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ALL SUITED-UP AND NO WHERE TO GO

As I was riding underground on my way to my interview, the recruiter’s assistant was calling me and left a message on my cell. As I was sipping a Diet Coke and reading the Classifieds at the McD’s near the office where I was about to interview, my phone vibrated to let me know I had a voicemail. The recruiter got stuck somewhere in Southern California last night and had to cancel. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! LOL! Well, what are ya gonna do but laugh. Right? Since I was so close and all dressed up — I stopped by their office and picked up the paperwork that I would need to fill out. This way I will be ready to roll when we do reschedule.

On my way back home I stopped by my mailbox to find a package from one of my long time friends — well, actually I think of her more as family. Anyway, my pal/sister from my hometown sent me something I had been waiting for. When we were frustrated and bored college students we had dreams. Dreams of pursuing film/comedy careers. I had actually planned on leaving for NYC the day after high school graduation, but logic won out and I enrolled to secure a degree as did “J” Then J planned on following me north after I graduated college, but things just didn’t work out that way.

I forget how, but we had access to an old security video camera which had been discarded by a large department store — and J had one of those little pixel vid cams which recorded to standard cassette tape. Wow! Screw our studies — “Let’s clean out the barn and put on a show!”

So, we took turns “writing” “scripts” and we co-directed/”acted” in a string of strange little movies in our spare time. Which despite full time school and jobs we seemed to have a great deal of! Sometimes we would enlist our friends — particularly our buddy, “L” to join us in our experimental artistic attempts.

I love the fact that we have proof of our 22 year old selves in these silly little movies. We are both so young and goofy. A few of these little films managed to “somehow” surface at a few gay clubs in Houston. …we never figured that one out and only knew about it because a friend of ours who had unwisely “agreed” to participate in a couple of our projects had been “wildly and loudly praised” by 3 wonderous Houston queens who had managed to wander into the Bar-B-Q place where she worked the counter. They recognized her. They proceeded to tell her all about what they had seen her do in our little movies. And they did this, much to the amusement and shock of P’s coworkers and scary Southern Baptist customers. LOL! There was scandal at the local Bar-B-Q hot spot! P was mortified and we thought she was going to kill us!

J and I were a bit upset. I think we determined that one of her relatives snuck copies of our tapes out and passed them on to a few club managers. Tho, I think we actually enjoyed that fact that gay boys and girls were dancing to our images on screens. …and, per the screaming queens, sometimes they were even treated to our voices. J and I don’t talk a lot these days, but when we do manage to touch base it is as if no time has passed between us. A connection that will never weaken was developed from the first time we met in 1981.

In the late 90’s my only copy of these little treasures from our soiled youth were falling apart as my VHS tape gave way. So, I managed to have them transferred to DVD. I made 2 copies. One for me and one for J. I sent J a copy — which I am not sure she ever watched for fear of her child walking in and seeing what mommy and her best friend used to put to tape. LOL!

I lost a lot of things when I made the move out here from Boston. Or, I guess I should say — UPS lost a lot of things. One of those lost things was one of only 2 DVD’s of our little movies. I called her and she sent me the ONLY DVD of our pop-culture-infused-and-confused-films.

As with all things of late. When something happens that brings me down — something happens that manages to rise me up and give me a bolts of energy and hope. Today that was the arrival of this DVD — AND an extra bounus surprise from J. Yes, kids, J got me a Sonny doll! I took the picture of this prize and posted it above for your viewing pleasure! And, tonight, before I fall off into sleep I can look back at us circa 1988 in such films as “Meat Dance” “Puddin’ The Magician” “Matthew’s Angels” “The Horror of Dollkin” “My Iranian Nightmare” and the scandal that is “The Abduction and Seduction of P”

…I can’t wait!