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Comment:
DHS - so many memories. I was a Menshevik wanting these two guys for our concert to raise money for our foreign student. The Bolsheviks of DHS wanted the We Five, a one hit wonder. I didn't go to the concert. Didn't matter anyway, I was the scared, shy, too sensitive, boring, guilt ridden Catholic kid who suffered from an inferiority complex and whose childhood friends had all moved away. The DHS Bolsheviks said those two guys "couldn't hold down a concert." Apparently they were right. Last I knew they were reduced to having to give a Free Concert in Central Park. I think their names were Simon and Garofalo, or something like that. Always like the sounds of silence. The Byrds and The Kinks. I also like the sound of Coach Batino who admonished us: "don't cheat your body." If you're still here Coach, I got something to show you. Haven't used Thomas Kelley since I took my acting name for my legal name in the late '70's. First went to University of Virginia right out of DHS and met Kellam there. Luckily for me, my parents threw me into a mental institution, so I had no chance of being in that car. I went to Kellam's once for one of his birthday parties when we went to Holmes School. I also visited David Mixter at his home. There by the Grace of God....... I got a great deferment for the funny farm, and got caught up in the radicalization of the times, for which I have absolutely no apology for. "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, NLF is going to win." And they did. Second college was Davis and Elkins in West Virginia. Managed to last over a year there till I got a chance to mark off one on my Bucket List - stand next to Fidel Castro in a sugar field. Parents paid for college funds dried up and I started my life as a working stiff. Hey, Vosburgh, I'll take you on for who has had the most shitty jobs. Rather than use my superior brain powers, very nicely cultivated in the Darien public schools, and I am forever thankful for that, I got on with a landscaping company and used my back muscles. I've always been a gym freak and to this day, I'm still a yard freak and will take on anyone with a shovel, a rake, or a hook. I do compost piles and solar lights like they are Sacraments. Then I got a Free Ride out of Darien, actually just like Vosburgh I was living in Norwalk, where the Darien expatriates seem to congregate, for a quickie to Denver and then onto Park City, Utah. I tagged along with an exec with the US Ski Team. Utah, was great then, but my Free Ride went back to Darien, and I stayed. I kinda found myself in Mormonland. Loved the dry climate and the place was so damn affordable and pretty layback for a theocracy. Then when I got into acting, I changed over from Tom Kelley to Zane Parker and never looked back. I'll just drop a few names: John Ritter: I got to tell him not to leave town. Really, really great guy. Margot Kidder: played her ex-con husband in one of her B Movies as they called them after her meltdown. Had a great Superman story for her but swore I would never mention that movie to her so she never knew I got to meet Marc McClure earlier. Russell Means: God bless him; an Indian with a good spirit. Got arrested for the shtick at Wounded Knee. We shared a love of Libertarian principles. And had a nice talk with this guy that seemed to be hanging around at a casting where I picked up my last part. It was Joaquin Phoenix. I did my scene with Janeane Garafalo. Along with Garrett, we're both on IMDb. Anyone else?? My real job was working in restaurants and that went on too long, but while you're nursing an acting career and a secretly hoping for a writing one, you don't want to mortgage your soul to a company that demands it. In the early 80's I took off for Hollywood to make it in the big time. I could write a book on how to do it all wrong. Atleast I should have contacted that guy who was the only 'guy' to survive on SISTERS. Hell, they had to blow up the cop on that show...... wonder what happened to that guy. Depeche Mode and Human League and just about anyone in the New Wave. Broke and getting nowhere, I bailed out of California and headed back to Utah. Finally made an honest woman out of her, and then we had a surrogate baby. My daughter, now 15, was not an accident, unless you count a guy getting on a plane, flying to Orange County, and jerking off in a cup, as an accident. One of the best things I ever did........ the daughter. Acting got good back in Utah, but it's tough to make a living in a marginal market so I started doing 'fixers' and was pretty good at it. Eventually I kinda hooked up with this guy who was going to build houses in the Austin area of Lago Vista. So I uprooted from Utah, after SAG sold out to the Mormons, and came out east to Texas. Hate the humidity, and then found that there was no chance of building houses. I bounced around, adding to my resume of more shitty jobs till I eventually settled down in doing the less back breaking work on flipping houses, and in my case, apartments and got my real estate license. I finally gave my muse the attention it deserved. I am planning on attending my 45th Reunion, the only one, and on my Bucket List is to kick Howie in the ass, metaphorically speaking....... or not. I got one novel done, six screenplays, and halfway through the second novel, only I stopped because I'm now writing an unauthorized autobiography of a baby boomer in the style Holden Caulfield all grown up and reflecting. So I should be there to pick your brains and steal your stories and corrupt your souls. Don't worry about me, the shy kid from Darien can hold his own now. And don't worry about Howie, as he seems to be doing okay. But when it comes to wordsmiths, if he can hack it, my money would be on Vosburgh. Looking forward to seeing all the girls I was secretly in love with back then, see who remembers me (remember you can't be disappointed if you have low expectations), I want to get a firm handshake from Bob Radocy, and have a nice cry for those we have lost and will someday join, Did I mention I'm writing a book and I will steal anything I can get. Linkin Park and Muse. BTW, here's a challenge for "the Toe", and Alan King, and Dana Lindsley, and Jean Seibert (Mason) and anyone else who fancies themselves a writer. I got less than a 100 pages of rough first draft of the book I'm working on now. I'll post if you do. I dare you. And...... I'll bring a racquet if anyone is up for a little tennis.
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