So now I can say I successfully put on a film festival!

My mother flew in from Ohio to be there. I hadn’t seen her in years, so it was great to have her visit for a few days. She said I had really nice friends, which I knew already, but it is good to know I haven’t unwittingly fallen in with some riff raff.

There was only a minor technical glitch during one of the films. Suddenly the screen went black where it wasn’t meant to. A cold panic set in. But by the time I entered the lobby to find the manager, the picture had returned.

People came up to me afterwards and told me how much they enjoyed the movies. Everyone seemed to have their own favorite. Mine was “Longshots,” which was about a mother and daughter’s relationship working on a horse farm.

On Tuesday, I received an email from Meredith Stout, the filmmaker behind Walk in My Shoes. She informed me that Zelma Brown, the poet whose work is featured in the film, had passed away in her sleep. I let her know that Zelma was very much alive on the night of the festival and that her words had impact. It was an honor to be able to share her words with everyone.

My plan for the festival has been to pass it off on to someone else who feels inspired to take it over. So I will see if that happens. I’m also interested in having people in other cities have their own version of the festival. But as for me, I will be moving on to other projects.

It was a fantastic experience and I learned that I can accomplish projects that are larger than anything I had taken on before. That’s a good thing to know.