And vica versa. Everyone has one. I need an outlet, so this will be it. Just my random thoughts on a day-to-day basis. Not judgments, per se, just my opinions. Like it, comment on it, leave it. Don't even read it. There's just been so much on my mind in the past few years and I haven't been able to properly express myself. So hopefully this blog will help and, if anyone reads it - or if no one reads it - that will be fine with me.
So ... today I'm just going to give a bit of backstory. I'm a 50 year old gay man. I am currently living in Maryland and working as a video editor/producer/writer. I've been in an relationship with my partner for around 18 years (ok, there was a 5 year break in there, but we were still in contact during that time). I grew up in New Jersey - Franklin Lakes. You may know it as the home of some of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. These women are NOT the real housewives of the Franklin Lakes that I grew up in. My two sisters and I grew up on a 100 acre farm in a house that is almost 300 years old. In addition to my Mom and Dad we lived with my grandmother, who actually owned the house. My grandfather had passed away shortly before my parents married and my grandmother (Nana) didn't want to live alone. So we lived together and it was, as far as I could tell, a blissful childhood. My Mom stayed at home and my Dad worked as an insurance adjuster. My grandfather had started his own company and was very successful at it and my father - probably reluctantly - followed in his father's footsteps. Dad should have been an architect or artist - anything but an insurance adjuster. I remember when I asked my Dad what he did - I was in first grade and our assignment was to draw a picture of what our parents did. He told me exactly what he did and 44 years later I still remember him saying "But you can do whatever you want to do when you grow up". Thank you Dad for that.
My Dad passed away in 1973 when I was 13. I am the middle child - one sister is older, one younger - and we are each separated by only 16 months, so we three grew up as contemporaries, with a specific pecking order.
Mom went back to her profession of teaching after Dad died. First as a substitute (in our high school!) and then full-time after Nancy (my older sister) and I had graduated. Fran, our younger sister, was still in high school, but didn't seem to mind as much as I did. Fran was very "go with the flow" about it, and about most things as well. So college ... I went to undergrad at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland ... then worked for a few years in publishing before deciding to do my graduate work in film/television production. I got into NYU and graduated in 1990, struggled a bit and then found myself at Sony Music working on tv and radio commericals. That's where I met my partner Mark, who was an Art Director. Eventually I became a full-fledged producer, then learned Avid editing and did both. Love my job, despite some headaches. Have had good luck with employement more or less.
2008 was a difficult year. My sister Fran died unexpectedly on July 3. Then in November my Mom became ill and after a brief but severe illness, she passed away on November 20.
2009 started with Mark's Mom's death (she had been living with cancer since about 1992). In May of that year I was let go from my job of 10 years. In July, Mark was diagnosed with cancer (lymphoma).
2010 started with Mark and I trying to come to terms with his illness. He had been in hospital or rehab since 10/30/09 and by January 2010 most of the doctors were telling us to get Mark into hospice. We found out that a doctor at the National Institute of Health had seen a slide of Mark's biopsy and believed that he was a candidate for an experimental program being conducted at NIH. Unfortunately, our wonderful oncologist neglected to take down any information from the call she received, so it was up to me (we, actually - with the invaluable help of my best friend Lee Ann) to figure out who, what, etc. On January 24 I sent an email to the doctor at NIH who was conducting this study. That afternoon he called me and on Tuesday January 26 Mark was in an ambulance for the drive from NJ to MD. Long story short, Mark is now cancer-free. Really a miracle. I got a job in Maryland. We're now living here, at least for a year while Mark continues to be tested at NIH but all signs continue to look good.
Whew.
So that's a bit of a recap. Now you've got to know a few more things about me. I am a liberal democrat. I am a Christian, though not of the "in your face" variety. But I have a deep faith and it's very important to me, and has been especially over the past two years. I don't know how I would have gotten through what I did without it. I believe we are meant to do things during our time here, and that sometimes gets me in trouble with my politcal views. More on that at a later time. This is enough for me for now.
So best to all of you and I look forward to continue my ramblings. Like I said read it or don't. This really is for me and if it's entertaining or instructional, educational or inspirational to anyone else, that's great.
peace out for now
