xtcian

triumverate

5/9/04

Three important things happened today, so lets get right to them, shall we?

1. It's Tessa's birthday. My favorite lady in the whole wide world turned thirtysomething today, and it couldn't have been nicer. I got her the entire Patricia Moyes oeuvre of mystery novels, and her very first pearl necklace. I found it almost impossible to believe that Blakey never gave her daughter any pearls (I mean, it seems like the most obvious Texas preppie thing to do) but it looks like the mantle fell on my shoulders. I've learned a lot about pearls over the last month or so, and trust me when I say they're fascinating. For fun reading, check out her birthday two years ago.

2. It's Mother's Day. My second favorite lady in the whole wide world was in Queens, hanging out with my brother Sean, so I had my other mother - Tessa's mom Sandy - to bring a bit of maternal love to Santa Monica. We had a party for her, Tessa and the entire Naked TV cast at our new digs here by the beach. It was one of those L.A. days, the kind that last forever, threatens to get hot but stays nice, jasmine and honeysuckle wafting as the sun fades.

3. It was the last day of our show. I thought our show two Saturdays ago was basically the best ever... until this evening. I don't know what blue crack this audience was smoking, but this was the most boisterous, incredible theater crowd of I'd ever seen. You know that moment in "Dead Poets Society" when Robert Sean Leonard finishes the role of Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and the curtain closes, and he grips the pure ecstasy of the perfect performance? THAT is what tonight was like.

There was a laugh on every line. When Mary Kay left the stage, there was applause. And it wasn't just my show - Tessa's rocked harder than usual, and the rest were on top form. It is incredibly sad to finish a run like this (the boy in my play cried when he left the cast party, with the unadulterated emotion of the not-yet-jaded) but jesus, it's nice to go out on top. This evening was a three-pointer to win the game at the buzzer.

Rick Gradone and I were at the bar, later, talking about the inevitable death of one's "dreams" when one wanders into the mid-30s. Those dreams never died for me, y'see, they just transmogrified into little moments of lucid delight. There were microseconds during the filming of "The Pink House," there were the bursts of laughter at screenings, and there are nights like tonight. At my age - and at Tessa's new age- these moments ARE the dream, and if nothing else comes of it, we still feel blessed, bloated and satisfied.

THAT is the thing that comes with time, and it's such a relief.