Ray Lewis' Last Ride

As many of you know I am a huge Baltimore Ravens fan. have been since they came to Baltimore in 1996. One guy who has been with them since the beginning is Ray Lewis. Probably the most famous Raven of them all, the team leader both physically and spiritually. He took no excuses made no excuses. pumped you up and made you play better while keeping your mind in the game. Keeping you aware that this was a team sport and you were part of a team. One person fails you all fail, even if that one person was not named Ray Lewis. If they lost a game because of one person, never called them out publically pushed that we failed as a team. He knew one play does not change everything. You should have converted on that third down in the first quarter, you should not have been called off-sides. You had to play perfect, one mistake did not take the game from them, all the missed opportunities and mistakes did that. Ray knew that and he preached that. He was your motivator, your enemy, your best friend, your teacher, your student. He learned and he processed the information to make him one of the most feared and one of the very best Linebackers of all time.

17 years is a long time and for the last 5 years or so he has not been the same Ray Lewis as he was earlier in his career, but that was on the field. His mind was still sharp, he was still your motivator and he was your General. The game is probably never going to see anything like it again. Early in his career he had his run-ins with the law and the situation in I believe Miami where he witnessed the murder of two guys committed by his so called friends put a big black mark on his record that do this day is still brought up in jokes and stories about Ray. But to me and probably most everyone else in Baltimore, that was a wake up call for Ray and from that point on he knew he had to change his ways, and he did. Even going so far to help counsel kids and give them a positive role model. He helped everybody and he was a better man for that.

He has the uncanny ability to motivate anyone. Going so far as to have colleges from all over the country, not just in Maryland ask him to come speak. And he brings his A game every time. If he wanted to he has a huge career ahead of him as a motivational speaker. Some of his speeches are really good and they are to kids who need a positive role model. I know I am repeating a lot but that is just who Ray is.

His will to play has ebbed, his body has failed him a number of times, and this last 9 weeks or so he has gotten a view of where his priorities should be, with his family who is growing up quickly and he is missing it, and he doesnt want that. Sure he's going to do some broadcasting, but it is nowhere near what it is like being a player. It's a hard life being a player, that's why the players are younger, they have the time to do their thing before they realize what is really important and that is family. Ray gets it. He may have left school early to go pro, but he is smart enough to realize someday he will not be able to play and he needs skills. Retiring at 37 is crazy since most people still have to work 30 years before they retire. Ray knows theres more out there. So he went back to school and got a degree. HE gets it. He's one of the smart ones and he is trying to spread his message to others.

Sunday's playoff game may very well be the last game he plays in Baltimore, though there is an outside chance we may host the Championship game if we win all our games and the Bengals win all of theirs. Realistically this is his last home game. Retiring while his team is on top is not a bad way to go. Godspeed Ray, you deserve your retiremement. Cant wait to see what you will do with the second part of your life.

My (very) Brief career as a Television Extra

The late 90s was a good time for the film industry of Baltimore. Homicide Life on the Streets was a critically acclaimed show that lasted I think 6 seasons on NBC. Filmed entirely in Baltimore it brought mucho dinero to the area and employed thousands. Also movies were being filmed not only in Baltimore but in the surrounding area. During this time I was working at a Bagel shop. My hours were abyssmal, 330-1030 or up to 1200 depending how busy we were. But it was a job and I was making money. I was still living at home and had no car. My interest in comics had waned, but I was obsessed with movies. When I got to leave at 1030, usually on Fridays I would head up to Towson Commons and watch the new movies that came out. At night before bed I would watch movies in my bed. I was writing screenplays, had visions and dreams of being in the film industry. Then one day I saw it, an ad in the employment section of the Baltimore Sun. Extras wanted for local filmmaking please send resume and screen shot. So I did. And one day I got a call.

Homicide was filming an episode that was supposed to take place at the Naval Academy. They were not allowed to film there but were able to film at St. John's also in Annapolis. They need men about my size and age to portray students on the Naval Academy campus. So I said yes and my dad drove me to Annapolis Mall where a bus would pick up the extras and ship us to the shooting location. For those who may not know an extra is one of the people in the background moving around or doing things that do not affect the main shooting scene. It's to make it look like the scene is taking place in a real location and not some set.
So we got bussed to the shooting location. We were told that actors Andre Braugher and Kyle Secor would be the only members of the show shooting a scene there. It was our job to dress as Naval Academy midshipmen and walk in formation or in straight lines around the scene. They would also be shooting some exterior stuff of us walking around in our uniforms to set the scene. So we did the scene a bunch of times. And we broke for lunch. Andre Braugher who was the breakout star of the show went back to his trailer, while Kyle Secor hung out with us at the craft services area where we were eating lunch. Then we filmed a few more scenes of us marching around and that was it. They let us know when the show would be tenatively airing and to just keep an eye out for it. We were also paid 50 bucks for it. So I waited. Finally I saw the episode was coming on and told everyone to watch it. And the scene we filmed with the actors was literally about 10 seconds long. No exterior shots were used and I don't even think any of the extras showed up in the scene. So ok that's fine. It was an experience I can talk about.

About a year later they actually called me and requested me to join them for another episode of Homicide. Why not I thought.  So I got off the day from work and this time it was filming at Coppin State University. I was a college student. And the episode was set during Valentines Day. (We were filming it in January). It was also directed by Clark Johnson who also had a roll on the show. He played Detecticve Meldrich Lewis, and he was one of the stars of the ensemble who also happened to direct. So thatr was a bonus one of the actors directing us. Then the cherry on top was that the special guest star of the episode was none other than Neil Patrick Harris! (Before he had his renaissance, he was playing the bad guy) I ended up filming three scenes in the episode. So right off the bat I thought Great now I will actually get on!

The first one had me being a student walking down a hallway around Neil Patrick Harris who was being questioned by Brody the semi regular character played by Max Perlich who appeared to be the star of the episode. He was a cameraman who would film crime scenes and this episode a friend of his was killed. So I was supposed to walk around the actors as they were doing their lines then stop at a bullentin board and pretend to be reading something on it.  The second scene had me being a cast member of the theater troupe who was rehearsing the play Eqqus while Brody was questioning another student. I was told to wear a sheet and a horses head. (Since if you read Eqqus would know why). What was cool about this scene was that when we were waiting on the lighting to get fixed or the camera to get reloaded Max Perlich would talk to us about anything. I had never had an actor before talk to me like a regular guy, and go out of their way to talk to you as well.

The third scene was the best. As mentioned before the episode took place on Valentines day. We were filming in the cafeteria. Here Clark Johnson was front and center in his directing shouting our orders for us on how to act as he filmed. He set me across from a woman. We had to pretend we were madly in love with each other. Holding hands looking into each others eyes. ETC.  Apparently I didn't do a great job because the actor turned director Clark Johnson started calling me out on things, in a playful manner mind you. Any other director would not have been a big deal but this was one of the leads on the showing telling me what to do and making fun of me. So he panned across all the tables and passed ours and did it two or three times then we were wrapped. The shoot was over and I got to collect another 50 bucks. But it was cool because of the interactions with the actors and the fact that Neil Patrick Harris was there as well.

So right around Valentines day the episode aired and the storyline they were filming with us was relegated to a B story, so not a lot happened. They cut the EQQUS scene to shreads, they cut the scene in the cafeteria RIGHT BEFORE IT WOULD HAVE PANNED ON ME!!!! Finally the NPH scene, you can see me, barely. I was the big guy in shadow looking at a bulletin board. You would not know it was me unless I told you.

So a few months later I get another call. Species 2 is filming in the area and they were wondering if I was available for an overnight shoot. Now at this time I was working at the bagel shop and really could not take off. So I turned them down. I never heard from them again. Sigh. Well there was my touch with Hollywood. All in all a neat experience, but a little disappointing since I was never seen. Oh well. Them's the breaks.