Have you ever had a dream that scared the hell out of you? 

I’m not talking about a nightmare. I mean something you want. Like a goal? An achievement? A purpose? 

I’ve dreamed about being a writer for a long time. But for some reason, I thought it was unobtainable. I lacked confidence in myself and I feared failure. Fear and self-confidence can be the two worst enemies of any artistic creator. 

I still wrote. I just kept my stories to myself and never took it seriously or tried to get published. Then, I met a guy who changed my whole outlook on life. 

Corey Mintz was a Dayton area stand-up comedian. He was one of the funniest guys I’d ever met and we quickly became friends. Mostly because I could make him laugh. I have to admit, it felt pretty good knowing I could make someone as funny as Corey laugh. 

I’m confident, that if Corey really tried, he could have made it as a full-time, headlining comedian. He was that funny. But that’s not what he wanted to do. Corey’s dream was to make movies. He wanted to be a filmmaker more than anything else. 

Corey wrote a movie script and set a plan in motion to film and direct the movie himself in and around Dayton, OH. The movie was called “Find Eddie.” He cast all the characters with his comedian friends, with hopes that, if the movie found success, maybe his friends would too. 

Corey had a part for me that he said I was perfect for (Detective Grazo, dirty cop). I was thrilled when he asked me to play the part. At the time, I was going through a pretty rough period in my life. I was in my late 40’s, and within the span of a few months, I’d lost my job, gotten divorced, and had to move in with my parents. I didn’t have a lot going for me, but Corey gave me something to look forward to. 

Filming “Find Eddie” with Corey, and a cast of comedians, was honestly the most fun I’ve ever had. Corey and I spent a lot of time together, and as the weeks and months passed, he confided in me that he wasn’t feeling well. I urged him to get checked out by a doctor, but he said he didn’t have the time, money, or health insurance. He worked part-time jobs, as well as doing comedy on the weekends, so he could be free to produce “Find Eddie.” Everything he did was to support his dream of being a filmmaker. 

Principle filming of “Find Eddie” was about 75% complete when Corey almost passed out while driving to work. He was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. We were all worried sick about him. It was bad, but he didn’t let a little thing like cancer stop his dream. He started chemotherapy treatments and continued on. He would even bring his chemo pump on set and take the treatment while he filmed and directed. 

Like a true champion, Corey finished his film, but editing and post production had yet to be completed when his health took a turn for the worse. Unfortunately, he never recovered and my friend died on April 17^th, 2017.

After Corey’s death, a lot of us banded together to hold fund raising events so a professional film editor could be hired to finish the film. A Go Fund Me page was also set up to support that effort. It took a while, but on February 1^st of this year, our good friend’s dream became a reality. A theatrical screening of “Find Eddie” was held at a Dayton area movie theater to a sold-out crowd.  

I know what you’re thinking? What’s this have to do with me bring a writer? 

As tragic as Corey’s death was for me, not to mention his friends and family, his life and friendship had a much bigger impact. Corey sacrificed everything for his dream, and there I was with my own dream, perfectly healthy, and not doing a damn thing about it. 

I don’t know where this writing journey will take me, but I’m on it, and even if I don’t achieve any success, it won’t be for lack of trying. 

Thank you, Corey, for all the laughs, the memories, your friendship, for trusting me to be in “Find Eddie,” and for showing me that following a dream against all odds is the most honorable thing a man can do. I won’t let you down. 

If you are reading this, and you have a dream, and are unsure if you should follow it, listen to the words of Corey Mintz: “…you never know when this world will reach up and snatch the life right out of you. Do it now.”