Summary: A LETTER TO MOM As some of you who are longtime friends or who follow me on Facebook know, my mother Maxine who recently turned 95 years old, fell and broke her hip a few days following Christmas 2011. My parents were always supportive of my decision to pursue the actor's life. And my mother was especially supportive. Because my dad was a blue collar worker, it was mom who was the one who always attended the school plays and the one who was the main support for my acting aspirations. Mom has lived with our family for over a dozen years. Now that she is dealing with the aftermath of this fall, her health is slipping rather badly and her return home is in jeopardy. This situation is not only one of the most difficult we've (my wife Jane and I) had to deal with, it comes on the heels of a rather terrible year in 2011. My sister Ann passed away some years ago and in 2011 my remaining sister Gwen and my brother Jim also passed away, within about three weeks of each other. So as you might imagine, this was very tough on our mother. One doesn't expect to outlive ones kids...especially not three of the four. Because Mom's health is deteriorating I wanted to put in writing how I feel about her. I wanted to do this so she could have the letter to read as often as she wanted as she struggles to recover. I also wanted to write the letter for myself. I wanted to make sure I had expressed my love for her in a way she might understand even if she doesn't hear well or always understand what I'm telling her. I wanted her to have this document while her mind is still relatively sharp and focused...because those days are numbered. How does this relate to acting? It's life. Real life. An actor takes from his/her own life each time he/she builds a character from the blueprint the writer has provided. The difficult times are often the ones that offer the richest material that we will experience, that we will process and that we will use in some way in our work. Does that sound cold and calculated? I hope not because that's not how I mean it. Of course I'm not sitting around the hospital happy in my mom's difficulties because it provides me with an acting lesson. No. But at the same time, as an actor, I do know that this difficult time will be a part of me that will likely come out in some way in some future performance. That's part of the actor's life. Part of the actor's journey. I also mention in this episode that I am available for booking through my agent Collier Talent.
