Loop Planes, Tribeca and New Friends

Anyone who knows me well knows that I live for the arts.  I love music, film and the theater.  It’s what keeps me going.  Thankfully, there is plenty to do where we live up in the Saratoga Springs area.  Let’s face the facts, I’m just not in my City ….You know, New York City.  So, when Shirl told me that she reconnected with her high school friend, Fran, on “Facebook” and Fran wanted us to meet up with her and her family at the Tribeca Film Festival, I was in.  Fran had a special interest in the short films this year because her 16-year-old son Ryan composed and performed the music for the short film, Loop Planes.  Hmm, 16 years old, Loop Planes, short film….. I thought to myself, I guess it’s a night out. 

We drove down, hit Ikea in NJ, dumped our mega purchases off at my mom’s house in Staten Island and headed into the City.  Loop Planes was part of the Shorts Category titled Identity Theft, which was playing at the Village East.  FYI, there are no theaters in Tribeca.  Of course, I scored a parking space about 6 cars from the theater which by the way really is a special talent to not be overlooked.  A few text messages back and forth and we were in front of the Village East where Shirl was reconnecting with Fran and Vin, (two high school friends she hasn’t seen in more than 25 years) and their three sons Vince, Ryan and Frank.  I was so happy for Shirl.  Shirl had a little time to catch up before we headed into the theaters. 

As I mentioned earlier, Loop Planes was part of the Shorts category Identity Theft.  All the shorts in this category had to do with diversity in some way, shape or form.  Since diversity education is a passion for me, this was very exciting.  I just wish that my co-workers on the diversity committee at work could have been there with me. They would have loved it.  I’ll spare you the details on all the shorts and focus on Loop Planes, Fran and Ryan.  That is the reason we were there.

Cast & Credits

Primary Cast: Chloe Levine, Madeline Taylor, James Colby, Catherine Curtin, Jimmy Palumbo

Director: Robin Wilby

Screenwriter: Robin Wilby, Austen Rachlis

Producer: Christine Vachon, Julie Buck

Editor: Filippo Conz, Danielle Morgan

Director of Photography: Ming Kai Leung

Production Designer: Lisa Myers

Composer: Ryan Cassata

Synopsis

This is the story of Sam, a female-to-male transgender 13-year-old, who lives and works with his tough-looking, yet, sensitive, carnie dad at a small, family-owned amusement park. The film takes place on the day Sam's estranged mother, who's like a trashy Kathy Lee Gifford, is coming to take him away to live with her.

This is also the day that Sam meets Katie, the amusement park owner's 14-year-old, rebellious, pink-haired niece. The instant Sam and Katie meet, they totally hate each other. Sam is very proud of the legacy of the amusement park. Katie thinks the park is crappy and for little kids. But, over the course of the day, their animosity turns into romance.

And, just as Sam and Katie are about to share their first kiss on the little kiddy rollercoaster, Sam's mother shows up, calling him, "Samantha," outing him to Katie, and totally humiliating him. Katie freaks out and runs away. Sam, rejected and devastated, has to leave with his mother, who continues to treat him like a girl, and continues to call him "Samantha." But, that night, in a small act of defiance, Sam dyes his hair green with kool-aid and stands up to his mom, saying, "My name is Sam."

How lucky were we to be sitting there as the guest of Ryan Cassata and his mom Fran.

After the film, Shirl and I went out to eat with Fran and Ryan. Fran and Shirl finally had time to “catch up.”  Shirl was so happy.  I think I’m OK to talk about Ryan and Fran since they have been on Larry King and The Tyra Banks Show.  Ryan is an amazing singer-songwriter from Long Island.  He plays several instruments and has been performing since he was 14 years old.  Ryan has been sharing his story about being transgender via You Tube and the Internet.  He has become an outspoken advocate for the Transgender Community and has been a role model and source of hope and support for transgender teens from all over the United States.  He is brilliant, talented, open and honest.  His mom Fran is an amazing woman.  I admire her and the love that she has for Ryan, Vince and Frank.  I can’t begin to imagine what their journey must be like.  I know that when I came out I was told to, “Go get fixed.”  I still don’t know what that means and I don’t feel broken.  My relationship with my family has never been the same.  I broke “their rules” and when you break the rules, you pay the price.  To see how supportive and proud Fran is of Ryan and her two other sons was very touching.  It is because of Fran’s support that Ryan has succeeded and is making a difference in people’s lives.  I now have two new Facebook friends and we already made it real.  To read more about Ryan, his music and his journey, check out his website.

http://ryancassata.tumblr.com/

and on youtube

 http://www.youtube.com/user/xQUEERKIDx

For facts and myths about transgender people

http://www.hrc.org/issues/13098.htm

Oh Henry!

High School was an emotional nightmare for me.  I went from a very small private school to a very large NYC high school where the clicks had already been formed in Junior High and there was no chance of anyone letting me in.  To add to the mix, I was extremely shy and now know that I had some kind of anxiety disorder (you know, back in he day when your parents just thought you were either over reacting, needed to get over it or didn’t even notice there was a problem), making each day utterly painful and frightening.  No one had prepared me for the dramatic change that my 13-year-old world was about to experience.  One of the greatest things about Port Richmond High School was the wide range of diversity that was there.  In 1975, I don’t think I had ever heard the word diversity and I can assure you my family did not explain what it was to me But then again, it’s not like they even know what it today.  Here are just a few statistics to remind you of how different things were.  (What did I do before “Google?)?

1975

Yearly Inflation Rate 9.2%

Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 858

Interest Rates 7.25%

Average Cost of new house $39,300

Average Income per year $14,100

Average Monthly Rent $200

Cost of a gallon of Gas 44 cents

Average cost of a new car $4,250

Foster Grant Sun Glasses $5

The Top Ten Songs were:

Love Will Keep Us Together–Captain and Tennille (Still painful to hear)

Rhinestone Cowboy – Glen Cambell

Philadelphia Freedom – Elton John

Before the Next Teardrop Falls – Freddy Fender

My Eyes Adored You – Frankie Valli

Shining Star – Earth, Wind and Fire

Fame – David Bowie

Laughter in the Rain – Neil Sedaka

One of These Nights – The Eagles

Thank God I’m a Country Boy – John Denver

Ugh!  Look at the top ten songs.  I listened to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Yes and the Allman Brothers.  I just knew I was never going to fit in. 

I’m not sure when I met Henry or rather when Henry found me but I am so thankful that he did.  I often thought of Henry throughout the years.  I remember Henry with his big afro and his tuba (I think he carried that fucking tuba everywhere), his sweet smile, the way he would watch out for me, sitting next to him and laughing in Mr. Berman’s Social Studies class, going to the Ritz Roller Skating Ring to disco roller skate.  Well, Henry disco roller-skated and attempted to teach me.  All right, I’ll admit it, I had a crush on Henry and I knew he liked me, but I was afraid of his girlfriend.  She was this tall, amazing athlete who you just wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of. Well, graduation day came and after that we never saw each other again.  I went off to college and Henry… well, I didn’t know where he went.  We lived in different neighborhoods, so there was very little chance that we would ever “run” in to each other. 

The years went by and in 1989 I was living in one of my past lives in Italy. One day when talking to my mom on the phone, she told me that someone named Henry called looking for me.  Henry told her that he was in the Army, living in Germany and left a number where I could reach him.  I have to admit I never called.  I wanted to, but wasn’t in a place in my life where I could connect with myself let alone anyone else.  So, life went on.  Fast forward to 2009 and I’m on the Internet doing the social networking thing when I checked classmates.com, (which by the way is a site I NEVER go on because they charge for upgraded services) and I see that Henry left me a note.  Of course, the first thing I do is immediately go to his site to see if there are any pictures and sure enough there are.  Henry was as cute as ever.  I could tell that he had a successful career in the Army, he had a picture with Obama (so I knew we probably had the same political views) and I could tell that we some other bigger things in common.  Something that surprised me, but I can’t say because it’s not my place to talk about anyone’s personal information. Somehow, I always knew we had a special connection.  So, I write back and Henry responds with his telephone #.  For some reason, I didn’t call.  I wanted to, but things were hectic at work and home so life somehow got in the way. Does it really or is that just our excuse? Anyway, I decided that I just needed to do it and this past winter we finally connected.  Henry had moved back to Staten Island from Texas to take care of his Aunt and Uncle.  His Aunt passed away in October of 2009 and Henry stayed on to continue take caring for his uncle.  So, I drove to the Mariners Harbor on Staten Island and finally got to wrap my arms around Henry after 31 years.  We talked about high school, about life and the many twists and turns it brought both of us.  He played the piano for me and I got to once again connect with someone who taught me so many things about life.  Henry taught me that color doesn’t matter.  Good people come in all shapes, sizes and colors.  Time doesn't define a friendship, what really matters is what is in your heart.  Oh, Henry…….

Scroll down for photos from 1979.

Making It Real

Talk to anyone my age about social networking sites and you will get an array of responses. The responses will range from fear, paranoia, to utter disgust at the thought of such a public display of one's life, to complete delight about the experience of reconnecting with friends from long ago. It's not too hard to guess where I fall on the spectrum. Social Networking is not for everyone, but it is for me. I admit it, at first I loved reconnecting with friends and looking though all their personal information and photos. It's fun to see where people have landed after all these years. Are they successful? Did they get married/divorced? Do they have kids? How much weight have they gained? What are their political views? Oh come on now, you know you do it to. Once I got beyond the online snooping, something I didn't expect started to happen. I started to rebuild some of these relationships and they became more personal and intense than they were in real life. I don’t mean to insinuate that they aren’t real online. It does get confusing. We haven't seen each other in a very long time. We don't talk on the phone. So, is it really real? I've discovered that once you move from the public display pages of the networking site to the private E-Mails, people open up. I open up. I've found that we open up in a way that we were unable to when we were actually in each other’s daily orbits. It boggles my mine that I talk to some friends online now more than I did when we sat next to each other in high school. My online social network has helped me to get through some tough times. I thought to myself…. What would happen if I reached out to my social networking friends and reconnected in a way that was real? What could I learn? This year, I decided it was time to reach out to friends, whenever possible, on my social networking sites that had a positive impact on my life. This is my attempt to share those interactions, find the meaning in online social networking and share what I learn.