Hollywood At My Front Gate

So there I was, Tuesday morning, enjoying my coffee and paper before my drive to visit ancient Mom, when I heard clicking noises on the street behind me. I looked up to see a tall man taking pictures of the front of my house. I said good morning, and asked if I could help him.

His name was Ian (he showed me an ID badge) and he said he was a location scout for the show "Burn Notice," and thought my front gate might be perfect for a stunt scene they needed to film. I invited him in, and we chatted. He is from Jamaica, and used to manage the hotel across from the one where Wifey and I honeymooned, 1/4 of a century ago.

Ian said they needed a gate that was at the end of a street, and ours was perfect. He took my cell number, and asked if we were interested. "Of course," I answered. "We must all sacrifice for the furtherance of the visual arts." Ian laughed loudly. I liked him immediately, as I suppose most who meet him do. He's a good 6'5", handsome, with that terrific Jamaican accent, and quick to laugh...

Later that day, I got ANOTHER call from a young assistant producer named Andrew. He had been by the gate, too, and agreed it was perfect. Was I still interested? Yes, I was.

Still later, I was at the bar at Trulucks, with Mirta, a place I'm not uncommonly found. I got the call this time from THE location manager, Jen. They'd pay me $2500 per day, and insure me and the house, etc...Could they come by on Thursday?

This was the coolest thing to happen in my neighborhood since the bus load of Victoria's Secret models broke down in front of my house, and asked if they could sunbathe topless in my pool while they waited for a new ride, and THAT happened only in my fantasy...

So this am, my cell phone rang, and it was Jen. She was outside. Wifey and I strolled out, and there was an ARMY of people! There were, no kidding, 25 people, and about 6 vehicles. I met Jen, a fellow Cane (though 5 years younger than I ), and she introduced us around. One fellow spotted our granddog Madeleine, and said that one of the stars of "Law and Order," another show he works on, had the identical dog, and they used it a lot, since the breed was so good at just laying still...Wifey asked him to send a text of the photo to D1...

So, they like my gate. I learned I could have negotiated for more thatn $2500, but I also learned that if you're an agreeable homeowner, they might ask to use your house again, and, truth is, I probably would have paid THEM to be able to watch the shooting of a crash scene right at my house!

Jen also told me that by agreeing to this, we became part of the "Burn Notice" family, and could attend any filmings in the Grove, where they have sets set up.

As fate and Channel 33 had it, last night they showed the show's pilot and 2nd episode, and Wifey and I watched. It was actually well written and good! We liked it. And it makes Miami look amazing, with gorgeous scenes shot all over town --mostly South Beach and the Design District.

And now our front gate, at least a facsimile of it, will become part of show biz history.

I KNEW good things came out of sitting around in the mornings, drinking coffee...