# 42 My safe place

I walked into Lori’s office with, “So what am I supposed to be doing?” She smiled. It occurred to me that when it came to DIC, Lori knew just about everything that was happening or that would happen.

Her phone constantly buzzed whenever I visited. She’d glance at the lighted buttons and unless the call was from Jean, Andy or VP of Production Kevin O’Donnell’s extension, she’d ignore it. I liked how, also unless it was Jean, Andy or Kevin, she’d hold up a hand to stop anyone approaching her office while she was with me.

It made me feel like I was important to Lori. I wasn’t sure why I was important to her. Years ago, when I’d first arrived in L.A., I visited film studio exec Sherry Lansing at her Columbia Pictures offices. Sherry had bought the film rights to my first novel, No Place Like Home. We were in the middle of a meeting when her phone buzzed. She answered it and then said, “Tell Warren I’ll call him back.” When she hung up, I asked who the call was from. When answered, “Warren Beatty” I thought I was gonna die.

Now I’d written a handful of television scripts, but other writers had written more. I decided not to think about it, to just do a ‘Zen thing’ and let it go. I was, after all, in L.A. and Zen was big in L.A. It was said “Zen could lessen the tension in your body, relax tightened muscles and that by ‘letting go’ you could open your awareness beyond yourself.” Well, I’d begun feeling my tension lessening and my muscles were relaxing. I hoped, eventually, I’d “open my awareness beyond myself”. But at the moment that wasn’t important because I was doing what

I wanted to do – writing for television…and I was going to be paid fifteen hundred bucks a week for doing it.

#41 “Well…okay…I guess.”

I felt I’d arrived, about to go on staff at DIC as an assistant story editor. Unfortunately, I had no idea what an assistant story editor did. For that matter, I had no idea what a plain old story editor did.

I was both happy and concerned to learn my weekly salary would be $1,500 when I was “working on a series” and $1,250 week when I “wasn’t working on a series”. Since I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing when I was working on a series, I didn’t want to even think about what I was supposed to be doing when I wasn’t working on a series.

This would be the most money I’d make per-week as a salaried employee -- double what I earned in my father’s clothing business. It came out to $78,000 a year. Serious jingle. Jean and Andy were going to be writing me hefty weekly checks so I figured I’d better find out what I was supposed to be doing and find out fast. I decided to risk asking Lori to fill me in.

By now I was getting the feeling Lori had me under her protective wing. I realized she was doing this, at least partly, because it would eventually somehow benefit her, though I didn’t know exactly how it would benefit her. But I also thought she was doing this because she liked me and felt we might end up being friends.

So after I filled out my paperwork I headed back to her office.

#40 I’m in…

Andy cuts a swath through the cavernous first floor, pausing to look at a couple or nervous artists’ work. He says hello to Kevin O’Donnell, who he introduces as DIC’s Production Manager. In his late twenties or early thirties, Kevin has a surfer’s bleached blonde hair, a square jaw and a dazzling smile. He could be a model or an actor, better looking than any guy has a right to be.

Kevin’s very friendly, giving me a strong handshake. Something tells me Andy’s mentioned me to him. A busy man, Kevin hurries off.

We near a dim, far corner on the first floor and a curly brown-haired young man looks up from his cubicle and stiffens. As if receiving a telepathic order, he stands from his cluttered desk. Andy’s not smiling anymore. He says, “Jack, I want you to meet Sandy Fries. Sandy’s the story editor for Care Bears. I nod and shake his hand, saying, “Congratulations.”

Sandy manages a smile. He seems like a nice guy, but I can tell something’s not quite right. We make small talk for a few minutes, then Andy and I move on.

As we get to the second floor, I’m trying to figure out what meeting Sandy was all about. Andy takes me into Jeff Wernick’s office. He tells Jeff to give me the payroll forms. I look to Andy, knowing exactly what he’s going to say. Then he turns to me and says it. “You’re going to be the assistant story editor for Care Bears.”

I’m in.