The Journey

The journey of this documentary is very special to me, even though I came in towards the middle of the process. I have known Mark since I was in the sixth grade. His mother was my sixth grade teacher and Mark and I were involved in a few school activities together. Ever since then, I knew that Mark was a very special person. When Mark and I reconnected in April last year, he told me about his passion for filmmaking and how excited he was to be working on his first project. I had been working on some short films in college, so I told him if he needed any help with any aspect of the process, I would be available.

It was only a few weeks after we started dating that I was on my way to meet Dixie Carter for an interview about her experience working with Dub Taylor. The journey started making unexpected turns when we got a phone call that we could interview Buck Taylor as well on this trip. It was really exciting, and we got a ton of footage that was essential to the project's success.

The next trip was to some B-Western experts in Augusta. Mark and I went alone, and by this time, Mark and I were planning a wedding, so I snuck off and did some wedding dress shopping while he got more interviews. Next, we interviewed Bobby Copeland in Tennessee. Even though we got some good footage, I remember that being a horrible trip because I was sick as a dog and I drove most of the way.

Our most recent trip was to Oklahoma City, where we interviewed some representatives of Dub's old high school, Classen High School. We also were able to meet with the curator of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and to get a great interview and some wonderful b-roll footage.

What I have taken away from this experience so far is that the team that is working on this project is really dedicated to great filmmaking. Mark has such a unique vision and passion, and the people that allow us to interview them are visibly calm and relaxed around him, which I contribute to his extraordinary amount of compassion. Mark's love of good story-telling, along with his team who understand and execute his vision, make me proud to say that I am an executive producer of a great project, and a proud wife of a wonderful man. This might sound strange, but I think that this is the essence of Dub Taylor's legacy: that people remember not who he was or what he looked like, but that he contributed to some of the best memories of people's lives. Whether it be little boys going to see B-Westerns, or a father and daughter watching a rerun of Bonanza together, or a couple of kids who fell in love working on his documentary, Dub's legacy, to me, is that he could provide an outlet for joy in people's lives. I truly believe that, and in turn, truly believe in this project.

Kasey Ray-Stokes