Writers Strike

My path to & from work each day takes me by two major studios; Sony Pictures is in Culver City only a few miles from home and Fox is just a couple of blocks from work. On the way home yesterday, the writers were out picketing. It brought back memories of my dad (a truck driver for Vons) going on strike a few times when I was young. I remember two very specific incidents.

The contract always seemed to be up right around Christmas time, so when there was actually a strike, it was really bad timing. It usually put my dad in a bad mood, especially if he had to go out and picket. One year, my mom asked him to move the furniture in the living room around so we could go pick up the Christmas tree and put it in there. When me, my mom and my brother got home from the tree lot, he had moved the furniture, but drew a picture of a Christmas tree with a line through it and stuck it in the middle of the floor. Well isn't that festive!!

Another year, something a little more sever happened. I don't remember all the details, but he was out picketing one night and some drivers were crossing the picket line. There must have been a few "choice" words exchanged, but it resulted in the driver of the semi driving it right over my dad's pick-up truck! The truck got towed to our house and was flattened quite a bit. Thank goodness he wasn't in it at the time!

Anyway, it made me feel a little solidarity for the writers. From my limited knowledge of the issues, their requests seem reasonable. They should get a piece of DVD and online sales. If they didn't write it, it wouldn't exist right? I would like to show my support for them, but I think the only way of doing that is not watching TV or movies, and that's just way too much to ask of me right now! TV is my life! (Dear writers of House, 24, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and The Office, please cross the picket lines and don't let your desire for justice get in the way of my TV watching schedule. Thanks a bunch, Laura)

Another way I could show solidarity is to quit writing the novel I just started. I got very excited by Liz's post about National Novel Writing Month and thought it would be fun. I've written about 14 pages so far. It stinks. It's sort of semi-autobiographical, but the story will be my romantic fantasy about meeting a cute doctor, falling in love, blah blah blah. I'll probably never let anyone read it, but it's been fun. But now, I need to go on strike...all in the name of supporting my fellow writers and not because what I've written is the worst, cheesiest romance novel ever...times a thousand.