These off years of Thanksgiving are always the odd ones. John is spending the weekend with him mother. We only have two "official" ones where are mandated to be together. I have been pondering recently how things are going to change when he turns 18. So much of our time together is on a schedule and because it is "supposed to" be our weekends together. Families that have not gone through divorce never have to worry about that; you just always and simply spent time with your family. I am a little nervous as to whether or not it is going to make a difference to him when there is no longer a piece of paper saying when we have to be together.

Yes, I miss him. Can you tell?

I spent the day at friends and ate more than I should have and definitely more that my bypass stomach should have allowed me to. Before heading over to dinner I saw "Zathura". Not to bad.

Today was the rough one. My friend Rosa had her father pass away on Monday and today was the funeral. I ended up as a pall bearer. I was honored to be asked. I've been adopted by her family as a "little brother" so it seemed almost natural.

I had flashback to the two other times I've been a pall bearer. The first time, at age 17 for my friend Tony and then for my Uncle Eddie. Even prepared for it, being a pall bearer has to be the most nerve wracking thing for a person to do. Any insecurities about your ability to do the job nags at you the entire time.

"Don't let me hand slip! Don't let me hand slip! Don't let me hand slip!"

That's all you think the entire time. Then you are either straining from the weight or feeling guilty because it seems a if everyone else is carrying the load and all you're doing is holding on and looking like a token pall bearer but not really doing the job.

And each time I have been a pall bearer I have stepped on the back of the foot of the guy in front of me. Not enough to give his a flat foot but enough to make my blood preassure spike and a curtain of flop sweat drop down my back.

My funeral is going to be very different than most. There will be music, laughter and an open bar. As I was sitting in the dour and depressing funeral home I had the thought of checking to see if my old home town would allow a service right out on the beach near where I grew up. At the very least, the funeral procession will drive through Oakland Beach en rout to the cemetery as a final farewell. I also see being lowered into the ground to the strains of Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky".

No reason why it should be depressing. Celebrate the life, not mourn it. Well, I've got time to worry about the details.

When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best
When they lay me down to die
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky

Goin' up to the spirit in the sky - spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die - when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
I'm gonna go to the place that's the best

Instead of being a part of making movies this weekend, I went to see a few of them.

To distract myself from the fact I wasn't in Orlando Saturday, I did a double feature. I started with "Walk the Line". The performances by both Phoenix and Witherspoon were exceptional but it was no "Ray" or "Coal Miner's Daughter". There was nothing in the story to raise it above more than a simple biopic which could have been a Movie of the Week. I won't be surprised to see Phoenix getting at least an Oscar nomination out of it.

"Chicken Little" was just plain disturbing. This film was aimed directly at young children yet delivers an storyline scarier than anything in today's horror movies. "Little" lives alone with his father. It is implied that the mother has passed away. After a piece of the sky falls on him Little's father has to deal with the public humiliation and does all he can to sweep it under the carpet and pretend it never happened. When it happens again the father stands in front of the entire town and denies his son. He bows and scrapes to public opinion against his only son. What could be more terrifying for a child? Well, then there's the whole "War of the Worlds" story line built to explain why the sky is falling. If I wanted to see that I would have waited for the Tom Cruise DVD. Oh, wait! THAT'S an ADULT movie. Children under 10 should be steered away from this movie. Technically, it was well done. The CGI was a blend of the full blown "Toy Story" style while keeping the flavor of a 2-D animated film. The absence of Pixar from Disney is blaring in this film.

With each proceeding "Harry Potter" film it become increasingly evident that you HAVE TO be a fan of the books to really enjoy the series. When I walked out of "Azkhaban" I turned to a friend and asked, "Is that it?" During this film I was lost and bored almost all the way through and I feel it's only going to get worse with each installment.

Don't get me wrong; it was made well. The effects were fantastic. The acting was great. These kids keep getting better with each installment. There was humor which worked when it was supposed to and the whole subtext about teens dealing with the opposite sex for the first time was poignant. But over all it was scenes of great adventure interspersed between long boring exposition.

At least, there's still "King Kong" and "The Producers" to look forward to.

I just wimped out on something which seems like such a natural and I'm trying to justify it as a "career decision". Saturday morning there is an open casting call for extras to be in the next two "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. It would be two months of shooting in the Bahamas. I learned about it two days ago and have spent the past 48 hours mulling over all of the implications of the possibility of getting called to work as an extra.

To many people it seemed like a no-brainer. I look like a pirate. Acting is what I want to do. Two months of getting paid to work on a movie in the Bahamas. DUH! I had my eight year career on my job to consider. I had my relationship with my son to consider. I had potential voice work to consider. My brain really hurt.

Then it seemed as if the cards were being stacked against me by mere circumstance. All rental cars in town were taken. My only way of getting to Orlando and back was limited to Greyhound. That would mean trying to come up with something to do wandering the streets of Orlando overnight. Not a good plan.

I finally decided not to go because of the voice work. There are at least two projects which are probably going to start off in the next month or two. If I were in the Bahamas I wouldn't be available for them and the voice work is where I really want my future to be.

When these two movies come out you probably won't want to be in the same theater with me "That could have been me!" "I could have done that!" It won't be pretty. Hopefully, I'll be able to say all those things while as a gainfully employed voice actor.

Johnny Depp will just have to meet me some other way!

I am so glad Elvis died young.

Last night there was a tribute to Johnny Cash on television. It featured a slew of country and pop stars in a concert of Cash's music with clips from the upcoming movie, "Walk the Line"; which I am dying to see. It was hosted by Joachaim Pheonix and Reese Witherspoon. OK, so it was a blatant plug for the movie, but the talent on the show was pretty cool. U2 performed and Kris Kristofferson performed "Sunday Morning Comin' Down" with the Foo Fighters. The act I was excited about seeing was a duet of Kid Rock and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Then I saw The Killer.

I thought I was looking at Jimmy Doohan again circa the last year of his life. While Lewis' playing was still there, he looked as if they had just rolled him out of the home for his weekend ride. He sat there, mostly immobile, with a strained and raspy voice. His eyes had that glossed over old-guy look to them. When you're used to seeing the stage explode with energy its hard to see him slumped over the keyboard straining to hit each note.

His hands still knew they way over the ivories. The music pounded as hard as ever. It was just very painful to watch. Then it dawned on me that he and Elvis were around the same age and I tried to imagine him if he were alive today.

Would he be playing the big rooms and still rocking like Jagger? Would he be retired and look a lot like Bruce Campbell in "Bubba Ho-tep"? Or would he have his own theater sandwiched between Yakoff Schmirnoff and Bobby Vinton in Branson? He may have been bloated and dazed most of the time near the end, but when he hit the stage he was still the King. "Better to burn out, than to fade away..." There does seem to be something to that.

Change really sucks!

As you may have read before on this blog, I do not deal well with change. For someone who has gone through massive change in the past 11 years that can really make for some tough times. A whole family of good friends just announced that they are making plan on moving by June.

“Just announced” is not really how to describe how they let the news out. Nagasaki was slightly more subtle. As sort of a side note to discussions last night during our chapter meeting about planning for next years’ Shore Leave, they off-handedly said, “We might not be here for that”. My friend Jim and I made exactly the same stunned “Whoa!” as the conversation quickly changed topic.

What is so fracking special about Tennessee? What is the special pull that is now dragging a second group of close friends away? I know they have their reasons and they all make perfect sense. But damn it, I love these people.

Hector has been open and friendly since the day we met. If I had to choose one word to describe Hector, it would be friendly. He will bend over backwards to help a friend and stand by a friendship with fierce loyalty. He has opened his home and heart to our club and made us all a part of his family.

Robert is amazing. If you were never told there were developmental issues with this young man I don’t think you’d ever know. He is the smartest and most intelligent kid his age I know other than my own son. He has amazed me on more than one occasion with his intellect. That’s not just brain power or school smarts I’m talking about but the way he thinks and how he approaches things.

When I first met Savannah she would barely make eye contact and now shares barbs and jokes with me like a pro. Her joy for life is unbounded. I’ve watched her grow into a fine young woman and I envy whatever guy she will marry. OK, I fear for him as well, but that’s his problem.

And then there’s Danette. Most of you who read this have never met her and she’s very hard to describe. We share the same twisted sense of humor. We have common experiences. We are months apart in age. I look upon her as the sister I should have had. My “real” sisters are years older than I am and we have vastly different points of view. We get each other. Danette would have been the sister I would have grown up with and shared secrets with. She would have been the sister I tortured at home and protected from other kids at school. As I write this it dawns on me that she has filled the void left by my sister Elaine who I haven’t talked with in almost 20 years. And now that void is going to be opened again.

And that sucks.

Yes, I’ve said that before about change and distant friends. I still see and talk with friends from back home on a regular basis and that is always good. My pal, Gary, moved away a few months ago but we still talk on a regular basis and it’s always as if we had just met for a movie the day before. But it’s not the same as having that person within walking distance. Crystal clear telephone lines, instant messaging, emails and once a year convention get togethers just don’t equal having those people right there in your life.

I have about six months to prepare to my friends moving. I hope for the best for them. I know we will continue to stay in touch and our friendships will remain as strong as they are now.

But it still sucks.

Another successful weekend at a convention. Or at least what I can remember of it!

There is promise of more voice work which might lead to bigger and better things and....there was this girl. But, more on that later.

We bolted up to Orlando the moment I got out of work Friday night. Thanks to the generosity of friends I was able to keep the weekend's expenses to a low by crashing in their room and borrowing an ID badge the few times I actually had to go into a function room. The usual crowd of friends were there which always makes the major reason I attend these things.

My friend Lee Stringer was there and we had the opportunity to talk shop. He is moving to Orlando to work at the DAVE school. While there, in addition to the student work he will have time to do some personal projects for which wants to use my voice. These "projects" are potential pitches for TV shows. The adrenaline rush I got as we talked was fantastic. There's supposed to be some actor's superstition about not talking about a part before you get it...FUCK THAT! I am so excited about the potential that seems laid out before me that I just want to scream!

While we were talking he made reference to me as "the talent". I told him that if I ever refer to myself as "the talent" that he has my express permission to hit me upside the head. There's a bit in the movie "Goundhog Day" where Bill Murray's character refers to himself like that in the most pompous way. I would never want to get like that. Now I have a failsafe!

Saturday night was, as always, the night for drunken debauchery and this weekend was no exception. Without John there as my "designated driver" I was free to get an inebriated as possible and I excelled. There were moments from the evening and complete conversations I had reported to me the next morning of which I have absolutely no memory. We had a ball!

The best part of this was dancing with a pretty young lady named Daphne. We had met earlier in the day playing a card game called Dalmuti. When I saw her at the dance the inhibition evaporating effects of the alcohol I had consumed allowed to go right up and ask her to dance.

I barely left the dance floor after that.

Well, let me correct that. I did leave the dance floor a few times, but I had to be told about those the next morning.

When I was sober and coherent the next morning Daphne and I exchanged email addresses and spent a few more hours playing Dalmuti. I am not blowing this episode out of proportion other than it was two people who met and spent come good time together. I will email her and hope that I will hear from her again. Maybe it an introduction that could someday grow to something else but for right now it's just two people who met and share an interest.

I'll bet you're all taking bets to see how long that self imposed restriction lasts!

As far as the stars at this show; while they weren't the reason I went I did end up see almost all of them at one moment or another. Jolene Blaylock, Ethan Phillips, Robert Beltran, Anthony Montgomery and all shared a passing hello. And then there was Linda Park. She is the ONLY reason I stayed with "Enterprise" all the way to the last episode. This girl is gorgeous! A friend was ill and not able to stand in line for her autograph and by pure luck I ended up being the one to take her place to get Linda's for her. My heart melted when after signing the photo those beautiful and wide eyes of her met mine. I said "Thank You", hoping it did not come out like babbling and drooling of some kind. I think I was successful.

I missed my son some something terrible this weekend and I'll probably post about those feelings tomorrow after I get a chance to talk with him. Right now I am still fighting the terrible fatigue that always follows a weekend like this.

And the suckage continues.

Any plans to spend the weekend with my son have gone down the toilet. Plans were to go to a convention in Orlando. The details of getting him back and forth might have been a little tight but I was really hoping to have him join us. When I called to try to iron things out he informed me that he had plans on going to a pro football game with his aunt, uncle and other family members.

There is so much about this whole situation I want to talk over with him, but the aggravating thing is that I do not want to do so over the phone. He is old enough now where we can talk on a more mature level about the emotions involved in all of this and how this is more than just a weekend away for him. Maybe next weekend.

My only consolation is the major amount of alcohol which awaits me in Orlando. While not the best excuse in the world, it will take my mind off everything for a while.

The repairs on the van ended up topping off at $270 dollars. Thank God for pay day advances.

The other day I went up to the young lady at work and started the conversation by telling her we had an anniversary coming up. She got a strange look on her face as she tried to figure out what I meant.

"Well, it's been almost two months since I first asked you to dinner and we still haven't gone out!"

She laughed, she smiled.....but she failed to come up with a possible date.

Her birthday is coming up this weekend and my "sponsor" and a few other women I've talked with are all suggesting I play the hard to get angle right now. That I not get her a gift or even a card. I can be as desperate all I want in private but in no way should I let it show. I am at least looking forward to finding out exactly how old she is.

I know I am going to have a good time this weekend. Through the generosity of friends I won't have to pay for the hotel or to get into the show. There will be piles of free food and I haven't paid a dime for drinks at these things for the past year so I'm sure portions of the weekend will be missing from my memory once Monday morning comes. I'll try to keep notes and possibly an embarrassing photo or two.

This past weekend sucked and the suck-age has continued into this week.

The only good note so far is that my back is almost back to normal. Remember, this is "almost". I still have twinges of pain and spasm from time to time and all the damned darvocets are gone!!! I can at least move around and get my place back into to order for the first time since the hurricane.

And I had plenty of time to clean over the weekend because my van busted a hose from the radiator to the water pump and didn't move all weekend. To add insult to injury, I did get a ride into work this morning leaving my keys and AAA card in the van waiting for the tow truck to arrive. The park manager was more than willing to meet the tow truck when it arrived; so it seemed like a great plan. However, AAA didn't see it that way. Which means I have to try scheduling getting the van over to the garage and getting a ride to work all at the same time.

Oh, and did I mention a bit over $100 for the repair?!!!!

Add to that the continued problem with the fuel injection, I have come up with a name for my car. Cameron. This is in honor of the Alan Ruck character from "Ferris Beuller's Day Off". He is Ferris' good friend who sits in the car debating with himself whether or not to give in to Ferris and go to his house. Much in the same way Cameron hesitates so does this van when the fuel injection doesn't work right.

"I'll go. I'll go. I'll go. No."

That's exactly how the van sputters. You can almost hear the engine saying those exact words. I'm just hoping, much in the same way the character of Cameron comes to find himself by the end of the movie that Cameron the van will soon be firing on all cylinders.

But first, we get this radiator hose problem out of the way.

A better life through chemicals! While my back is still bothering me, I did go to the doctor on Monday where he filled me up with muscle relaxants, anti-inflamatories and pain killers. I am still walking around slowly and hunched over. That should continue to get better over the next few days.

What really sucks about the whole thing is that I missed out on going to work in costume. All the money for a costume had to go to the office visit and medication. That means that next year will be even better. I finally have found a resource for doing a costume for the office I have always wanted to do. I'll keep you guessing until then.

The other disappointment is that tonight George Takei is performing with a symphony orchestra near Orlando. I so wanted to go not only to see him perform but to surprise him with my weight loss. He had I talk a couple of times during the year but it has been almost five years since I saw him face to face.

There has been a lot made in the media aver his "coming out" as a homosexual. Big whoop! To me, a person's preferences matter little to the kind of a person he is and George is one of the best I have ever met. While the stigma attached with being openly gay has diminished over the years, I still applaud him for going public. There are probably still, even in these "enlightened" times, those who feel they have to hide who they are. I hope George's example will prove that the days of fear are over.

Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison are my heroes!!!!!

Yes, I have electricity back! The power returned yesterday afternoon. The reason I haven't posted before now is that on Friday morning, as I was getting ready for work, I pulled a muscle in my back. Since then I have been surviving on ibuprofen, borrowed muscle relaxants and walking around like Quasimodo. My first hot shower yesterday certainly helped.

The worst part is that I am going to have to go out today and get whatever leftovers there are at the costume shop to wear something to work tomorrow. When you're the "Official Office Class Clown" certain things are expected from you. I'd hate to have to call out sick tomorrow.

So, off to a few more pain pills and a nap.

Here are my hurricane photos.


This is the damage to my trailer. No biggie.


This is the reason I have no power.


There are a number of gas stations with this problem.


Hard working employees. No power.


Improvisation goes a long way. At least the phones were still working.


My company provided hurricane supplies for its employees.


Getting loaded with ice and a lantern.

Showering has now become a religious experience. My cell phone alarm clock function wakes me just before the sun rises at 7AM. Still dark enough to need a flashlight to make it out to the TV in the living room. I’m not quite awake enough to focus completely on the screen, so it ends up acting more as a nightlight more than anything.

Still groggy enough not to completely remember how cold the water is going to be I turn the handle. My screams are so loud and high pitched that dogs for miles around howl back in response.

At least now I’m awake!

Supplies are still only limited to water and ice in the area. Luckily, my company hands out ice every day and I have running water. The lines are long though and with no power in many areas the lines at gas stations are also hours long. I was smart enough to fill up on Sunday, so I should have enough to last me through to Sunday, when supplies and working pumps should be plentiful.

I did stop in at Wal-Mat on the way into work this morning. No, that was not a typo. Apparently, the “R” on the Wal-Mart sign had been blown away during the storm. Yes, getting back to normal will take some time.

The young lady and I are talking almost every day; breaking the ice with hurricane small talk. My “sponsor” and I both agree that once all of the general hubbub is over from the storm it is also time for all of this coyness to end. She and I agree I should simply put my cards on the table and say, “OK, it’s been a month we’ve been dancing around this. I really do want to take you out. Before I develop a complex over this, why don’t we just pick a day and time.” Let’s see where the direct approach gets me!

What a fun couple of days this has been! Have I told you lately? FLORIDA SUCKS!

The storm came in much stronger than we had anticipated and I am very glad I left my mobile home. Having the storm come through during the middle of the day made it more interesting to actually be able to watch but no less scary.

We had power at my friend Jason’s house until just about the time the eye of the storm came through the county. Luckily, I had my trusty battery operated TV to watch the progress. Squinting at the small black and white screen we were still able to make out the county lines and anticipate the winds and duration of the storm.

The back of the house was sheltered from most of the winds, so Jason removed one section of the hurricane shutters so we could watch the storm. Seeing the “storm surge” in his pool was slightly humorous as the water continuously spilled from the Jacuzzi into the rest of the pool and then constantly overflowing to the surrounding deck area.

The first half of the storm wasn’t all that bad, it wasn’t until the winds changed direction that all hell seemed to break loose. First the winds were coming from the east; bending trees and blowing debris between Jason’s house and the neighbor’s across the canal. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch turning on a much larger fan on the other side of the house, the winds plowed back in the opposite direction with immense strength. The trees, the canal and the neighbor’s house were obstructed in a sheet of wind, rain and debris which all screamed by in a gray/white blur.

Finally, by 3PM we were able to venture outside and survey the damage. The usual tree and light pole debris was scattered but there was no apparent damage to Jason’s house. We all piled in the van and went to check out my house. The anxiety built the closer we got to my neighborhood. One of my favorite restaurants in “downtown” Jensen Beach had its roof peeled back and the lack of traffic lights anywhere only served to heighten the tension as we got closer.

There it stood. Fleetwood deserves all the kudos for making such a strong building. The skirt was torn from around the bottom of the home, which makes me glad I wasn’t there for the storm. I’d been in the trailer during bad thunderstorms and felt the floor shake; I can only imagine the “E Ticket” ride Wilma must have been.

The door handle was snapped in two; from what the landlord told me, the result of a tree limb slamming into the door. Yes, I am glad I wasn’t there. There is also a 6-inch gash in the back door, also from some flying debris. Inside was still bone dry. There are a number of leaks from last year’s storms that I deal with whenever it rains, but they all seemed to have made it through without getting worse. I had expected to some home to a swamp, at the very least. While I had been hoping for some damage, it was a big relief to find everything intact.

I spent that night again at Jason’s. Work was very cryptic with its plans for work on Tuesday. We showed up to a building still in darkness. After a few hours of standing around doing nothing we were allowed to go home. A handful of us went out to one of the few restaurants open in the area for a nice hot lunch.

The “young lady” almost joined us but had repair and cleanup to do at home. I was able to have a few moments of catch up and idle chatter with her; we still seem to have that door open; although I will wait until normalcy returns next week sometime to ask again to set a time and place for “The Date”.

Right behind Wilma was a cold front, which has brought record low temperatures. This has been a welcome relief over the sweltering heat after last years’ storms. You can still walk around and work around the house without sweating to death. Hell, last year there were times you could be sitting still immobile and you still were sweating buckets. While most Floridians are walking around swathed in layers and layers, my still un-aclimatized body is enjoying the 50-67 degree weather.

Half of my trailer park has power while my side of the street remains dark. A neighbor has allowed me to run an extension cord so I can have TV and a light at night. A person must have their priorities!

Frustration is the word of the day around here. Prior to the storm Governor Bush was all over the media saying how there were loads and loads of water, ice and food stockpiled and waiting on trucks just chomping at the bit to be distributed. Then it took almost two days for the trucks to show up. Some only had water or ice. Where were the hundreds of thousands of MRE’s? One reason given was that there trucks, staged 5 hours away in Jacksonville, had stops to make along the way and then that refueling to make the remainder of the trip was a problem. While the snafu’s here pale in comparison to New Orleans, it seems that the state was not completely ready.

I will be posting photos when I have power back at home and can upload them to the blog. Also, posts will be sporadic as I am doing these when and where electricity and access is available.

OK, OK. So, I might have been a little wrong. Hurricane Wilma is headed towards my neck of the woods as a strong category two or possible three. The bigger worry with this storm is tornados. Since I live in a a mobile home I have evacuated to my friend Jason's house. I tore down my electronics, wrapped them all and the furniture in plastic and headed out.

It's beer safe than sorry. My place has been through two strong storms last year but since there are a few leaks in the roof I feel better not being there. Maybe a little more damage will motivate me landlord to fix last year's damage.

I will post again as time and electricity allow.

Oh, by the way....FLORIDA SUCKS!!!!!!

I didn't get the promotion at work and for some reason I'm bummed about it. You'd think that with all of the talk about my voice over work, the last thing I'd be worried about is a promotion at the office. Most of it does have to do with money but also I was hoping all of the good strokes I was getting from upper management had meant something.

I may be taking it a little more personally than I should considering there were twenty other people up for only three openings. There are bound to be more so I'll simply try again. It just threw me in a little funk that may take a day or two to get through.

If you're seeing all the news about Hurricane Wilma; don;t worry too much. By the time it gets here Monday it should be no more than a nasty rain storm. I can understand people being gun-shy given what we went through last year but it has gone a little overboard.

I seem to be surrounded by Chicken Littles. The worst, of course, is the media. And that's not just the local hacks. CNN is beating the alarm drums like clockwork and making it sound as if the three horses of the apocalypse are bringing this storm into town. And, just like last year, everyone and their brother turns into a meteorologist spouting phrases and technical terms they couldn't spell with gun held to their heads.

I am putting out the call to any readers in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts areas to come to the aid of a displaced swamp yankee and ship me a bootleg supply of newly brewed Narragansett Beer!!!!! This is a local icon which has returned to the shelves. When I turned 18 I had one month when I could legally drink before the drinking age raised to 21. My family was kind enough to make me a birthday cake with a beer can embedded in it with the greeting "Enjoy it while you can!" The beer they used...Gansett!

Please, please, please ship me some!!!!!!!!!!!

While I am very secure in my sexuality, what I refer to as being a “devout heterosexual”, I will admit to a minor twinge of being uncomfortable with my Star Trek desk calendar. It’s a day-to-day calendar where you rip off each day as you go. Today’s if a scene from the original series, “Who Mourns for Adonis”. The calendar is propped up at an angle, looking almost like a framed picture; it almost appears as if I have a picture of a tall, good looking man in a dress sitting on my desk.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

I am now a paid actor!

I left work around noon and jumped in my rented Chevy Cobalt; nice car. It's amazing how much easier it is getting somewhere when you're in a car that actually runs! I stopped for lunch at the Sonic in St. Cloud. I just HAD to. I got up to Orlando about two hours early. I drove around finding the studio and getting the lay of the land' chances are I'll be spending lots of time in this next of the woods in the future.

Hmmm......two hours and time it kill. What ever would I do.....



So I sat in the House of Blues sipping the beer which was doing its job of "greasing the pipes". I had tried going to Universal's City Walk, since it was closer and I had never been there but those cheap bastards wanted $9 for parking. It could wait for another time. I'm sure I got some weird looks as I walked around Downtown Disney practicing my lines. Here was this long haired, bearded guy walking around muttering in a deep, gutteral Britich accent.

I made it to the studio on time just as the director drove up to the building. Five other actors showed up and we all lived the primal law of performing; hurry up and wait. Each actor had to go in to the recording studio and record each of his lines. Each time we did three takes of each line as the director, audio tech and two other students sat in the control room and judged our work. As each of the other actors took their turns I fought fatigue and the comfort of the couch in the lobby doing all I could to stay awake. I guess adrenalin takes you only so far.

Finally I was led into the small closet like studio. I was used to these surroundings from my days in radio but and the door closed behind me I felt a new push from my adrenal gland and a fleeting worry of just how good I was going to be rushed over me. I had never before even come close to suffering from stage fright, but for some reason, this was taking on a whole new dimension.

Was this really going to be a new step towards a new direction in my life?

Was I up to it?

I decided to put that out of my mind and focus on what I was there to do. "Suck it up", as we say in my family.



We ran through all of the lines for my character and I did feel as I was hitting on all cylinders. We even did some "outtakes" which should be hilarious. The director and I agreed that the character should be done with a British accent, but the producer wanted to hear the character with a plain, deep voice. We tried a few lines but the director cut me off saying that I had sold it so well with the accent that anything else just didn't work. He also had me do one other voice part which may or may not get used. Then he allowed me to do some other voices which he was going to forward to me for use in a demo reel for future work. He was also talking about using me for some upcoming projects for the school and the guy who ran the recording studio seemed impressed with my work.

This was so much different that any of my work in radio; even straight commercial work. All that work was either rambling to myself about music and reading off que cards or reading straight from advertising copy. This was acting. I was creating a character. There was a different thought process in place. When I was doing commercials, the emphasis was on getting the wording right and making sure the message of the ad was getting across. This time I was thinking about who I was and what I was doing in the scene. The beauty of this was I had the comic right there beside the script and could easily visualize what the character was doing.

There was one moment when I gave a line a certain read and the director asked me to do it differently. When I explained my motivation behind it, he stopped, looked at the comic and came back in total agreement with my take on the scene.

Damn it, I was creating! That was an unbelievable feeling.

We finished up about 10:30 and I hit the road for home. Fatigue set in again as the road seemed to float a little, so I stopped for a cat nap at one of the rest areas. It was on this ride home that I finally began to realize that I really had become an actor. I had just been paid professionally to do what I had always wanted to do. I've made some calls to AFTRA, the Union for TV and Radio Actors, to check into joining. I will savor the day I can meet up with my pal George Takei and shake hands with him as a colleague as well as a friend.

The target date for the project is the class graduation in December. I will post a link to the film when it is ready. For now it's back to my cubicle and hope for the promotion for which I interviewed a few days ago. At least, I still have that as the tried and true "something to fall back on" my mother always talked about.

Here we are at Scream Fest 2005 with Verne Troyer. We just HAD TO have our picture taken with Mini-me! The whole day was pretty good. It was no Shore Leave, mind you, but a fun way to spend the day.

John wasn't feeling all that well, so I wasn't too sure he'd be joining us even for the day let alone our first weekend in month. He gladly threw himself in the car and the two of us and my friend Jason headed off for the hotel. It was as we were waiting in line that he told us the ROTC story. Forget for a moment that this is probably the best story about my son so far; you should have seen the look in his eyes as he told the story. There was a gleam in his eyes and a shit eating grin on his face as he knew he would now be joining the same league as his father. He told the story perfectly. Inflections and timing were perfect. Somewhere, my father is laughing his ass off.

We walked around the dealers' room wishing I had more money. I had a chance to meet Franklin E. Wales; the author who had approached me about doing an audio book. He is self published so due to financial constraints that is on the back burner for a while. His book, "Booger", is available through Amazon. Give it a read, if you're into horror.

I had to snap a picture of Linda Blair for a friend of mine. She is a little bit of a thing but still a fine looking woman. John is very much into professional wrestling, (Genetics can't sure everything!) so we headed over to get a picture with George "The Animal" Steel. While trying to wade through the masses in walks Verne Troyer. Inspiration hit and I just had to get a photo with him.

I tried just getting away with snapping my own picture but he was the prefect salesman pointing out the photos he had there for autographs. I'm a soft touch, so I shelled out for one of him and Mike Meyers doing their rap song in the last Austin Powers movie. Hence, his sign flashing in out picture.

George Steele is a massive human being. A quiet and gentle person and definitely the performer. As soon as the camera was ready he instantly jumped into character and grabbed my son in a headlock for this photo.

Afterwards, he reached out to shake me hand. His easily wrapped around mine and made it disappear into the giant pad of meat he called a hand.

John and I had the chance to sit a talk some about his commuting for our weekends. He really hates the ride on his own. I tried stressing the fact that there are times when we have to do things we don't like in order to get something worth while. I'm not sure if it worked. I also went through, again, the economics and time factors involved in the commute. I can really understand his point of view. Believe me, I would love to be three minutes down the road from him so he could come and go at a moment's notice. We are going to try to find some possibilities for making things easier before his next visit.

On the way back Jason and I stopped and had dinner at a favorite pizza restaurant of his. His wife is currently mulling over an offer from a hospital in Georgia. I don;t know the official title of her job, but she does sonograms on infants and children. It is very specialized and pays extremely well. If he were to move I would miss him very much. I have known him for almost as long as I've been down here and have been spending lots of time with him recently. I got him his job in my office and he is the one who opened the door of the possibilities with the girl at work. We have a common love of movies and TV. He has a fantastic family espicially his daughter with whom I share a special bond; we have the same birthday. I would miss them all alot.

Change sucks!

My son ROCKS!

Here is a scene from a recent ROTC class in which the instructor is teaching the different military rank and insignia.

He asks the class, "Does any one know what three up and three down means"?

Being MY son he raises his hand and answers, "End of an inning!"

That's my boy!

While he did not come for the entire weekend a friend of mine and I picked him up for the day and went to Screamfest, an annual horror convention. I'll have photos and more details tomorrow.

Tom Green has inspired me. While this may seem like a mutual admiration society between bloggers, I have mentioned his blog once or twice before and I am hooked. Before you go further please read his blog from October 12 entitled "People Who I Think Are Awesome". Follow this link.

Here is my list.

Wil Wheaton is awesome. He has made me laugh and cry. I might not always agree with his politics but he is always a good read.
Marlon Brando is awesome. Jack Lemmon is awesome. I will stop whatever it is I am doing to watch them work.
Freddie Mercury is awesome. Sinatra is awesome. Vivaldi is awesome; mostly because he was a left handed asthmatic just like me.
Weird Al Yankovich is awesome. Tom Arnold is awesome. Sam Kinison is awesome. David Letterman is awesome. Ernie Kovacs is awesome. Robin Williams is awesome. Jonathan Winters is awesome. Tim Conway is awesome. Their minds work on a different plane than the rest of us.
Harry Truman is awesome. Bobby Kennedy is awesome. Those who think they know me probably thought I'd say JFK instead. Jack was cool and all but he had Ted Sorenson. Bobby really felt what he was preaching about and made some of the most moving speeches of all time.
Daws Butler is awesome. Maurice LaMarche is awesome. Ernie Anderson is awesome. Google those names if you don't recognize them.
Wally Schirrah is awesome. Michael Palin is awesome. Jane Goodall is awesome. Anyone who wants to explore gets my vote.
OK. I'll give you one that I have to enter as a personal favorite and it's purely a guilty pleasure category.
My son is awesome.