Go See Fay Wray In The Palm Of An Ape

Everybody has a hobby. Don't they? I mean, really, doesn't everyone have a hobby? Some people collect stamps, others coins...Rose Marie collect commemorative plates from GONE WITH THE WIND and Corbin Bernsen collects snow globes. My friend Mark DeLabarre goes to movies. No, really; he sees more films than anyone I have ever known. There are people for whom health and fitness is a hobby (for me it is life..) and there are those whose hobby is drinking and drinking as much as they can and losing consciousness. It's a personal thing, a hobby.

Speaking for myself, it has been joked about (by me and by others) that my hobby is making lists. I have also said, with great earnestness, that my hobby is collecting honey. I do, in fact, have a nice collection of various honeys from different places--the collection is continually growing and even though I do not eat honey (that often! too much sugar, too many carbs), I love my honey collection and I love the odd occasion when I get to have a teaspoon of honey and see the difference in the tastes of the various honey from various countries.

I really don't think I had a hobby for the last several years. My life was about work; housework, office work, photography work, gym work and the work (dichotomous though this is going to sound) of being a friend. Our home has been the hub for our friends' for awhile and I love my friends and I love bringing people together but being the social director CAN, in fact, be work. I do like walking around the city, going to the theater and to movies but I don't know if those are really hobbies. I guess the closest I have, really, come to having a hobby is my vhs/dvd collection, for which Pat and I have become all but famous.

A recent discovery of the extreme pleasure I get from an old hobby has completely rekindled my passion for it and, hence, the hobby itself. So, now, when people ask if I have a hobby, I can reply:

"I collect movie posters."

There was a time when we had apartments (in Dallas where the places are huge and the rent, cheap) that had so much wall space that we could showcase our posters. Our New York home is a typical apartment for this city--small ish and with restrictions. The displaying of large size posters is more than a little difficult, so for years we have just kept them in storage. The same poster has hung in the living room for YEARS. It is an advance poster for LORD OF THE ; FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS. It is collectible and it cost me some money and the framing of it cost me SOME MONEY. So once it was hung up there, it had to stay for some time. Besides. we really love those movies and that poster. So , for years, it has been the centerpiece of our home.

With this renewed interest in my old hobby, though, times they are a changin. We have decided to change out the posters in our home every few weeks. That means I get the pleasure of going through my collection and choosing something new to showcase, having it framed, trading them out and seeing the reactions people have to the new artwork! I am very excited about it. In fact, I have been online, bidding on new works for the collection. Getting a new poster is fun but the real thrill is getting a bargain. I recently acquired a couple of posters for ninety nine cents! And when you find something vintage and bid on it and get it for a great price!! OY!. I bought a very good condition poster from the musical flop GOODBYE MR CHIPS and a collection of lobby cards that go with it. I spent fifteen dollars. THAT is a bargain!! It was important, too, becasue there are two songs from that musical that feature, prominently, into Pat's and my relationship (You and I, Walk Through The World With Me). I am having fun. A lot of fun. It's nice to have a hobby again. It's nice to not spend all day, every day, working.

Taking down the FRODO poster, though--it was rough. It actually hurt me. I felt physical pain when I took that poster down. I may have to put it back up for a week every month!! I love having PEGGY SUE in its place, though. An avid Kathleen Turner fan, I am (especially) fond of PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED. The other poster currently hanging in the living room (by the way, under redecoration) is MAURICE--one of the best movies, best love stories, best gay themed movies and a movie that is very special to Pat and I.

Our kitchen is also being re-done so there is nothing on the walls in there. But the Room Of Hell has been, recently, re-named THE HAPPY ROOM. It is a happy room again. The man who lived there for the last year is gone and I have re-decorated it, filing the walls with photos of loved ones, favourite movie stars, memories, my own artwork and posters from some of our favourite movies--not to mention (just plain old) some of my favourite movie poster artwork. And up in the loft we have filled the space with dolls, children's literature, colouring books, a box of 64 Crayola crayons and my Sidney Sheldon novels and favourite paperbacks. It's a wild and eclectic collection but it all makes me happy!! Sometimes I crawl up and bank up the nine pillows and lie there and read Winnie The Pooh!! With the background of MOULIN ROUGE (sigh!!), BUGSY (one of my all time favs--and you have to love the phrase on the poster "Glamour was the Disguise"), JULIA (it is my ambition to own a movie poster from every Jane Fonda picture) and THE INCREDIBLES (does this need commentary? It's THE INCREDIBLES!!), it is a happy room.

These days, this is a happy house. I am a happy man and Pat and I are a happy couple. And you know what else?

Collecting movie posters is a happy hobby.