Developing a TV Pitch

I quite loved this little scene.

Sunday is always a glorious day. There’s Catherine Duncan’s Choral Concert on the CBC in the morning, Prime Suspectand All Creatures Great & Small to watch in the evening, and yesterday was spectacularly clear and bright, the kind of day that elevates my spirit. At ten, I really enjoyed Zooming with my fellow stutterers as we always do on the first Sunday of each month.

The Zoom call was super interesting. Two stutterers talked about entering speech-making competitions as Speech Language Therapists often advise. As they talked about their experience I came close to nausea and I could feel a stone growing like a pearl in my guts. I had to mute the sound to stop, but by the end of the call I was a wreck.

Kevin and Shelly came by to check out my van. They are thinking of getting a similar one, and I could barely walk or stand and could not speak, I was so fucked up. I’m clearly going through a really challenging time with my mental health.

On the plus side, however, I suggested, using the chat feature of Zoom calling, that we pitch a television program about stuttering to our Knowledge Network and to T. V. Ontario—two educational television networks. My colleagues were supportive and so I spent a good deal of the rest of the day drafting a pitch and conscripting allies from my contacts in the film industry and fellow stutterers to counsel me.

I don’t care if we are successful or not, but I’m really enjoying having a project that involves my skills with technical writing. I’ll feel good if we develop a good pitch together. I think it will be good for my mental health and I need some help right now to end the seizures and free up my speech.

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It’s bright and cool this morning, and I can easily fetch wood without a flashlight shortly after seven now. That’s so encouraging! My Sweet Boxwood is blooming, making my deck smell like Jasmine and my Narcissus shoots are about four inches high.

And so, another (but better) Covid week begins. Developing the TV pitch and reading are enriching my days. And the days are longer. Plus, next week, right after the Monday holiday, I have a session with Dr. Shoja, so I’ll be collecting my thoughts and questions for her.