Cylon 2.1

In the years to come, when my young Izzie Rain finds herself making the top 20 finalists of American Idol, the above pic will no doubt be discovered and flood the Internet. There is a chance she will experience some embarrassment, then again, if she gets her daddy’s ego she’ll eat it up while feigning humility. As a result young Izzie Rain will end up with a record deal, a Revlon contract and a recurring role as one of the new 13 Cylons on Galactica 17.2.
That’s the future, let’s drop in on the past.
2006 will go down in personal History as one of my favorite years. Mel and I had a blast. And, of course, Izzie Rain showed up. At the same time, 2006 had its fair share of challenges. But with 2007 we had hoped to put the bad news behind us.

Sadly, Mel’s Step-Dad passed away in early February. He’s the one on the right.
Well, HE liked my sense of humor.
I actually loved the old bird and as many are well aware, I don’t much like anyone. If the stories are true, and I’m certain they are, in the old days he played hard. Don’t bug me none. Let he without a History of hard playing cast the first stone. But as long as I’ve known him, he’s not only played hard, he worked hard. A skilled laborer who dreamed of a life a skilled laborer would probably never see. He’d never been great with money management and making plans for the worst was just not something he’d considered. But in ’06 he was diagnosed with cancer.
After the chemo he started putting his affairs in order. Unfortunately, the chemo ended before it should have. It’s a long story. Basically some numbnut working for 10 bucks an hour put a decimal in the wrong slot. Robert Woodman was getting all the negatives of chemo yet never had a chance of actually killing the cancer. So, he walked away from the treatment. He walked away and said he’d never go back. And he never did.
And for a time, life seemingly returned to normal. He was here for my daughter’s birth. And when he and Melanie’s mother returned home, he spent his time planning their next visit. They bought tickets in advance. It would have been mid-february. While back at home, his IP address was a constant top ten at this website. Literally dozens of hits a day. The Izzie Rain Movie was accessed so many times, it alone was slowly filling up my bandwidth. He sent Izzie Rain gifts. He adored her.
The tummy may be the shortcut to a man’s heart but praising a daughter is certainly the shortcut to a daddy’s.
And although it wouldn’t be realized until after his death…he had indeed started making those plans. Plans for the worst. Small steps at first. But sadly there was much left undone.
He went back to work. And work he did. He was working 7 days a week when, as Gimli would say, “He fell.”
So, Mel and my young Izzie Rain are on the other-side of the continent helping Nanna with the mountain of arrangements that remain after the funeral has ended. After everyone else has gone back to their lives. But I’ll come back to that.
Nanna is the Grandmother name, by the way. I didn’t choose it. In fact, I was not invited to the meeting in which it was discussed, ratified and voted on. In marriage and family one must choose his battles wisely. This one, I let slide. Nanna it shall be. For Nanna is the only grandparent young Izzie Rain has now.
My mother has been gone since ’94. My father ran off with old Chuck Barris on some damn fool idealistic crusade, no doubt involving the CIA, Juan and Jose and a pack of magical fairies. Or would that be a herd of magical fairies? A flock?
And Robert Woodman passed away on February 9th at the disgustingly young age of 51.

You will be missed.
Missed but not forgotten.

As for me, allow me to wax selfish for a moment. I want my wife and child back. Yes yes, I understand why they are there. I recall my own mother’s passing. There’s far more to death than simply showing up to the funeral. There are bills to manage, accounts to cancel and consolidate. There are Death Certificates to deliver, meetings to take. There are medical bills and estate sales and even in this case, a house to sell. It’s no small task. And I’m well aware that Melanie rises to the occasion like few others. That she can accomplish in a week what most can’t in a year. Or more likely, what most simply aren’t willing to do at all. Obviously it’s easier to stand back and criticize than dive in and get your hands dirty. You have a woman grieving and then you have Mel, the creature strapped to one breast, a clipboard balanced on the other.
Of course, I still want them back.
When Israel was in Egypt’s Land,
Let my Izzie go.

So, while they’ve been gone, I’ve worked. I sped up to San Francisco for WonderCon and spent some time with Mark Schultz. He did the covers for Pig Farm #2 and #4. That’s #4 above. It’s gorgeous. Bradstreet actually sent the version with colors early this morning. It’s stunning. Patricia bought the original #2 for Tom’s birthday. Seems a shame to separate them but if Tom doesn’t buy #4 then I’m more than willing to pole dance for a week to raise the funds to buy it myself. It’s hard to hide my excitement with the comic book experience. Pig Farm hits the shelves in April. Perhaps Lycan by year’s end. And I’ve discussed one other project with Tom, Steve and Tim. And there are a couple of DC/Wildstorm projects I could end up writing. As well as Psychopath once all the paperwork is completed.
I’ve a couple screenplays making the rounds in the world of Hollywood. I’m told an offer is coming in on one. Guess I’ll hear this week if that’s real or not. And I’ll finish a spec today. The rough draft anyway.
I’ll be pitching a TV show this month. And am developing another with Benderspink.
I actually like this whole writing thing. I’m curious if you can actually make a living at it.