and thanks to you Tom
Keep truckin'
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On Sat, Aug 19, 2023 at 12:16 AM Tom Martin <
dreamfact...@hollywooddreamfactory.com> wrote:
> Hi Mopo-
> I turned 67 on Aug 11- wow
>
> My son called and brother...Tommy is healing from bipolar depression and
> schizophrenia I guess he's taking medication now but since he's an adult
> I'm not allowed to talk to the doctors I told him prayer was the best
> answer for stress I understand very well and I discovered why tell me it
> was taking some of my items personal belongings was because he was never
> prepared for what if his dad dies and I think he just had a complete
> meltdown mentally from the stress the answer was for me to forgive him
> let him keep the items that he took when I asked God what do I so I got
> was what's more important your son or some memorabilia
>
>
> Many families fight over their parents estate or belongings or financial
> property it's a horrible thing and when I thought there was a
> possibility I might end up in a nursing home it was stressful for me
> also so what did I do? I said Lord God if it is your will where I end up
> in a nursing home and everything I own be taken away let it be done as I
> believe it's your world not mine the lesson I learned was it's not about
> time martins well it's about Jesus Christ well it's a hard concept when
> you wonder who's in control me the doctors a social service group my son
> the courts who is in control?
>
> When I was younger in my 20s and started this business it was about
> accumulating making as much money as possible and buying stuff like cars
> houses and other property I never planned on long-term what happens when
> I'm 67 years old and I'm in pour house and have my foot amputated Indian
> partially blind what do I do then?
> I found in my own personal researchers we never plan on our demise we
> try to plan on accumulating even more because we are addicted to saving
> stuff example is old men keep boxes of nuts and bolts in baby food jars
> that they never will use because when they're young they say I need one
> of these someday so they squirrel in the way thinking that they will use
> it again problem is after they start losing your memory they forget they
> have
> in the garage or basement is full of boxes of small parts that will
> never get used then the family airs have to have garage sales to sell
> all of grandpa's or dad's stuff after he croaks fact how I found a lot
> of my memorabilia is attending estate sales and garage sales
>
> We find stuff like limited-edition books that were stashed away by
> grandpa and grandma years ago that the families have no clue what it's
> worth in the estate sale vendors just want to get rid of it as fast as
> possible within days so I have watched entire lifetimes of collectibles
> be liquidated in a few days then people put it on eBay if they discover
> a trophy or collectible
>
> As you all know dealers basically process with their knowledge and get
> it to the market and then if you're lucky it might end up on a very high
> cost auction house like Heritage or Bruce and Garner big results but
> first it starts at the garage sale or estate sale then it goes to a
> specialist dealer regionally who then passes it on to another dealer
> that's larger than eventual goes to auction to all the wealthy bidders
>
> Funny thought I need to go while I was sleeping I had a dream that I had
> an order that needed to be filled for my copper boards and in my mind I
> was thinking it through what I needed to do as far as processing the
> parts which is almost laughable since I don't even have a foot right now
> but I was logistically planning it out in my sleep when I woke up I
> thought wow I'm so glad I don't have an order because I'm proud of
> myself I'm always delivering the goods that's one of the frustrating
> things about being ill is when you cannot do what you used to do that
> even happens to major sports figures like Simone the acrobat runner
> sometimes people need time to recharge and reestablish their mind and
> thoughts or even resuscitate their business even corporations do that
> all the time that's why many of the fortune 500 companies or big bucks
> big commerce companies I've had to do the same
>
> When I look at companies I found in my company partially on Sears
> roebuck and I watch the company we run into the ground by a hedge fund
> investor who just started bottom-line profit margin instead of taking
> care of the customers and taking care of his employees I'm a firm
> believer that the employees help build the company but if you don't have
> a major compassion for your customers you might as well throw in the
> towel because what builds a business is the treatment of the customers
> in times when it looks like you're losing money but you're actually
> investing in your business because businesses based om Goodwill
>
> I would tell my employees I'll never be angry with you for taking too
> good of care of a customer pretend that each package is a Christmas gift
> and packet as well as you can offer some free lagniappe show gratitude
> and give a little extra even if it's just for a $10 order or a five
> dollar order because in the customers mind that could be a actual gift
> for a graduation or a Christmas gift birthday present or something else
> and it's very important to them
>
> One of my employees now works for I believe Spielberg or Kate Capshaw in
> in Los Angeles and he sent my son Tommy a present once in the mail and I
> could tell it was a former employee packet because I had a specific way
> we peptides we would put tape over the mailing label we would package it
> very securely and I thought whoever sent this package just like I would
> end it arrived in great shape it was a toy for my son employee used to
> babysit Tommy when he was like two or three
>
> So several times this week customer service people have told me they
> needed to hear my message to them because they were having troubles and
> stress in their own personal life and I said well you know it's not a
> coincidence God put you on my past today for his purpose to help you and
> I agree and I mean I've talk to customer service people all over the
> world when was in the Philippines when was in El Salvador you name it
> somewhere in the US
> I had talked to my lender of my house insurance people all kinds of
> people and I always tell them some of the stories I learned from my
> mentors like Mel Blanc
> Because many people just need encouragement and to know they're not
> alone with the trials they are suffering from in health or money or
> business choices or even marital problems which I am totally
> understanding of since I have suffered everything you can imagine and so
> I find myself educating customer service people how does a blind guy see
> a computer for instance and I mentioned to them that I have
> accessibility built in
>
>
> Center of Toledo gave me a yellow keyboard there is a PC keyboard but
> when I move my mouse it zooms out in it makes me able to see small print
> up to 4 inches tall by just scrolling out when I'm writing these emails
> I use the Dictation program and I just speak into my computer and it
> types out the words I still don't have a great education on grammar or
> punctuation but I'm learning at 67 years old
>
>
> You have to consider I was expelled from high school at age 15 for
> drawing a picture of Led Zeppelin in art class the principal said I was
> only the second person who expelled the other guy was in Flint Michigan
> named Mark Farner from a band called Grand Funk railroad
>
>
> Who is 15 years old and so I started playing in bands and nightclubs
> when I was 15 first doing country western
>
>
>
>
>
> then by the age of 17 I joined a famous band from the 50s call Johnny
> and the hurricanes I know Greg would know who I'm talking about they
> were very big in 1959
>
> Networked with some of the biggest agencies like William Morris and Marv
> Tobolsky from Regency artist in Los Angeles and I did split commissions
> on bigger gigs for some conventions and I learned quickly I was actually
> offered a job by a very big model agency handling their print and
> commercial TV commercials in Chicago but I was so overwhelmed at 20
> years old I didn't think I could handle a $900 a monthI was just so
> clueless that I could be making 100,000 a year in Chicago to start in
> commissions just booking talent for TV commercials these guys were huge
> and they took me out to the Playboy club in Chicago for dinner and they
> really believed in me it was a husband and wife team and I turned it
> down in exchange for a local recording studio and said they would record
> album of my songs for free if I stayed in ToledoI was just so clueless
> that I could be making 100,000 a year in Chicago to start in commissions
> just booking talent for TV commercials these guys were huge and they
> took me out to the Playboy club in Chicago for dinner and they really
> believed in me it was a husband and wife team and I turned it down in
> exchange for a local recording studio and said they would record the
> album of my songs for free if I stayed in Toledo choices right??
>
> So I went to Hollywood at the invitation of Mel Blanc try to not work
> with me with some of the recording companies because he was with capital
> records one of the largest labels in the world and I met bol Donaldson
> in the Heywoods they were from Ohio and the mother worked for playboy
> records and promoted the group
> I got to meet Herb Cohen who is Frank Zappa's manager and Fabians
> manager in many industry people including snuff Garrett listen to my
> record who was shares
>
> I was excepted to do the songwriter showcase by BMI at the improv on
> Melrose but I chickened out and came back to Toledo because I wanted to
> band to back me instead of playing solo on a piano I'm a horrible
> pianist
> So once back in Toledo I started selling mail order movie memorabilia in
> film collectors world which later turned in the movie collectors world
> and I advertised in Gold mine toy shop, buyers guide all the all the
> collectors magazines I have an advertised in Rolling Stone magazine one
> year was like 3000 bucks for 1 AM
> So I did a lot of advertising trying to build up the brand name of my
> company
> The best part was I love friendship with people in the industry and I
> loved hearing stories of the authors of books like herb bridges with one
> of my customers and other people when we develop friendships long-term
> it goes beyond just business we learn about their background their
> family how they got in the business can you find that we all share a
> deep passion for motion pictures or music or television or all the above
> can you find out the people that were in the business that we respect
> also have stories of how they got in the business and it's usually about
> friendship and helping each other and giving
> So I just mention today to a museum Director intern Evelyn how I did two
> different jobs for Robert De Niro because today was his birthday and I
> did Bronx tale I did 15,000 of my movie real clocks for Warner Brothers
> and I did guilty by suspicion a clapper clock and I really like the work
> of Robert and also of Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese was also a film
> collector of 16 mm film and I found many of these directors also have
> from collections going back to Buster Keaton and all kinds of people
>
>
> Matter fact Mr. Rogers mention that Michael Keaton the actor is actually
> named Mike Douglas when he changed his name because they're already was
> the TV host Mike Douglas show Magine that Michael Keaton worked on the
> Mr. Rogers show in Pittsburgh how ironic
>
> People are such a wealth of information in their lives are just like
> encyclopedias and then never know how deep they go I know Sue Heim
> worked with Whoopi Goldberg and John Kish Took all the pictures for the
> toy packaging of Pee-wee Herman and you all the people on the show such
> a small world and John is one of the people that helped me through the
> years when I couldn't afford it he would do trade outs for ads in the
> poster price almanac he actually called me on my birthday the other day
> and he's been retired from box office for many years but it's our
> friendship and goes back close to 40 or 50 years that's why Jerry
> Weintraub in his book you'll know I'm dead when I stop talking is
> similar to mine because he said after he lost everything movie studios
> he was at the top of the game he had promoted some of the biggest
> all-time movies like karate kid in the oceans movies and worked with a
> Who's Who and he promoted the Elvis concerts Frank Sinatra concerts Led
> Zeppelin and John Denver and yet at the end of his life in the end of
> the book he said the greatest lesson he learned was that it's about God
> family and friends that's the same lesson that I've learned and 67 years
> old all the other stuff is in material as far as our bank acc
>
> Are collections and our portfolio of assets the greatest thing that we
> have is our family and friends and kids
>
>
> My friend Bob Vale I'm box office magazine the movie theater in motion
> picture trade magazine would help me make products in exchange for ads
> in their magazine
>
> GOD BLESS..I THINK WHENWE GET OLDER WE REPLAY MEMORIES IN OUR HEAD AND
> DREAMS\
> AND MOPO AND ITS MEMBERS HAVE BEEN PART OF MY DREAMS THANK YOU ALL
>
> KINDEST REGARDS, TOM
> HOLLYWOOD DREAM FACTORY®
> SINCE 1977
>
>
>
>
> ----
>
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