Darren J. Squire
I have been experimenting with ideas for a long time. I am so impressed by improv comedians. The level of spontaneous creativity is truly a talent that brings laughter to so many different people. And I think that is something that we are often missing today. More laughter and cheerfulness. Twenty years ago, I remember speaking to a doctor that I worked with. He was very brilliant, had professional accolades, highly credentialed, yet he filled unfulfilled. He said if he could do it over again he would have gone into film making, so at least he could bring some sort of joy to people’s lives. That stuck with me in a big way.
Just like everyone else, the hustle and bustle of daily life got me bogged down. Where once I appreciated the beauty around me, I forgot the bigger picture. I knew I wanted to do more, and by remembering what my friend had told me, a burgeoning desire to help bring a little bit more joy into others’ lives in a new way began to form within me.
About 11 years ago, I nearly lost my dad due to a heart condition. He had to have a cow valve placed. Of course, this was a very stressful time. But to help alleviate the stress, I started teasing him with cow jokes. Well, time went on and family and friends joined in. It probably lasted way too long, but it seems like we were having fun. But in 2019, I had remembered what my friend had said. So I started jotting down ideas on my iPhone. Just simple ideas. That was about the same time I started to travel to Ukraine. Time went on, and I would develop the ideas here and there. But 2021 sort of woke my up. I really realized I needed to stop playing around and actually try. So I did. Of course so much blew up in my face. My whole involvement with Ukraine is self-explanatory. But yet this project succeeded. And in a way, it’s a simple token of what I once was told, but forgot, but I once again remembered.