Who Am I?
I was born in Richmond, VA in 1990. At the time, my Father was on the faculty of MCV which is the hospital whereupon I was delivered into this world via C-Section. My Mother is a teacher of Folk dance and German language. We lived abroad briefly in Spain and England stationed on their military bases since my Dad was also a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force. Though brief, the experiences had a deep influence on my outlook on life especially on America in comparison after we re-located to the states in and around the DC/Metro area where I spent the most time. For Kindergarten, my time was spent half in Ridgeway, VA and Greensboro, NC during the great blizzard of '96. I went through 1st grade till my senior year in Alexandria, VA enrolled in the FCPS system.
Elementary school was strange. We drank milk out of plastic bags and attended sock hops where we had to slow dance to the sounds of the Backstreet Boys. Skate Nights were also fairly odd but enjoyable thanks to there being a few arcade games next to the rink. Thanks to the full support and encouragement of my Mother, I joined the Tiger Cubs, then the Cub Scouts, and then later spent many years in the Boy Scouts of America, eventually getting elected by my troop to get initiated into the Order of the Arrow. In those years, I learned a lot about camping and the value of teamwork. It taught me how to be prepared. We got to visit the Pentagon (pre-9/11) to record a video promoting our troop. On the way there, we passed a dead body on the beltway that was apparently the brother of the man who got us in that day. How he ended up there we might never know.
In the year 2000, my Mother took me to "Beatlefest" in NYC and we got to take an overpriced taxi tour of the U.N. and happened to see the World Trade Centers before they got destroyed. When 9/11 happened, I was 11 years old in a "learning cabin" and my teacher happened to be a former air-traffic controller. It was pretty scary to know places I had recently visited were under attack.
In NOVA, in spite of the ever-lurking presence of the threatening MS-13 gang and the DC snipers, there was a great theater program that enabled me to learn the basics of the performing arts and eventually I ended up making music with some friends for several years inspired mainly by my older Brother who had an very inspiring stage presence and musical talent. Also thanks to my older Brother, I was welcomed into the People to People student Ambassador program and got to see New Zealand and Australia as a 14 year old in the summer of 2004 (our summer, their winter). It was at a Christian vegetarian adventure camp in New Zealand that I learned the basics of meditation and vegetarianism. During that trip, I was uncharacteristically outgoing enough to get elected as my delegations leader to accept the Maori warriors peace offering during their ritual Haka. This event really stands out as a pivotal time in my evolution as a human being. It also exposed me to the horrifying affects of worldwide colonialism and globalization.
In the summer of 2006, I convinced my parents to let me and my band-mates visit a dear friend from school who moved to Brazil when I was 16 years old. Her father was an Ambassador's aide so that was very interesting and I still think about how incredible it was to be there at that time (our summer, their winter) post 9/11. That trip also had a significant impact on my worldview.
Prior to my Sophomore year ending, I took a fortuitous road-trip to Philadelphia to make a short film based on the works of Jack Kerouac with some friends that made me feel something very magical and earned the nickname "The Majestic Sophomore." Before I entered my senior year, I was accepted to the Summer Residential Governor's School at the University of Virginia and learned a lot about Vocal Music as an ambitious Tenor though I was mainly focused on showing-off my Theremin skills. I had also taken part in All-State and Honors choir thanks to a wonderful chorus teacher who sadly passed away in the Fall of 2019. The first funeral procession I ever participated in was for my late chorus teacher who we all called "Mr. K."
When I graduated from high school, I applied to VCU as well as to the Maharishi University of Management (MUM). An inspiring encounter with David Lynch in Bethesda, MD sometime in 2007 inspired my 2nd choice as well as sparking a natural curiosity about Transcendental Meditation. Meeting David Lynch also directly inspired me to write and direct my first and last one-act straight-play that incorporated ideas that I had picked up studying the Fourth Way and the teachings of Gurdjieff. When my uncle found out I was interested in these ideas he put me onto Krishnamurti which got me thinking about Theosophy.
For all practical purposes, it seemed a better plan to stay in-state and return to the place of my birth: Richmond, VA. To prepare for my re-entering the source lands, I shaved my head completely bald. To appease my Mother, I waited until after graduation so people wouldn't think I had become a skinhead. Getting to Richmond freshly shaved (because I wanted to see my own head) got me prepared to consider Philosophy as a major to the dismay of my former theater teachers. My decision may have been influenced substantially by listening deeply to the works of Caetano Veloso who I got into thanks to my unforgettable sojourn to Brazil in 2006. This decision proved to be challenging as I was not entirely prepared to submit to the pressure and demands of modern academia which I found to be stifling to my spirit. This choice also somehow put me in a class taught by the tyrannical and abusive son of the former president of Peru. Analytic Philosophy appeared to be a dead-end and arguing endlessly was mentally exhausting. It wasn't a surprise that I had much more fun starting jam bands and performing experimental noise while dating way too many people and accidentally causing several scandals as a result. Richmond has historically been an highly effective rumor mill. Just read up on aftermath of the Churchill Train Tunnel collapse of 1926 to understand what I mean.
My only living grandparent passed away when I was 21 years old. Before she transitioned to the next world, I did my best to be there for her during her last days and am very thankful to have had the chance to know her. She and my late Grandfather are both buried together in Arlington Cemetery as they were both active in their duties in WWII. To this day, I am indebted to her kindness and goodwill.
Mysterious forces connected to the legend of the Wendigo (or "Wetiko") caused me to drop-out of college altogether and I haven't been back since. Ended up delivering Chinese food which led to delivering Thai food and then eventually flower arrangements for the holidays and beyond. At a certain point, the apartment building where I lived became cursed and the slumlord who owned it got into some kind of trouble due to fraudulent activity so I ended up moving into the gatehouse of Hollywood Cemetery with some friends in Oregon Hill. The same cemetery where the so-called "Richmond Vampire" allegedly resided.
While enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the historic graveyard, I ended up giving a ride to an acquaintance who needed a lift to a wardrobe fitting for some TV show I'd never heard of. Turned out the casting department liked my long hair and decided to recruit me for "TURN: Washington's Spies!" I pretended it was the revolutionary war for 3 seasons as a "featured (non-union) background." It was the best show I've ever been a part of and had the most fun getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse during the shooting of those episodes. One thing led to another and I was cast in another period piece called "Mercy Street" on PBS. Oddly enough, I also ended up in an indie film called "Vampires in Virginia" which fittingly has never seen the light of day.
Things were going well for me and I became eligible for SAG-AFTRA very quickly. In late 2014, after being informed of Powhatan's curse, I moved into my late Grandmothers house and bid Richmond a fond farewell. Suddenly, the possibility of moving to Philadelphia opened up and I took the opportunity to move in with some people I knew from NOVA to continue the chapter I started when I was 16. Reorienting myself to the art scene and film production life, I eventually became a dedicated figure drawing model at several art schools in the area and continued background acting as well as occasional production work. Thanks to a friend, I worked briefly as a telesales agent raising money and selling season tickets on behalf the Philadelphia Orchestra. Selling books became a part-time side-hustle, as well. In March of 2017, I stumbled into a place called the United Lodge of Theosophists where I began to learn about the intricacies of Karma and Reincarnation under the guidance of their assembly of associates. Due to financial troubles, I never joined SAG-AFTRA until the summer of 2021 while working on Servant for Apple TV+ as a "featured background." However, I think the proper term is "must-joined." My first official union gig was a film called "Hustle" starring Adam Sandler.
Also due to financial troubles, I never officially learned Transcendental Meditation until the spring of 2019. I seriously regret not learning the technique earlier in my life. Like many people in our society, I also regret spending so much of my time drinking & using drugs. These practices led me astray in ways that I am still processing and recovering from spiritually but am actively separating myself from my attachment to these addictive substances as we speak mainly thanks to a very auspicious meeting with Dana Ashbrook, Michael Horse, and Harry Goaz at the Mahoning Drive-In. Becoming a devoted figure drawing model made learning a meditation technique a necessity which in turn helped me find relief from so much unnecessary suffering while also giving me an island of stability during the pandemic.
If I only could've realized this sooner, I might be on a path to becoming an Ambassador of the planet Earth and beyond. Perhaps there is still time to consider this as a new way but I hold a lurking fear my past mistakes have set me up for some seriously wild Karmic cycles and potentially an inevitable boss battle with the Wendigo/Wetiko who appears to still be negatively affecting many spheres of responsibility in our reality. Perhaps the only way to defeat the evil entity is to not fight back at all and let it destroy itself through natural causes as described by the author Paul Levy. It's a miracle that I am able to write these words today. If I'm lucky, I'll get to see the end of the actors strike and be compensated adequately for my work and live happily ever after in the city of Brotherly Love or wherever the wind takes me.
With that, I leave you with the wise words spoken to me by David Lynch, "Be Prepared."