Roger Zee Memoirs
2017 Fame 02 02/08/21
So on Sunday 03/12/17, the Westchester Journal News feature article on my "Five Day Heart Attack" launches me into the "Fame Game." True, I face a bit of trauma while trying to get them to print the story right. But I bend down, pull up my big boy pants, and slap on a great big, happy smile! Excited to vault into planning and filming the photo/video segment of my White Plains Hospital (WPH) publicity campaign. Deep inside, it truly confounds me how everyone now finds me so loveable and saleable, LOL! Welcome to another excerpt from my memoirs, "Life and Times of a Pandemic Musician." B-|
Kate Lopez, WPH Senior Marketing Director, arranges a photo/video shoot at the hospital with my surgeon, Dr. Robert Michler, Cardiac Cath Director, Dr. Mark Greenberg, and me. When the morning arrives, I zip up my trusty brown leather jacket and make the chilly 1.2 mile walk across town to the health center. But unlike my earlier trip to their ER, I don't need to sit down and catch my breath seven times, LOL! Though I do feel pretty nervous along the way... :-O
Great to see the two doctors again who plucked me out of harm's way when the Grim Reaper came a callin' (see promotional video below.) After we film the meet and greet, Ms. Lopez brings me up to her office to talk about shooting more footage. I suggest capturing my band playing at the White Plains Cable TV Station where I record my live music show, The Working Musician. She loves the idea so I hand over station director James Kenny's digits. =^_^=
A day or so later, Lopez calls me up with a time and date for the band shoot. I reach out to drummer Rudy Feinauer and guitarists Keith Fulsher and Wayne Fornabaio. They jump right on board and we put together a set list. At the scheduled date and time, we meet up at the studio with Kate Lopez, the videographer, and the camera people. The director introduces himself and we go over what he wants. Basically, we tune up, plug in, and Rock 'n Roll! Just generally ham it up for the camera. Unfortunately for Wayne Fornabaio, he ends up mostly on the editing room floor. Not too happy about that, LOL! We still kid Wayne about it... A week later, WPH mails the band small, complimentary gift cards as a thank you. :^)
Near the end of Winter 2017, I enter my building mailroom and spy a pile of WPH "Health Matters" magazines. I grab one, flip it over only to find Rudy Feinauer's and my face staring back at me. Bring it upstairs to read the big feature article. Oh boy, now I'm in for it! As I walk around Lake Street and Turnure Park in White Plains, NY the next few days for exercise and supplies, I notice a lot of people staring, giving me the hairy eyeball. Before I know it, they stop and question me. "Yes, that's me. Thanks. So grateful to be alive and getting better every day." Of course, then they share their own medical issues. There's a number of assisted living condos in my neighborhood and everybody's got a story to tell! Come Kumbaya with us. So I strap myself in cause I know the train's only just left the station... :D
It's 9A on Super Bowl Sundays as I work on this piece. Suddenly, "Zoe the Cat" leaps up on the window sill. I glance up only to witness the snow pummelling the parking lot below. Oh no! Need to rush out to the bodega and pick up supplies. Should I walk or drive? Walking's better for my health unless of course I slip and fall, which I'm known to do, LOL! So I take the car. Find the market jammed with very little social distancing -- sadly as usual. Have to yell at a guy to back off while I'm at the register. How will we ever beat the plague? When I finish writing, I'll pick up my trusty bass, pop on Sly & The Family Stone's "Great Hits" and "Pump Up the Bass" as I ready myself for a solitary Super Bowl. Go Bucs! One <3
YouTube - Roger Zeitel - Heart Attack Survivor - White Plains Hospital
YouTube - Everybody Is a Star - Sly & The Family Stone
©2021 Roger Zee