Part 76

The summer of 1994 was pretty fun, all in all. Most days, I would get a page (yes, back before everyone had cell phones, we had little beepers we wore on our belts)from one of the extra agencies and head off to what I hoped would be 16 hours of work. On off days, I would walk down to Venice Beach and hang out. My friend Cristos and I had a "martial arts show" we did as a street performance on both Venice Beach and 3rd St Promenade. It was fun! I was not anywhere in Cristos' league when it came to my abilities in Karate, but being associated with him made me feel better about those abilities.

As the summer wore on, I began to get really tired of extra work. I had gathered together enough vouchers (long story) to get my union card and after a particularly disastrous day spent on a set in Ojai California, I decided to move on. I still kept doing the Casting Director Workshops and was still seeking my fame and fortune as an actor, but I only did one extra or action extra gig after that point. In October of that year, I took a seasonal job as a store manager for Hickory Farms. It was a bizarre choice and to be honest, I hated it. I played poker occasionally with the guy who owned the Sheepskin store in the mall, hired some friends from the dojo I worked out at and pretty much set my own schedule. However, retail is really not for me and when asked later, I declined to be considered for any further employment with the company.

In December of that year, I saw a difference in my Dad that took my breath away. In 1983, when I had run away from home, my Dad had cleared out my savings account and for a couple of years it stood between us. After finding redemption through Christ, I decided the only way to go forward was to forgive him and move on. That happened in 1987, and the very few times he ever brought it up, I would dismiss it as unimportant and change the subject. In December of that year, my Dad sent me a letter with a check. He not only repaid all the money, but also sent compounded interest for the previous 11 years. This type of character just surprized the hell out of me, I still try to live up to that moment in everything I do.

Unfortunately, I took the money and joined the union (which I had earned the right to do through extra work). It took all the money he had sent and I never again worked in a union production. It still remains one of the worst uses of money I have ever engaged in...and that is saying something.