Geist Girls Gymnasts Win State Championship

The girls typically stretch for 45 min. prior to practice and 15 min.afterwards. From left to right: Kayla Kendall, Coach Baron DeVeau, Genova Schultheis, and Olivia Chauncey. (Teammate not appearing in photo is Caroline Thompson.)

A young gymnastics team from the Geist Sports Academy recently performed very well at the Indiana State Gymnastics Meet. This Level 5 girls’ team consists of four gymnasts ranging in age from ten to twelve years old. This group reflects talent, energy, enthusiasm, and dedication. Impressively, each of these four athletes not only qualified for state, eventually earning some type of award, but they also earned the title of State Champion in the Level 5, 12-year-old age group competition. Furthermore, the girls had fun while maintaining a supportive environment for one another.

Let’s meet these four artistic, hardworking, gymnasts:

Olivia Chauncey: (12 years old)

“We don’t think of gymnastics as a strict sport like other people,” says Olivia Chauncey, a seventh grader, who attends Belzer Middle School. “We have fun and we laugh a lot.” Olivia specializes in the categories of bars and balancing beam. She received a 9.6 on bars. She is proud of her friends on the team who give her support. She adds, “Whenever I learn a new skill, my team is there for me. They tell me I can do it if I put my mind to it.”

Caroline Thompson: (12 years old)

Also scoring high on the bars and placing third by scoring 9.35 is Caroline Thompson, a sixth grader at Forest Glen Elementary. Her main areas of expertise are with the bars and the floor routines. Caroline reflects sincere gratitude for her time with her coaches when she says, “There are tons of fun times we have with coaches where we laugh; we can just have fun. But mainly we do have to do lots of strict stuff. I love this sport, and the coaches teach us discipline and respect.”

Genova Schultheis: (12 years old)

From left to right: Genova Schultheis, Kayla Kendall and Olivia Chauncey. (Teammate not appearing in photo is Caroline Thompson.) These girls earned the title of State Champion in the Level 5, 12 yr. old age group competition.

“My friends (teammates) like competing with me all the time,” says Genova Schultheis. “We enjoy supporting each other.” Genova specializes in vault and floor. She received a 9.4 on the vault. Genova is a sixth grader at St. Lawrence.

Kayla Kendall: (10 years old)

The youngest gymnast on the team is Kayla Kendall, who is a fourth grader at St. Simon. She excels at the balancing beam and floor exercise. She pulled away with a 9.375 on the beam at State. Kayla appreciates her coach for his style. She says, “Whenever I mess up, Coach Baron encourages me to get up and do it again.”

The girls aren’t the only ones who appreciate the solid coaching staff and positive environment within Geist Sports Academy. Sheri Kendall, Kayla Kendall’s mother, observes, “The passion the coaching staff has for the sport of gymnastics keeps the girls engaged and enthusiastic. The coaches consistently strive to ensure each gymnast achieves her personal best. The camaraderie and friendship amongst the girls (at all levels and ages) is very apparent at practices and meets.”

These young girls practice fifteen hours per week. They typically stretch for about 45 minutes before practice and 15 minutes after their workouts. They each have learned how to balance the demands of school work, family life, and practice time at the gym. Furthermore, they are always happy and eager to reunite with their dedicated teammates and coaches with every new practice and meet.

In addition to the accomplishments of the Level 5 team, Geist Sports Academy (GSA) experienced much success this year across the board on all levels of the Women’s Program as well as the Men’s Competitive Gymnastics Team.

The women’s team had another State Champion Team, which consisted of eight girls, on the Prep Optional Gold Level. GSA Women produced one All Around State Champion, five Individual Event State Champions, numerous top ten finishes and four Regional Qualifiers. These accomplishments contributed to Geist Sports Academy’s most successful year to date.

On the men’s side, GSA produced two Championship Teams, (Level 5, 12 & up age group team and Level 4, 8 & 9-year-old age group team). Additionally, there were two repeat State Champions, two first time State Champions, three Regional Qualifiers and one National Qualifier, Taylor Smith. Indeed, this was a wonderful year for the men’s team as well.

Geist Sports Academy is located at 11960 East 62nd Street off Pendleton Pike next to Veterans Memorial Park. If you would like to enroll your daughter or son in a class, please contact Baron DeVeau at 317-823-7734.

Please visit www.GeistSportsAcademy.com to learn more about this facility.

Letter to the Editor: Fishers City vs. Town

With a population close to 80,000, Fishers is now twice as large as any other Indiana town, and bigger than all but a handful of Indiana cities. As a result, many of its citizens believe that Fishers should become a city. Why? One reason is that the law grants all city citizens the right to elect a mayor and directly elect a city council (as compared to the current town system, which permits “at large” elections and an appointed town council president).

So, almost one year ago, 1700 Fishers citizens filed a petition with the Town Council that, by law, required the Town to put the issue of city status up for a vote. How did the Town Council react?

First they refused to put the issue to a vote, claiming that they needed more time to study a possible “reorganization”. They then adopted a “reorganization plan” that creates a city but – surprise, surprise – eliminates your right to vote for a Mayor and to directly elect a city council. Instead, the reorganization plan says that Fishers’ new mayor will be appointed by the city council and not by the voters of the City of Fishers. And who is on the city council? The reorganization plan says that the current town council members will be the city council until 2015, and thereafter they will be elected “at large” rather than from individual districts. Fishers would be the first and only city in Indiana where its citizens cannot vote for mayor and directly elect council members. Really, I’m not making this up – take a look on page 8 and 9 of the plan found on the Town’s website at https://www.fishers.in.us/egov/docs/12940790227886.pdf

This is the same Town Council that shows up at election time proclaiming their allegiance to the flag and the constitution, and their concern for the citizens of Fishers. Yet, behind the scenes they’re spending tens – if not hundreds – of thousands of taxpayer dollars trying to eliminate your right to choose your public officials.

A Democrat, Republican and Libertarian have sued the Town in federal court, citing this violation of your voting rights. The Town is now using every tool and taxpayer dollars at its disposal to defend its actions. As a resident of Fishers or even anywhere in the United States do you think this is right?

You won’t hear Town Council members talking much about their elimination of your right to vote for city officials this campaign season, but the next time you hear them claiming to respect the will of the citizens of Fishers you might ask them how elimination your right to vote makes Fishers a better, safer or cleaner place to live.

Joe Weingarten
14066 Deer Stone Ln
Fortville, IN 46040
317-598-1026

Former Olympic Coach Dives Into Lawrence Swim Team – Mike Parratto

New Lawrence North swim coach Mike Parratto has US Olympic experience.

Can you imagine being at the Olympics, coaching a talented athlete who wins a gold medal, not once but eight times? Mike Parratto can tell you all about it. Mike is new in town, actually, new to the state of Indiana, but not an amateur in the swimming community. Mike just recently landed the all-American job as the new head coach of the Lawrence Swim Team and is the new assistant coach at Lawrence North High School. Mike has been a swim coach for over 32 years and he knows what it takes to be the best of the best in swimming. “The sport of swimming takes a lot of dedication,” explains Mike. “It is a year-round sport that requires lots of hours and time.” While spending the last 26 years coaching at the Seacoast Swimming Association in Dover, New Hampshire, Mike saw 12 Olympic trial qualifiers come through the doors – one of whom was Jenny Thompson, a four-time Olympian.

Four-time olympian Jenny Thompson with her coach, Mike Parratto at the Swimming Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2009.

As the most successful U.S. female Olympian, Jenny has won 12 medals in four Olympics starting in 1992 (she retired after the 2004 Olympics). “I coached her when she came to Seacoast at age 11 and continued to coach her throughout high school,” said Mike. “I basically saw her from start to finish.” In 2009, Jenny was inducted into the International Hall of Fame. “Her development was quick, but we didn’t want to rush it,” explains Mike. “She was an excellent athlete. We are so proud of her.”

“If there are people who have an interest in swimming, anything can be achieved,” said Mike. “I want to get as many people involved in swimming with the Lawrence Swim Team (LST) as possible.” Mike went on to say he is very excited about the program and anyone who wants to be competitive – LST is the place to be. LST is a club team made up of participants ranging from ages 8-18 and is a year-round program. Mike has one very serious goal as new head coach of LST, “Every kid born in this area should come try out and become a swimmer.” One thing I was impressed to hear from Mike was how amazed he was at how many kids in this area swim. “I feel pretty positive getting the word out,” said Mike confidently. “Every kid will want to come and swim. Kids just need to try it.”

Mike has two kids of his own that swim and dive competitively. His eldest daughter is a sophomore and swims at the University of Pennsylvania, and his younger daughter is a sophomore in high school and is a national team diver who trains at the USA Diving National Training Center in Indianapolis. Mike’s wife, Amy, is also a swimmer and coaches diving at the STARZ diving club.

For more information on Lawrence Swim Team, visit www.lawrenceswimteam.com.

NBC Looking for “Biggest Loser” in Indy

NBC’s The Biggest Loser is coming to Indiana to hold a casting call for it’s Season 12. They are searching for teams of two, such as parent/child teams, married couples, coworkers or just best friends. They will also cast individuals who don’t have a partner, but, do have at least 100 pounds to lose.

The open casting call will be held on February 26 at Indiana Live! Casino, 4200 North Michigan Road in Shelbyville, Indiana. (download promo flyer)

For more information and to learn how to apply by home video submissions, go to www.thebiggestlosercasting.com.

Celebrating 60 Years on Stage and Beyond for the Mud Creek Players

Some of the cast of "Whose Wives are They Anyway?" are ready for their close-ups. Front row: Kelli Conkin, Sophia Jacobs and Barcia Alejos. Back row: Bob Williams, Brock Francis and Kevin Shadle.

Step through the door into the Mud Creek Theater at the corner of 86th Street and Mud Creek Road and you enter a world of longstanding community tradition. Six decades in the making, this building – affectionately called “The Barn” – is much more than a theater, and the Mud Creek Players are much more than a troupe of actors.

“Indeed,” explained Sallie Aull, the group’s current historian. Since the group’s formal beginnings in 1950, in addition to acting, directing, building sets, designing costumes and delighting audiences, they have also been fiercely protective of this treasured neighborhood through civic leadership, humanitarian efforts and preservation.

In past decades, ticket sales for their play performances often helped raise money to successfully fight threats to the community, such as a turnpike to Chicago proposed in 1956 that would have cut a path straight through the Mud Creek Valley; the 1962 satellite airport plan that would have swallowed up the northwest corner of 86th Street and Sargent Road; or the water company’s plan to create another reservoir by damming Mud Creek and flooding the entire valley.

When they’re not saving the community from certain disaster, putting on a production or hosting the Barn Rats (their summer kids’ theater school), the Mud Creek Players are also a social club.

“Our group is very unique that way,” said Barcia Alejos, corresponding secretary for the Mud Creek Players. “We get together for dinners. Groups get together to play cards. We do parties.”

“It’s more of a huge family,” said Aull. Her husband, Larry, agrees. “There are no stars at Mud Creek,” he said. “You could see somebody opening night cleaning the bathroom in their costume.”

And the fact that there is such an age range among the members is a huge plus to many of the parents who have joined. “Everyone’s got something to offer,” said Alejos. “I want my kids to grow up in an environment where they can learn from that.”

Larry joked about making a sweatshirt for his daughter that read, “Yes, thank you, I was raised in a barn.” And he likens the supportive, familial atmosphere of that barn to a church of sorts. “Frankly, we have everything but the altar,” he said.

“We have members who are children or grandchildren of people who started it,” added Alejos. “We want to keep the traditions that are important to us as a group and still move forward in the community.”

That means new members are always welcome, social and civic activities will continue to unfold in and around the Mud Creek Theater, and every season theater-goers will be entertained by homespun, high-energy, frequent laughter-inducing productions.

Don’t miss the hilarity of the farce Whose Wives Are They Anyway? coming in February. Ticket information, show dates and times can be found at www.mudcreekplayers.com.

Step in for a theater and community experience 60 years in the making, and you can be confident in the knowledge that 60 years from now the Mud Creek Players will still be working their magic, both on stage and off.

Get to Know Your Geist Watershed

A watershed is an area of land where all water from rain or snow drains into a lake or stream. Ours is called the Geist Reservoir/Upper Fall Creek Watershed and is about 140,000 acres, including the 1,900 acre Geist Reservoir. Land use is about 72% agricultural, 16% urban, and 11% forest and wetlands.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management measures water quality in our streams and reservoir. This data is used to identify areas within our watershed that have water quality problems.

The Geist Watershed consists of 9 subwatersheds. High priority areas contain more water contaminants than low priority areas.

By analyzing differences in land use and water quality, we may be able to identify sources of water contaminants. This analysis helps direct corrective actions that have the best chances of cleaning up our water.

For more information, please check out the Geist Watershed Management Plan. A draft version is available online at www.Geistwatershed.com.

Vineyard, Interest in Plans for a Winery Growing at Geist

Jenna Cook tends to one of 14,000 grape vines at Geist's newest vineyard.

Grape vines planted just off of Carroll Road have neighbors talking.

“We have five to 10 people a week stopping by and asking about what we’re doing,” said Scott Hamilton, an Indiana State University graduate and unofficial caretaker of the new vineyard planted just off of Carroll Road.

Admirals Sound residents, Kim and Dan Cook, always talked about one day having a vineyard and winery, so an 80-acre plot of land they purchased at an estate auction in 1997 seemed to be the perfect location for their dream business.

“We were just talking about it last fall and decided to pull the trigger on it,” said Dan as he nodded his head in the direction of over 14,000 grape vines planted in perfect symmetry. “Our plan was put on fast forward when we found out that the planting season was early spring.”

Highlighted area is the 80-acre plat owned by the Cooks since a 1997 auction. The southern half just below the treeline in the middle is being rezoned for a winery with tasting room, gift shop, and 20-room boutique hotel.

As soon as the ground thawed this spring, white drain pipes were installed beneath the future plants for water run-off. With the aid of AA Vineyards in upstate New York and Purdue’s Wine Grape Action Team, nine different types of grapes suited for Indiana soil were selected, shipped and planted in April.

“Unlike a lot of plants, grape vines don’t need a lot of water,” said Dan. “Even though the summer was dry for a lot of crops, it was great weather for grapes.”

Cook children, Christian, a senior at Cathedral High School, Jenna, a recent graduate from the University of Kentucky, Stephanie, a Junior at Indiana University, and Carlee, a Freshman at Purdue, worked this summer with friends recruited from area high schools to install 5,000 cedar posts, galvanized wire, and the grow tubes used to train the vines to grow upwards.

“We used to camp out here and have bonfires with the kids when they were younger, now they are all working in the family business and it’s really a neat experience,” said Kim.

Christian Cook poses next to the vintage Ford pickup truck commissioned to work at the vineyard.

Adirondack chairs, an occasional RV, and curious passersby are often parked in the gravel parking lot. Most picturesque is a two-toned turquoise and white Ford pickup that has found a home behind the cedar fencing that borders Carroll Road.

“It’s really neat,” said McCordsville Town Manager Tonya Galbraith, who hopes the plans presented to the McCordsville Planning & Zoning Committee come to fruition.

The Cooks submitted a site plan to the McCordsville Town Council detailing a vineyard, winery with tasting room, gift shop, and a 20-room boutique hotel to be built on the south half of the 80-acre parcel. Galbraith is excited to have a destination like this in McCordsville with so much green space.

“I just think of what Chateau Thomas has done in Plainfield with outdoor jazz concerts and other events that draw people from all over. It would be great for the area to have such a destination.”

In order to get the approval from the town, the Cooks have to present their final plans to the Planning & Zoning Committee on October 28th. Galbraith doesn’t foresee any issues with the approval to rezone the 40 acres and expects a final approval in early 2011.

Dan concedes that most wineries build their structures first and then plant their vineyards, but they decided to put the proverbial cart before the horse and get their grapes planted first.

“It takes about five years before the vines really bear good grapes anyway, so we thought that would give us some time to plan out the winery and other structures.”

As for the name of the winery, that remains to be decided. If left up to the Cook’s daughter, it will be named “Jenna’s Vineyard,” but the other siblings might have something to say about that.

Gleeful Tie to Book Authors Luncheon

The Murphy family (front) Darren and Ryan with Andy (middle) and Jim.

Family members often share the same talents and passions. This is certainly the case for Andy Murphy, moderator of The Carmel-Clay Public Library’s The Guilded Leaf’s Book & Author Luncheon on October 28, 2010 and her son, Ryan Murphy, who both have a love for the arts. Ryan is the Emmy-award winning creator, executive producer, executive music producer and head writer of Fox’s hit television series, “Glee.”

Andy remembers that as a child, Ryan was always reading and had a creative streak a mile long for story telling and music. He continued to develop these talents in high school and college. Ryan attended Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, performing in plays and choirs. He went on to major in journalism at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he won numerous scholarships and awards. He was also a member of the “Singing Hoosiers” show choir and a co-editor of the student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student. It was a great honor when The Washington Post hired Ryan right out of college; Knight Rider Syndication eventually bought out his contract, giving him the coveted West Coast arts and entertainment beat.

At some point Andy said Ryan decided to try screenwriting. So successful was that first effort that Steven Spielberg decided to buy it. “After that happens in Hollywood, it sort of opens doors when Spielberg recognizes a person’s talent,” Andy said.

From that point on, Ryan’s career took off. The following is a list of a few of his creative endeavors.

• “Popular” TV series created for WB in 1999
• “Nip/Tuck” TV series created for FX in 2003
• “Running With Scissors,” Ryan wrote the screenplay and directed the movie based on the best selling memoir by Augusten Burroughs in 2006
• “Glee” TV series created for Fox in 2009
• “Eat, Pray, Love,” a movie based on the best selling book written by Elizabeth Gilbert. Ryan wrote and directed the film starring Julia Roberts.

“Glee” has become a runaway favorite with audiences of all ages, and it shows in the numerous awards it has been nominated for and won, including the recent 2010 Emmy awards and Golden Globes. “Glee” won in the Emmy categories of Directing for a Comedy Series (Ryan Murphy) and Supporting Actress Comedy Series (Jane Lynch), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Neil Patrick Harris) and Best Musical Production.

An interesting side note that Andy points out is that in Ryan’s years of show choir at Warren Central, Warren was always in a battle with Carmel’s show choir for competition honors. Ryan used our very own city of Carmel’s show choir as inspiration for the rival city show choir in “Glee.”

Competition aside, Ryan is delighted that the popularity of “Glee” has ignited a renewed interest in glee clubs across the United States. “His whole goal when he created “Glee” was to get people to respect the arts again,” Andy said. It appears to be working as “Glee” is not only popular with teenagers, but people of all ages. It has sparked new choral programs and participation in plays all across the United States. Andy says, “It’s once again cool with kids to love music and to perform it.”

And what project will Ryan tackle next? “Whatever it is, it will be good. He puts his heart and soul into whatever he does,” Andy said. “He has a wicked sense of humor. You have to to survive in Hollywood!”

Cash for Clunkers Program for Mailboxes Discussed for GHPOA

This sailboat mailbox design was adopted in 2005 as the standard mailbox for GHPOA residents.

One of the volunteer boards I’ve served on for the last six years is the Geist Harbours Property Owners Association (“GHPOA”) which represents 2,380 homeowners living in 12 Geist neighborhoods: Admirals Bay, Admirals Pointe, Admirals Sound, Admirals Woods, Beam Reach, Crossing South, Feather Cove I, Feather Cove II, Feather Cove III, Diamond Pointe, Masthead I, and Masthead II. With all of our neighborhoods aging, enforcing the covenants and trying to improve the curb appeal of our homes is an ongoing discussion.

About five years ago, the GHPOA board of directors adopted the black aluminum cast mailbox featuring the sailboat logo as the “standard mailbox” for GHPOA homeowners. Some neighborhoods have uniformity (Diamond Pointe and Admirals Woods for example), while most do not have a consistent mailbox design. Since this mailbox has been adopted, nearly 300 GHPOA residents have voluntarily purchased the sailboat design at a $495 price tag.

Last fall, after completing the five-year $580,000 street sign project, the GHPOA grounds committee presented the concept of uniform mailboxes to the board of directors. GHPOA board members began a dialogue at the January annual meeting, floating a few concepts and soliciting feedback from residents.

One concept proposed by the former grounds committee chairperson, Dr. John Moore, proposed that GHPOA purchase the sailboat mailbox for the remaining 2,000+ homeowners that had not installed the new standard mailbox. Special assessments, dues increases, and 5 to 10-year payment options were also discussed. While many supported improving the look of our neighborhoods, this notion was also met with a lot of resistance from some board members and residents alike.

At the June GHPOA meeting, the board decided to take the discussion offline since we had spent hours debating proposals at our monthly meetings. We met at Eddy’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill and invited some other residents to attend. Surprisingly, about 20 homeowners attended and voiced their opinions and ideas. My favorite concept and proposed solution to this dilemma was brought up by Randy Frisk, a Masthead homeowner:

Negotiate a bulk price for the mailboxes and offer a GHPOA subsidy program to a fixed number of residents that purchase the standardized mailbox. This would bring the purchase price down for each homeowner that wanted a new, standardized mailbox. Each year, the GHPOA board could budget for this mailbox subsidy fund and control the expense by capping the number of eligible mailboxes to be installed.

This proposal overcomes my three objections to Dr. Moore’s proposal. First and foremost, the homeowner is purchasing the mailbox and thus “owns” the mailbox. Second, the burden of upkeep and maintenance clearly falls on the homeowner. Lastly, those homeowners with aesthetically pleasing mailboxes would not necessarily have to replace their mailboxes, but over time as they get older and need replacing, having a lower cost option available would be nice.

At the September board meeting, two proposals were presented for consideration:

The first was the “GHPOA Pre-Approved Mailbox Policy and Maintenance Requirements” proposal which reinforces the sailboat mailbox as the standard mailbox, reminds everyone of the current process of getting newly installed mailboxes approved by the Development Control Committee, and outlines the maintenance standards for all mailboxes. Essentially, every mailbox that is installed prior to January 1, 2011 will be grandfathered as an acceptable mailbox as long as it is properly maintained. After January 1, any new mailbox installed will need to be the sailboat mailbox which was approved in 2005. This motion was passed by the board and will be posted on the www.ghpoa.com website.

The second proposal was titled “Bulk Purchase Discount and Standard Mailbox Subsidy Program,” otherwise known as “Cash for Clunkers.” GHPOA would allocate up to $30,000 into next year’s budget to be used towards a $150 per mailbox subsidy program, bringing the cost down for a homeowner to just under $200 each. Mailboxes would be ordered and installed on a first come, first served basis. When these funds are exhausted, another 200 sailboat mailboxes would be in our neighborhoods. If successful, I would suspect this would become an annual program.

Before passing this resolution, board members wanted to discuss this program with their neighbors and wait until the 2011 budget is adopted this fall.

In my opinion, this is the best compromise to a long-standing discussion. We have a potpourri of mailboxes out there, which according to several Realtors in the area, are a detraction from purchasing a home in a GHPOA neighborhood. Our original covenants mandated that any new mailbox be approved by the Development Control Committee, but over the years, people have just gotten away from this practice. By giving residents some maintenance guidelines, standardizing the design of any new mailbox erected, and negotiating a lower bulk price that is subsidized by GHPOA, I feel this is the best solution.

I encourage you to talk to your GHPOA board representative about the new subsidy program and voice your questions, concerns, or comments. That $30,000 is coming out of your annual dues, so please speak your mind. Hopefully, you will see the value of having uniform mailboxes in our community like many of my GHPOA board counterparts.

Behind the Scenes with Eat, Pray, Love

Andy Murphy is the Managing Editor for atGeist.com and the mother of Eat, Pray, Love screenwriter and director Ryan Murphy.

If you’ve had a chance to see the movie Eat, Pray, Love you might be interested to know a little bit of the behind the scenes efforts that went into filming a movie based on the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert. Ryan Murphy, screenwriter, director for EPL, began filming in New York City in early June of 2009. From there, the cast and crew moved to Rome, Italy where they had to battle unexpected large crowds packing the streets chanting, “Julia, Julia, Julia.” Extra security had to be secured to control the adoring crowd. Quiet on the Set took on a whole new challenge.

Also unexpected was the unusually warm weather in Italy, which hit 102 degrees every single day while they were filming. Getting the intimate look of Julia roaming the streets of Rome alone was also a challenge as not all the traffic could be redirected during their filming hours. The Italian street traffic makes the Indianapolis 500 look like child’s play. The actors really were dodging speeding motorcycles and midget cars in the streets.

When the location moved to India, heat was again a factor with limited air conditioning available and a remote filming site where even a slight breeze was hailed with applause.

“We would rise at 5:00 a.m. and find the temperature approaching 105. By 11:00 a.m. it was pushing 118 degrees. Julia wore layers of traditional clothing and had to act not only under the punishing sun, but strong set lights that added at least 10 degrees of heat. Keeping that ‘fresh’ look was a real challenge, but the makeup and wardrobe professionals handled every aspect thrown at them. The crew would be standing on the other side of the camera stripped down to shorts and sandals with water misters hitting us at every angle, and Julia would look at us, give us one of those beautiful big smiles and not once complain of the conditions around her. I love Julia, and working with her made me a better director,” said Ryan.

The environment was also a factor. Murphy and Roberts contracted lung infections from corrupt air pollution. When you see the scenes of Julia in India, she was ill and battling a severe cough and fever of 102 degrees that went on for days. “Julia was a real trooper as she never missed a beat. When you see her sweating in a scene with Richard Jenkins, it was a mixture of heat and a breaking fever,” says Murphy, who was also battling the same type of lung infection. A daily ritual between the star and the director was to see whose fever had risen the highest.

The film was wrapped in Bali, and cast and crew made it home a week before Thanksgiving. Making movies is more than what you see on the big screen. It’s about real people behind the lights, camera, action who believe in their craft and give their all to make a film come to life. How do I know all this? Well, Ryan Murphy is my oldest son. I’ve seen Eat, Pray, Love four times so far, and knowing the difficult journey to write the script and then direct it gave me an even bigger appreciation of what it takes to present a blockbuster movie. P.S. Even after seeing the movie four times, I still sit in wonder with tears in my eyes. I’m also the one in the back of the theater applauding wildly when his name appears on the screen. Give me a break. I’m his mother!