{"id":7038,"date":"2012-10-19T18:53:07","date_gmt":"2012-10-19T22:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=7038"},"modified":"2013-02-28T16:39:38","modified_gmt":"2013-02-28T21:39:38","slug":"tightrope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/?p=7038","title":{"rendered":"Tightrope…"},"content":{"rendered":"

photo-2-small.JPG<\/a><\/p>\n

What have you given, incredible mirage of all our million
\nshining hopes, to those who wanted to possess you wholly\u2026
\nfrom whom you took the strength, the passion, and the
\ninnocence of youth?<\/p>\n

Gigantic city, we have taken nothing \u2013 not even a handful
\nof your trampled dust\u2026and left not even the print of a heel
\nupon your stony-hearted pavements. <\/p>\n

—Thomas Wolfe
\n________________<\/p>\n

The email was waiting for me when I got to work one morning earlier this year. It was a grand little email, I thought. Dear Ira. I\u2019m a producer for so-and-so (big-name TV show host in NYC), and we\u2019re doing a segment on the Amish. I found your book, then your blog. Would you be interested in talking?<\/p>\n

There was a time when I would have practically swooned at such a message. Or maybe danced around the office a bit. High-fived someone. The big boys from New Yawk City. They want me. Oh, boy. Yes, yes, I\u2019m all into talking. Any time you want, for as long as you want. <\/p>\n

Such a time was in the past, though. This time, I read the email, dubious. Doubtful that anything would come of it. Well, sure, I\u2019d be interested. So I emailed back. Sure. Here\u2019s my number. Call me any time. Within minutes, the phone rang. The producer from the big bad city. <\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s how it is,\u201d he said. A young guy, from the sound of it. He was friendly and outgoing, like they all are. \u201cWe\u2019re interviewing some ex-Amish people, and wanted to round out the group. I found your site. Looks pretty impressive. Any way you could make it on an early train day after tomorrow, for the show?\u201d <\/p>\n

Sure, I can make it. I chuckled. Look. I\u2019ve talked to producers before. You promise the world. So far, your record for actually coming through has been pretty abysmal. Sure, I\u2019d love to come on the show. I\u2019m here. You figure out if I\u2019ll make it, and let me know. I\u2019ll be there if you tell me to be. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll let you know one way or another,\u201d he promised. I only half believed that. From past experiences, they just vanished without a trace, producers like him. But he called a couple more times that afternoon with specific questions. He was hopeful that I\u2019d get to go. And then the next day he called again. True to his word. Told me ruefully. It hadn\u2019t worked out. His bosses had decided against his recommendation. That\u2019s fine, I told him. Email me your address, and I\u2019ll send you a copy of my book anyway. He did. And I did. Who knows? Spread some seed for down the road. <\/p>\n

One thing I\u2019ve learned in these past two years. Especially concerning the TV film people. Whatever promises they make, whatever breathless scenarios they throw at you, don\u2019t ever, ever expect a thing to actually come down. Never. Not until it really happens. And by \u201creally happens,\u201d I mean when your segment appears on the TV screen in your living room. Because most of the time, it won\u2019t. It\u2019s nothing personal against me, from their perspective, I\u2019m convinced. As it\u2019s nothing personal against them from mine, either. It\u2019s just the nature of the business. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always said I will go anywhere, on any format, I mean, to talk about my book. Not necessarily any physical location. But on any channel. Any station. It doesn\u2019t matter. And I\u2019ll scheme and plot and plan and connive<\/a> to get my book into the hands of influential public figures. That\u2019s just part of getting your stuff out there. And I\u2019ll still do it. In the past month, I\u2019ve had friends personally hand a signed copy of the book to one of my greatest heroes ever, Lew Rockwell<\/a>. And a signed copy to Willie Nelson, handed to his personal assistant. And last week I mailed a copy to Oprah\u2019s fan club. <\/p>\n

Way more likely than not, I\u2019ll never hear a peep from anyone from the production of all that effort. But it\u2019s part of the seeding, that effort. Throw your stuff out there. Like the Bible says the sower did. Some of it will fall on rocky soil, sure. Some of it will fall among thorns and choke to death. And some small remnants might just sift through somehow to some patches of fertile soil. And sprout and grow and bring forth a thousand fold. You never know. So you just keep seeding. <\/p>\n

Back in the heady days of mid-2011, Debbie Lykins<\/a>, the extremely competent independent publicist hired by Tyndale to promote my book, lined up a ton of radio interviews for me. At least thirty, maybe forty. And they all came off as scheduled. A few minutes before the appointed time, I would head upstairs to an unused office at work. Sit there, until the call came through. And they always came. Ten minutes, some of the interviews. Most were more like twenty, or half an hour. A few lasted a full hour. And I was fine with all of it. I didn\u2019t have to study for anything. I knew my subject matter. Radio was cool, and I enjoyed it. And when they scheduled me, the radio people, they always called as promised. <\/p>\n

Not so the film people. Sure, they called and bugged me several times. Way early this year, I got a call from a young female producer from NYC. She was working for a big-name guy who has a daily cable show. And she was right here, in Lancaster County. Scouting for some real Amish people to talk to. I felt sorry for her. She\u2019d been thrown out here, told to come up with something. Talk about pressure. Sure, I said. I\u2019ll do what I can. Stop by. And she drove right on over to see me. I chatted with her for a few minutes, to see what she really wanted. Her cell phone kept interrupting us. Calls from her office in the city, I figured. She wanted to talk to some real Amish people, that\u2019s what she said. So I called in some favors, pushed my limits way out there. Bothered some friends who don\u2019t necessarily care to be bothered. And I got her connected with a young Amish couple that very day. She thanked me profusely and rushed off. She met my friends and spoke with them. Would they consider being interviewed off-camera for the show? I never asked, but I think my friends agreed. And the young producer headed back to NYC and was never heard from again. Because the idea for the segment was scrapped. After all that running, after all that bother. That\u2019s just the nature of the business. <\/p>\n

But still, it\u2019s irritating. They come in and spout some big shot TV name and expect you to fall all over yourself. Expect you to help them out. Which I\u2019ve always done, or tried to do. The lure of mainstream exposure is just too strong to resist. However irritating. <\/p>\n

But that young producer from NYC was far from my worst experience. A little over a year ago, Debbie got me hooked up with one of the major Christian TV production companies in the world. And these people actually planned to come out and film me. I did the interview on the phone, with the intake lady. We got along fine. And about a week later, they showed up, a producer and two cameramen. For two days, they were around. I showed them around the area, and they shot a great deal of film footage. I even coerced one of my Amish yard guys to take me on a buggy ride. One of the camera guys sat in the back and filmed. We did several hours of filming in a real Amish home. And great grand promises were made, oh yes, they were. <\/p>\n

The segment would run on the morning show, and it would be seen by millions of viewers. Sometime in October of last year, that\u2019s when it would air. I met the filming crew for the second day for a few hours. In my home. And then they were off, with many blessings bespoken from both sides. I eagerly anticipated the actual airing. <\/p>\n

And October came. Then went. My segment never aired. No word, from anyone. I stressed a little. But really not that much. I figured it would come, sooner or later. But if it didn\u2019t, it just didn\u2019t. By late November, I nudged Debbie the publicist. Can you check it out, to see what\u2019s going on? She sent a query. If she even got any response, it was a mumble. Or maybe a grunt. <\/p>\n

And the segment never aired. Never. Not after a film crew was sent to interview me for two days. And all the expense involved with that. Not after all those shining glorious promises. I can honestly say this, though. Through it all, I let it rest, in my mind. Sure, I fretted a bit. All those \u201cmillions of viewers\u201d would have purchased a good many books, I figured. But there was nothing I could do, to make it happen, to make the film air. That\u2019s what I realized. And the whole thing just kind of slipped away in time. <\/p>\n

Then, in late February, my Google alert snagged an interesting link on YouTube. I pulled it up and clicked to watch. Then I posted it on Facebook. It was me being interviewed by the film crew that had spent two days with me. Six plus minutes of professionally edited footage. Beautifully done. And then it just cut off, ended abruptly, right in mid sentence. <\/p>\n

The project was never finished. No wonder it never aired. And I wondered why. Why go to all that expense and effort, then just pull out? Why not finish what you started? None of that makes a lick of sense to me, but it doesn\u2019t have to, I guess. I chalk it down to \u201cthe nature of the business.\u201d And try not to think of what might have been. <\/p>\n

The footage had been released by mistake, and within a few days, it was pulled back. By that time, though, someone else had downloaded it. And when the link disappeared, that someone threw it right back out on the web<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In all my experiences with film crews, there was one that stood out, one little group that actually kept its promises. All the way. And that was Mose Gingerich and his producer, who were in the area at exactly the same time as the other film crew. Those were hectic days for me. Mose came to my workplace and we talked. That night, they came to a book talk I had scheduled with a group of campers in a local campground. His producer filmed and filmed and filmed. They didn\u2019t make a lot of hype about anything. But when the hit show, Amish Out of Order<\/em>, aired on National Geographic earlier this year, there I was. In one episode, in a very cool five-minute segment<\/a>. From all the talking and filming, they could have chosen to make me look good, or make me look bad. They made me look very good indeed. So that was the one very positive experience I\u2019ve had with the film people. Don\u2019t know why a few more of them couldn\u2019t have been like that. It\u2019s the nature of the business, I suppose. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve called it a wild and beautiful road, certain stretches of the past year. As it was, and continues to be, now and then. But it\u2019s kind of like walking a tightrope, too, sometimes. As in trying to keep your balance. To not freak out at times. To stay focused on living and letting it all come down as it may. To not let all the noise get to me, to not get bogged down with what might have been. Or what might yet be. To rest, emotionally. To trust God, to know He’s there, when faith is hard and distant. To let go of things, when I need to. I sway a good bit sometimes in the winds. But so far, I\u2019ve managed to keep walking the wire without losing my balance or my mind. I think. I try hard to be who I know I am. Sometimes it’s tough to tell just exactly who that is. <\/p>\n

The book will have to stand on its own merits. Overcome any roadblocks on its own. Move along, regardless of what happens or doesn\u2019t. Regardless of what promises were kept or broken. That\u2019s what I think. That\u2019s what I believe. <\/p>\n

And I\u2019ll still respond, when some young producer calls or stops by, frantic for information or connections. Sure, I\u2019ll meet with you. Connect you. I\u2019ll do what I can. Some day, some time, it will all come together. It will all work out, I think. <\/p>\n

Last Saturday afternoon, I fetched my mail. Usually it\u2019s just junk stuff. That\u2019s what the post office delivers now, mostly. Junk. But that day, there was something more. A letter from Tyndale. A nice oblong white envelope. I walked into the house and opened it. Read the greeting. Stared at the subject matter line. And I looked to the heavens with a grateful heart. <\/p>\n

The wind is calm, up here on the tightrope. And the wild and beautiful road rolls on. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

***************************************************<\/p>\n

I have never attended a writer\u2019s conference. Never. Someday, I may expound a bit more on why that is. For me, it boils down to something like this: If you\u2019re the social\/networking type that enjoys that kind of thing, cool. Go have fun. But if you have to go to a writer\u2019s conference to \u201clearn\u201d anything, well, I should probably just bite my tongue. But, ah, what the heck? I will say this much. Too many writers, I think, are so busy running around connecting with each other and lapping up the lectures at conferences that they forget what it is to live. And if you don\u2019t live, you\u2019ll have little to write that\u2019s real. By \u201creal,\u201d I mean the stuff that\u2019s in your heart to speak. The stuff you would throw out for free, even if you knew that few or none would ever read it. There\u2019s nothing real in formulaic prose that anyone else who attended a writer\u2019s conference might have cranked out. <\/p>\n

Forget the formulas. Forget the “ten steps to writing a bestseller,” or whatever steps to whatever goal they’re pushing these days. And just write your heart. Trust it. Speak it honestly. In all its doubts and fears and rage and pain. And in all the good things, too, the gratitude and joy. Say it like it is, in the moment. Live. Write. Develop your distinctive voice. Don’t overstress the rules of grammar. Be who you are, with all your flaws. Let it take you where it will, your writing. All that is probably not stuff they’ll tell you at any writer’s conference. But that\u2019s the way I see it, so I’m telling you here. <\/p>\n

And that little lecture was triggered from trying to get to saying this. I’m a loner, mostly, but I do enjoy hanging out with other writers now and then. And when my good friend Shawn Smucker<\/a> recently invited me to a local writer’s breakfast, I accepted without hesitation. So it\u2019s all happening over at Angela’s Cafe<\/a> in Gap on Saturday morning, Nov. 3, from 9:30 to 11:30. During at least part of our time together, Shawn will interview me about my journey from writing a simple weekly blog to the great shining city that is Tyndale House. <\/p>\n

The event is open to the public. And you don\u2019t have to be a writer to attend. The only cost will be the money you spend on coffee and food. So if you can make it, I\u2019d love to see you there. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What have you given, incredible mirage of all our million shining hopes, to those who wanted to possess you wholly\u2026 from whom you took the strength, the passion, and the innocence of youth? Gigantic city, we have taken nothing \u2013 not even a handful of your trampled dust\u2026and left not even the print of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7038"}],"version-history":[{"count":222,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8599,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7038\/revisions\/8599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irawagler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}