The day got off to a late start. I blogged and got bogged down with downloading photos left on my camera for eons. My Alberto Diet seems to be having a positive effect, so I packed a lunch to prevent myself from straying. The weather was wonderful and Saturday was the first full day of film screenings. I watched a fabulous film about a Rochester man, Salva Dut, who is one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. He's returning to his homeland to establish freshwater pumping stations to bring water to the deserts of Africa. It's directed by Jeffrey Mead of Rochester, and was incredibly well-done. After, I chatted with Rich Newberg, Buffalo's Channel 4 reporter, who was there to introduce his feature documentary, “A Palace for Buffalo” about the renovation of Shea's Buffalo Theatre. Really a nice, nice man with some big successes in broadcast journalism.

Then, Mr. Lou Gossett, Jr. introduced his film Enemy Mine. He said the prosthetic make-up took 5 hours to put on each day of shooting, they'd shoot for six hours, and then it would take 2-3 hours to get out of it. His performance as an alien Drac is astounding, and the gargling manner in which he speaks is not a sound effect trick – he actually can speak that way.

After the movie, I felt drained and drove over to Sheridan Drive to a Panera. I thought I was going to have a heart attack, and then I screwed up an email by sending it to an entire group and pissing off a friend. Oops. So I sat there wondering what to do to get feeling back in my arms and legs, and somebody I never met came over and asked, “Are you Kerry Gleason? From the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival?” I'm thinking, I'm famous already! Turns out it was Robert, a really cool BNFF volunteer whom I had friended on Facebook a few days ago. He recognized me from my FB photo!

I killed hours at Panera, felt a little better and went off to the after-party at a pizza joint. I passed DeGraff Hospital, where an ex-gf used to work, and was in familiar territory. The party was bland, except for the schoolteacher/bartender who carried a friendly conversation. I watched the Black Hawks come back to crush the Canucks, and got ready to leave. Then came in Rob Love, filmmaker, with his friends Kyle and Jamela. I was cashed out and out of my chair, but had to stay to talk to the guy in the gold jacket. When Jamela, a comedienne, started into her Miss Cleo impression, I was dying. Fun people. The drive home was long and tiring, and after the long day, I sent an apology ltr to my friend whom I upset.

I had also received a letter from my Mom, who is terminally ill, and could barely read the scrawling writing, which upset me.

I skipped Day 3 and stayed home cutting grass and .