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What a year. I'm so glad 2020 is finally over. It was the strangest year that we all have ever experienced: The year of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Before the shutdown, I was in four films. I was an extra in "Evinced," which was shot at the Capitol in January. I haven't been able to find anything about the film, which as an indie, faces extra challenges in a pandemic.

I was in three sensitivity training videos for Dunkin Donuts, a fun, paid gig. In one scene I played a homeless man acting very belligerently (in order to train servers how to react in such a situation). In a second scene, I was sleeping and the server learned how to wake me and get me to leave the store in order to provide space for other customers. In a third scene I was part of a group of book-lovers (with my face hidden, since I was used so prominently in the other videos.)

I was in three films just before SXSW was scheduled to start in March. "With Pleasure" was shot in the party room at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. I was part of an extremely weird scene in which a killer enters, and is dispatched in a strange manner. As with "Evinced" its status appears to be up in the air.

The following weekend I did extra work on a UT film, "Hospice." Two of the actors on "With Pleasure" joined me for a chapel scene. This was very fortunate since there were very few extras. One of the two, Sheila, has become a very dear friend. We were supposed to work on a funeral scene later, but that weekend the Covid shutdown started. They finished filming, but is still being edited.

I play a librarian in the last film: "Run Boy Run" (an ACC student film shot in Leander). It was a total delight. A young man is frantically trying to return a book to me before it is overdue, knowing that the price he will pay is very high. See it at .

In January I attended two funerals for former students' parents. Marnie & Shane Martinets' father started and then ran the food concession at Dart Bowl for fifty years. Marnie was one of my favorite students at Lamar. Lynne Whiteley sat in the row behind me. I didn't see Shane at the funeral but saw him twice later in the year. Bernadette & Michael Buchko's mother's funeral was a week later. Lizette Morgan was at the funeral. It was good to see these and provide comfort for them at a difficult time.

As usual I saw all of the Overheard with Evan Smith tapings, but due to Covid, there were only four. Two were great: Bill Bradley and (a double) Carol Leonnig & Philip Rucker (co-authors of a great book on Trump: "A Very Stable Genius"). Taping stopped in March and I hope they'll be able to resume sometime in 2021. To find out when they will be you can subscribe at /g/UpcomingOverheards.

In June I was cast in a small role in "The Photographer," another UT project. Filming was scheduled to start in the summer, then postponed to autumn, and is currently set for February, 2021.

I had lunch with Erica de la Garza in January. I met her in 2003 on "No Pain No Gain" but hadn't seen her in years, since she'd been living in LA & Houston. In June we had a fantastic bikini photo shoot on the Greenbelt. ()

I saw Carolyn Cohagan at BookPeople in January. She had interviewed my friend Amy Edwards there two months earlier which sparked my interest in her books. I'd read and loved her first two Time Zero books and was able to borrow the final volume from a friend who had won a copy at the book signing.

Bill Bradley delivered an amazing ninety-minute autobiographical speech in February at the LBJ. Bradley was an all-star with the New York Knicks, a U.S. Senator from New Jersey and a candidate for president in 2000. Shortly after that, I saw Bill Broyles deliver a similar speech. Broyles was the first editor of Texas Monthly, an editor at Newsweek for two years, and the script writer of "Apollo 13", "Castaway" and more. He spoke of his method of writing thru telling his autobiography. I told him that his talk reminded me of Bill Bradley's lecture. It turned out that he and Bradley were at Oxford at the same time and have been good friends for fifty years!!!

In 2018 I tracked down ten more Dobie Middle School (where I taught for two years) yearbooks (bringing the total to eighteen). Sadly, the yearbook conservator at Dobie refused to help, which makes it more of a challenge. At the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, I visited the school three times and finally arranged to pick up three books in early March. I planned to pick them up on the Friday before spring break. However, AISD shut down that morning as the pandemic lockdown started. In the fall, when I tried again, I was told by the librarian, who has the books, that I could not get them, due to Covid. I hope to get some in 2021.

In May I saw some beautiful face masks on a friend's Facebook page. I followed the link and contacted the lady who was selling them. I met her and liked them so much that I bought two. They are hand-made in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. ()

I saw lots of movies at the beginning of the year, but much less after that since AFS Cinema closed in March and Regal was open for only six weeks. Highlights: "Sixty-Three Up"(likely the final documentary in a series that followed a group every seven years from the age of seven - the director died in early 2021), "Les Miserables" (the new version), "Just Mercy" (I loved the book and saw the subject, Bryan Stevenson, speak at the LBJ), "The Art of Love: The Story of Michalina Wislocka", "Varda By Agnes" (likely Varda's last film - she died in 2019), "The Woman Who Loves Giraffes", "Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project" and "The Trial of the Chicago 7".

In August I saw the first movie in a theater since March ("Made in Italy"). In September I saw the first film at a Regal theater ("The Personal History of David Copperfield"). There was one other person at the screening. Wonderful film. There haven't been more than three people at any of the movies I've seen under Covid.

Once everything closed down, the end of access to library books worried me a great deal. I've used the UT library for many years, but due to Covid they restricted access to only the UT community. I suspect that will be the case thru the first few months of 2021. The public library was closed until June, including their book drops. It was estimated that 200,000 items were checked out. After finishing the library books that I had on hand, I borrowed a book from my friend Shana, and then discovered the Little Free Libraries (LFL - ) and by the end of the year I had read 112 books that I got their locations. I currently have 23 books on hand. I also completed 27 ebooks, which I was able to access through the public library's website.

In late June, I was felt fatigued and scheduled a Covid test. In order to get one at ARC, I first had to see a doctor. Patients had to check in at the front entrance. Since I don't have a cell, I had to wait until a nurse came to get me. Then we had to wait until a man ahead of us used the elevator (since I was considered a possible-Covid). I forgot to bring my face mask, distracted by the heavy rain, and had only my backup bandana which I keep in the car, so the nurse gave me a face mask. The exam went well. I mentioned that my neighbor had been diagnosed with Covid and that her initial test (the nose method) was negative, but the second test, using a blood sample, was positive. So, they ordered a blood test. Instead to moving to the lab, I had to remain in the exam room and a nurse came up from the lab to draw my blood and then escort me to the front door. When I checked in they had told me that my 9:15 appointment for a cancer skin check might have to be postponed, but luckily that wasn't the case. It was in the adjacent building with no need to wait outside. After checking in, they had all the senior citizens in a separate waiting room. I was in the exam room at 9:00 and examined with a good result, and finished at 9:13. I got the Covid test results the next day and it was negative.

In July I was losing strength in my right hand. I suspected pain in my right shoulder might be a factor. I saw my doctor, Michelle Markley, about it, and she confirmed the weakness and prescribed some meds. For years I've done daily exercises due to past frozen shoulder problems. This time I bought a pair of hand grip exercisers, which I've added to my daily routine. Over time this seemed to have solved the problem. At the end of the year my insurance plan changed carriers and I discovered that Austin Regional Clinic was not included. So after eighteen years of Dr. Markley's excellent care, unfortunately I'll have to find a new doctor.

On my birthday (July 10) I visited via Google video with my brother Ed & his wife, Sandy, for about 75 minutes. I hadn't seen either in several years and it was a great visit. Nice to be able to connect in this way, especially since they have moved to Maine.

A neighbor on my block and three former students were diagnosed with Covid. All four have fully recovered. I suspect there are more friends who've gone thru this miserable experience that I'm not aware of.

When I needed to stock up on groceries I usually planned Little Free Library expeditions, parking at an HEB, and walking thru nearby neighborhoods, logging usually about seven miles, and one time, ten miles. Sometimes I'd find LFL's that were empty or had food instead and sometimes found ones that were not on the LFL registry. I also found over a dozen within walking distance.

One positive element this year, in the absence of being able to attend any concerts at all was discovering some new music. In August there was a series of online a capella concerts: Vox Virtual 2020. The Nairyan Vocal Ensemble was fantastic (). As were Les Itinerantes (), the Olga Vocal Ensemble (), the Ensemble Rustavi (), and Accent ()

A totally amazing online concert was by our local gem,"Conspirare Presents Unity: Songs of Invitation" .

In 2019 I discovered the British choral group Voces8, buying two of their albums. I added five more amazing albums in 2020. And another album, Paul Mealor and Tenebrae's "A Tender Light" is wonderful.

I thought I had all of the great Steeleye Span albums, but discovered one more. I saw them perform in 1973 as the opening act for Jethro Tull and it was an amazing gig, with them entering in minstrel garb, singing a capella. Then I saw them at the Cactus Cafe in 1997, and was able to get autographs after the concert. Jimmie Spheeris is one of my all-time favorite singers and I found another album of his that I'd missed. I saw him open for the Moody Blues in 1979. His sister, Penelope, is a great film director, whom I've met twice.

I had five albums by the King's Singers, so when I sampled their Choral Essays, Vol. 1- The Quiet Heart, I was not surprised by how good it was. But after I bought it, I was blown away but how wonderful and amazing their arrangements and performances are. I soon bought Choral Essays, Vol. 2- Reflections. It is equally great. What most surprised me most was that these are Salvation Army songs.

I've been a fan of the Paul Winter consort for over thirty years and was thrilled to see them perform in 1991 and 1992. I had two albums by his cellist, Eugene Friesen, and now have five more wonderful albums by him. One of those albums was a superb set of Christmas music with Elizabeth Rogers on vocals. I soon found two beautiful albums by her. I also added albums by Consort members: three by Paul Halley and three by Rhonda Larson.

One element which complicated things was the failure of my older CD player to play some CDs that I burned on my computer. I bought another CD player, which worked fine for a few months, but then stopped playing CDs at all. Luckily that player allows me to play music from a flash drive, but it's a hassle to have to copy files to the flash drive each time I want to listen to an album.

At the beginning of the shutdown, I had to enter buses thru the back door. Cap Metro provided free rides thru May. During that time plastic guards were installed to protect drivers and allow riders to board the usual way.

For many years I've picked up copies of the New York Times from my friend Shana (after she and her husband have read them). This year I did so once a week with a trip to the Ruiz branch library on the way home to pick up books there, once the library opened again (in June) for curbside pickup. The libraries remain closed for browsing. There's a limit of seven items you can place on hold, and I use three of those holds for books on high demand. Ruiz allows me to get one extra item each week. Each week I also drop off completed books with Shana that she and Sean can read and then return.

At the beginning of the shutdown, there were long lines in order to get in the HEB when it opened, partly because they changed the hours to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and limited the number of customers in the store. It might take fifteen minutes in line before you could even get in the store. Gradually, plastic guards were installed by the cash registers and for the express check-out (which initially had half of the spots closed to allow for social distancing).

In August I learned that my friend Derek Howard died. I first met him in San Antonio in 1972 when he flew a promotional hot air balloon flight for KEXL-FM. After arriving at his landing a few times before his chase car driver, I took over that job when he was in town. We went to the national hot air balloon races in Iowa during the Watergate hearings. It was a thrill to get to ride in a hot air balloon and once did so at Jeff Davis Middle School while I was teaching there. I often would refer to Derek as my oldest friend, which he objected to. However, "the guy who's been my friend longer than any other" doesn't exactly flow off the tongue. His wife Donna is in the legislature and I learned that Evan Smith was responsible for her initially running for office.

In September I had lunch with Jenny Grow in Leander. Jenny was a great math teacher at Lamar and is now teaching in Leander.

Twenty years ago I got seriously interested in being in films. In June, 2000 I worked as an extra in a mini-budget film, "Pageant." It was very hard to find people to be in the film (in fact my first scene had to be postponed for that reason). During filming I was cast as an extra in "Miss Congeniality" in July. During work on that movie there was a casting call for "The Duo." I had already been gathering names and emails to help finish "Pageant" and I thought, "This would be so much easier by email." I started asking folks if they would like to get casting calls by email. Naturally everyone did. I created a Yahoo group the morning after a sixteen-hour day on set, calling it AustinFilmExtras. I gathered about two hundred emails to add to the list. Two months later I realized that the list was serving much more than work for extras: namely casting and crew calls, headshots, locations, film biz, etc. and renamed it AustinFilmCasting. Later that year I started lists for Dallas and Lubbock. And the following year created lists for Houston and South Texas. In December, 2019 Yahoo reduced support for their lists, no longer allowing messages and other items to be stored online. In October I learned that Yahoo would end its groups pages end in December and I created new casting lists. The Austin list had grown to over 10,000 subscribers, Dallas over 5000, and Houston over 3500. The new lists are off to a great start.

In September I saw a former student, Ruben Cantu, who's now teaching computer at UT. "I have come to the realization that all things conspire in due time and I needed to share my deep appreciation for you. Please know that you’ve made a difference for so many students who fell in love with tech and how to use it for the good of humanity. We just needed that nudge for us to know it was possible. You were that vehicle place in our lives. Thank you."

Also, in September, a former Lamar student, Patricia Toliver, asked me to take photos of her wedding. Due to Covid, the event took place at her home. ()

In December I had what turned out to be a seasonal photo shoot with a dear friend, Linda Lopez. I met her in 2002 on set and we were in four films that year. We had a great photo shoot in 2010 and this one included Christmas elements and was lots of fun. See it at

This year the Fantastic Fest film festival was online and free. There many short films that were enjoyable. One standout film was "Old Man: The Movie."

The Austin Film Festival also went virtual. There were some good films, but nothing that really stands out. It was nice to be able to see most of the films this time. The Austin Polish Film Festival, the Miami Film Festival, and the Austin Jewish Film Festivals also had much content available, much of it free. The Texas Book Festival also went virtual and had some great authors interviewed online.

All of the LBJ Library events switched to online and the Bob Woodward interview was great. ()

My Tivo died and I replaced it with a new one. Luckily just before it did I was able to watch "The Way I See It", a fantastic documentary on photographer Pete Souza and his work with President Obama. My old Tivo could record two programs at the same time. My new one can record six. I had to wait ten days for a tech to connect my Tivo and while he was trying to connect both (so I could watch the programs still on the old one - luckily nothing "essential") the old one died.

About the same time, my TV also was replaced. I realized there was a minor problem with the audio and as a result bought a new one. Curiously I'd had both the Tivo & TV for ten years. I was able to give the TV to one of my great former students, Maria Salazar, and we had a great visit when she picked it up.

Before the lockdown, I saw five plays. "Tiny Beautiful Things" was wonderful. I saw one great play on TV "Ann, One Man Two Guvnors."

As usual, I read 366 books this year.

The top of the list, as usual, are the nonfiction: "What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City" (Mona Hanna-Attisha), "Charged: Overzealous Prosecutors, the Quest for Mercy, and the Fight to Transform Criminal Justice in America " (Emily Bazelon), "Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers" (Andy Greenberg), "Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope" (Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn), "Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom" (Katherine Eban), "There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children" (Melissa Fay Greene), "If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran" (Carla Power), "Vaccinated: One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases" (Paul Offit), "Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers" (Peter Golenbock), "The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation" (Elizabeth Letts - there's also a documentary on this - ), "Puck: What Fools These Mortals Be" (Michael Kahn - a collection of cartoons from the 19th century magazine), "Deadly Intentions" (William Stevens - true murder case), "Front Row at The Trump Show" (Jonathan Karl), "Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos" (Peter Bergen), "A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America" (Philip Rucker).

Some great autobiographies: "Until I Say Good-Bye: A Book About Living" (Susan Spencer-Wendel - a moving story of the author's last months, knowing her death was near and spending time joyfully with loved ones), "The Hospital by The River" (Catherine Hamlin), "Shortest Way Home" (Pete Buttigieg), "Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future" (Fawzia Koofi), "Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy?: The Autobiography of Hollywood's Pioneer Child Star" (Diana Cary), "Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and Fight for Justice at Uber" (Susan Fowler), "A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School" (Carlotta Walls LaNier - I got to see her a few years ago at the LBJ), "John" (Cynthia Lennon - about her dad), "Toil & Trouble" (Augusten Burroughs), "Off the Radar: A Father's Secret, a Mother's Heroism, and a Son's Quest " (Cyrus Copeland).

Some great biographies: "Earl Campbell: Yards After Contact" (Asher Price), "The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Impostor" (Mark Seal), "Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story", (J Randy Taraborrelli), "At Home with Muhammad Ali: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Forgiveness (Hana Ali).

And finally, the fiction: "Time Next", "Time Zero" and "Time's Up" (all by Carolyn Cohagan), "Without Merit" (Colleen Hoover), "The Mysterious Benedict Society", "The Secret Keepers", "The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages" and "The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict" (all four by Trenton Lee Stewart), "Skybreaker", "Airborn", and "The Boundless" (all three by Kenneth Oppel), "The Hate List" (Jennifer Brown), "The Guardians" (John Grisham), the eight Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer, "Without Mercy" (David Hunt), "Cutting for Stone" (Abraham Verghese), "The Paladin Prophecy", "Alliance" and "Rogue" (a trilogy by Mark Frost), "The Green Mile" (Stephen King), "The Hour of the Assassin" (Matthew Quirk), "All American Boys" (Jason Reynolds), "See Me" (Nicholas Sparks), "Pulped" (Timothy Hallinan), "Wolf Brother" (Michelle Paver), "Daemon" (Daniel Suarez), and the first four books of The Adventures of Conrad Stargard (by Leo Frankowski - hope to read the last three in 2021).

As I re-read old newsletters I also found new books to add to my reading list. The public library list is twenty-one pages long. And the UT list (which is on hold) is fifteen pages long.

I added some new BBC shows to my collection (courtesy of John Lucas). I've greatly enjoyed listening to these shows and have many more hours of them to listen to. One new one is Nicholas Parsons' autobiography. Parsons was the chairman of "Just a Minute" from its start in 1967 until his death in late 2019 and hadn't missed a show until 2018 (when he missed four). There were no shows in 2020 due to Covid, but the show resumes in early 2021. I continued listening to "Quote Unquote", "I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue", "Just a Minute", Alistair Cooke's Letters from America" "The Now Show", "Dead Ringers" and "Jean Shepherd". Maybe I'll complete some of these series in 2021. I continued to enjoy the great BBC podcast, "Composer of the Week" (). I'm on the 92nd hour of their 125 episodes on Beethoven.
For its first twenty-two years Kenneth Williams was one of the stars of "Just a Minute." He was a real character. Last year I was able to download a BBC telecast special on his career. He also was in about thirty-two of the "Carry On" movies, (I've seen thirteen). I discovered that Kenneth also starred in a radio program, "Stop Messing About." I was able to download all three seasons. The initial broadcast proclaimed it was the first all-nude radio program. The program is fun and its movie parodies are delightful and I discovered why Kenneth occasionally repeated the title as a comment on "Just a Minute."
I discovered two new podcasts: Al Franken (politics) and The Her Voice Podcast (interviews with film biz folk, co-hosted by my dear friend Blair Bomar)

I continue to walk regularly to help maintain good health. I finished with a new high, 6196 miles for year, an average of 16.88 miles a day. I never worked less than 12.79 miles on any day and logged 550 miles in May, the most ever. Nineteen times I logged twenty miles. I only need to drive 36 days, which is 10%.

All previous newsletters are at
/g/DanEgglestonChristmasNewsletter