call me back. I did ultimately aquiess and get off of their phones for a bit. Still not satisfied and now poorer for it.

About an hour later I called back and asked to speak to either of the managers that I had been refered to by Jennifer. I was quickly transfered and spoke to Marta (she's the manager whose picture appears on the site), and she sounded a bit worse for the wear but was cordial. She told me after I reminded her of the issue that she had already refunded me $35 for the issue. What&^%? i told her that that was not correct  and that I was expecting exactly $78.40 to be refunded. I explained that the amount that I was given by the website was the amount that I expected to pay and no more. We bantered a bit back and forth but when I told her that there was nothing on the site stating an exception to what I did and that the site had both allowed the transaction as well as sent up no flags during the checkout process the company had no recourse but to honor the website's total and product delivery to me. She finally agreed to refund the complete amount and thanked me for exposing the flaw in the site so that they could patch it.

I was upset, yes. But after the interactions with the staff representing DrNatura I must say that I am thus far very happy with the fact that they decided to honor the site's total and that they will be, as far as I can tell making this transaction move forward. While all this was going on I received the email that the product were shipped out already, which is more then 1 day earlier then they state on the website.

My respect to the people that do customer service all over the world as it is one of the toughest jobs around. When you are standing in a return line for an hour this post holiday season think about the person behind the counter and how long they have had to stand there and listen to all of our gripes and complaints.
Steve Overstreet | Create Your Badge

Been Looking for a Good Story.

I have been really feeling like it was time to put together a really good story or tele-play. I have always been a fan of children's stories (anyone who knows me that I am just a big kid) and I think I have found one that would be fun to do. There is a series of 4 children's novels called the "Molly Moon" series. by Georgia Byng. This story is a fun loving and adventurous romp with a 10 year old young lady by the name of Molly Moon that just happens across a book of hypnotism. She soon finds that she is very good at it too. With her friend Rocky, Molly sets out on adventures that keep the books tempo really moving. I really enjoy reading them to Morgan, my daughter, and she really looks forward to them before bed each night. So I will have to keep you all posted as to the progress and see if it turns out to be a viable product for me to produce on my own or possibly sell outright. Check out the author's page at http://www.meetmollymoon.com and pick up the latest in the series titled Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine. I thought it was really fun to read.
Steve Overstreet | Create Your Badge

The start of a brand new week!

It will be my first DP (Director of Photography) job on set tomorrow. I have another camera person my partner handling all the PA work and coaching the actors too. It will a few very hard, fun, and worthwhile days. Then its off to the editing room to see what I have to fix. check it out when I can post pics at http://www.facebook.com/soverstreet/ maybe some of the out takes will get up to YouTube on my channel.

Filmmaker Magazine: Blog

Filmmaker Magazine: Blog