Terry

“Not again! Terry wake up!”
It became a weekly event waking Terry up as he laid, passed out, in different positions and spots of the dressing room. Besides doing shows that I officially HATED to do, I was also in charge of making sure Terry stood up and performed. Hank, refusing to be wrong, just asked Terry to be coherent for the half hour he was on stage- nothing more. Terry, sadly, was in search of a family and tried to have the bar take the place of one. Whenever he felt he was being “disinherited” or the end was near, he would phone in his drama. I was fortunate to be there when the emergency call came in that he had OD’ed on tocotrienol and had to be brought to the hospital to have his stomach pumped. Tocotrienol is another word for vitamin E, death was not in his near future.
I loved when Terry was having his melt downs it meant that hank would be weak to my suggestions. So many times I was close to having the Featherette reunion. One week I actually got Kenny Alton in the show! If it wasn’t for the fact Rodger was in Atlanta I think I could have gotten him in the place also. We had a good laugh that night. Me and Alton had to do our own make-up. Alton was used to it, but I never did make-up! Alton made me look like an owl-I didn’t care, I was with my buddy. The stage was like my play ground and I had more fun in the dressing room. On stage, I would pop a water balloon tit or create a zany look and be a hit. Whenever I got too full of myself the audience knew it and booed me into knowing my place. I was there to entertain my audience, not my ego.
Terry on the other hand got attention being a bitch and loved the role. He would curse out the audience and they would come back for more insults. I have to admit I became Terry’s”costume change performer”, a costume change performer is a performer that is thrown out on stage so that the main performer can change their costume. Each week I was able work a little harder at winning the audience. Then one day I realized that the more I relaxed, the more the people liked me.
The more people liked me, the more Terry drank.
“I’ll tell Hank to go F…. himself if he doesn’t like my drinking.” Hank was standing in the doorway.
“I will tell you to go F…. Yourself and get out of my club”
I tried to go to bat for Terry, but Terry stopped me. “I don’t need your pity Pollyanna. Save it for yourself. I know what I am, you have no idea what you are turning into.” Terry warned me as he staggered out. It was hard to take him serious, but I remembered his words.
Till tomorrow, be kind.