My son's visit this week has been delayed by a day due to his mother's health. She is having some major thyroid issues and John helps out watching his younger brother and sister. What a good boy!

This extra day has given me the opportunity to stage a fantastic practical joke on a friend of mine at work. Theresa is on vacation somewhere in South America. In the days and weeks leading up to her vacation we were treated to an almost daily countdown to her departure. I decided to make sure her return to work was just a memorable and wrapped her desk in newspaper.



EVERYTHING on her desk; telephone, radio, keyboard and wrist support...



Even all the little knick-knacks.



As I sat there , after I clocked out mind you, and was just about to finish having only some manuals and her chair to cover; corporate stupidity hit. I was approached by a supervisor from my department who brought a message from the manager of my friends department; I was being asked to stop where I was. I had anticipated some reaction from management which is why I did not completely wrap her computer; I did not want to be accused to creating a fire hazard or damaging company equipment. I have no idea exactly what the manager's complaint was and decided to play nice and go along with the request. This was going to have its desired affect anyway.

This is, of course, another example of the corporate head being so far up its own ass. I did this not only to bust chops on a friend but as a morale boost for other workers; to bring a little smile and laughter into Shawshank. We are so hammered into walking in, clocking in, logging in and not having interaction with co-workers that everyone needs to be reminded that there are other people around them.

The Eaton Car Mojo continues!

Last night I had dinner at my friend Jason's. After dinner we piled into his car to take me home. We stopped for a moment to get something at a convenience store; a quick stop and back on the road. We weren't on the road more than a few hundered feet when he starts tugging at the wheel.

The car had died!

It lost all power and the dash was lit with all kinds of warning lights.

"I didn't do anything!" I said putting my hands up.

We rolled to a stop in a driveway to get out of traffic. Jason tried over and over again to start the car but there simply was no power there at all. In the summer warmth, even at 8PM, the car began to turn into a sauna and his 3 year old little girl in the back seat began getting antsy. He called his wife and eventually we switched off cars, AAA was called and the car went off to the garage.

When the mechanic called the next day even he was amazed at the cause of the problem. There is a switch on the fuel pump which feeds fuel into the fuel line. This little switch was broken and was, as the mechanic described it, ready to fall off. It very rarely happens and the entire garage staff had no explination as to what caused it to break.

Of course, the mechanic had never met ME!

Today my son turned 16. That was the last year that I had with my father. As John passes this year I will be in virgin territory. There are experiences I never had with my father that I will have with my son. And I am looking forward to each and every one of them.

I try to think back 29 years ago to what my father and I were to each other when I was 16. While I spent every day with my father and there was little he didn't do or let me have because of his health we were distant. In one of my journals back then I had written of how I would spend hours away from home just to avoid being around him. His stroke had affected his personality. While I can't recall specifics at the time I can clearly remember the hours I would spend sitting at school between the last bell of the day and chorus rehearsal. I would sit by my locker either reading or doing my homework all in an effort to avoid being at home alone with my father.

From about 10 years of age on my father and I always shook hands good night. I don't remember who's idea it was but I can clearly remember the first time it happened. I suddenly felt grown up. Kissing was for babies; I was a "young man" now and as I took my fathers hand for the first time I felt as grown up as he was. But that was the extend of a physical display of affection I ever got from my father. I can't remember him ever hugging or kissing me.

Don't get me wrong; I love my father and miss him every day. He still affects my life almost three decades later. Someone once said that the thing they remember most about my father was how his big, loud laugh would fill a room. Almost immediaetly I made a conscious effort to alter the way I would laugh and to this day take a moment to make sure I'm putting the right amount of effort into a laugh and drop my voice down an octave before even a snicker leaves my lips.

I use these experiences as a guide to my relationship with my son. I end every phone conversation with him with the words, "I love you". When he is here, or when I drop him off, I always hug and kiss him. I can't do alot for him financially right now, but I try to make up for that emotionally. I guess, after all, that's the more important anyway.

I never drove my father anywhere. I never cooked for my father. I never bought my father a bourbon. I never watched my father dance at my wedding. I never introduced my father to his grandson. I look forward to my son wiping out each one of those statements.

13

That is the number of Drunken Dialing Calls I received last night from my friends at Shore Leave. I even got one conversation in from the one member of the crowd who seemed to have been the most pissed off at me; I am sure it was because of the rum that she even got on the phone with me!

The Friday the 13th Effect that has plagued this year's trip to Shore Leave seems to be waning. Through a last minuet email from a friend in that area I was able to hook my friends up with a room in the Hunt Valley Inn for Saturday and Sunday night. This being most important, since Saturday night is PARTY NIGHT at Shore Leave.

I can already tell that the guys in the group have gotten over it for the most part as they we have talked over the phone and they are joking already with me about the whole situation. I am sure they still want to use their tazers on me, but they have moved on. My other friend....we shall see.

Meanwhile, I sit here trying to plan a financial strategy to be there next year no matter what. Of course, if that series gets picked up I could possibly be there as a guest next year!!!!! Yes, some people have career goals in the entertainment industry of fame and awards; I want to be a convention guest!!!!!

There has been a curse on this years trip to Shore Leave and today was the worst.

Each year, in anticipation of the convention I call the hotel early in the fall to reserve at least three rooms. I do this in case there are other friends who want to go or if some in our party end up with enough money to want to have a room to themselves.

Two weeks ago I had called the hotel to release the two unneeded rooms. Since I was not going this year I decided to make things a little easier on the ones who were attending to have as many little details taken care of as possible. One of these details being a mini-refrigerator for out diabetic's insulin. I started to get into an argument with the person at reservations as he kept insisting that the hotel did not have mini-fridges. I was at work and could not get into the full shouting match I usually do with hotel staff so I let it go. Until today.....

I called the Hunt Valley Inn to change the name on the reservation over to one of my friends attending. I gave them the reservation number. After a few moments of silence, "Sir, what is the name on the reservation?" I gave her my name. More silence, then, "When and where is that reservation?" I answered her to which she stated, "Sir, that reservation is for a hotel in California in November!"

I think I could actually hear my blood pressure drop.

Did I mention the convention is THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!

I went back to me desk and did some research and here is what appears happened. I had looked up the phone number for the Hunt Valley Inn using whitepages.com. The search did pull up the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn but it also called up the Hampton Valley Inn. I copied down the wrong phoine number and called and made my reservation. While I would swear that I specifically asked about Shore Leave and the room rates were what I expected. So, I happily went along my merry way the past 10 months secure in the knowledge I had reservations for this weekend.

AT THE WRONG HOTEL!!!!!

I immediaetly called my friend JIm and broke the news to him. If he had not been surrounded by a dozen or so PAL kids I am sure he would have let fly with a number of colorful metaphors. OK, iot would have been enough to make a sailor blush!

I feel like absolute shit about this. I feel as if I have let my friends down. Friends who have each, at one time or another, helped me when I needed it. I know it was accidental but it does not take away from the nasty feelings I have over this.

I try to point out the positive side of this in that the mistake was found before they arrived or else they would have had to search around blindly for another room. This way, they have a room....although a mile from the convention.

With my cancelling, my son not attending, and the airline changing reservations twice; this has been one for the books. I have not talked to any of the others who are going since I dropped the bomb on Jim. I have also put pout a call to anyone with a last minuet cancellation so, with any remaining luck, something might happen to change things.

Meanwhile.....I'm crawling under a rock.

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George Takei has told me there's an actors' superstition that you never talk about the details of a pending job until you actually have the job. If you are auditioning for a part, if there is a deal in development or they are simply considering you for a part that an actor will only talk in vague generalities until he/she is technically hired and the job is a reality. I am about to test the mojo on this particular quirk.

Last night I went to the latest graduation at the DAVE school and the premiere of my work on "Aurora"; the class thesis. The show came out great and was a thrill to see it on the big screen. My own personal little thrill came as my name scrolled across the screen.

There was a reception later at which I got to talk with Ron about the next step for me. During he course of the evening I also got to talk with one of the other instructors and he dropped some BIG NEWS on me.

He has a series he is pitching to a major cable network and wants me to play a role in it!

The words came out of his mouth and I heard each of them slowly; as if my mind raced to put the clearest definition to each of them and confirm what I was hearing. The meaning and weight of each word piled on top of each other and I could feel each neuron in my brain first register what was being said and then send an extra jolt of adrenalin into my blood stream as it confirmed what I was hearing.

I fought my best not to start swinging from the exposed roof beams and pipes in the ceiling; that wouldn't be professional, I thought. As he kept talking I kept waiting for the other shoe of my typical luck to fall; but as he kept talking my involvement in it was being solidified more and more.

"We thought of you for this one character immediately and want you to do it!"

OK, I thought to myself, I won't swing from the rafters but I could dance on the high tops over there!

How concept fits the demographics of this network, he has a most natural of merchandising tie in right from the start and is something that when I have introduced people to the characters have been an immediate hit.

True to an actors' instinct I lied to try to get the job. As he was describing the character I am to play he compared him to Dr. Claw from "Inspector Gadget" I chimed right in with, "Oh, yeah; sure. I can do something like that! Yes, definitely!" While inside my head all I could picture was the image of Dr. Claw's mechanical arm which was ll you ever saw of him. I was never a big fan of the show so I had absolutely no recollection of the voice. I was hoping the panic didn't show in my face as I kept nodding yes to my ability to bring voice the the main protagonist of the show.

So, until I have signed my name to my first professional contract the details of show name, character and network will remain a mystery to but two or three of my closest friends. I want to test George's superstition and see if it will work for me. I am this close to actually be working on a series I want to have as much positive vibe working on my side.

Next month we start working on the pilot.

My PC sits in the one spot in my trailer that has the worst air flow. There are no windows and the only way to get any air is to open the back door which sits directly to my right. To do this during the middle of that day almost washes out the monitor with the sunlight pouring in.

Why do I mention this?

I was all ready to sit at my PC on Sunday and do a bunch of work I had been putting off for a while. Some time in the middle of the night before the air conditioner failed. I woke up to a stuffy trailer and it just kept getting worse. Somewhere n the past few months the yard crew had continually been trimming the grass around the central A/C unit in the back of the trailer. As the weed whacker whizzed around it had worn away the insulation on the wiring leading from the thermostat inside to the controls outside. Then as the dew of the morning formed the moisture caused the wire to arc and shorted out the transformer killing the entire unit.

Of course it decided to do this on the one day of the week when my landlord could not either run out to a supply store to get one of reach his A/C guy. SO I sat and sweat the day away.

Actually, the day wasn't all that bad. I had opened the windows and there was a gentle breeze. I did take between 6 and 8 showers during the course of the day including one at 3AM this morning. This was no where near as bad a the three weeks without electricity after the hurricanes of a two years ago.

Like everyone around me, the park manager had some fun at me expense. I called him from work today to check on the progress of the repairs. He said, "Well, it's going to take at least three weeks to get your A/C replaced!"

I told him I was going to go get a new car just so I could run him down!

How do I post this without sounding like poor, poor me?

Father's Day came and went without a phone call from my son.

OK, I take into consideration that he is away on vacation with his part of his family. Do I feel a little jealousy that his step-father got his due yesterday? I'd be lying if I didn't admit it, but it's not eating me apart. However, a phone call or even a card would have been enough.

I do take into consideration that he is about to turn 16 and can remember these things on his own. It does not mean I am angry with him, am ready to disown him, or will hold it against him.

It does however, if Eaton tradition, mean that I will bust his chops about it for quite some time.. He is coming here for the month of July and I already have his first morning planned.

"Dad? What's for breakfast?"

"Breakfast? You know, I had breakfast by myself on Father's Day!"

You can feel the love!

My friend Jason was headed home today from his vacation in Tennessee which meant I would be giving his truck back to him. So, I decided to check in with him on his way back today.

"Hi, Jason, how was your trip?"

"It was great! I'll tell you all about it when we get home."

"Where abouts are you now?"

"Just outside Macon, Georgia."

"Oh, when are you due to get home?"

"Around 7PM."

"OK, good. Oh, and Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering....do you have roadside assistance on the turck?"

"Ohhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooo! What happened?"

"You were a sucker; that's what happened!"

Now the real question here is;

Is the funniest part of the joke that Jason fell for it so easily, or that he would simply assume because I was involved that roadside assistance would be necessary?!

Here's the poster and trailer for "Aurora", the DAVE School project I worked on.



Aurora Trailer

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Another great session of recording in Orlando and another great feeling of doing what I feel the most natural doing. I arrived promptly at 3PM and we dove right into it. We recorded some new dialog and fixed only one line from the original session. We also did one extra line for a blooper scene for me character. It's an in joke for the staff and students at the DAVE School; so, if and when you see it...while it may be funny not everyone will get it. We also recorded the voiceover for a trailer. This is not actually going to be produced, but as part of his mentoring of me, Ron is going to lay in some music and sound effects for me to add this to my demo reel. I got to stop in a the school and see the film in its almost finished state. I will get to see it completed at the graduation ceremony at the end of the month.

To add to the whole day was a typical moment at work just as I was about to leave for the day. They have started a "Quality Assurance" monitoring which assures that phone reps are polite and cover all the major points they are supposed to during a call. While I applaud the company's efforts on this they are also doing it wit their usual myopic sensibility.

I have consistently scored extremely well on this monitoring. After almost ten years of doing this job...yes, I know what I'm doing. Some at my job don't. I am surprised that some of the people I work with can even operate a telephone let alone carry on a pleasant conversation with a customer. However, even the slightest deviation is beaten over our heads. Even when that deviation leads to a more efficient way of doing my job. The company mind set is that you have t be focused 100% on the call at hand and absolutely nothing else. These rules and criteria were developed by people who have style over substance as the most important thing. The criteria for this monitoring is dumbed down to the lowest common denominator to insure that the worst of our phone people can follow simple instructions in order to do their jobs. On the other hand, I am able to walk and chew gum at the same time. While consistently providing my customers with the best service I can during the call I can also multi task and handle other parts of my job at the same time.

I could rant on and on over this and anyone outside of the company would be lost and are probably tired of my company rants. Suffice to say, I am damned good at my job and have customers commenting on how pleasant compared to many others in my office. I get defensive when the quality of my work is called into question and will be very vocal if pressed by management.



On the other hand.....

On my way back from Orlando I took a back road along the Indian River to get home. I rolled down the window and turned off the car's air conditioner. It had just rained and the humidity was gone from the usually scorching June Florida air. The scent of sea air filled the car and as the stereo blared Jr. Walkers and the All Stars I forgot less and less about how my day had started and reveled in how it was ending.

My friends Jason has going out of town for a few days and he has let me borrow his car while he is gone. Another great sign on what a good friend he is.

I picked it up lat night before he and his family hit the road. I got a call this morning at 7:45AM from Jill, from whom I've been getting regular rides to work since my last car died.

"So, did you get Jason's car?"

"Yes."

"Don't break it!"

My friends.....gotta love 'em!

This is me!

Well, this is the character I am playing in "Aurora", the project I am doing at the DAVE School. Meet Hunter! I am headed back there on Thursday to do some more recording. Included in this will be a trailer for the film, a commercial for the DAVE School and...the part I am dying to do.....bloopers for the film.

If you have seen any of the Pixar films you will be familiar with these animated bloopers. They are done to appear as if they were done as part of the "filming" of the movie in which the animated characters break out and do real person like flubs, gaffes and practical jokes.

When I did "Runners" we recorded bloopers but they were never used, which disappointed me a little. We did one really funny one with my character, a big, hulking rock creature, being caught at the craft service table sneaking off doughnuts and responding in a very effeminate voice. It would have been very funny. This director promises me they will get done this time.

Watch for more on this after the session later this week.

Time is running out for me to make my decision abut this year's trip to Shore Leave. I just got John's refund check in the mail and I may soon have to get my own money back. This really sucks. I had paid for these so early in the year and, at that point, I could afford the trip. Now, as time grow closer and I still don't have my airline ticket, it is looking more and more as if I won't make it this year.

Yes, I'm bummed.

I have only missed one other year in the recent past and that was because of my gastric bypass surgery. Add to that, it was going to be my first year of attending without Johnny.

Wallow....wallow..wallow.

I'll get better.

Yeah...yeah....yeah. I'm finally posting. Are ya' happy now?

Today is the start of year 45 for yours truly and it certainly finds me in a familiar position.

I am without a car. The cost of repair finally got too much to consider and I junked her instead of throwing good money after bad. The Eaton Bad Car Mojo continues.

There is a possibility for a replacement on the horizon but the price is a painful one. A good friend of mine has offered to give me a car of his. The only down side of this is that when he does this it will mean that he and his family will be moving away. His generosity is Elvis level but I'd much rather have him and his family in the same zip code. If you've been reading this blog long enough you know how I just love those kinds of changes.

In a ying and yang kind of thing, another good friend is moving back into the area after an almost two year absence. Gary and his family moved away to Tennessee to get away from hurricane central. Now, a divorce brings him back. While I feel for him and what he's going through I am glad to have him back.

You have missed little moments over the past three weeks and I always meant to sit down but at this point even doing post dated entries would be a pain in the butt. So, we'll just move on from here.

The best present I got today was inadvertent, but one that I treasure. Over the past few months "The Other Person" and I have been talking and joking like it was old times. (Look back over entries from August to October of 2006) She was even nice enough to give me some gag gifts for my birthday. A fart noise making toy and an "Old Fart" ribbon to wear for the day. I had to laugh at the irony of her giving me that ribbon. I decided to take a chance and joke with her about it. Up until now I had decided just to be happy we had apparently salvaged our friendship that I didn't even want to look for any "closure" but could not resist making a joke about it.

I went to her and said, "You know, I could just enjoy the humor of this gift or look at it as a quiet form of retaliation for last October."

She look at me blankly, "What do you mean?" She had no idea what I was talking about.

I finally said, "Think of my blog from back then." The fog lifted and she started laughing. Seeing that she had taken it so well I said, "You mean all this time I was so happy you had forgiven me when all along you had only forgotten."

Then she looked at me and with a smile in her eyes said, "Well, maybe I had done BOTH!"

I couldn't have asked for a better present on my birthday.

It has been proved to me that no matter how much something change they always stay the same. I found out today that I had been turned down for the transfer I had requested at work. To say words like disappointed and pissed off would be an understatement.

I had four members of management putting in recommendations for me in this position. The department to which I was hoping to move was putting emphasis on people with pharmacy division experience. Silly me; I had thought that being one of the very first sales people in the pharmacy division when it was only a test project might count as experience.

I talked with Human Resources and found out that when the department head reviewed my personnel file she found my history of "incidents" with management. She felt that these would not make me a good fit for her department. And she did this without even the courtesy of an interview. If she had interviewed me she would have found out that one incident was somewhat politically motivated and the other was ridiculous.

I do not want to blow my own horn or make it would as if I felt entitled to the job but how much more perfect could I have been for the position? Add to that the FOUR recommendations. What the FRAK does this woman need?!

I am taking the night to cool off but will be talking to her privately to find out the real basis for her decision. I don't know if there's a chance of changing her mind but I feel that I deserve an explanation.

The Jack Car Curse continues.

Today my friend Jason offered to let me borrow his car for the weekend. The one hitch was that I had to get to his house to do it which is in the opposite direction my usual ride home heads. My co-worker pal, Clark, drives right by Jason's so he offered to drop me off on his way home. I would get the car and return to work to make up the time I missed being out of the office.

That was....until I got near his car.

Actually, this was his wife's car, which he is not all too familiar with all the bells and whistles on her BWM. We got out to the car and noticed a flat tire. Keep in mind that it was a bright, sunny and humid Florida afternoon in the low 90's. The idea of changing a tire in this lovely weather seems sooooo appealing.

Since Clark knew little about his wife's can and I knew even less we spent five minuets stumbling around in the trunk locating the tire and jack. I had grabbed the car's manual to help us clueless mechanics.

The jack was held on with a wing nut which was apparently tightened in the BMW factory with a pneumatic drill. Clark tried. I tried. Both of us grunted, groaned and slammed our knuckles into the immovable jack trying to get it loosened.We both realized that a tool of some kind would have made this much easier. Finally, Clark was able to get it loosened and was lifting the car off the ground.

"OK," Said Clark kneeling at the tire "Where the lug wrench?"

I searched the trunk. No sign of it. Clark got up and looked through the trunk. No luck. As CLark began cursing the Dutch auto designers I read the manual. It was something of a "V-8 Moment".

"Clark, look up." I pointed to an innocuous plastic lid embedded in the underside of the turnk lid. I unsnapped the catches and opened the TOOL BOX. Inside, we not only found the lug wrench but a shiny, unused wrench which might have come in useful 15 minuets earlier.

I began cursing the Dutch auto designers.

The tire was mounted and secured quickly and Clark began lowering the car. As it put its weight on the spare tire it continued lower and lower. Not completely flat but close enough to make a ride to the other side of town impossible. We threw everything in the trunk and limped across the street to the nearest gas station. However, as Clark held the air hose to the tire for two....three....four minuets there was no perceptible increase in its size. It was not holding the air; apparently, the flat was also bad.

30 minuets later, now almost 90 minuets since we first walked out the door of our office, a AAA tow truck arrived to bring the car to a tire shop and Clark's wife to bring me to Jason's.

During Clark's tirade against BMW he talked about how he had his eye on trading up from the BMW to a Range Rover. He stopped for a moment. Looked at the flat tire....looked at me and said,

"YOU get NOWHERE near the Range Rover!"

I have officially been moved down the list of my son's "Important Priorities".I've been blown off because of a girl.

He missed the last weekend here because of my being sick. So, I was emailing him trying to make plans for this weekend. In particular, I pointed out to him that "Spiderman 3" was opening. I was hoping to use a major shared event like that as enticement.

To my offer, I got this response:

"Saturday is our 2 month anniversary and I kinda wanted to be here."

I immediately flashed back to being 15 and how important each of those month "anniversaries" were. At that age, you are Romeo and Juliet and there is no stronger love that what you are feeling. No one else on the planet has ever felt what you are feeling and no one else could possibly understand.

I also flashed back to June 1, 1983. This was the day that the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was released for the first time on CD. This was when CD's were first starting to break thorough into the market. they weren't as common place and you were still considered an audio buff if you were getting CD's. The record stores only had a CD section and they came in these over-sized cardboard boxes which tried to reproduce as much of the original LP cover art as possible. (This is all for my readers under 30 who don't know of the great time of vinyl and record needles.)

The release of "Sgt. Pepper" was big news; this was lending credence to the format. The greatest rock album ever was being released so that we could hear every nuance to every note and sound. Finally, the world could hear the intricate genius of the album without any snap and crackle. The CD format was being given the royal nod of approval from the Beatles. If they thought it was worthwhile then CD's would have to be the way to go. There were TV news stories, pictures of them piled up in the stores and every DJ was talking about it on the radio. This was a major event.

I rushed to my local Ann & Hope store (a local department store retailer in the days before Wal Mart) to got my copy. I felt like Indiana Jones as he beheld the Ark of the Covenant for the first time. This was right before I had to pick up my girlfriend after school. I was so excited to show her what I had, that I was able to secure my piece of rock and roll history.

Did I mention that June 1, 1983 was also our first year anniversary of when we started dating?

As I ready my son's plea to spend their two month anniversary together I could see the look in my girlfriend's eyes as she looked around for something other than the CD I held in my hand like a biblical relic. Flowers.....a card......something. I also heard, clearly and loudly through time the yelling and screaming that followed for the next half hour and the two days worth of cold shoulder I received.

So....we're making alternative plans to see "Spiderman 3".

You know how good yesterday was?

Well, that day's over with apparently!

I got up early this morning to take care of two very important appointments. One was with the county over an old issue which was finally being put to rest and the other was for my double secret probation plans to which I've been alluding recently. Both of these appointments have been postponed for one reason or another; the one with the county being more pressing given the legalities involved.

So, I got in my car with plenty of time to be at the county office just as the doors open and headed off down the road. When I was no more than a mile away.....the engine began to sputter and the car stalled.

Right at an intersection at a red light with half a dozen cars behind me smack-dab in the height of rush hour. Unable to start the car I pushed it off the road, crossing another lane of busy traffic and sat there waiting for the aneurysm in my head to explode to put a perfect cap on the morning.

The car would not start but the clock was still running. The person in the county office had already given me a two day extension on this meeting because I had to wait for pay day so as I was walking back to my home I was hoping his good mood was continuing and he wouldn't laugh at the tried and true "My car broke down" line.

I was able to get a friend who lives nearby to help me out. I made it to the county office and the county representative didn't bat an eye that I was an hour later than I had promised. Images of me throttling him with pieces of my broken down car flashed through my head but I figured if he didn't mind that I should let it go as well.

My other appointment was also as understanding although I could hear a tone in his voice similar to what I expected at the county office. I'm sure this will be counted against me during our double secret probation discussions.

As typical of my luck, of course, the car breaks down on a Friday, which basically strands me until Monday when my local garage opens again. Yes, I do see the one silver lining in all of this; at least it didn't happen in Orlando!

Today was fantastic! Every time I'm in a recording studio like this I feel so at home. I got to Orlando in time to read through the script and get an idea of what character I was playing. His name is Hunter. Hunter is a Lieutenant leading a Marine style, Roughnecks kind of strike force fighting a bunch of evil nano-technology badies that take over the Earth. Oh, and his big, muscular, bald and black; something of a young Vingh Raimes.

Ron Tornnton showed up and we immedieatly jumped right into recording and had it done within 20 minuets. OK, so it's only a 7 minuet film, but this was quick and easy. I did seem to impress Ron with how quickly I took to the script and we worked back and forth easily.

The finished project is scheduled to be completed on June 15th. I can hardly wait to see it. After the recording session I went to the DAVE School and got to see some of the early CGI work being done on it and even saw what I am going to look like, I look pretty good as a brother!

I also took the opportunity to pick Ron's brain about getting into this voice acting thing seriously. He agreed that I do have a talent for it and that I could have good chances for getting work. He suggested some avenues I had not considered; specifically while still being in Florida. Moving to Los Angeles might have to be a possibility in the future; something I have considered and do have on the list of things to ponder. There is some more work to be done on this project and Ron might be able to get me more exposure doing other projects for the school itself and will be working up some industry contacts for me.

Today was everything I had been hoping it was going to be. Am I ready to pull up stakes and head of to Hollyweird? Am I practicing an acceptance speech for a Annie or Daytime Emmy? Well, OK....YES! But I am also trying to make small, measured and intelligent steps towards those dream moments. For now, I'll be happy being a big, bad ass Marine Lietuenant!

No posts in a while only because not much has been going on. That is, until tomorrow.

I head up to Orlando tomorrow to record another voice over performance for the DAVE School. As mentioned before, this is my first time working for real-live Hollywood producer Ron Thornton. been trying my best to keep a professional demeanor when dealing with him but I do have to admit a race in the blood every time he calls and I hear him leaving a message. The last time I got to the phone he commented on how out of breath I sounded. I played it off as simply running for the phone. If he had only seen me jumping from my chair at this PC, almost stumbling out of the chair onto the floor and racing to the phone as fast as I could.

It's not just the geekieness of being in the same circle as this guy but what it is possibly going to mean for a possible voice acting career. The rest of the cast had recorded last week but Ron had not been able to contact me in time. I thought I had blown my very first chance to impress him with a certain level of professionalism. He was very gracious and has scheduled this session for me to come in alone and do my part. I have not seen a single page of the script and will be flying by the seat of my pants on this. I'm hoping this will be an exercise in improvisation and acting skills that will impress him.

This is feeling like one of those "fork in the road" moments. Where I stood 25 years ago and could have gone further with using my voice to make a career I seem to have it being presented to me again. There were reasons for my choice back then and I had my own perceptions of how my life should go. It has been a long and convoluted road since then and it seems to have circled back on itself and I find myself at that same fork in the road. The road I originally took didn't seem to be the right one. We'll see where this path leads this time around.

This is going to be a positive post about my job!

Yes, it has been a while and I didn't want you to be shocked.

For almost a year I have been trying to get into the Corporate Training division. I have come sooooo close so many times that it has bordered on ridiculous. All of the other trainers have been rooting for me to get into that department as they see me as a perfect fit. Granted, those in that department are professional trainers with scads more education in "being" a trainer, but I am a performer and have felt I could perform well in this job. I have been with the company longer than most and could easily handle orientation classes. I have had almost every one of the trainers give me assistance and advice on the sly as I go for one interview after another but have never made it.

Recently, there were two more positions that opened and I immediately put in my transfer request and waited for an interview. Then, one after another, the positions were filled. Then, I got a notice that the department head still wanted an interview with me. I thought, maybe she was actually going to offer me a position right then and there, so I kept the appointment out of curiosity more than anything.

And I'm glad I did.

It quickly turned into a mentoring session in which she and my pal Jim, quite possibly the best trainer there, told me of another position available which they felt would be a perfect career path that could eventually lead to a training position. It was the first time in a long time that someone took the time to offer help to guide my "career" in the company. These people were taking an active and heartfelt interest in the 40 hours per week I was putting into the business other than how many times I picked up the phone. They were opening a door for me towards something which would benefit me and the company as well but, quite clearly, the emphasis was on me.

I cannot describe the feeling I came away with as I left that meeting. For months on end I was feeling like a drone in my company; a company I felt was becoming less and less the same place I had made my home over the past decade. I suddenly had back some of the passion and "at home" feeling I had enjoyed for so long. Before I left the building I had filled out the transfer paperwork for this other position. It will mean another cut in pay and I am already prepared for the idea of working a second job to keep my budget alive, but it will be worth it if it can make my working day something I can enjoy again.

Am I still looking at my voice over work? You bet yer ass! Do I have other irons in the fire? Oh, YES. But at least, now I will be able to be happy at my job like I have not been in a while. That feels nice.

Last week was a wonderful experience as I fought my way through a nasty stomach virus. On Tuesday morning I started feeling something in my stomach and went to the clinic my company provides. The nurse there said there was something going around in either a 24 hour or three week variety. Oh, good! Something to look forward to!

As the day wore on, it got worse. I tried taking a nap in my car during lunch but after lying there for only 5 minuets, I knew I had to go home. By 8 PM that night it had hit with full force. I'll save you all the gory details, but by the time I went back to work on Thursday I had lost 22 pounds! Most of that was lost in a seated position......'nuff said?

To add frustration to it all, when I finally was able to wake up on Wednesday, at around noon, I tried calling my supervisor at work and was greeted with a completely silent telephone; no dial tone. Luckily, I still had internet; so, I IM'd a co-worker to make the notification for me. Ah! The beauty of the 21st century! It turned out, when the service was finally restored on SUNDAY, that there was some damage to a cable a block and a half away from my place.

So, yes, it's been a fun week. I'm hoping things will be settling down to some normalcy after a weekend of more sleep as by body continues to recuperate. The one bright spot to this is that I am now in the lead in our "Biggest Loser" contest at work with losing those 22 pounds. There are a handful of us at work who have put money in a kitty and the person who loses the most get the cash. Not exactly the best way to lose the weight, but $200 is $200!!!!

I have been wanting to say something about the whole Don Imus situation but every time I got something ready the situation kept changing. Simply, I think it can be summed up in one word:

BULLSHIT

Is what Imus said offensive? To some, apparently so. Is that he said wrong? To some, apparently so. But to cut off his career because of it is sooooo wrong. Yes, it touched a nerve. Is it at all possible that the discourse on the problem be better served with someone like Imus still standing there to bring attention to the problem better that shoveling him out the door because of petty economics and pressure from some social leaders who themselves have not have the cleanest of pasts when it come to sensitive public statements?

Is what Imus said about the Rutgers women any worse than what Rush Limbaugh has spewed out over the years? Why is there no clamor when he questions Barak Obama's ethnic purity? Why weren't women's groups looking to oust him when he called politically active women Femi-nazis? Why didn't the Jewish population cry out as well?

One of the Rutgers women said in their very powerful press conference that they were "not defined by such terms". Well, if you are not defined by such terms then what is the friggin' problem? If Don Imus offends you there is that little button that allows you to change the station.

And is there any integrity too CBS pulling the plug on his radio show? Only if they go after some of the rap and hip hop recording artists on some of their labels who put out what some may consider much more "offensive" material.

I am an Imus fan. I am hoping that, even though CBS dumped him, some other network is already knocking on his door. I was not listening last week when he uttered the words "nappy headed hos". So I cannot say if, in my opinion, it was either funny or offensive. He did accomplish getting the country to talk more about race relations. Did he go too far? Possibly. But so what. It's only words.

Lenny Bruce always said "it is the suppression of the word that gives it it's 'evil power'" and has no place in a free society.

George Carlin said, I get weary of this zero tolerance bullshit. It's annoying. To begin with, it's a fascist concept; it's what Hitler and Stalin practiced. It allows for no exceptions or compassion of any kind. But even more important, it doesn't solve anything. The use of such a slogan allows those using it to claim they're doing something about a problem when, in fact, nothing is being done at all and the problem is being ignored. It's a cosmetic solution designed to impress the simpletons. Whenever you hear the phrase 'zero tolerance', remember, someone is bullshitting you."

It's not often when someone gets one over on me but it did happen today. I returned from the better part of a week's vacation to find my desk like THIS:



The entire desk had been blanketed in confetti! Everywhere! Even my chair was covered! Hanging over it all was a sign saying "Welcome Back!" But then there was the punchline.



I knew immediately who had done it; more on that in a moment. I went about clearing off my chair and most of the desk top so I could get some semblance of work done. This took about 20 minuets. I went to put something in my file cabinet when I found that my entire cabinet had been replaced; the top drawer was filled with more confetti and a sign saying, "We Missed You!"

I can take as good as I give and I have to admire when a good one is pulled on me and this certainly was a good one. And it was all perpetrated by my friend, Crystal. This was payback for my April Fools Day attack on her desk the previous week in which I turned every photo and piece of paper on her desk upside down and rearranged some of the keys on her PC keyboard. This took planning and some effort and it certainly has to be admired for is simplicity and how the punchline of the cabinet didn't reveal itself right away.

In the words of Bugs Bunny, "Of course, you know, this means war!"

I'm still a little groggy from lack of sleep but last night was a whirlwind.

I went to Orlando to the graduation presentation for the latest class from the DAVE School. This is the school for which I had done voice work in "Runners" more than a year ago. I was looking forward to this because, for some reason, my pal, George Takei was coming in to town. I made the arrangements to get in the door and I was able to bring along my friends Jim and Lisa, who just happened to be visiting from New York and wanted to get some face time with George for a charity event she was promoting. This would also give me the opportunity to meet Ron Thornton; he had been the special effects honcho on "Babylon 5" and "Roughnecks" and had the possibility of some more work for me with the DAVE School. So, on the surface it seemed like a fun evening with friends. I had no idea why George was going to be at this graduation.

....until I got to the DAVE School.

I got to town early and had time to kill so I stopped in at the school. As I was walking around I noticed all kinds of Trek material along one wall. Blueprints, renderings, and a poster.....for the new episode of "STAR TREK: New Voyages - World Enough and Time" starring George Takei!!!!!!! This was going to be great!

I got to Universal and met up with Jim. As we waited for the ceremony to begin, my other friend Lisa was delayed by the public transit system. George came in and was quickly swarmed by people. I made my way through and surprised him with my being there. We hugged and I pulled back to show him my weight loss.

"What have you done", he asked. I told him about my surgery and he gave me a sideways grin, "I would have know you anyway!" With that he was pulled away for the ceremony.

While my friend, Jim, is more into these fan produced films than I am; I will say that this was a fantastic show. It WAS a Star Trek episode. The effects that the students did was on par with anything produced in Hollywood. I got to speak with James Cawley, the man behind these films and told him, "I hope Rick Berman sees this and chokes!" With a minuscule budget he did was Berman was never able to do...produce a real episode of Star Trek.

After the graduation there was a big party at a local restaurant. Lisa had finally made it there and we had fun catching up as it had been years since i had seen her face to face. At the party I finally pulled Mr. Thornton aside to talk business. "So, Ron," I said simply, "I'm really glad to meet you."

He looked me square in the eyes and said, "OK, you can do it."

I think I heard my ears pop.

"I can hear it in your voice. You can easily do this part." I was ecstatic! I tried keeping my cool on the outside; talking story and character basics, while on the inside I was doing back flips.

When I could see the conversation was drawing to a close I could not pass up the opportunity, "Before you go, Ron, I just have to be a gook for a moment." I took his hand, shook it and said, "Thank you for Babylon 5! It was fantastic. I'm a big fan and am so glad to be able to work with you!"

He talked for a few minuets on how he wished he had the technology he had worked on to do "New Voyages" back when he did "B5". We ended with plans to touch base soon on when and where the recording will happen.

To say I am excited about this would be an understatement. This will be working with an actual Hollywood producer. I will take advantage of this and take some time to pick his brain about the business. Of course, he is not always going to be working at the DAVE school and I want to make sure he has my name in the back of his mind if he finds himself casting a project in Hollywood.

Oh! The part?! I will be playing an African American marine sergeant! I guess my deep voice did it!

Sometimes I do feel that signs are placed in front of me at just the right moment. There was the time in December of 1980 when I was grabbing music for the college radio station Christmas party and I put "Double Fantasy" back in the rack because it didn't seem right for party music. That right around 10PM on December the 8th when that happened. Then there was the moment I got off the phone with a girl I was dying to tell how I felt about her; I turned on the radio and Elvis started singing, as if on cue, "It's Now or Never".

It happened again today.

As I sat at work; loating my job and dreading the next phone call, when I looked down and had a message glaring at me. On the desk in front of me was a pen I had at home for more than 18 months. I was in a rush this morning and needed a pen with me for a stop at the bank and blindly grabbed at the first one I could find not even looking. This pen had been a freebie handout at work during an office safety promotion. Printed in garish green ink was an insipid safety slogan which I had ignored along with the free pen. Now was my 9th hour on the job bore down on me I looked at this slogan and it took on newer and deeper meaning.

"KNOW YOUR EXIT"

It was if the Dali Lama had just walked up behind me and slapped me upside the head with a simple, universal truth. I have a number of irons in the fire right now to rescue me from my current little corner of Dante's playground and I have some details to work out before I reveal more. Some of these I have already discussed in this blog and one more which remains under wraps but to only a few close friends. Any of these involves a major change in my life and a risk; some more than others.

But as I looked at these three simple words, the risk meant nothing. What I did know is that there is an exit to where I am now, I know where that exit is, I know how to get to the exit, I know how to open the door and, most importantly, I know this is the time to use that exit.

Or, to paraphrase Freud; is a banana sometimes just a banana? We'll see. But I know I'm keeping this pen for good luck.

My pal, Howard, made mention of the book "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" in his blog and it inspired me. (OK, it was a cheap way of coming up with a topic!)

Here is my short list.

1. California - specifically LA and San Francisco

2. Las Vegas

3. Venice - I was there for one day 25 years ago and it wasn't enough.

4. Graceland

5. The Pyramids of Giza

6. Chicago

7. Moscow

8. Mount Rushmore

9. Liverpool - It's the Beatles fan in me!

10. Auschwitz - Because I think it's important to learn from our mistakes

When a good friend of mine recently left my company she said that the job had changed the person she was and that she didn't like who she had become. I finally understand what she meant.

I have lost patience with my customers. I feel dirty when I push these people into orders which are done the company way but I do it anyway because I need the next sale. This is not what the company mentality was when I first joined the company and it certainly is not the person I was when I answered my first phone call. We used to have a VP who said that, "Yes, we are here to make a buck; but we are also here to help these people." Now, it is all about nothing more than the next dollar. I've fallen into it and I don't like myself for it.

While I am trying to get into a non-sales position within the company I am also looking outside. This includes one really cool self-employment possibility which is still in the planning stages; more on that in the future....I hope.

I wake up ready and raring to go each morning. However, the moment I pull into the parking lot all energy leaves my body and all I want to do is to turn around and climb back into bed. I sit there for a moment calculating how much sick time I have available. I look around and figure that if I turned the car around now that I could leave and no one would have seen me. Just two years ago I would stay almost every night until 7PM without a second thought.

Will a department change make me feel better? Will a different job turn things around? Will turning a dream job into a reality actually work or am I just putting together another pipe dream?

Almost anything has got to be an improvement.

OK, I have finally gotten the hint. I am determined to reattack my weight re-gain.

First my friend Dave went in for the same surgery I had three years ago. Talking with him about it reminded me of all I went through. Then I started having problems with my feet. Granted, its a common problem but the weight definitely is a factor and if I hadn't gained back some weight, it probably wouldn't have happened. Then I saw some recent photos of myself and I started having flashbacks.

Two years ago, when I was at my lowest post surgery weight loss, I took pride on the fact that I kept on adding holes to my belt as it shrunk. I am now back from that point by 8 inches. I have gained back 80 pounds. Granted, I am still hundreds below where I was but my own words, "I can't understand how someone could go through all of this and backslide" are coming back to haunt me.

I am now determined. I have a goal of getting back to where I was within a year; less if I try hard. It became easier, as my stomach healed, to add back into my diet those foods which put my on that operating table in the first place; bread, pasta, pizza.... I have just thrown out the two boxes of pasta in my pantry and am sharing my last half loaf of bread with the seagulls. I am dusting off my old post-surgery workbook and will dive back into the same foods, diets and exercise that had me dropping pounds each week. My own surgeon had said that if this ever happens that the fastest way of getting back on track is to go back to basics. My stomach and body have proved that they can adapt to it and the results are already proven.

By my trip to the Starfleet International Conference in August I plan on wearing a new uniform, be close to halfway to my goal and have no one in Denver greet me as "Hey, Big Guy!"

Just how comfortable is the back seat of a convertible? After a 10 hour road trip....I'm not the one to ask if you're looking for a favorable answer!

This past weekend was the annual Region 2 Summit in Columbus, GA. My friends Jim, Cheryl and I piled in his car and drove up there. This was my first Summit as Regional Coordinator and I'm not sure if I'll ever catch up on the sleep I missed over the weekend!

The ride up was nice and, as always, spending it with friend makes it worth while. We all have the same twisted senses of humor, so each mile was joke after joke after joke. I got a kick out of noticing that we were driving along "Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway" somewhere in Georgia. Apparently, someone forgot to tell some people exactly how that little skirmish 140 years ago ended up.

The Summit is technically the Regional "working weekend", but once that small part of the weekend is over we have fun! There were Texas Hold 'Em games, a Dalmuti Tournament, panel discussions on fandom, online gaming and even Klingon self defense. It is the chance of the chapters in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi to get together and it is a great reunion each time. Sunday night is our awards banquet where we get to recognize members and chapters who stand out. We also raised $500 for a local animal rescue league.

This was my first Summit as Regional coordinator and the six words I heard most all weekend were, "Jack, do you have a few minuets?" I was pulled aside to discuss chapter issues, personal conflict problems, teaching people hos to use the Starfleet database, getting one piece of paperwork or another pushed through and political twists of one kind or another. There were three former RC's there this weekend who would only look at me and laugh all weekend long knowing that every moment of the weekend was theirs for a change.

The hotel staff was out of this world! I have been in scores of hotels all around the world and this was the first time I have ever felt so welcomed by a staff; and I mean ALL the staff. There was not one member of the housekeeping staff that didn't greet me with a warm and friendly "hello" of one kind or another. When most time you either get a grunted hello or they don't even look you in the eye, it was refreshing to be treated as if each member of the staff was genuinely happy to have me there as a guest in the hotel. The banquet staff took care of a problem quickly and quietly. The desk staff remembered names and then there was Anna.

Anna was this little ole German lady who is a server in the restaurant. She has worked at the hotel longer than anyone and looks to be somewhere between 70 and 240 years old. At 4 foot nothing she scurries around the dining room filling glasses and bringing clean silverwear with a smile and her soft, gentle grandmotherly voice, "Sure, honey. I'll get that for you right away" in her clipped accent. She looked down at my bear feet slippers and said that "they look sexy!" How can you not love a woman like that!

After a Dead Dog Party at a nearby Chinese Buffet we headed out around 2PM which didn't get me home until almost midnight. Of course, I HAD TO watch the current Battlestar Galactica episode and got myself up for work the next morning. That lasted until about 11:30 when the fatigue turned my voice into a deep growl and my eyes threatened to permanently stay shut. I went home and slept for another 6 hours.

I can hardly wait for next year!

I finally gave up on "24" this week. This season's storyline just kept going from dumb to dumber. It has been a gigantic fall from the fantastic job they did last season. And this season had so much going for it. Peter MacNichol, Chad Lowe, Alexander Siddig, Powers Boothe and James Cromwell joined the cast. It looked as if it was going to be another great season with THE MAN, Manny Coto, still on the job as one of the Executive Producers.

I can forgive alot with "24". I mean, heck, I'm a Bond fan, so suspension of disbelief is a given with these stories. But, c'mon!

An assassination attempt on the President in the bunker beneath the White House?! Jack breaking into his second foreign embassy in a row and then cutting off the finger of the ambassador?!!!!!!! White House staff members in fist fights in a steam closet?!

Dumb...dumb...dumb. There are plenty of other good shows on Monday night. "Heroes", "2 and 1/2 Men" and now, "The Black Donelley's".

Good bye, Jack Bauer; it was fun while it lasted.

I am going through some major parental withdrawal. As John gets older he has more to do; school, ROTC and now a job. I understand the importance of these and how it is building his independence and maturity. If I were a "full time parent" I could probably deal with this a little better. However, it has now been almost a month since John and I had even a day together.

We were supposed to spend the day together, a compromise to his work schedule, when yet another obligation came along. I have been trying my best to give him his space but am always chomping back the words that I should be on his list of obligations as well. I grew up in a family where I lived at home until I was 26, I don't know how this separated parent thing is supposed to work at this point. I want him to be his own person but I also want him to spend as much time with me as possible. Being separated is bad enough but the 90 mile distance makes it tougher.

The ironic side to this is, back when we were a family, when Jim went to his first day of school we went as a group to see him off on his first bus ride. My ex was holding Johnny in her arms as Jim climbed on to the bus; his little legs lifting up high and hard to make that first step. We stood there is the cool September wind for a moment and I turned to head back to the house but my ex just stood there...crying.

"In 18 years you'll be crying to get him out of the house!"

Now, as John approaches that age, the tables have turned and I am the one missing him before he's gone. I seems to be going through empty nest syndrome and I already have the empty nest.

Worst televised Oscars ever!

Ellen DeGeneris SUCKED. I don't think I laughed once at her. However, the entire time Jerry Seinfeld was on I couldn't stop laughing. What happened to John Stewart? He is quite possibly the best Oscars host since Carson.

I was so bored all through this entire show. And what was with these long walkouts where they followed some of the presenters from halfway backstange through these long drawn out enterances.

YAWN!

The shadow playing dance troupe.

YAWN!

The flashy graphics during the lists of nominees.

YAWN!

Michael Mann's montage of American history through film images.

YAWN!

Ellen Degeneris.

YAWN! YAWN! YAWN! YAWN! YAWN!

Hooray for Jennifer Hudson (Bite THAT Simon Cowell!) and Forrest Whitaker.

I'm glad Marty Scorsese got his Oscar, and it was perfect being presented to him by his friends, but the film itself was nowhere as good as "Little Miss Sunshine".

I skipped watching Galactica for THIS?!

I finally called George Takei's manager out in Hollywood about breaking into the business and possibly representing me. Brad was very kind, honest and did offer to forward my name to George's agent. He didn't sound all to hopeful, but it was, at least, the first door I knocked on "in the business".

As usual, with anything in my life, it did have that one moment which defines it as being part of my life. First, you have to remember that Brad is not only George's manager but he is also his partner.

So....as we're talking Brad mentions that George is coming to Florida to attend a graduation at The Dave School. This was the school for which I did my first paid voice acting "gig". I told Brad how George didn't know about my gastric bypass surgery and that the last time he had sen me he was berating me about my massive weight.

Well, that's not exactly how I said it. What I said to Brad was that "the last time I saw George he was all over my ass about my weight!"

Another stellar moment in Towaway history!

Used to be a time when someone's leaving my company was a sad thing. Our department head would call everyone together and announce that so-and-so had found something better for themselves and had decided to leave the company. There would be cake, gifts, hugs and tears.

Now it's a matter of looking around the office and wondering where so-and-so has been and not knowing if the person still worked for the company or not. For the most part a person either simply leaves or is escorted out by security with not so much as a goodbye handshake. In those rare instances when a person's departure is know ahead of time the only acknowledgment from management is that the paperwork has been processed.

My department manager just gave her 2 weeks notice. She and I have known each other almost since the day she started. Our working relationship and friendship has been through some ups and down over the years but has ended in such a good place that I was the first person she told; even before turning in her letter of resignation. I shared laughs, tears and a Thanksgiving day meal with her family. She is good people and the job was turning her away from who she really is. Luckily, she saw it in time and is moving on to something better for herself.

She will be missed; and not just by me. One of my coworkers came up to me and said, "What are we going to do after she's gone? She was, like, our buffer to the rest of them."

I will miss her. We have grown to be able to read each others thoughts. We can communicate with just a look. At times one or the other will stop the other from saying something a little outside the realm of appropriate. OK...so maybe she stops me more than I stop her....but you get the point.

There was a time when our friendship was on the rocks. It was entwined with a whole debacle of a mess at work. As part of a bunch of trumped up charges against me was the allegation that I said some very derogatory things about her in the open on the sales floor. As soon as those angry words were thrown at me all other parts of the charges against me fell to the wayside. I could take being raked over the coals about job performance and breaking the rules but for it to be said that I talked about my friend in such a demeaning way; and even worse, that she believed it, tore at me deeply. I could stand being a bad employee but to think that a friend thought I would betray her tore my heart out. I didn't give a damn about the rest of the charges. I looked at her straight in the eye and screamed at her in a tear choked voice, "Tell me you really believe I would say that about you!" She didn't say anything. And for almost two years we didn't talk.

Somehow, through my unstoppable belief in the basic goodness of people and lots of time we slowly started talking again. We open up to each other again. We laughed again. We were friends again. At one point, a few months ago, we did say out loud to each other that the hatchet was buried between us over that ugliness of the past. I had a thought in my mind of asking her how it went down for real behind the scenes. That was before she announced that she's leaving. The reality of it is setting in and I no longer care about the past.

My friend is leaving and all that other crap is meaningless. If you've read this blog with regularity, you know how I am with this kind of change. Yes, she is one of the ones I'm going to try to hang onto.

She's worth it.

I have been tasked by my good friend, Jim, to finally write again. At times there has been nothing happening and at other times there has been to much to have the time to post. Since it was Jim who pushed me to write then let me write about his son, Noah.

Noah just turned nine over the weekend. He was born with Spina Bifida and autism. He was not supposed to live out of infancy. His parents were told he wouldn't develop much. Those doctors were idiots. While Noah does live in the enclosed world of autism he is anything but under developed. While he has never talked like a "normal" child he communicates. He understands every word said to him and speaks to us that know him leaving no questions what he is saying. He has a personality and loves to laugh. Every time I see him there is something new that he does which amazes me and puts me on the verge of crying.

When we were at Kennedy Space Center two weeks ago we were together for breakfast when his mother asked him to point out people in the room.

"Where is Daddy?" Noah pointed directly at his father.

"Where is Cheryl?" He pointed at Cheryl and made a sound which came close to mimicking the name.

"Where is Jack?"

Noah slapped his hand on my arm and said loudly, "Jack!"

I flashed back to the first moment my own son looked up at me and said, "Daddy". Noah, even though looking away at the other side of the room as if he were completely disinterested in everyone at the table clearly identified me and knew me by name.

I have told his parents many times that as his speech skills improve we have to teach him to say "Bite Me!" Once he has that mastered we will take him back to the doctors who said he wouldn't live so he can say those two words to those most deserving of them.

This past weekend we were at a cookout. Just before leaving Noah had planted himself in front of my car and was studying my House of Blues license plate. I leaned down and pointed out to him Jake and Elwood. I did this only once but he repeated back each name and pointed at them correctly.

"Noah, which one is Elwood?" I asked him in reverse order to hos I had taught him. He picked correctly.

"Where is Jake?" Again; dead on.

I thought about teaching him those two magic words but thought better of it. There's time for that later.

As a final testament of how much a normal kid he really is; the little stinker beat me by 8 pins at bowling. Yes, I was beat in bowling by a 9 year old child with autism. At least he didn't come over after the game with a score sheet to rub it in. Getting beat by a 9 year old autistic child is bad enough; having him trash talk you afterwards would just not be right.

We have to save that for the doctors.

My little boy is no longer.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early to attend a practice competition between his Jr. ROTC drill team and others in the Broward area.



He is the last one on the right.

As I watched him marching around the field in his green uniform I squinted to try and see the child I had seen grow up. I looked for the little toddler I would headbutt. I tried to see the youngster who I would spend hours with inventing superheroes. I waited as he turned back to march towards me to see if he still looked like the pre-teen who went from listening to boy bands to hip hop to the Beatles.

Not a sign of him.

Instead I saw a man. A tall, handsome and confidant man. I watched him as he took initiate and command with those around him; making sure things were being done and done correctly. He joked with the other guys on the team like a man. (Yes, the others on the team were just "guys"...John was a MAN) He spoke like a man, He carried himself like a man.



Then there was that one moment of parental redemption I will hold onto tightly for as long as I can.

His platoon sergeant came by with last minuet suggestions before they entered the parade route; apparently they look for everything during these things. I was laying back and trying not to impose myself on what he was doing but as I looked him over I spotted something.

"John," I whisper/yelled "Straighten your gig line!" He quickly got his shirt, pants and belt in perfect line. When he was done he looked up at me for approval. In his eyes was tat same anticipation and search for approval I got when he was a little boy making sure his shoes were tied correctly solo for the first time. Instantly, he was that little boy again.....until he snapped to attention and the man walked out onto the parade field.

Well, this week has been fun at work. Yesterday, I got called into the office of the two Assistant VP's who run our division to get my ass chewed for my "protest" on Saturday. As I walked towards his office I ran through my mind all the possible lines and diversions I could give to this much anticipated disciplinary session.

"I was just trying to bring some humor to a tense situation; whatever do you mean 'protest'?"

"I knew some people weren't happy with being there, I was just turning it into a joke, what do you mean defying your authority?"

But, no; I grabbed my balls and owned up to it. Through the course of our almost 30 minuet session I laid out exactly how I, and many people on the floor, were not happy with having a mandatory meeting as part of a 3-day weekend, how working conditions have eroded over the past year and how those conditions have contributed to the general poor mood on the floor.

As our "conversation" continued I marveled at the shade of crimson in face across from me and kept time by the beating of the vein in his forehead. There was actual conversation through all of this and a sharing of viewpoints; still it was an ass chewing session and that is what happened. I left his office and was later brought into my immediate manager's office for the paperwork; it turned out as no more than a verbal warning about violating company dress code. My manager laughed as I leaned back in relief; I had expected a day off or something, so this was a relief.

Am I sorry I did what I did on Saturday? No. Do I think it made management stop and think about their "management style"? No. Do I think what I did made a difference? To "them.....No. But at least the rest of the grunts on the floor like me know that someone has the nerve to put some voice to their frustration. I'm feeling more and more like Kevin Spacey's character in "American Beauty"; "I'm just a little guy with nothing to lose."

OK, so I haven't started off 2007 so well with my blogging.

My first week of the year was spent with my son. John and I basically just hung out. Most days we didn't wake up before 10AM. GOD! That felt great! Although, it did keep us from going to Orlando as I had planned, but still it was good simply to relax. We went shopping one day and also out to the movies one day. The rest of the time was taken up with TV, DVD's, movies, the computer and video games.

I just loved going back to work this past week. Although I did notice that the week off did relax me, even at work. No longer was I frantically going from place to place around the office but taking my time and not rushing.

The one thing about work that did get to me this week was a MANDATORY meeting. As such, mandatory meetings usually don't bother me too much. It's just that the boobs who run our department set a mandatory meeting on a Saturday which was part of a 3-day weekend. They continue to show their total disregard for their employees as people. So I showed up in pajama pants, a t-shirt and my bear feet slippers. If they were going to call a meeting for 8:30 on a Saturday I decided to give them what I would normally be wearing at this time. I was surprised that I was allowed to stay but right afterwards I stopped to speak with my manager and she said I should leave quickly. I don't know how the upper management took my gesture but all the regular employee got it and that's why I did it.

The first post of a new year is usually a reflection on the past. This year I would like to look the other way. I always like to think of myself as optimistic and I think it's about time I approached New Year's the same way.

I have already started making some moves to improve things in the coming year. This weekend I will have my stand-up samples ready to go to Drew Hastings, the comic I met in November. I wan to get his review of my work and get myself on the stage at an amateur night within the first half of the year.

I dug up the phone number for my friend George's agent in Hollywood. I plan on pitching to him to take me on as a voice actor. I have the connections with a studio here in Orlando which would enable me to work on projects from California while staying in Florida.

I have changed what I am doing in Starfleet and am loving it. I am now the Regional Coordinator here in Region 2. For the non-geek, that means I oversee 32 chapters in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. There is a little less of the politics and infantile personality conflicts there are at the Fleet level and, more importantly, I am working with close friends. Being an RC also means that I may have a better hand in trying to affect Fleet policy that I would have in my previous position. There are some things wrong with Fleet and I will be working to make some positive change there while making things fun here at home for my friends.

Oh, and work! Well, there are option in movement on that front as well. I am waiting on word on the next step on my interview process for the training department. I really need to get off the phones and out from under the management of my department. Our company has a 62% turnover rate and spends an ungodly amount of money of this turnover. And it's all the good people who are leaving; another friend of mine, and a good employee, has given his 2-weeks notice to go work for the Post Office.

I am also working on a possible exit strategy. After giving 9 years to the company and being told my a member of senior management, "Thanks but what have you done for me lately" and the continued eroding of personal freedoms of the employees; I am starting to finally reach my limit. I would prefer to stay where I am and hope that things will improve. But after months of being told that there was a light at the end of the tunnel I can only feel the tunnel collapsing because it is dug beneath a manure farm.

Hopefully, whine I get to January 2008, I can say that I was able to accomplish some of my goals for the year and to see if I did make the improvements I have in mind. Let's see how much fun can be had along the way!

What a way to end the year. If 2006 could be summed up it one moment it was earlier this evening.

As has become tradition, I went with my friend Jason and his wife and four children to watch the fireworks down by the river. It's really nice and really unique for me to be sitting in my shirt sleeves on the last evening of the year with a warm breeze blowing over me as I watch the fireworks. Back home people are bundled in layers of sweaters and coats as they go to the warmth inside someone house to watch the festivities on TV.

I can deal with a Florida New Years.

We sit on the lawn of an assisted living facility. It sits atop a small bluff and gives a great view of the pavilion around which the festivities take place and a panoramic look at the Indian River. As we sat there two grey haired women walked by and were caught by the cuteness and activity of Jason's two smallest children. When I see old folks fascinated by toddlers I'm always reminded of Peter Boyle's character, Frank, on "Everybody Loves Raymond; always wanting to breath in the youth from little kids.

As they were getting ready to leave one of them leaned in to get a closer lok at me. She said, "You remind me of a guy who serves coffee up at the book store in the mall".

"He mush be a very attractive and good looking guy!" I answered.

"Well, he's attractive but I don't know about good looking!" And she walked away.

I don't think Jason has stopped laughing yet.

Happy New Year to me...here's to more of the same ole shit for another year!

Uncle Dale Dorman.....Speed Racer....Kimba.....Creature Double Feature

These are my memories of WLVI Channel 56. For those reading this old enough to remember, there was a time before cable TV. Where I grew up there were the three major networks, PBS and two UHF channels from Boston; WSBK and WLVI. For me, the king was WLVI.

I would rush home from school every day for back to back episodes of Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion. This was hosted by Dale Dorman. "Uncle" Dale, as he was known, was a local radio DJ and host of the afternoon kids programming. After Paul Lynde, he was the first exposure I had to gays in entertainment. Come to think of it now, it is kinda creepy that he was known as "Uncle" Dale. But back then he was just flamboyant, outgoing and a helluva lot of fun to watch on TV. His personality and excitement burst from the tube.

Many a Sunday, my friend Mike and I would sit and watch Japanese monster movies on the Creature Double Feature. There was also a late night movie series that played the old Buster Crabbe "Flash Gordon" serials. For a young couch potato it was the place to be.

Now word comes out of Boston that the station is being downsized and turned into a low power outlet for informercials and some CW network programming. Jack Hybes, a staple of Boston TV news closed the final news broadcast publicly lambasting the management for allowing what he called "a tragic chapter in Boston television history" to happen.

Many of my recent posts have been a walk down memory lane and each one has ended with a dead end. Fire gutted dining halls, amusement parks taken over by field grass and now TV studios covered with dust. Then I look in the mirror and notice more grey than I did last month.

This growing old shit really sucks.

The Auto Curse is confirmed!

As Thursday rolled around and my car still wasn't fixed my good friend, Jason, offered to let me borrow his Ford Expedition until Christmas Eve. It worked out perfect, I was still able to get Johnny, would be able to get around to parties and shopping and Jason's family still had their other car to use to get around.

I didn't have the car 24 hours and something broke!

OK, it wasn't something critical, but still I sat there in amazement as I pressed on the button for the cruise control and the rubber button disintegrated under mu finger. Little bits of rubber and plastic fell away from the steering wheel, onto my thigh and the floor beneath.

I touch cars and they fall apart!

At my Starfleet chapter Christmas party we did the math and figured out that in the 13 years I had lived in Florida I had gone through 7 cars. That's a different car every 22 months. So, I'll be looking again come July 2008!

A moment to remember Joe Barbara.

As part of the nostalgia binge I have been on recently I have been overdosing on Hanna-Barbaba cartoons on the Boomerang channel. I sit there watching some of these shows for the first time in 35 years and its as if only moments had gone by since I saw them last. I laugh at the same joke and find new ones I never understood as a child. The cars and worries of bills, schedules and phone calls to return are washed away in a sea of celluloid and paint. The noses of traffic, answering machines and ghetto stereos is replaced with wacky sound effects, cheesy 60's music and the voices of Jean VanDerPyle, Alan Reed and Daws Butler.

Tom and Jerry, Ruff and Reddy, Snaggletooth, Magilla Gorilla, Touche Turtle, The Wacjy Racers, the Banana Splits, Hong Kong Phooey, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Top Cat, Yogi Bear, the Flintstones, Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, Penelope Pitstop, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Pixie and Dixie, the Jetsons, Scooby Doo, Charlotte;s Web, the Smurfs, Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel, Jabberjaw, Captain Caveman, Josie and the Pussycats, the Hair Bear Bunch, Sealab 2020, Lippy the Lion, Harlen Globetrotters, the Herculoids, Samson and Goliath, Frankenstein Jr, Hillybilly Bears, Peter Potamus, Precious Pup, Wally Gator, Grape Ape, Partridge Family 2200, Speed Buggy, Dinky Dog and KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park.

Watch some of these when you can. Smile. And thank Joe.

Thanks, Joe.

"Hey, I remember you!"

Those were the words the tow truck operator greeted me with as he approached my disabled car Saturday afternoon.

"Jack?!" you say, "You're having car trouble?! I'm shocked!"

Just when I thought I had a car I could trust for a while my steering column breaks. OK, "breaks" is a slight understatement. First, a few weeks ago, it started getting loose. I was able to jiggle the wheel slightly. Then in the past week, it would gently roll around in a circle. I had been planning on getting it into the shop when it would start to short out the radio when I was sitting in the car a lunch and tap the wheel.

Saturday, I got in the car to head to the store during a break from work. As you leave my building you have to make a u-turn on the 6 lane major roadway, US 1. As I made the turn...the car stalled. I pulled over and tried to start the car. It would turn over but then quickly die. As the heavy traffic whizzed by me I decided to at least get the car out of traffic. As I rolled the car back into the nearest driveway I went to turn the wheel and the entire steering column began to rotate.

This was bad.

Oh, and did I mention that it was raining? Just to add insult to injury!

I got the car out of traffic and went to the nearest pay phone to call AAA. I understand the job these dispatchers have to do and also that they are in some regional call center hundreds of miles away. However, my patience drew thin as the gomer on the other end of the phone asked one insipid question after another all the time rain water is pooling in my socks. I explained the precarious location I was in and he assured me he would put my on their priority list. "Priority", in this case meant a 2 hour wait.

Two local police cars came up to check on me. With lights and burning flares they sat vigil with me. Well, from their point of view they had just scored at least an hour and a half break where all they had to do was sit in their car.

As I sat in my comatose car waiting I began to think back on my history of cars. My friend Jason says he has never, in the 12 years he has known me, known me to have good luck with cars. If had known me longer he would have been sure of an automobile curse I seem to have.

My friend Harry can tell some of the best stories about me and cars, right from the beginning. The times he and his father saved me as one thing or another would go wrong and they would laugh at my lack on knowledge of cars. Oh, they would help me and try to educate me about simple repairs but they would still laugh. There is an autograph from my friend Mike in my high school year book that makes reference to a transmission problem my car had. I drove that car into the ground basically.

I had a Ford Escort that spent so much time in a garage parking lot that a homeless guy moved into it. There was also the time, after a convention in Boston, I had to have 6 friends push the car so I could pop the clutch to get the engine running.

There was the Chrysler K-car station wagon with the hole on the floor board. I was once drove through a puddle and had it suddenly raining inside the car.

My VW bus was unique in that once the car was running a bungee cord held the stick shift in place so the transmission would stay in gear.

Our trip to Shore Leave a few years ago was memorable for being the last one taken in my last really good car, the Ford Aerostar. We had gotten no more than 100 miles away from home when a belt went which took out the A/C and then the entire engine by the time we got to Maryland.

There was the Ford Thunderbird that couldn't go more than 45 mins without a refill of the radiator.

The Cadillac with the sun-baked roof. I can't complain about that car much; it's the one that saved my life in the accident.

I should be back on the road soon. The expense of the repair will screw with Christmas a little.

Maybe Santa will read this and bring me a new car!

My friend Howard, apparently likes nothing more than to make me cry. In a recent blog he posted this video:



As I watched this, it was if I was swept back 35 years. I could hear whistle of the train as it rolled down the tracks around the edge of the park's property. I could feel the work that went into making the crank run car go. I could smell the chlorine in the water of the boat ride.

Then today I get a surprise gift from him; a t-shirt remembering the Shore Dinner Hall at Rocky Point Park. Years of memories flooded back again. The smells and taste of clam cakes and chowder from the take out window. The political rallys in the dinner hall. The years spent at Rocky Point Park as a child. Then, I had the right of passage for almost ALL teenagers in Warwick, RI; a job at the concession stands. I also worked the Shore Dinner Hall close to its demise when it was turned into a flea market which was a client of the radio station where I worked and I would do remote broadcasts from there on weekends.

Jolly Cholly's and Rocky Point are no more. I have no idea what happened to Jolly Cholly's but Rocky Point has been the target of developers for years. I'm not sure if I was crying from the joy of the memories of remorse over being reminded of their passing.

The vivid memories live on in my mind. How we concession workers would drink concoctions of as many different sodas in one cup. The potato paste which was shaped into french fries; sounds gross, but they were better than McDonald's! Watching my stepson go to a public restroom by himself for the first time. Well, almost; I followed behind as a discreet distance making sure the little 4 year old found his way back and forth without getting lost. The look of pride in his eyes when he came back strutting like a Big Boy. Riding the rides at Jolly Cholly's with my niece, Cheryl; in the Batmobile, I was Batman and she was Robin.

Thank you for making me cry, Howard.

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. So much so, I've lost track of what has and hasn't happened; so, I'll just go with what happened this evening.

I just came back from "The Friends of the Bob and Tom Show Comedy Tour". It featured five stan up comedians who are regulars on the Bob and Tom Show. It was a great time. Johnny and I went with a friend of mine from work. John enjoyed the evening and they were all good.

At the end of the evening the comics were in the lobby selling shirts, CD's and signing autographs. As I stood there I was kicking myself for not doing what I had wanted and that was bringing a sample of my stand up from the company talent shows to give to the host from the Bob and Tom show or one of the comics. My idea was to give it to one of them for a critical review from a professional to see if I was really any good.

I realize that my performances at these talent shows are playing to a home field advantage. A lot of what I say in my "act" is related to the job and easily relatable for those there. If you've read this blog with any regularity you know of the frustrated performer inside of me. I would love to be able to act on the stage or film, stand up or voice work.

When I was younger, it was a fear of leaving home that kept me from moving to New York to break into acting. Then, life got in the way. But still I had the itch. Working in radio soothed that for a while. Again, life got in the way. I would occasionally do local theater and now voice work. The itch is still there.

As I walked away from the theater I tried explaining some of this to my son. How, if maybe with a little encouragement from a professional that there really was some talent there that I could give my dream a shot. We got in the car and drove away. As we slowly made our way though the heavy after show traffic I kept running it through my head. I though ahead to Monday morning being back in my cubicle at work. Then I thought of the way I felt when I caused laughter in an audience.

I pulled out of traffic and turned back toward the theater. When I arrived one of the comics was standing outside. I approached his, complimented him on his set and then told him why I was there. He kindly offered to look at a sample of my work and tell me what he thought of my writing and performing.

Life is made up of these moments; when you can look back and see that moment when things took a turn. Will this be one of those? If I had kept driving south on US 1, I never would have known.

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. The holiday was quiet but it kept me and John busy. Today, however, I was inspired to post thanks to the continuing stupidity of my management at work. Get ready for this one......

As usual, I have decorated my cubicle at work with my collection of 40 Santas and strings of blinking lights. I have just added to it this year with an animated, singing Homer Simpson Santa. We were having visitors from our parent company and our management went into their usual panic mode. When we have any high level visitors management's head gets pushed further u[ their asses. We have been told, in the past, to put our waste baskets out of sight and not to get out of our seats unless absolutely necessary. Why these people would not think that an office would generate trash is beyond me. And wouldn't a vibrant, active office look better than a bunch of drones shackled to their cubicle?

It was in this same mind set that my supervisor came to me Wednesday telling me that I would not be able to have my Christmas lights on while the visitors were in the building.

I laughed out loud.

Apparently these visitors were scared of blinking little lights and goodness knows Christmas lights look so much more attractive when they are off.

Being the good little employee, I agreed; although grudgingly. That was until I walked in Thursday morning to see three other desks in other departments with their lights on as usual not to mention the company Christmas three in the lobby.

I went to my supervisor and manager telling them, "Your request for turning my lights off has gone from stupid to unfair." I pointed out the other displays and added. "Again, emphasis on stupid." My manager, who carefully holds on to being a real person and having to lay down company edicts when she knows how idiotic they are, did not make eye contact with me during this meeting but made it appear that her paperwork was of the utmost importance. The manager said they had already been discussing it and would bring it to our AVP. (The company "golf pro" for those in the know)

Twenty minuets later she came back and said I now had approval from on high to turn my lights back on. Ahhhhhhhh, vindication!!! I know it's not much and not a major issue but it felt so good to stand up against the stupidity and win. I knew what I was going to say since the night before as I had been stewing over this whole thing since the moment my supervisor came to me.

Oh, and my supervisor........

Afterwards, she came by my desk for something and I said to her, "You knew exactly what I was going to say the moment I walked in your office, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh", she said smugly.

"That's why you never looked at me the whole time or else you wouldda busted out laughing, right?"

She just smiled and walked away.

Recent things that have annoyed me.

"Money Can't Buy Me Love" being used in a Macy's TV commercial. It's bad enough MIchael Jackson bought the catologue of Beatles music out from under Paul but to continually sell of the rights to these songs is pouring salt in the wound.

"American Pie" being used in a Chevrolet TV commercial. OK, I understand that Don McLean hasn't really had a career in years but why couldn't they have gone after Sammy Johns instead?