Its Lincoln's 200th birthday. I turn 57 on April 15th and change is in the air.
I came home to Alabama to heal from a broken left wrist and take a break from Hollywood (and show business in general). I had to have my wrist re-broken surgically and just as it was healing, an old ankle injury caused a fall that broke my right wrist! Then I found the house of my dreams and I bought it the day I saw it.
By the time my wrist healed I decided to have my right ankle (broken while a filming a scene -un-billed - in 1979's Skatetown U.S.A.) finally fused to relieve 30 years of pain. (Skatetown U.S.A. was a mess of a film and the injury was so severe that I had to give up my Hollywood apartment and go home to Alabama to heal for six months!)
Last year I had the fusion performed on the old ankle injury and wound up flat of my back for six weeks. After nine months of x-rays and constant pain, the operation had not been a success. I thought about my next move while decorating my beautiful 1887 Queen Anne Victorian House. It was the most beautiful home I have ever lived in, and although wearing an ankle brace and using an electronic bone stimulator from 8pm each night until 6am each morning, I was happy. Really happy.
Members of my production company (Nine Moon Productions) spent a month helping me organize my computer and communication system, photo collection and the house and grounds in general. It was a very charming, fun and productive time. I had agreed to appear in a production of THE HISTORY BOYS and was looking forward to getting back on the stage.
They left early on Saturday, December 13, a sunny but chilly winter morning. At 10:15 I turned up both thermostats in my Norrell heating system and went out on the porch to arrange my Christmas wreaths. I was in sweat pants and a short sleeve shirt, so I made it quick. I was on my porch a total of eight minutes max.
When I walked back into the house I could smell smoke and feel intense heat. I opened the door to my kitchen and coming from the rear of the house was what seemed a mountain of black smoke. The fire burned from under the house near the furnace in back below the master bedroom and moved so fast I was unable to pick up anything.
I ran outside and a lady in a passing car slowed to a stop. " Have you got a phone?" I screamed.
"I just called 911, man," she said. "You get the hell out of that house."
In what seemed like a second she had my hand holding me back. I never went back in to attempt to save any of my material treasures and it probably saved my life. I lost everything except the clothes on my back and flip flops. I had not even put on my glasses or my ankle brace. A dream went up and was gone before noon. Firefighters did an amazing job, but were delayed by a train and this old house, full of heart pine, went fast. I had to drop out of THE HISTORY BOYS and deal with all the repercussions of the fire.
Yesterday my insurance paid off my mortgage and is sending my business manager the money I put down and the equity I had earned. My coverage for contents will only cover about 1/3 of what was in the house. I salvaged what was not stolen by vandals, and today the remains of that Grand old house are on their way to the city landfill.
I found Dr. Angus McBride who works with Dr. Andrews at Sports Medicine in Birmingham. They are from all reports the very BEST. I am going to have the third operation on my right ankle this coming March 4th. After the results of that surgery are clear, I will have many options. If it works (Dr. McBride assures me the chances are 90%), I will have plenty of cash, a good income and no place to live. A fork in the road. Not my first fork in the road by any means, but a BIG FORK. I am a (almost) 57 year old man, in general good health, who has been a professional actor since 1973. Do I go back to work? Hollywood?, New York? or do I buy a sensible house in my home town and write and do the occasional local play?
I don't expect anyone to tell me what the best move for me might be. I just felt like my "Ruminations" page was the place to write down these feelings. I am not looking for sympathy. I know how lucky I am and how many people have problems that dwarf my latest dramas. So, there you go. Thanks for letting me share.
O! By the way I must acknowledge my friend and artist Howard Cruse (www.howardcruse.com) for doing the header for this page. Its me sitting on the swing on my late Victorian wrap-a-round porch eating a Moon Pie and an R-C Cola. Does anyone know if they still make R-C Colas? I could use one right now. Moonpies can be purchased anywhere in Alabama but R-C's may be no more....
I hope you visit Howard's website. He is one of the best cartoonist's around and full of opinions--quite political, my friend Howard. We met in 1972 and I have turned to him for support in good and bad times for almost four decades. God bless you Howard.
I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A LOVE-SOAKED VALENTINE'S DAY!!
