2009: A PASSION = TRUTH Retrospective.

End of an old year. Beginning of a new. It's retrospective time. PASSION = TRUTH style. The following highlights aren't PASSION = TRUTH highlights as much as they're highlights in my life over 2009. Just click on the colored links and you'll be whisked away to the post as it appeared in PASSION = TRUTH...in no particular order.

1. Dear California: I'm dumping you. My letter to the state of California upon my departure mid-September and subsequent move back to Wisconsin.

2. Best thing about California. My best friends in California - Donovan & Maria McCann-Glover, and their daughters, Grace, and my goddaughter, Gwyneth.

3. Jeff named "Godfather" to Gwyneth McCann-Glover. First time I've been chosen to be a godfather - and a very proud moment for me.

4. Concerts, concerts and more concerts. The Zombies at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, Cali., Terri Nunn and Berlin three times in 2009 and Gordon Lightfoot at the Canyon Club. Can't tell you which one was a highlight 'cause they were all highlights. Top-notch performances by every artist. And I got to meet with Terri Nunn. One of the most engaging solo artists (apart from her band Berlin) I've ever witnessed (I'd toss Minnie Driver in that category but I saw her perform three times in 2008).

5. Keeping with the live performance theme theme, I saw Brian Wilson perform at the Hollywood Bowl in late 2008 and then again in Milwaukee a couple months ago. In between that, I met one of Brian's back-up singers, Taylor Mills, via Facebook - then I met with her personally at her husband's gig (Todd Sucherman of Styx) in Manhattan Beach. I got to introduce her to my brother, Jason, at her Milwaukee gig. Very nice person and a great singer.

6. My award-winning, 10-minute play, "Pass the Salt, Please." was performed at festivals in Miami and Seattle. Very, very successful runs in both cities. If you're bored, you can type in "Pass the Salt, Please.", in the search box in the top left corner of the blog and all the related posts will pop up for you, including reviews. You can also type in that search box, "Grace Notes from a Bohemian in Wanderlust" and every post associated with my 3-week vacation in May will pop up.

Above: Me, Bo and brother Jason, day before I moved from California, September 2009.
7. Jeff knows Bo. Had the pleasure of striking up a friendship with actor Bo Svenson, "North Dallas Forty", "Walking Tall II", "The Great Waldo Pepper". Very, very nice gentleman.
8. Brett Favre signs with the Minnesota Vikings. The Ironman. The Legend. The future Hall of Famer. 19 years in the NFL. Owns every meaningful QB record that is and has never missed a start all that time. After one season with the New York Jets, Brett signed with the Vikes, who sit at 11-4 and are in the NFL playoffs this season. Like #6, type in "Brett Favre" and every post I've ever written, including this season, will come up.

9. My visit with Tina in Chicago. I usually visit my best friend from high school a couple times a year. Our time is meaningful and priceless.

10. Walleye fishing trip. This happens every May in Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin. Going on...well, it's over 20 years. For some reason I can't find the actual fishing post but I found the golfing post.

11. "Dia duit, Eire!" Visited Ireland at the end of September. 3rd trip. Visited Galway, Ardfinnan, Cork, Waterford, Dublin and Cahir among other towns. Good food & drink great weather and as hospitable people as you can get. FYI: I set this particular blog up separately from PASSION = TRUTH.
12. Santa Barbara. My favorite spot in California. We have family there (by marriage) so I try and spend some time up there. I don't have a post here, but if you're on my blog, go to that search box in the upper left and type in "Santa Barbara", "Tom or Greg Nowak", "wine tasting", "Solstice" or "Fiesta" and you'll find a few posts. Beautiful country up there. And good wine (hiccup!).
BONUS: 13. Notes from Lost Man's Lane by Richard le Breton. I took a trip to Nashville, Indiana to visit my friend Katie and we had a ball. This is the first post in the series and, though the trip occurred in November 2008, it was a cool series of posts so I'm including it anyway. Again, if you type "Notes from..." in the upper left search box, the entire series of post will pop up.
There it is...2009. A lot of shit happened. These are just some of the special ones. You can check out the rest of the blog by searching topics toward the lower section of the right panel. Been doing this since March 2007 - with over 2,000 posts, you're bound to find something that's of interest. Happy New Year and a better 2010 for us all!

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Ring in 2010 with The Stooges!

My father's favorite comedy team. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

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Origami No. 26. "Finite".

When I began acting in the summer of 1994, I approached my initial audition and subsequent stage debut with some trepidation. I felt confident in this new journey I had undertaken, yet I was guarded about my feelings regarding whether I not I would thoroughly enjoy performing as much as I thought I might.

When I finally took my place on stage with the other actors on opening night, it was everything I had hoped it would be – nothing more…nothing less. It became my passion.

It was at that moment that I formulated the credos – the rules – that I would live the rest of my life by. They are: 1) there are no rules, 2) no regrets, and 3) be nice to people. They’re good rules; rules I believe all of us should adhere to, in some form or another.

As 2009 comes to a close, I look back on the year and past years. Certainly there are events and moments I wish had not transpired but do I regret they happened? No – for without those happenings, who can say I’d be the person I am today? As far as being nice to people – or not being nice to people, such as the case may be – well, there are those who don’t deserve “nice”. That’s just the way it is. If I make peace with my enemies, it will happen of its own volition.

My move to back to Wisconsin in September after 11 years in California has forced me to contemplate my future on a multitude of fronts – work, acting, writing, where to live, etcetera. My heart is empty for the friends I left behind. My heart cries for my goddaughter and her older sister. But they say change is good and I concur. The concept of change is not unlike this time of the season when we take stock of our lives and ponder our future. There’s very little certainty in the upcoming new year...more questions than answers. Over the course of this year, I’ve been acquainted with friends who’ve passed away, those who are dying, people with psychological problems, people who've suffered as a result of our country's economic draught; I’ve been laid off, moved across the country leaving dear friends behind. defriended and refriended, ignored and had my luggage put out on a stoop. If you can not relate, the chances of you being able to in the new year are quite good.

Life is short. So live today like it’s your last. Make hay while the sun shines. Eat, drink and be merry. Bury the hatchet with someone you love. Turn the other cheek. And all those other tried and true clichés. I know it’s easier said than done, but they’re tried and true for a reason. When was the last time you heard someone say, “A midget on prescription drugs may never find himself.”? You could at least say that you'll try to accept them – the clichés I've just mentioned. What’s the worst that can happen?

And just live life. The rest of it will follow.

(Origami is sort of my catchword for a featured blog post that highlights my original writings - could be an excerpt from one of my plays, a poem, a song, a rant, a rave, a cursing, etc. Origami is the art of folding paper (the word is of Japanese origin). Or, it could be the creative juices of someone else I know - or don't know. So, within the folds of this particular blog feature you may find something really beautiful, meaningful or poignant.)

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My New Year's Day sweet tooth.

The one in the middle - strawberry, kiwi and something else on a little cookie cake with some creme? Excellent.

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A New Year Adage.

Walking the Same Path

And if we walk
the same path together.
who is to say nay?

If you see the ferns, and I, the roses,
if you see the grasses, and I, the iris?

Still, it is the same path
We take from it that which is best for us.

There are no contradictions;
There are only mere proofs.

- Unknown

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