In the Wake of Rejection (Encouragement for Creators)

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New York book publishers in the early 1960s thought the idea stank — like old fish and seaweed — and that, as a writer, Ricou Browning was wet behind the ears. And he actually was, both figuratively and literally. Browning was an underwater cinematographer and stuntman in his early thirties, who had no previous writing experience. But in a splash of sheer inspiration, Browning got a great idea for a novel. At least, he thought it was great. Book editors at practically every publishing company, however, thought he was “all wet.”

Browning was born in Fort Pierce, Florida on November 23, 1930. As a child he spent most of his time playing on the beach, and grew up to be an accomplished swimmer and diver. By the time he was 20, Browning was producing elaborate underwater shows for various theme parks. By the time he was 24, Hollywood had discovered him.

Hollywood had a history of making bankable stars out of excellent swimmers. In the early 1930s, two Olympic Gold-medalists dived into film roles that made them box office attractions. Buster Crabbe surfaced in cliffhanger movie serials, playing the seminal space heroes Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. Johnny Weissmuller swung into action as Tarzan of the Apes, making 12 crowd-pleasing motion pictures before his expanding waistline forced him to hang up his loin cloth. (Not to worry, though, because savvy film producers simply clothed Weissmuller in a safari outfit, and started making a slew of Jungle Jim movies.)

And throughout the 1940s and 50s, champion swimmer Esther Williams starred in a flood of “aquamusicals,” which featured elaborate sequences of diving and synchronized swimming.

Following in the wake of these three great swimmers-turned-actors, Ricou Browning landed his own starring role … well, sort of … portraying the title character in Universal Studio’s classic horror movie The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Hey, it was good money, and the film spawned two sequels which kept Browning swimming in the dough — as well as the large fish tank used to film all the creepy underwater sequences. Unfortunately for Browning, no one could recognize him under the green latex gills and fins.

By 1960, Browning was directing and/or filming the underwater sequences for television shows such as Sea Hunt (with Lloyd Bridges) and The Aquanauts. But the young man had even greater creative aspirations. One day, while watching an episode of the ever-popular series Lassie with his kids, Browning started sloshing around a highly original concept in his waterlogged brain, for an adventure tale about an “aquatic Lassie.” He took his ideas to a good friend, and together the two men wrote a novel … which nobody wanted to publish. Period.

That might have been the end of the story, had Browning not bumped into his old boss, movie and television producer Ivan Tors. Browning had worked with Tors on Sea Hunt, and figured he’d found a fellow with whom he could drown his sorrows; but after Browning explained his “novel idea” to Tors, the Hollywood producer immediately suggested they turn the unpublished book into a movie.

Tors was an innovator, as evidenced by such successful television series as Science Fiction Theatre, in 1955, and a 1961 show called Ripcord, which ultimately popularized skydiving as an extreme leisure sport. Then, too, Tors was a huge animal-lover. He’d eventually create and produce two long-running TV shows, one about a vet in Africa, Daktari, and one about a boy and his bear, Gentle Ben. So the producer was eager to sink some time and money into the heartwarming story of … a boy and his dolphin.

Flipper, the novel nobody wanted to publish, soon became Flipper, the motion picture. The movie was a box-office hit, and earned a sequel less than a year later, quickly followed (in 1964) by a television show that lasted 3 seasons and 88 episodes. In fact, Tors ended the show while it was still a ratings hit, only because he wanted to pursue other projects. But not before Flipper (played by a bottlenose dolphin named Mitzi) helped its creators to soak up lots of cash, through licensing deals that included lunch boxes, coloring books, toys, and games.

Got a novel idea? Have faith and stick with it.

Has someone tried to convince you, regarding your dreams, that you’re all wet? If their resistance to your work smells a little fishy, well, perhaps it is. Think of all the people who initially faced rejection, only to make a big splash later, in writing, illustrating, singing, acting, inventing, innovating and, in general, creating. So keep on treading the often turbulent waters of life and success. Swim with the “dolphins,” gentle and intelligent; and look out for the sharks.

“When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2 TLB)

It’s okay. I’m really just a dolphin, ma’am.
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Reports of Strange Kitchen Phenomena! (Angel in the Kitchen)

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Scientist and science fiction novelist Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The author used this astute observation as a plot device in 2001: A Space Odyssey (both the novel and the movie). But what exactly constitutes “sufficiently advanced” tech? We imagine it’s practically anything beyond human knowledge.

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, astronaut and scientist Dave Bowman witnessed strange things far beyond his limited understanding.

But we all have different life experiences; and as a result, what we know may not be what you know. For instance, there are things going on in our kitchen that we can’t quite understand. Seemingly magical changes are taking place before our very eyes; processes as ancient as time itself, and yet beyond our limited knowledge.

Join us now, as we journey into the deepest recesses of the kitchen, and plumb the depths of the curious and arcane. Keep a firm grip on both your flashlight and your sanity, for we shall encounter the unexplainable, the unimaginable, perhaps even … the unspeakable!

Actually, we’re more likely to encounter the unspeakable in the laundry room, when we take a load of clothes from the dryer. Yes, by the Rings of Saturn, crouching atop the pile of sheets and towels are … (Oh, the horror! Dare we say it?) some of our unmentionables!

Are you SURE this is the way to the kitchen?

Ahem, on to the kitchen, brave heart.

There … in the cabinet … can you see it?!?! Dear Lord, it’s a box of … Jell-O! And next to it — Gasp! — baking powder! What manner of witchcraft be lurking in yon cupboard?

Have you ever noticed the strange sorcery that takes place when boiling water is added to gelatin? Out of sight within the dark regions of the refrigerator, the steaming liquid cools, and slowly transforms into a semi-solid jiggling mass of allegedly edible dessert … with a fruity flavor that is not its own! Okay, we know it’s not magic, but rather science. We also realize we can google the chemistry behind gelatin, but…. Seriously, we don’t really care, because we already know what we need to know: Jell-O works every time. Like magic! We’re not sure how, but we have confidence that mixing a little powder and H2O produces Jell-O! Onward!

Dost thou understand what gibbering madness cries out for baking powder to be added to the cauldron in which thou mixeth a batch of brownies? What dost the baking powder actually do? For that matter, precisely what is baking powder? We actually know this one. Yet, many cooks don’t. They simply follow the age-old wisdom of the cookbook. They may not understand all the hows, whys and wherefores, but these people have been promised good results by a chef much wiser than them, and they have faith that any given recipe will work!

Call it kitchen faith!

The reason things work in the kitchen is because they are backed by natural laws. We trust in these natural laws — even though we may not understand all the principles behind them. And we know it’s not magic, but rather an as-yet-unlearned part of the puzzle revealing life’s great mysteries. Interestingly, not too many seem bothered by not knowing the reasons behind all the intricate workings within the average kitchen. They’re too busy enjoying all the tasty things produced within the kitchen!

Regarding the spiritual realm, most of us have far more questions than answers. There are Biblical principles, the reasons for which we may not know or fully understand. Furthermore, God has promised things that seem impossible. He can take our mistakes and use our circumstances to make our lives nicely “gel” into something wonderful. How does He do it? Why does He do it? Do we really need to know in order to enjoy His blessings? “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5 NLT)

Because we don’t always “get it”, the spiritual realm can sometimes feel a little like The Twilight Zone.

Most of the answers are in His Holy Word, but there will always be a little mystery to His divine workings. Some things we just won’t know for sure until we go home to spend eternity with our Heavenly Father. But, like all the cooks who have kitchen faith, we should have faith in God’s promises and precepts. We may not be able to see and understand the intricacies behind them, but we should realize they are not “magic”; but rather truths backed by God’s divine laws and supernatural principles.

You don’t need to know or understand every single truth in the Bible in order to start enjoying the blessings of a life spent with God. You can accept salvation without knowing when Christ wll return and whether or not it will be before or after what theologians call The Great Tribulation. You can have faith in God’s promises without knowing all the hows, whys, and wherefores! Simply follow the age-old wisdom of the spiritual cookbook (the Word of God). Trust what it says, and you’ll have good results — because the “Master Chef,” who is much wiser than any of us, has promised that all His “recipes” will work!

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.'” (Isaiah 55:8 NLT)

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