My actor uncle Emanoil "Mimi" Petrut and his beloved wife broadcaster Catinca Ralea Petrut were an early inspiration as part of our diverse, funny, clever and crazy at times family. From them and everybody else in our posse, I learned the respect for our elders and our country for the good and the bad, the love for culture and the written word, and the want to become an intellectual who explores, questions and appreciates the world.  The fact that Mimi was a theatre and film star did not help my quest to be on stage and on screen for the whole family regarded me as engineering material and tried to shield me from the sweet taste of stardom. Maybe that is why I wanted to become a director, the hand that manages the strings of puppets, to prove that I am different from Mimi and Catinca, that I may be productive myself, away from their shadow of greatness. Rebel as I was, refusing their helping hand, when they prematurely perished in the ends of time, I felt the emptiness, the sorrow of what I could have ascertained and never asked for. They are missed, and the happiness of having my parents Sanda and George alive and well, and always loving and supportive, strengthens my desire to be a fair offspring of such a gracious family.