oldster Wrote:sounds to me that your mentor is really a sperital teacher and trieing to get you to think not just stumbel thrue life or to live the life others think you should
it is so easy to fall into the movie trap there just be sure of your feelings befor you can trust others there is a lot of lust out there that tricks people to think
that it is true love forever but look not with only your feelings but try looking with others eyes.
I can share some of this. My mentor is a master of the universe in broadcasting and advertising. In a sense he owns my brain, and I want him to. We who work for him are like soldiers making sure the GLBT message gets out.
It was guys like my mentor who made sure there were advertisers for controversial programs like "All in the Family." I and my partner, (in a related field of movie making), do ANYTHING necessary to keep him and his life partner in focus and relaxed.
Imagine my surprise one day when my mentor told me to take him to Manhattan Beach, (I drive him because he likes to drink). When we got there he produced a bottle and said, take one of these, I am taking two, it will be alright. I asked what it was, he responded LSD straight from the chemistry department at a university lab. I need another perspective on a business problem. I need you just a little high, don't stop me unless you think I am going to get arrested. WTF?
That said, it scared the living crap out of me. This was one of the dozen most powerful men in advertising/media on the West Coast. I also knew better than to try and talk him out of it.
After drinking martinis on top of the acid he ran to the beach in his Armani wearing $500 shoes and jumped into the Pacific Ocean naked. I am glad I had life guard training in high school.
It was dark. Fortunately, I had purchased blanket earlier, wrapped him in it. His clothes were gone. I put him in the car. Traffic was light. I was coming down from the acid myself, and took surface streets carefully back to his home.
His life partner Rick was furious. Why had I let Bob do this? I answered "No one LET'S Bob do anything, after 26 years you should know that" Then he called me a "facilitator" and physically threw me out of the house, (he is an ex-Marine). Bob was a no show for work the next day. His secretary and I put out a story about serious corporate problem. For Christ sake I am 21 years old, I am far from an expert in these matters, but there I was.
That night the phone rang at home, and it was Bob, he was apologetic. Then he named the third largest retailer in America who spends hundreds of millions in advertising with our New York Office. Panic had gone out the day before yesterday that we would lose the account. Bob as a member of the Board of Directors felt he could do some kind of "astro projection" over the problem and find an answer. (Frankly, I am not sure what all that means). Bob had evidently saved the day, and saved the account, but at what price?
Bob frequently takes off his "Master of the Universe" hat, and let's me speak frankly. I strongly reminded him that taking that dosage of a drug with his blood pressure could have caused a stroke, and I never want to be the one who tells Rick that he died trying to make a f*cking buck.
These things do not happen often. Believe me there is a real problem if I am the adult in the room. Most often I am doing work for my direct boss on discrepancy billing problems. I am apparently aspiring to in GLBT business and political life, where money is a secondary thought. Solving problems, and loyalty to the team is key.
At this level straights are looking over their shoulders to protect themselves from opportunists. We GLBT play things very close to the vest. Yes, I value my relationship with my partner first, but right now my dedication to Bob goes beyond money, career, and sex. I will do whatever I can to help, and I pray that I
never hold his position. Only a fool would want to go higher than vice president in a national advertising agency. Those guys live in a world where the sky is falling on them every day.
So, as far as enjoying the Hollywood rah, rah, it is only an enjoyable diversion. I loved it when my partner came home with an invitation to a party at Shirley MacLaines. But, those events are few and far between. With all the aspiring stars in Hollywood, (remember the movie "All About Eve" with Bette Davis), there is a great demand for real people with trustworthy values, and things get very private friends and family.
When it is all said and done in ten or fifteen years, I want to develop a screen play around Bob and Rick. I think the GLBT community is looking for real life heros who risk everything to put in a good word for GLBT issues in the media. I consider myself more of a soldier than an executive in training.
I may look Southern California, but I prefer a quiet life around a few friends.
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