ROBIN WILLIAMS HAS COME AND GONE

When I initially began this writing..  I really don't like to call this a blog, though that's just what it is.. This writing..  it was to put to voice whatever thoughts came along, at first inspired by seeing clouds after the death of a friend whose graveside service I'd attended near Long Beach. The clouds were those big cumulus bumpers in a blue like.. blue blue sky.. like the sky is supposed to be.. well. except at night.. But along the way, this site became a place where I'd air some ideas beyond the clouds.. 

'Both Sides Now?'  Did you know that Joni Mitchell's song came from her reading a book on an airplane, looking out the window..  on the way to or from a gig..or was it just a trip? Saul Bellow's 1959 "Henderson,  The Rain King" has the line somewhere in it.  I don't recall the story enough to try to explain. The serendipity of one thought leading to another is what this is about.  How we all piggy back our own idea onto someone else's..  That's the essence of improv: "Yes... and..."

I've just watched the last part of a PBS special about Robin Williams.  

http://www.pbs.org/specials/pbs-remembers-robin-williams/

That's supposed to highlight so that you can click on it to connect? Hmm.. well.. just copy and paste if you like.. 

Many of you reading this knew Robin.  I only met him one time and it was unforgettable.  An actress by the name of Dee Marcus.. a round and happy little lady founded "Off the Wall" that was at once an improv class/group/looping group. They met in a space just north of Santa Monica on Fairfax.  Funky and casual.  I was invited one night to attend and who should show up but Robin Williams.  He was humble and funny and treated everyone in the assembled group as a peer.  That was important to me, though I'd had some success, Robin and his untamed censor was a star.. He did a short improv ..  a character.. Blind Lemon Yellow? Does that ring a bell?  He and his gang.. I've forgotten whom he came with.. were in and out.. just a flash of genius.

Today I am in a reflective mood for other reasons. Embarrassed myself by calling an old girlfriend who was surprised to hear from me. Started writing a funky memoir of sorts, which led me to calling this woman who's made a name for herself in Chicago. Short uncomfortable chat. Just spontaneous..a thank you to her, of sorts...  for being an important moment in my life.  A link that led to other steps that I've taken in the past many years. Not with her. 

I  sat in front of the TV coming down from the odd phone call and there was a tribute to Robin. The only time I met him, I was surprised that he and I were about the same height and build.  He had seemed larger than life, starting on Laugh In when I'd first seen him on TV in the Sixties.  The tribute includes some of his work.. Good Will Hunting.. The Dead Poets' Society, Awakenings. Director Penny Marshall talks about a gesture that she'd give Robin when working with DeNiro!  Balls!  She tells it and then Robin tells it. Voices from the grave.

The PBS tribute to Robin pointed up his ups and downs.. his extraordinary talent.. and at last his depression.  

Mindy.. Pam Dauber faces the camera and quietly asks, "Why?... Why?"  

Having had an emotional morning..and now, it's almost three in the afternoon.. seeing this tribute and knowing that Robin is gone now five years.. and how his pals in their special recollections of how we need him now.. and on Facebook how friends seem to need to demean this awful president of the usa...

 we weather through.. 

I watched the special with an eye to emotion and feelings; Tears. And, how deep feelings can serve us.  Finding a way to harness the good stuff and put bad stuff into perspective is a goal. 

It's all fodder for something that I probably can't or won't put a name to.  Had Robin Williams lived..he'd find a silly/important way to put it all into perspective. Most folks I know get hung up on anger and name calling.  I won't do that. 

Long posts on Facebook are usually a bit outre and a bit boring.  So.. if this is that for those who have clicked through, it's not my intention.  I am currently 'in trouble' with a dear friend who, thanks to imperfect email and a bad phone call punishes me by not responding.  "There's nothing to talk about."  Getting over anger is a lesson I learned a long time ago ..taught by the best friend anyone could ever have.. a person who personifies love. I'm grateful for her.

Over a year ago, a misunderstanding and stupidity on my part lost me a friend I'd had for more than thirty years! She was bright and a beauty and funny and smart.. An Artist. 

Not a romance, but what felt like a true friend.  As we allow social media and texts and tweets to fill in for real communication, we withdraw from personal contact.  A pal of mine predicts that movie theaters will be a thing of the past in the future. (he also predicted the demise of Yahoo, so that's not a prediction I see coming).. It's troubling because we need human contact. Kids are no longer on the phone to friends and family, they are texting..or maybe even voice to texting?  We become less human. 

Hearing a former lover's voice on the phone.. she did not sound as I remembered.. was a human moment.  I am not sorry to have made the call. 

Seeing Robin Williams doing his stand up.. acting in one film or another in a clip.. or entertaining the troops in Afghanistan.. showed what human contact is about.  In Good Will Hunting, he's a shrink who has moments that are chilling.  In Dead Poets'..  his character is kicked out of his classroom and his students stand on their desks.. as he changes from Mrs. Doubtfire to his alternate ego and Henry Winkler expounds on the talent of the man playing a scene with himself.. all of this brings us to the loss of a extraordinary talent.. and our times.  

Which brings me to the middle of July in the twentyfirst century. A warm day in Glendale. Mixed feelings about the morning and the motivation for the call and the serendipity of seeing Robin Williams on TV.. to the rest of the day.. an empty Friday with art ideas needing fixing or leaving alone? Missing the SAGAFTRA Film Society and missing the social aspect of standing in a line with friendly faces.. the middle of July.. and a warm day.. and next steps? 

What's next? Next steps? 

michaelsheehan

July 19, 2019