Joe Posner's "Cup of Joe"
Pour yourself a cup of joe and pull up a chair.
by Joe Posner
Welcome back!
Did I ever tell you about the time me and my high school buddies visited the set of the original "Star Trek?" Inhale YOUR cup of Joe, and read on, friend.
The year was 1968. Nixon was president. Girls' skirts were getting short and boys' hair was getting long. "Mission: Impossible" was on television.
In the summer of '68, my friends and I filmed a 30 minute satire of "Star Trek." I played "Captain Quirk," and co-wrote the script.
The film was shown at several film festivals and my buddies and I got written up in the South Bay section of the LA Times. Teenagers making movies wasn't as commonplace as it is today.
In the fall of '68, our "Star Trek" spoof was shown at our local high school. We invited all the lead actors on "Star Trek" to our film screening: James Doohan, who played "Scotty" on the show, was the only one who made it.
Well, I guess he liked our silly movie, because my friends and I were invited down to Paramount Studios in Hollywood for a tour of the "Trek" sets. Wow!
They divided us up into two groups: one saw William Shatner (Captain Kirk) shoot a scene, the other Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock). I was a HUGE Mr. Spock fan so it was okay with me that I was in the Nimoy group.
Shotting was light that day, so we had a chance to wander through the corridors of The Enterprise and visit Sick Bay, the Engineering Room, etc. We all took turns sitting in the Captain's Chair on The Bridge.
The experience is a golden memory that it's been my pleasure to share.
Have a great week!
joeposner@earthlink.net
by Joe Posner
Welcome back!
Did I ever tell you about Mikey the Security Dog? Enjoy a swig of your favorite beverage and read on, friend. Animal lovers: keep a hanky handy.
When I'm not writing this column, or taking freelance writing assignments, I'm a security officer, on the graveyard shift, at an auto lot in Southern California's Inland Empire.
One night, about seven months ago, a dog showed up on the lot on my shift. Half boxer, half pit bull, the dog was woefully under fed. He immediately took to my wife, Marty, who works with me on the lot. She fed him and petted him and showed him love. Mikey came to trust her.
Eventually, he made his away across the lot to my gate. He was very gun shy. Almost immediately, I named him "Mikey," after the kid in the ancient Life cereal commercial who would eat anything. My Mikey was perpetually hungry, so the name fit.
Mikey would hang out with me on my shift. When I went on a foot patrol, Mikey would join me. Soon, Mikey began to work his special magic. Tired, grumpy truckers, who brought cars to my gate in the middle of the night, would smile when they saw Mikey.
He decided he liked the hill behind me, so he dug a hole in it that became his bed and observation post. When Mikey looked off in a certain direction, I would too. The ever alert Mikey became my Security Dog.
In the evenings, when I showed up for work, Mikey would come running down the lot to greet me. After sniffing my hand to make sure it was really me, he'd wag his tail, move from side to side and do a half spin. It became known as the Mikey Dance.
Everybody, on all three shifts, brought Mikey food. He got wet food, dry food, cat food and dog food. He didn't mind a bean burrito every now and then. The lunch truck guy gave him a free cheeseburger every day. When do lunch truck guys give away free food?
Mikey, unfortunately, had a few enemies. Animal control was called more than once and traps were set, but he always evaded capture. Mikey was the Steve McQueen of dogs. Think "The Great Escape," The Getaway" and "Papillion." Like the late, great McQueen, Mikey was a free sprit: four walls would not contain him.
Some people wanted to adopt Mikey, but he would never go with them. Mikey trusted few people. I was lucky to be one of the few. Unfortunately, I already have two pets and no yard, so I couldn't take him. It is something I will always regret.
Wednesday, Februray 23, started off pretty well for Mickey. The rain had stopped. Some kind soul brought him some beef ribs. Although I wasn't there at the time, I'm sure Mikey loved them.
Around 2 p.m., Mikey was laying down on the lot, sunning himself, when a speeding driver hit him from behind. According to eyewitnesses, Mikey's rear legs where shattered. Using only his front legs, Mikey dragged himself some distance until he collapsed under a parked Volvo, exhausted and in great pain.
A shocked crowd quickly gathered. When somebody tried to move him, Mikey bit them. It was out of character for Mikey, who had never even growled at anyone, but he was obviously in great pain.
Animal Control was called. They gave him a heavy sedative and took him away. Mikey, who had evaded capture for so long, was now in the hands of the authorities.
A kind hearted fellow security officer on second shift quickly helped raise over $2,000 in pledges to help pay for Mikey's vet treatment, if he survived his injuries. The officer called Animal Control and let them know that we would pay to fix him, and had a home lined up for him, if he lived.
Despite this, Animal Control executed Mikey around 7 p.m. the same day, claiming he MIGHT have rabies. They gave him a lethal injection, cut his head off and sliced into his brain.
Since when is this the standard response to a POSSIBLY rabid dog with no symptoms? If biting someone is now a symptom, almost all animals picked up would then also be killed.
* * * * * * * *
The auto lot is a subdued place these days. Flowers have been placed in Mikey's perch on the hill and a small wooden cross erected above it. Somebody wrote, "We Love You Mikey," in yellow crayon on the ground near his food and water bowls.
They say all dogs go to Heaven. In Mikey's case, I certainly hope that is true.
Rest in Peace, Mikey. You will truly be missed.
joeposner@earthlink.net
by Joe Posner
Welcome back!
Did I ever tell you about my dinner with Captain Kirk? Enjoy some of your rocket juice as we prepare to ... blast off!.
The year, 2000. I was the owner and Content Director for a HOT sci-fi internet site. We were getting 300,000 hits a month and that's with only word of mouth promotion.
In an effort to increase traffic to the site, my asociates and I decided to hold a Lifetime Achievement awards ceremony, to take place on stage during a convention put on by some weirdo cult magazine.
We invited a number of sci-fi luminaries, including Charlton Heston, Sir Arthur C. Clarke and William Shatner. Some ignored us, some said no. Only Star Trek's eternal Captain Kirk, William Shatner, said yes.
Some weeks later, the convention was going well. My wife Marty and I retreated to our hotel room to change into our dressy duds. Captain Kirk was beaming into Hollywood and we needed to look our best.
Later, there was a sense of anticipation the banquet room. Shortly before dinner was to begin, William Shatner and his fiancé appeared. The energy in the room instantly went up several notches.
They joined us at our table. Although friendly, Shatner seemed a bit disconcerted that we didn't have a book, a magazine,something TANGIBLE. It seemed that he may have shown up at an event he didn't know much about.
Shatner became restless. When the salad course arrived, Shatner gave his a lady a gesture that seemed to say "Don't eat...we're not staying." Shatner's lady reluctantly put down her salad fork.
I got the feeling that Shatner and his fiancé might be bolting the table any momment, before the award ceremony even began.
Although the only honoree present in person, Shatner's name was halfway down the list. Suddenly I got an idea.
I turned toward Captain Kirk, who was seated to my right. "Mr. Shatner, would you like to be up first in the awards ceremony?" Shatner agreed, seizing the suggestion like a hungry bear catching a slow tourist.
Soon, the ceremony began. After a brief intro, Shatner joined me on the stage. I gave him center stage, moon walking to a corner of the stage to give Shatner his moment to shine.
Although Bill may not have known why he was there, Shatner, ever the pro, charmed the audience with the acceptance speech for his Lifetime Achievement award.
Shatner left the stage to thunderous applause. Faster than you can say "Beam me up Scotty," and with his award in one hand and his fiancé's hand in the other, Shatner exited the banquet room.
Ironically, though I had had dinner with Shatner, he had absolutely nothing to eat. I shouldn't worry, however. He doesn't seemed to have missed any meals since.
Have a great week.
joeposner@earthlink.net
by Joe Posner
Welcome back!
Did I ever tell you about my UFO encounter? Take a swig of your Area 51 Cola and read on, friend.
The year was 1965. "Man from U.N.C.L.E." was on TV. The Beatles owned the radio waves. Young girls had troll dolls.
That summer, our relatives from Chicago came to visit us in California. As a result, the big, green, leather couch in the living room was to be my bed. I don't know about you, but I'm a couch man, so the temporary change in sleeping quarters was okay with me.
One night, I suddenly woke up at two in the morning. Rubbing sandman dust from my eyes, something compelled me to go to big picture window in the front of the house, the drapes only partially pulled.
Just as I arrived, and looked out the window, I saw a glowing, orange sphere, the size of the setting sun, quickly floating downward. As I watched, it reached the water, at the horizon
line, then disappeared from view.
That morning, I told everybody about my UFO encounter. My supportive folks actually believed I had seen something weird in the sky, not just made up a strange story. With their encouragement, I called the Air Force base closest to the area.
The public information officer said they had had no late night rocket launches or missile tests that night.
Okay, let's fast forward the Wayback Machine to 1995. Don't forget to fasten your seat belt!
Thirty years have gone by. I'm doing some research on a UFO article for an Internet site. I come across a reprint of an article from 1965, translated from a Mexican newspaper. It described a series of orange sphere sightings over the pacific, in a pattern that took them north toward California. This occurred during the summer of my UFO encounter!
To this day, I'm not sure what I saw. Was it an alien spaceship landing in the Pacific, a top secret military launch, or something else entirely.
What do YOU think I saw?
Have a great week!
joeposner@earthlink.net