WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING?
"I'm a screenwriter, movies mostly and some television as well." 

HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A WRITER?
"As far back as elementary school, like 4th, 5th, 6th grade, writing some peices for the class to perform. We did a couple of those in assemblies for the whole school and they went over really well. It took me to that feeling of "Wow, I actually wrote this stuff", people clapping and I thought that was cool. Then during my teenage years, and the more I got into my love of movies themselves, I just thought this could really be a career, to write. So I knew, even in high school, that I was eventually going to go to college and move to L.A. right after that. I was fortunate to know that early on, that that was what I wanted to do." 

HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR WRITING CAREER?
"I went to Syracuse (University), the film and tv program there, Newhouse School of Communications. It's a pretty well known communications school around the country. They had a pretty good film (program), not like USC or NYU or that caliber necessarily, but it was definitely a good one. I took a bunch of production classes and writing classes. I came out of there with what I thought was a good base and moved to L.A. about a month after I graduated." 

WAS IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO MOVE YOUR LIFE ACROSS THE COUNTRY?
"Yeah but it was exciting! To move across the country and not have any family. I only knew two people out there at the time. I knew it would be a big transition and kind of unknown. I just embraced it though and thought "wow, this is California, Hollywood and the movie business. Let's just go for it!" It took some time, but I never hesitated about it." 

WHAT KIND OF OBSTACLES HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED OR STILL ENCOUNTER? 
"It's the kind of business where people are kind of infatuated with movies, tv, how things get made, all the glamour, but it's a business like any other. It's become more corporate over the years in many ways, so I think the great challenge over time is, and very few people are fortunate to have it, longevity and to be able to roll with the changes. Twenty years ago there were probably 12 studios making 25 movies each in a year, something like that. Now there's 7 studios and they make maybe 10 movies each. Obviously, there's more movies being made by independent financing coming in, still plenty of movies being made, but the big movie studios are all owned by corporations now, and it's all about the bottom line. Some of the obstacles are just the sheer number of people trying to do what I do, or become successful at it like I am. Nothing's ever easy. You pour your heart and soul into a script, something that you love and it can take years to get made, or it never gets made for various reasons. You just have to have thick skin about that and not take things too personally and just realize it may not be this one, the next one or whatever. Just keep going and roll with the punches, where the trends go. As an example, more dramatic writers like myself tend to look at tv more as a place, the quality of television is so much better. Starting back with the Sopranos, Madmen, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead; all these shows. So a lot of movie writers are like "well, the movie theater has sort of shrunk, but tv is expanding". It's about going with the different currents. Not try to reinvent yourself, but be able to maneuver through and stay fresh. I'm a story teller by nature and whether it winds up being a movie or a tv show, a miniseries, whatever it ends up being, at the end of the day you're telling a story"

HOW MANY SCRIPTS WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE TO WRITE BEFORE HAVING ONE SOLD OR PRODUCED?
"There's not really a formula for that per se. Every once in a while, there's that rare occasion that some young kid right out of college sells his first script. That's like a lightning strike or a lottery win. I moved there in '89, I wrote maybe 6-8 different scripts, it took me 6 years to sell my first one in '95. And then I sold others, got hired to write things, supported myself as a writer without having to work any other jobs. I was making good money and all that Now people kind of know who you are. That's the first hurdle. Then actually getting a film made, took me almost 10 years until one of my films were made. Breach, it was called, came out in 2007. It was an FBI agent movie, a true story of a spy for the Russians who's an FBI agent. Chris Cooper's in it, Laura Linney, Ryan Phillipe. It takes time. It was all about perseverance, never giving up. Others have done it a lot quicker. One of my best friends is a writer named Craig Borden, who I went to college with who wrote Dallas Buyers Club, winning last years Oscar. He wrote the first draft of that twenty years ago. That was the journey that this movie took to get, finally, to screen. 

THAT HAS TO BE SO FRUSTRATING!
"It can be incredibly frustrating. A lot of people give up, a lot will say it's not worth it, but again you have to have the ability to kind of do anything to survive, to see things through. It is that kind of a business. I guess what I'm trying to say is that probably from afar it looks so cool, fun (and believe me I wouldn't trade it for anything), that having your job be a story teller as a career is amazing. But it is as frustrating and difficult and challenging and competitive as anything out there. So, it's not as glamorous as it seems." 

I CAN PRETTY MUCH GUESS THE ANSWER TO THIS, BUT WHAT'S BEEN YOUR PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT SO FAR? 
(Adam won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for 'You Don't Know Jack' in 2010)
"Clearly, the proudest moment was the whole You Don't Know Jack experience, for a lot of reasons. 
I met a guy when I was living in Venice Beach in the early 90's. He had come out from NY and was kind of an actor. He hadn't ever really written anything before but we got to be close friends and ended up writing together. Actually the first thing that I sold was written with my partner at the time. 
The thing about You Don't Know Jack, which again just from the whole experience of working with Al Pacino, Susan Sarandon, John goodman, Barry Levinson directing the film, all these incredible people I always admired from afar, to be working so close with them, to have them speaking my words and of course the success of the movie and the Emmy's. Of course, it was tremendous. But it was also the fact that it was really the first thing I'd done as a solo writer. I'd written things on my own years ago. But after that partnership had dissolved, it was like the first thing I had done being on my own. And then to have all the success come from that was the greatest." 

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THAT SCRIPT?
"There was a producer that got to write (Jack) Kevorkian's life story. He sought me out. He was a fan of my movie Breach and knew I wasn't working with my partner anymore. He went to my agent and asked if I would be interested in it. I had followed Kevorkian's story, thought he was an interesting character and I personally believed in what he was trying to do. I didn't go out and find the project, it found me. We sold it to HBO. Then when I first met Jack Kevorkian in Michigan and started to interview him, I realized there was so much about this man that people didn't know. He was "Dr. Death" for all those years and just a creepy old man. But then if you get to know him, you'd know that while he was an eccentric, quirky, complicated guy, a little odd at times, he also (as portrayed in the movie), had his weekly poker game.  Just (ordinary) things about him that people wouldn't have thought. The whole You Don't Know Jack idea became more clear to me the more I got to know that he was such a character to dig into. 
Since then there are either stories that I'll find and go after and try to get the rights to or people bring it to me. Or an original idea. There's not just one way of getting a story." 

WHEN YOU FOUND OUT YOU WERE NOMINATED FOR THE EMMY, AND THEN OF COURSE, WHEN THEY CALLED YOUR NAME, HOW DID YOU REACT?
"It was incredible. The nominations came out in, I think, July, L.A. time around 5:30 or 6 in the morning. So it was really early there. We set the alarm, my wife and I woke up, we were waiting as they were announcing it. Immediately, calls were coming, it was a thrill in itself. It sounds cliché to say it's just great to be nominated, you never really think you're gonna win. There was another film that came out that year on HBO called Temple Grandin that Clare Danes starred in that was winning a bunch of awards. We were up against that movie for a bunch of things and they were kind of on a roll with some of the other categories they were winning. We knew Al Pacino was gonna win, he was just fantastic. Thought he was a shoe in, a slam dunk. So when they read my category and the five nominees, I never thought I was gonna win and I probably thought we had less of a chance then ever because the writers of that movie were winning other categories. Then to hear my name was just so surreal and a memory I'll have forever. Then just embracing my wife and some other people around me, going up on stage- it was a crazy thing. It still doesn't seem real sometimes."

OF COURSE YOU HAD A HUGE CHEERING SECTION HERE AS A PHILLY BOY AND GEORGE WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE!
"Yeah, I know there was a genuine feeling about that by people I knew growing up that I still have there. All my Philly friends and family, my Syracuse friends. To be able to share that with people, it meant so much to me. It wasn't something that just I was able to do, but to have some people be a part of it is what was so wonderful about it." 

IT REALLY IS INSPIRING, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SCHOOL OR AREA YOU COME FROM HAS A "NOT SO STELLAR" REPUTATION, TO HEAR OF THE SUCCESS STORIES. YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE BUT CERTAINLY IN THE RANKS. IT MAKES PEOPLE FROM THERE STAND A LITTLE TALLER. 
"I totally get that. That's a whole Philly thing too. We're always sort of the underdogs and that working class mentality that's engrained in all of us. That's never left me even after 25 years in California. I think that certain people from the area feel like "we won!" I feel like there's some connection to that that made the whole thing so gratifying." 

LASTLY, WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR IN THE FUTURE?
"I have quite a few things going on right now that seem to be getting closer to happening. I'm doing a movie about Hank Aaron and his breaking of the home run record in the '70's. Kind of based around the year leading up to home run chase. It's not like him as a young man, it's him as an aging ball player about to turn 40, the weight of the world on him, the death threats if he broke Babe Ruth's record. As a big baseball fan, I got to meet Hank Aaron a couple times. I interviewed him as I was writing the script. So we're putting that movie together." 
"There's an eight part mini series I'm working on about John DeLorean (of the DeLorean car fame). It'll take the audience through the hey day of Detroit, when the car industry was in its peak, in the 60's. Then through the 70's when GM was the biggest car company in the world. The guy was this young hotshot, rising through the ranks. He decides to start his own car company which is of kind of unheard of, living this glamour is life. He gets in so much trouble with the car, ultimately. He ended up getting arrested for some cocaine deal which he was trying to use to raise money to help save the company cause it was failing. He ended up not getting convicted but it ruined his reputation. He was just his iconic figure in America that people are curious about." 
"The other thing I'm working on, would be the first thing I'm going to direct. I've been working with the Grateful Dead actually. I've always been a big Grateful Dead fan. 2015 is their 50th anniversary so they have a lot of things going on to celebrate the anniversary. I wrote a movie, it's not a biopic about the Grateful Dead members; it's not like the Jerry Garcia move or anything like that. It's a completely fictional story set in present day. The soundtrack to the movie will be all Grateful Dead songs and the characters from the songs. The actors won't be singing songs, you'll hear them in the soundtrack. I'm using all those songs and threading the story and it gets drenched in the Grateful Dead mythology and all the themes that people have taken from that band all these years. It's to be a very modern, present day story. The goal of this movie is to make all dead heads take a journey down memory lane and that they'll appreciate it. Plus it's a way to introduce their music to a young audience who aren't as familiar. They know the name, have a T-shirt but this will really introduce the music in a unique way. It's very exciting for me and could be as thrilling as anything I've ever done if I can pull it off. That's on the front burner. Hopefully, those will be some of the things people will be seeing from me sooner than later." 

To read more about and to continue to follow Adam Mazer, go to his IMDB page: 
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0563240/

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING?
"Right now I actually have 2 careers that I am balancing. I am a Music Director at a Methodist Church in Southwest Florida and also a Human Cannonball! Most weeks I am at a large 1,000 member church creating, rehearsing, and producing our Worship Services, a 5-concert Performing Arts Series, and various church and community musical events. And when I'm not doing that I am traveling around the country getting shot over 100 feet out of a 4,000 pound cannon--oh, and raising 3 kids all under age 5!  (I'm not really sure which of those jobs is more dangerous...)

HOW DID THAT COME TO BE YOUR PROFESSION (THE CANNONBALL PART OF COURSE)? 
"I attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL, pursuing a degree in Music Performance. My main instrument was the trumpet but I have always played piano on the side. I was working as a part-time music director at two Tampa area churches and going to school full time. Then I got a wonderful opportunity to join the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus when they were designing a new show in Tampa. While touring with Ringling I met my wife and became best friends with a husband and wife Human Cannonball act. After a few years I bought a cannon from them and ran away again--to join another circus! That took us all over the world and then by (yet another) sheer coincidence I ended up back in Southwest Florida directing a music ministry in Punta Gorda, FL. Now I have the best of both worlds: watch the kids grow up while working at the church, and take them on really neat vacations to watch their Dad get shot out of a cannon in front of audiences of thousands!"

WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING OR SCHOOLING IS INVOLVED FOR THAT?
"My music profession required years of study and personal practice. To be honest, the cannon is not much different. The biggest difference is that my cannon training was more of an apprenticeship. I had to learn trampoline, trapeze, and some basic balance skills in order to have the body control and spatial awareness required to control myself when being hurtled through the air at a speed of 60 mph! There was a lot of training in mathematics and a LOT of practice.  My first year of training was spent out of the cannon and when my teacher thought I was ready I actually practiced with about 100 shots out of the cannon before my first public performance. So in my opinion no matter what you are doing in life the motto is always "Proper practice prevents poor performance."

WERE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS SUPPORTIVE OF THAT CAREER CHOICE?
"I have always been involved in music so it was very natural for my family that I would pursue that as a career.  The cannon was another story. Most of my family thought I was crazy but I have always been headstrong and somewhat entrepreneurial. My mother said that I had the drive to do whatever I set my sights on doing, so she was confident that I would be careful and diligent no matter what. So far so good."

WHAT KIND OF REACTION DO YOU GET WHEN PEOPLE FIND OUT WHAT YOU DO? 
Disbelief. I usually have to explain exactly what it is and then convince them that I'm being serious. The easiest conversations are at gas stations when people typically point with their jaw dropped and I just say, "yeah, it's exactly what you think it is." Some people want to know how it works--which is a secret. But probably the most asked question is "what does it feel like." I always respond the same way: it feels like getting hit by a bus. Your body goes from 0 to 60 mph in about a quarter of a second. That puts a force on your entire body equal to about 9 times the force of gravity. It's an exhilarating experience but it is so much fun. You have to be in really good physical shape and definitely be careful. Just one mistake could be the difference between walking away or being a pancake. It's fun but also very serious business."

YOU HAVE A SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL JOB. CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT?
"While I suppose my day job is rather conventional, on nights and weekends I get to rock out as Captain Swirly! I Provide quality entertainment for kids of all ages in the form of magic tricks (or "mystic deeds" as I like to call them), and balloon animals that'll make even a cynic smile!!!"                               
 HOW DID YOU GET INTO THAT? 
"I got into magic around ages 9-12, but then drifted out of it as a practicing magician. About five years ago I felt in need of a hobby and picked it back up. At about the same time, what is now South Street Magic had opened up in Philadelphia, and I became friendly with the awesome, supportive, helpful Philly magi there. As my new journey began, with their help and encouragement, the hobby became a part-time job!

ARE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS SUPPORTIVE OF YOUR JOB? 
"My friends and family are amazingly supportive of what I do- not just because they get entertained along the way- but because they realize that I am invigorated by sharing moments of wonder and amazement with others. I am especially grateful for how supportive Steal Your Face (Philly based Grateful Dead tribute band featured here) has been in allowing Captain Swirly to be a part of their musical magic universe!                

WHEN YOU TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU DO, WHAT IS THEIR REACTION?
"When people find out I do magic, especially kids magic, they often have a "how do you do it?" reaction. It's not about magic tricks- but about putting up with an audience of birthday party excitement-fueled children! Honestly, I love an audience of loony kids. With children's magic it's not so much about the conclusion of the trick or effect-when the magic happens, it's the trip getting there! A magic show is when kids are actually encouraged to act up and act out ! Like adults, it gives them a break from the rules of reality."

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD OFFER ANY ADVICE TO PEOPLE WHO MAY WANT TO PERSUE A SIMILAR CAREER?                    
"My advice to anyone interested in the magical arts is to spend time with other practitioners of the craft.  Unfortunately, brick and mortar magic shops are rare. We are lucky to have one here (South Street Magic) that also presents three live shows every weekend ! I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned from watching the talent on that stage! Also, many treasures are to be found in the mind-blowing amount of magic books out there."

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'D BE DOING IF YOU WERENT DOING THIS?
 "I like to think that if I wasn't being Captain Swirly, I'd perhaps find an outlet in writing. I say that because revisiting magic as an adult, I really enjoy structuring routines, especially the scripting part!"

 While Captain Swirly's forte is family magic he is available to make any event a little swirly. He can also be seen most weekends emceeing shows at South Street Magic in Philadelphia.  

SO HOW DID YOU GET INTO THAT LINE OF WORK?
“We were starving. I was with my sister and she decided to get into it. I didn’t want too, but she finally brought me there when I was 19 because she couldn’t handle doing it alone.” 

DID YOUR FAMILY OR FRIENDS KNOW WHERE YOU WERE WORKING? WHAT DID THEY THINK?
“I was by myself most of the time. The only friends I made were people I would meet in the clubs on the weekend. I used to go there every weekend to meet people so they would let me sleep at their home. Most of the time I had sex with them, but not the same way as during the week. My mother knew but always pretended she didn’t know or understand. My father knew too and he actually sent some of his friends to my sister and me. My little brother just found out a few years ago. He cried. And my other older sister was actually jealous. She was married and she thought that it would be something to experiment with. She also thought that the fact that I was doing it (working) with the third sister would make us closer than she and I were. So she was jealous of that relationship. That was the only thing she cared about. The sister who brought me there still lives in Belgium. She still does it a few times a month to have extra money. She has a daughter and she wants her to have everything she needs.”

DOES YOUR SISTER’S DAUGHTER KNOW WHAT SHE DOES?  
“No. She’s only 4.”

I DONT KNOW HOW MUCH YOU SHARE THIS WITH PEOPLE, BUT WHEN SOMEONE DOES FIND OUT, WHAT IS THE TYPICAL REACTION? IS THERE ONE?
“When I start a relationship, I feel like I have to tell the boyfriend. They usually cry or feel sorry for me. After a few months, it always winds up coming up, usually when we argue. I’ve been told “you were a whore, you should be happy just to have a boyfriend”. My friend’s reactions when I have talked about it was something different. They are proud of me. They say that I made out great and that I can be proud because I got out of it. I got out of prostitution, of drugs and alcohol. And that I am a teacher, a good teacher today. 
My family hates me though. They say I think I am better than them because I got away. They are mad at me when I don’t want to be with them, or drink with them or if I tell my brother not to drink so much. They make fun of me. They treat me like I am from another world.” 

SO, WHAT MADE YOU STOP?
“I didn’t want to start in the first place. Any free time I had between customers, even though I was on drugs, I kept reading and studying. I read history books, math, english, etc, I desperately wanted to keep my brain alive. Girls were laughing at me all the time. Pimps and customers would make fun of me too sometimes, because I was “different”. I have always been a dreamer and I always thought that I would be someone in life.  I knew I did not belong where I was. It was not my world. I hated everything. I was losing myself. I was spending all that money that I didn’t want to keep on cocaine and speed, “ecstasy”, alcohol, make-up and clothes. I felt like that was a useless life. So one night I was crying, I didn’t say anything to the other girls, I stole money and got a taxi. I ran away to a guy I knew’s home. I stayed there a while and even tried to join the army. My test results were good, but they didn’t want me anyway. I guess because of the troubles with the police that I had had before. So finally I ran away to the south of France. I worked in restaurants. I got to be a manager. Since then I have met good people who helped me to get back, to get into school (to become an art teacher). I studied French and Art History. I like to teach kids that have a sad life.” 

DO YOU WORRY YOU WILL EVER GO BACK TO THAT?
“Sometimes, when I have problems with money, I think about it. Sometimes I even miss those moments. Like the pain is home. Like I was made for that. If I feel weak, I will think that I really want to get back there because pain seems easier than being happy. I don’t understand when things work out well. It’s like I am always waiting for something bad to happen. If it doesn’t then I feel like I want to hurry and destroy it myself. That way I know that I am ready for the pain.” 

DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF ADVICE FOR SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE WORKING IN A SIMILAR SITUATION? 
“Yes! So many… [If you are already doing it] don’t take too many drugs even though it seems easier when you are on drugs. Keep your brain safe. Don’t take your eye off of the light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t stop believing you are somebody. Do not give up your dreams. Don’t listen to what people say. Just keep yourself safe and keep your mind on that. Life is full of surprises, and tomorrow may be different. You don’t have to be who people want you to be. [If you’re doing this because you think you have to] keep your money. Save what you can. Don’t spend it all on drugs. Have a goal to get out and keep it. And don’t listen to people that say you’re not beautiful, because “whore” is just a word. You are beautiful, you just don’t know it… one day, you’ll open your eyes and see. 

WHAT IS THE STRANGEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU IN THE LINE OF WORK?
“My pimp, the second one, was a woman. She acted like my mother. I believed it and I did everything she wanted me to. She knew my weaknesses and she used them. I once had to have sex with a customer and my sister at the same time. It was... weird. It made me angry and sadder than I have ever been. 
Another time a man tried to put me in the back of his car and lock me in because he wanted to keep me, to make me his wife. I’ve had people who wanted me to pee on them, call them daddy... some wanted to hurt me and wanted me to beg them to stop... but I couldn’t. Someone else had to come in and stop them because I couldn’t even feel anything at that point- only hate. One day though a man paid 500 euros to bring me to the room and he just said to me, “chose the music you want, put it on, and just relax. We wont have sex. This is your hour, do what you want. I won’t touch you.” Because in this world, even if everything is crazy and fucked up, there is still always going to be some beauty.”

The Road Not Taken 
(Sometimes cited as The Road Less Traveled)
By Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 
And sorry I could not travel both 
And be one traveler, long I stood 
And looked down one as far as I could 
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 

Then took the other, as just as fair, 
And having perhaps the better claim, 
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; 
Though as for that the passing there 
Had worn them really about the same, 

And both that morning equally lay 
In leaves no step had trodden black. 
Oh, I kept the first for another day! 
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 
I doubted if I should ever come back. 

I shall be telling this with a sigh 
Somewhere ages and ages hence: 
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— 
I took the one less traveled by, 
And that has made all the difference.

As children, we often dream about what we would like to be when we grow up. Perhaps you wanted to be a baseball player, or a ballerina, or President of the United States. Chances are, you are none of these things today. The truth is, despite our childhood dreams, the circumstances and situations of our lives often get in the way, and those childhood career dreams often become just that... dreams. 
*They say the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry... 
The things we dream of, wish for, and even plan- no matter how carefully, sometimes may still go wrong. 

Sometimes we start out on the path that we always dreamt of, only to find that it wasn't really the right road for us after all. So how is it that we wind up doing what we do? How do the teachers wind up teaching? How do the policemen wind up policing? 
Sometimes we work hard and study and strive to be what we think will make us happy, what we think we will be good at. Sometimes, we fall into a profession- a family business perhaps. Sometimes we arrive at our profession out of necessity. We take a job that fits our life and our needs of the moment. And then, life rolls on. And before we know it, years have passed and this is what we do. 
And sometimes we wind up in the strangest of places, with a job that we never thought we would have, doing things we never thought we would do. And while we all need the plumbers of the world, the teachers of the world, and the mechanics of the world, there is something fascinating, riveting, about people whose jobs are out of the ordinary, outside of the box. 

This week we have the pleasure of bringing you into the lives of people who have or have had jobs that are just a little different than your supermarket cashiers or your gas station attendants. Please come back every day this week and meet people just like you, working at jobs that are a little unusual, uncommon, or off the beaten path. No matter how unusual, or how far removed from what we do their jobs are, at the end of the day we still all face the same questions, doubts, struggles and joys that come with a day's work. 
Hardly have I met in my life someone who did not at one time or another question the road that they were on- the path that they had chosen. Sometimes a career is everything. It defines you. It is, essentially, who you are. And other times, a job is just a means to an end. Something we do to pay the bills and sustain us while we wait for that precious 5 o'clock hour when our "real life" begins. 
So, which one are you? Are you happy that way? Remember, it's never to late to change the road you're on.... So while we wait for our first interview, tell us, what do you do for a living? What did you hope to be when you were a kid? 

*The best laid plans... is a line adapted from a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1785. It was later further adapted and served as the inspiration for the title of John Steinbeck's 1937 novel, Of Mice and Men.