Writing Projects

A story about a long lost love, based on the song, "Taxi" that  was written and performed by Harry Chapin.  This was my first offering into the world of screen writing.    

 A dream, a nightmare - set against the backdrop of the turbulent 1960's and of the Viet Nam war.

The conflict between youthful expectation of immortality and the discovery regarding the truth about reality. The passage of time and of long ago memories of a haunted past.

A story of young love, the struggle to hold onto it in the face of insurmountable obstacles. 

The Hourglass is about the truth of time winding down... and building up!

The story is told through alternating real-time and flashback scenes, and a heavy dose of 60’s cultural references.

 THE PITCH

If you died unexpectedly without warning and then circumstances were to offer you an opportunity to return, but you’re restricted by not knowing how long your visit will last! 

What would you say?  What would you do?

THE SYNOPSIS 

They never saw it coming! No one ever imagined that it could happen! So it was not difficult to understand why everyone was so stunned to see … HEAVEN ON STRIKE. 

Turmoil within the Heaven Processors Union escalates out of control when their leader abruptly calls for an immediate strike. The consequences of their walkout creates disorder among the union congregates. It paralyzes the union processors from the ability to process those newly deceased inhabitants from entry inside the Pearly Gates. It was safe to say that the devil himself would have been swollen with pride with respect to the mastermind behind this uprising. Oh, wait! Satin was the mastermind of this disruption. 

Heaven was at risk from the moment that at the recommendation of his doctor, God left on hiatus. The idea for a vacation wasn’t the doctor’s original suggestion. His first proposition was that God might contemplate the thought of retirement, which was an idea that God vehemently refused to even consider pondering. From the moment that Satan got wind of God’s absence, it was without delay that he devised a plot and instantaneously set his plan into motion. The idea was to infiltrate Heaven with the intention of spreading a vicious rumor that God had retired as opposed to just being on vacation. 

The strike would prove to provide an unexpected excursion back to earth for the recently deceased populace. Their short-term sovereignty would make it possible for them to conclude any matters that remained unsettled prior to their passing away. Though, it was made very clear that when the strike was settled they would be summoned back to Heaven for immediate processing. 

No one gets through those gates with … HEAVEN ON STRIKE 

“A Heavenly Comedy”

Larry Sheingorn was a genius. Not only was he an incredible Doctor, he also earned a tremendous amount of respect for all of his contributions to community television, not only for the productions that he produced but also for the innovations that he introduced to that industry. 

He was an ophthalmologist in Rockville, Maryland for over 20 years. Although he was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, he continued to work until December, 2003. He was an extremely dedicated, diligent, hard-working eye physician and surgeon. When he was healthy, his work was the main focus of his life; he often logged in 14-hour days. He greatly enjoyed his practice, and had great empathy and sympathy for his patients. He loved his patients, and his patients had respect and appreciation for his treatment.

Larry was very active in Montgomery Community Television. He directed, produced, and hosted a number of public access television programs, including Grins, The Doctor's In, and 45 Questions. He also worked on several other MCT productions. Larry loved all aspects of television work--camera operation, filming, editing, and hosting. As an amateur in the field, he quickly gained the respect of the regular MCT staff.

In 1999, Larry was cited in Washingtonian Magazine as one of the Washington area's top doctors. He also received numerous commendations for his television work. In addition to his local productions, he won national acclaim for an anti-smoking public service announcement that he conceived, directed, and produced called, "Got a Light?" 

In the late 1990s, he was  recognized by the Montgomery Medical Society for his work for patient and physician's rights with regard to HMOs and health insurance companies. Possessing an innate intelligence and native scientific curiosity, Larry had always been interested in the way things around him worked, from toilets to television sets to computers. As early as age 4, he developed a fundamental understanding of the mechanics of "gadgets," which continued and grew in adulthood. He repaired his family's toilets at age 4, and fixed television sets before he became a teenager.

Larry was a genius with a sense of humor, and had the energy to pursue his myriad interests. In addition to his television work, those interests included inventing and computer programming. He held a number of patents, mostly on ophthalmic equipment, and he wrote the computer program that ran his office. Larry thought he was blessed to have so many interests and hobbies, but thought it unfortunate that there wasn't the time to pursue them all as thoroughly as he would have liked. He often complained that he needed at least three lifetimes to do everything that he wanted to do.

When diagnosed with esophageal cancer in February, 2001, Larry devoted a portion of his Internet website  to his experience with his disease. From the time of onset until weeks before his sudden death, it simply, but elegantly, and powerfully, captured what it was like for him to deal with cancer. By reading it, one comes closer to understanding his courage, determination, insights, sensitivity, and devotion to, and appreciation of, his family. There were updates with pictures included. Whether one is a family member, friend, or has never even met Larry, the pictures and prose describing a life interrupted by and eventually ended much too early by cancer are extremely engaging and effective.

Stevie Ray Ban (Not his real name. His legal name is Foster Grant).

Stevie was introduced into the world of comedy through his association with  Jeffrey M. Penn, CEO of Proper Entertainment Incorporated. He immediately discovered a tenacious admiration and earnest devotion with respect to the profession. His initiation helped establish a working knowledge of the business side of the comedy  industry.

 
This opportunity was very fortuitous as it enabled him to work on events that would feature many of  the big name comics of the day, such as Dennis Miller, Sinbad, Martin Lawrence, Billy Connolly, Soupy Sales, Bob Goldthwait, Marty Putz, to name a few.

Through his affiliation with Jeffrey M. Penn, Stevie accumulated extensive on-the road travel time with Marty Putz (Prop comic extraordinaire).  As a result of this road time, Stevie discovered a high-spirited desire to perform. The idea of Prop comedy was self-evident due to his admiration for Marty and his ability to transform an idea into the visual creation as a prop. During their many writing collaborations, Marty expressed a sincere interest in the comedy career of Stevie Ray Ban.

Billed as a Prop Comic, Stevie Ray Ban integrates Stand-Up Comedy into his act as well.  From the camouflage outfit that he wears on stage, confessing to the crowd... "The reason I'm dressed like this tonight is because I'm hiding from my ex-wife, but my friends say that if I really wanted to hide from her all that I would really need to do is to dress like anyone who earns less than one hundred thousand dollars a year and she'd never spot me" to the gold bullet earring that he wears... claiming "I was the victim of a drive-by shooting. No, I'm okay, luckily the bullet just pierced my ear". is contributions to community television, not only for the productions that he produced but also for the innovations that he introduced to that industry.