A BRIEF HISTORY - The Journey Begins

There, where time is not and no thing is everything, the essence, submerged in a nebulous cocoon of light and beauty heeded to the distant shout of the tortoise in extremis and reached out into itself, appeasing the source of this far away cry with its emptiness. Hence the adventure began. Why here and now he has yet to discover but there are lessons to be learnt and destinies to follow. It was on September 24th two score and two years ago that he was inspired to continue his journey somewhere along the 45th parallel north. Being of Libran disposition it no doubt took him eons to decide the when, where and who of the matter. Yes, who. Couples are clueless about parenting no matter how many books they read or seminars they attend until that fateful day when the one who has chosen them for this most wonderful yet twisted experiment pops out and hurls a bloody scream at the offending parties.

Thus began his conquest for attention, unconditional love and a keen yearning for a hard, milky nipple. Sucking up every iota, every nuance, every vibration, forming, growing, formulating, adapting, learning to survive. When to laugh, when to cry, when to hide. Who to trust and who to fear. How to be. How not to behave. What to be. What not to become. All the big people seemed to know best because it seemed that…well, what did he know? In time he forgot where he'd come from after being fitted with that other skin. They convinced him it was better this way. He was nudged and poked until becoming everyone's pride and joy was second nature. Did they ever spoil him then. And when he thought that he had it all figured out the tables were turned. For no better reason than conventional wisdom and fear of the Children's Welfare Department his ever loving parents abandoned him on a concrete corner in a concrete neighborhood where he was swiftly abducted by an ugly, smelly, noisy yellow whale. And to his astonishment he was not alone. School…what more is there to say.

He was a very curious and extremely mischievous boy (qualities that remain close to his heart to this day). Being relatively withdrawn he did his best to dissolve among the other attention starved, squeaky clean, suburban terrors. It was a shock to the system. It became survival of the fittest. Quickly the lessons of home kicked in. who to...love...fear… hide from…open up to…trust… who? Maybe he was more naïve then the others but he simply did not understand. Why were they so nasty to eachother? So cruel? His Christian upbringing and gentle nature seemed in conflict with the aggressive riggers of school yard intrigues. Yet were they not all orphans still so fragile and innocent. Only discovering… every moment discovering. How impatient they all were to shed the mantel of child. They so desperately believed themselves to be complete, capable… all knowing. Sides taken in ignorance. Tribes formed. The rest, the uncool, the overly sensitive, those who dared to be different lived in perpetual oblivion or harassment. Fodder for the bonding tribes. These self-anointed miniature warriors needing to continuously reinforce their illusion of solidarity. For the tribe was their only true identity. Being one of the outsiders and the favorite target of many a bully, he found comfort with imaginary friends and in his love for Jesus. So it came as no surprise when his parents signed him up for martial arts classes. He went begrudgingly. Never quite coming to terms with the violent nature of human existence. Then at his request they wholeheartedly agree to send him tri-weekly to drama classes as well. He spent the next few years learning the basics of self-defense and thespianism. The latter taught by two wonderful women whom he grew very fond of over the years: in spit of their love for large white peppermints, which to this day makes him nauseous. They were wonderful years where he performed in many theatrical productions. Then one day he discovered that a hair had grown in a place where there never had been any. His whole world was suddenly turned upside down and inside out.

His whole world was suddenly turned upside down and inside out. Adolescence passed quickly with the help of various illicit substances. To dull the pain and shield the innocence, his faith in God and in the wonders of life hide in the shadows of his being. Yes growing up is life in a loop under a microscope, a seemingly never-ending story of angst, rebellion and raging hormones. And then it began all over again. Who to...love...fear… hide from…open up to…trust… who? 'Twas not until one magical evening when he found himself in a cabbage field behind a convent with a Highschool Diploma in hand, hair on his chin and his virginity in the hands of an equally inexperienced teen angel that it suddenly dawned on him. Manhood was calling and he had better get with the program. The free ride was over. What was he going to do with his life? Paralysis struck. It was a numbing experience. Though he did continue to pursue his interest in acting doing extra work in films and bit parts in student productions it was not a serious option. While drifting through college he infiltrated the television studio and produced internal TV commercials for the cafeteria. They were really stupid and inane but it got him free lunches. In time his thespian nature got the better of him. So with out much ado he leapt from the closet of the science department onto the theatrical stage.


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