Sandburg special on PBS

[Laurie Verge]

Be careful, Tom the Sandman, I think Roger may be picking on you...

I have to agree with Rob on how disheartening it is to work with the media (and not just film makers) who ply you for accurate history and then don't use it or choose to distort it for their purposes. I have probably related my experiences with History Decoded before, but the three "decoders" appeared to be genuinely interested in facts. However, during my interview (which went from about an hour during taping to two minutes after final cuts), everytime I tried to give a documentable answer, the cute, young, female director would scream "Cut!" At one point, she left the room to talk on the phone, and I stated my feelings. The camera man simply said, "Welcome to our world...".

I have enjoyed sharing history with Erik Jendresen, who is guiding the Killing Lincoln film for NatGeo. From the very beginning, he was upfront about wanting accurate and detailed history. I could also tell from the beginning that he had already done a lot of his homework. I now pray that the final result shows this dedication to accuracy. Fair warning, Erik -- If the show turns out anything like the book, I will beat you up after your presentation at the Surratt conference in March! LOL