Learning to Fly

So what happens when you write a movie about Burt Lancaster during his years as a trapeze flyer? You damn well better learn to fly. The last few months I've set out to do just that. After a few painful attempts in my backyard I realized that I needed professional help. That's when I met Richie Gaona. Richie is a stunt man, circus coordinator, and general bad ass. He's been my coach now for a few months and I'm actually showing some promise. Thankfully, I don't have to try and sum up for you what a typical trapeze class looks like as the L.A. Daily New just did a piece that you can view online. Click on the title of this post to link to it. As you can see it's wild. For those of you that think us flyers are crazy, well, you're right but we're having a better time than most. Besides being a a blast, flying has gotten me one step closer to understanding the man I am going to play in the movie. To do what he did in his films and under the big top takes a little dose of crazy, a ton of courage, and more desire than Bono sings about in that great song. Burt had it all. Every time I fly, I feel a little bit closer to him. It could just be the adrenaline getting the best of me but I'm pretty sure it's the spirit of Lancaster egging me on. After all, he knows how hard it is for a 6'3 guy to learn a sport that is designed for 5'5 gymnasts. I can almost hear him laughing every time I hit my feet on the bar. Keep laughing my friend, keep laughing.