One day I was doing some business in my bank when someone comes up behind me and taps me on the back..I turn to see this African American man with short shorts, a half t-shirt and a Michael Jackson jheri curl (it was the 80's)...there was Mr. King in all his glory. He told me to please call him Rex, Mr. King was the teacher...This was Rex King...We spoke for a while and I learned that he lived right down the street from me. My friend Jay and I were planning a 21st birthday for myself and I mentioned that he should come. He gave me his phone number and told me to call him with details. I called, he came to the party. That was the day that Rex became my best friend. We spoke at least once a day and spent many hours laughing together over the next years. Now just to make it clear, our friendship was just that, a friendship..never anything more.
Rex was a very complicated, multi layered, metaphysical person. He was very into the universe, now for a 21 year old..I never really gripped all of his philosophies, but he truly became a surrogate father, mother, brother and sister for me. He was a constant student of everything,..philosophies, religions, business...He was also the starving actor. His plan was to to big a huge star. He became a huge part of my life, when I was down, he would bring me up and visa verse. Now it was always hard to peg Rex in any way..When I asked him his age, He would say "I'm as old as the universe and as young as my next thought" When I would ask him if he was gay,bi or straight he would say he was a "sexual being". Every job he had was just another acting job for him. "I'm not a waiter, I'm just playing a waiter" Once I saw a calendar he had in his apartment. He had written on every day that it was his birthday..1st day of my birthday, 2nd day of my birthday....126th day of my birthday... It was the his Year of Birthdays.
It did not take much to entertain us. We would smoke some...ummm..you know...and watch wrestling with the sound off and dub in our own sounds. He anmd I would sing for hours and hours. One Hanukkah we were lighting the candles together. My friend Vicki was also over since she was Jewish too. We were watching the candles burn and Vicki went to light her cigarette with the candle, the next thing I knew, the cigarette was flying thru the air across the room after Rex hit it out of her out of her mouth. He was angry because it was sacrilegious to use the candle that way. She never did that again.
When my Parents would come visit, it was usually on their way to go on a Cruise Ship. Rex would drive us all to Miami and He would run around the ship, have a few cocktails and treat the 2 hours he had on the ship like his own little week long cruise. Then we would go back to real life. I think my Parents loved Rex, did'nt really get him, but knew how good he was to me.
Rex would put up with all of my insanity too. Every time my parents came down to visit, I would have to de-gayify and de-smokify my apartment. Rex would always try to tell me that I should just be myself when they were there, but I was still in my "Richard had to be perfect for my parents" stage.
Over time, we became integral parts of each others lives. He was very supportive when I went into the eating disorders clinic and even came to a few therapy sessions with me. When I came back from North Carolina, I lived in North Miami for a bit, During that time he moved in with me while he filmed a movie in Miami. Rex loved South Florida and always wondered if he could still become a star and working actor there instead of L.A.. Then came Miami Vice. He became a regular playing a back round cop in the office scenes. Unfortunately, he looked a bit too much like Tubbs to get a major role, but he worked pretty regularly. He also did a show at the Burt Reynold's Dinner Theater directed by Charles Nelson Reilly. While on a tour of Burt's Ranch, they stopped by the Gift Shop where the cast each got to pick out one item, Rex of course had to have the snakeskin boots because they went with the cowboy hat..Rex was never shy about asking for anything he wanted. I was working, Rex was working...it was a good time in our lives.
I hope I'm not boring you with this, but I've always wanted and needed to write about Rex. one more section of this coming. I hope you are all feeling a bit of Spring. All for now.
Be Springy, Be Greatful, Be Superb
R
No comments:
Post a Comment