Gene Simmons

November 28, 1985


november-28-1985

Backstage pass for Motley Crue show - "Theatre of Pain" is an apt name indeed!
Backstage pass for Motley Crue show – “Theatre of Pain” is an apt name indeed!

 

This take-away lesson is a good one; unfortunately, I still haven’t mastered it. Maybe my need to be a martyr is just too ingrained. Maybe I harbor an unnatural fear of doctors and hospitals. For whatever reason, I still delay dealing with potential health issues as long as possible.

Much like I minimize my own pain or maladies, I tend to discredit health problems in those nearest and dearest to me. I used to tell my children, don’t even try to tell me you’re sick unless I see blood or vomit.  In hindsight, perhaps this was not the healthiest atmosphere.

My mother was the best when I was sick - the opposite of me! She treated me like a princess. It's a wonder I didn't get addicted to being ill.
My mother was the best when I was sick – the opposite of me! She treated me like a princess. It’s a wonder I didn’t get addicted to being ill.

At the time, of course, I was absolutely convinced I was right.  Now I wonder if that was something I told myself because I was so terrified of the alternative. The possibility something serious might actually be wrong paralyzed me with fear. In order to stay calm and keep going, I had to convince myself my loved one’s complaints were only in their heads – no serious threat at all.

The Theatre of Pain concert program
The “Theatre of Pain” concert program

Of course, pretending serious threats don’t exist in no way minimizes or eliminates those threats. On several occasions – Sam’s surgery when she was six, J’s hospitalizations in the late 80s to name two – I felt the full force of the fear. Fortunately, my skepticism hadn’t caused a delay that jeopardized their health.

A rare photo of me exercising. I avoid doing anything pro-active for my health as much as I avoid going to the doctor.
A rare photo of me exercising. I avoid doing anything pro-active for my health as much as I avoid going to the doctor.

Maybe writing all of this down will get the lesson through my thick head at last. Don’t play games with your health – you only get one body. If there’s the slightest doubt about whether it’s serious, make time to see a doctor.

November 17, 1967

 

november-17-1967 

Mary Canopa (Evans)
Mary Canopa (Evans)

I think this show took place at the San Jose Civic – is it still standing? I was – and still am – a devoted  Simon and Garfunkel fan.

Ticket stub for the Simon and Garfunklel concert
Ticket stub for the Simon and Garfunklel concert

I’m fascinated by boyhood friends who become successful creative collaborators only to discover they can’t stand each other and implode.  I’ve read several Paul Simon biographies –  all of them discuss the friction, none of them explain it in a way I understand. They’re far from the only paired performers to be so afflicted, though, so a lot of people probably relate.

Sweet shy Mary in our backyard in the sixties
Sweet shy Mary in our backyard in the sixties
Me in our backyard in the sixties
Me in our backyard in the sixties

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The truly remarkable thing about this night was Mary and I actually blazed a path all the way to Simon and Garfunkel’s admittedly empty dressing room. Granted, security would’ve been tighter if the stars were still on site, but factor in the fact Mary and I were as far removed from bona fide groupies as possible.  I wouldn’t have known what “groupie” meant, let alone believed there were girls who actually acted like that. (And there were. Lots of them.)

Mary and me suburban matrons - about a decade later
Mary and me suburban matrons – about a decade later

For another thing that makes you go “huh”, tomorrow’s diary blog finds me on a trans-Atlantic phone call with Gene Simmons in London; he wants me to write a groupie movie for him.  Stranger still, while I’m not as naïve as the girl fighting my way backstage at this Simon and Garfunkel concert 49 years ago tonight – I’m not that much wilder, either.