Cancer Day

Yesterday was surreal. On several levels. I blame Mercury retrograde... or something.

Picked up TFMD at work just after Noon, and we headed up to the memorial service for her ex's father. Being included felt a bit weird, but ultimately I'm really glad I was. The family is really sweet and welcoming -- good people. And they're happy for Rae. And that makes me happy.

Then we came home and I found an email from my old pal Josh. Although we've been out of touch for over a decade, he's the friend I've known longest. We met in Steve Miles' 2nd/3rd grade class at Rio Del Mar Elementary School in 1976, and became best buds. His dad, a professional cartoonist and illustrator, encouraged my own artistic aspirations. I invented the Zingo character on his drafting table, and named both Z's harbor seal and the martial arts hero Stilt after him in homage.

Anyway, in catching up, I found out his mom had died of skin cancer in 2007, and his dad is in remission from prostate cancer. Let me emphasize that when I knew them, they were the healthiest, most stress-free people I'd come across. Vegetarians and into meditation. It felt like I'd lost another family member.

But then I realized this is probably what folks who knew Sam but had been out of touch for years felt when they heard about her death. Beth can speak to that more so than most.

Then I had a couple actors over for a reading/audition/screentest. Devielle Johnson has already been cast as Steve in Duo, but he showed up to read opposite Jeff Benoit as Ian in the first of four shorts set in the Duo continuity. Working with good actors puts me in a very emotionally vulnerable state anyway (as it should), so by the time the guys left, I was done.

It was just an emotionally exhausting day. Can I get a witness?? Amen.

Additionally, Monday yielded a psych diagnosis for Tyler, so that will help us plan, pending the sleep study next month. Still getting him worked around to a daytime schedule. TFMD and I are practicing our live set tonight. Gonna make some noise for a couple hours. With instruments. Get your mind out of the gutter.