Thanks guys! I'm a ripe old 51 years old now and even after recovering from my hot water heater attacking me (IYKYK) I'm feeling pretty good with the cocktail of BP and heart meds they got me on... While things have been tighter than ever before, having been down for almost three months -- it is regretful that I have to tell this tale that should have been such a good story -- because honestly none of us are getting any younger, and we all need a few days away from everything and everyone while we still have that ability! This is something the last four months has taught me -- none of us are getting out of here alive, and we can spend our entire lives working and chasing the dream! As a fellow work-a-holic, I realize going out and doing fun or wild things can easily be cast aside for the daily grind we all just sort of rely on to get by doing what it is we like to do.

Anyway, on September 9th at 6:00AM I was supposed to be flying out of Metro Detroit DTW in route to Los Angeles California LAX on Frontier airlines using my new "Go Wild" pass with a layover for three hours in Arizona.  For people wondering what a "Wild Pass" is, it's mostly a plan for $149 a month to fly as much as you want, anywhere they service for what amounts to taxes and fees! (usually $40-$50) The catch is you have to book last minute, almost like standby if you will -- however you can ONLY book up to 24 hours in advance... any more than that and you have to pay an extra fee to book earlier than 24 hours before departure. This is, or should I say WAS my style! A super deal for people who like to take spontaneous trips like I have all throughout this thread. Back then it was easy to get a last minute one way ticket on Spirit airlines for under $100-$200 last minute, but Spirit airlines has since gone under... now the best deal in town is on Frontier airlines, but outside of last minute travel, airline fares have greatly increased now that Spirit is gone.

I mention all this because for the first time in this thread I was genuinely excited because Eden had dropped word on her Substack that she was going to appear live at the Writers Guild of America West building for a financial seminar about finance. If you guys remember she started a Substack where she talks about the financial side of screenwriting in Hollywood. 

I was sort of taken back because I had just sent her a DM saying that after all I had been through, health wise, in the past three months I needed to get away for a little while and I didn't care what I did, where I stayed or what I drove, and that more than anything I wanted to actually meet her in person while there... shortly after that DM, she posted that Substack above.

I immediately thought, naw... but at the same time I wasn't going to just let the opportunity to at least see her perform live, in the same room -- breathing the same oxygen... well, I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by! So I immediately purchased a ticket, they were only $10 each so in fairness I donated an extra $20 for a total of $30 on my Apple Pay to go see the show! If you recall back when the HCS (Hollywood Crime Scene) girls did a show in Detroit I purchased three tickets, but everyone who is following this thread knows how that turned out. LOL, so anyway I was trying to keep things on an even keel and paid the $30 then got my ticket through the Writers Guild Foundations RSVP portal for the event.

I figured what the hell! Worse case scenario I might learn something, and since I was a "founding" member of her Substack several years, and after all the cash we have sent her over the years it was finally all going to pay off! I was going to get to see her perform live at the Writers Guild of America West building in Hollywood California! Just to make sure I DM'ed her on the Substack app letting her know I purchased a ticket and that I would be at her show! I also mentioned that if this in any way made her uncomfortable to let me know and I'd simply not fly out there and just donate the entire $30... a week went by with a few more DM's and some obvious hints left on X (formerly Twitter) that I was attending a seminar in a few weeks and some jokes about sitting with Sean Penn in the smoking section.

After a week went by with no response (by the way she has never once responded EVER before on any platform) I just figured what the hell... maybe since the event was in California, and I'd be in the audience -- that she was professional enough to be able to perform in front of people. After all, why would anyone say "Hey if you happen to be in LA, drop by and see me!" unless they were a pretty confident and seasoned performer?

That said I booked a flight on Frontier (as mentioned above) and made a rental car reservation! It was at this time that I leaked the info of my arrival to Melissa Stetten, as I always do when I'm coming in town to LA just in case she or any of her crew wanted to meet up -- or even if they just wanted to be sure to avoid running into me while I was there, to know where I'd be. I'm pretty cool like that, I don't ambush people, I don't just show up unannounced and I damn sure don't want to make anyone uncomfortable! That is just not who I am! I joke around online and support people who interest me! My fascination with Hollywood transcends to more than just the LA women who appear in this thread. Yes, they have often times been the inspiration for my trips out West, but not always.

After I purchased the ticket I asked Brandee if she would be interested in spending a few days in Hollywood California just in case the tickets sold out and she said that there was ZERO chance she was getting on an airplane to go see all the crazy people in California again! LOL, her exact words. So I was good to go! I just had to wait until September 9th at 6AM and get on the plane! Since my AMEX perks and Hilton points usually cover my hotel when I go on these 72 hour benders, I would book the room when I arrived through AMEX so I wouldn't be charged. In fact a lot of different perks and discounted air fare are pretty much the only reason I can afford to even go! The problem is, other than my points, all the "perks" expire every six months! So if I don't use them, they just expire! Since getting attacked by my hot water heater during my first half of perks, I was anxious to utilize the last half before the New Year when they expire and re-set also. 

So I'm seriously stressed out for the next two weeks, excited but also VERY nervous! One of the reasons I enjoy spontaneous vacations is because when you book and leave last minute there is no build up! It's exciting and there is no opportunity to turn back or change your mind -- you buy your ticket, head to the airport a few hours later and get on an airplane! Then once you're at 30,000 feet there is no turning back -- and the closest thing to ever feeling like you're on vacation starts to set in... at least for me anyway. This feeling I describe is second only to that 1st cigarette you smoke after landing at your destination waiting for the bus to take you to the rental car place.

Finally, after a few days of being tired all the time from worrying and the stress of pulling this off -- the morning of September 8th rolled around and it was 24 hours until departure! I woke up and checked my email and this was waiting for me

I was seriously let down... and I must admit it hurt! Who spilled the beans is the first thing that went through my head... but I knew it had to be Eden! Who else could it have been? Melissa knew and she's pretty connected, and I'm sure her husband doesn't care much for me... LOL, and I'm sure he could pull some strings too... but ultimately I just came to the realization that this was Eden's way of telling me she would be uncomfortable with me being there. So much of me wanted to reply to the email and let the WGF have it, and demand what code of conduct violation I had been accused of and by whom! But, I didn't want to give them the satisfaction and I knew they probably wouldn't have even told me if I did! Part of me wanted to believe it was a prank, or a spoof email sent by one of the girls -- but all the addresses and everything were checking out legit, the WGF has just blackballed me from the event! Why or who did it didn't matter -- it had been done! So I laid there in my bed reflecting on what had just happened.

After a few moments I thought to myself "Hey, at least they are going to re-fund me!" lol, and I would look forward to that! (Spoiler alert: They did refund me, every last penny including the $20 donation which I found odd for a foundation) 

It was at this moment I actually felt relieved, I did not have to carry on with the trip I had been nervous about for WEEKS! Sure, I was still let down that I wasn't getting a little vacation -- but boy did I ever feel like a weight had been lifted! Almost felt as good as farting away a stomach ache! LOL! I got out of bed and went down to the living room and showed Brandee the email and she said, "You're lucky! I would have fucking killed you!" Deep down she knew something was coming, because every time I have gone solo to California I have always asked her if she wanted to go, every time she said hell no! The same was true for the HCS show at the Detroit House of Comedy, but she still let me go because I think she just wanted to see what would happen to me -- and I'd only be down the road 20 minutes. She has GPS tracking on me, so she would know where I was at anytime -- even if I was in California. We all have GPS tracking in our family (Me, Brandee and the kids) through Apple find my iPhone app, and other than my youngest son who is in College -- everyone can see where everyone else is at any time. My youngest doesn't know that since I pay for his phone bill I could track him without his permission, but we give him his privacy anyway.

Now that I had spilled the beans to Brandee I was feeling even better! The stress had melted away, and I didn't even get punched in the eye! LOL -- but it still bugged me that someone would be so anti-social that they would use the WGF to scan their RSVP ticket sales and contact me saying I violated one of their codes of conduct! So I sent the email to one of my friends on DM and she said "Fuck that bitch! I don't know what you see in her anyway!"... this made me feel a little bit better. But still, all in all it would end up costing me $130 in non-refundable fee's to Frontier. I guess that is just the cost of at least trying!

It's got me to thinking a lot about Hollywood and how intolerant the powers that be in that circle are towards people... I was now almost positive that the code of conduct violation was my supporting President Trump and being a conservative in the Republican Party! That is the only thing that makes sense! I mean think about it, during a Democrat administration these liberals have no problems interacting and joking about politics and political parties, but this last time Trump won -- something snapped in them! And you can even follow that timeline as it carries through in this thread! 

It's hard to not give up on them... but I've been a fan for a very long time! I've supported many of the A and B list for quite some time in paying for subscriptions, a little Venmo here and Venmo there -- and merch... It's off but I actually felt like they were friends sort of! They have shared details of their lives, some intimate in their social media and pod casts -- and it just feels like if it weren't for politics I could have some good friends in Hollywood that we all get together at a restaurant or something and have a good time on my dime... but the reality is we all have our lives, and the Internet has changed the way people connect and meet people. Politics have gotten more serious, and people just don't realize how much that really sucks for humanity! That is one thing I'll never forgive the Democrat party for is the way they try and force you to be like them, and think, and vote like them or they won't be your friend. Well you know what? Who needs friends like that anyway?

-- Edited by SELLC on Wednesday 16th of September 2026 03:01:38 AM

Sounds like you're keeping busy, Shawnee! Once you turn 78 you'll feel like 71 is young! So enjoy it, that is all I can suggest... take our friend Eden, who will be turning 39 this Tuesday, for example! Talk about a whipper-snapper! LOL, come this time next year she will be part of the 40+ club, so I sure hope she's enjoying the last of her thirties! 

Still, I hardly feel like planning that fiasco of a trip was worthy of being considered as "busy" -- in hindsight it felt more like a complete waste of time! Hell, I even started changing my sleep schedule prior to the trip because they are three hours behind out there in California! In addition to that, I was pushing up my times for my meds by three hours so there wouldn't be much of a shock when I arrived... worst part is I'm still on that schedule now! Who knows, I might head out there in October towards Halloween and stay in that haunted hotel on Hollywood Boulevard! It's called the Rosevelt Hotel and it is said to be haunted by the ghost of Marilyn Monroe and a few other famous people who have since passed... this time however, I have an old friend of mine who went out there for rehab after falling off the wagon. Might go out there and see how he's doing.

All that said, I could have still gone on vacation even though they blacklisted me at the WGF's event... but it just felt like, you know -- why? Brandee was most pleased with this choice! Although should she learn I'm going out to Hollywood to hang out with my old buddy from school she'd probably be more worried than if I was going to visit prudish Hollywood unicorn women...LOL, but still -- Brandee made out like a bandit this time!

That face you make when some dumb Hollywood bimbo makes a big-time mistake and your husband stays home and buys you a new (to her) F150 4X4 Lariat.

So instead of going out to see people who clearly didn't want to see me, I just canceled that flight and diverted funds into the new company truck... 

My first order of business was to let them know how "huge" of a mistake they made -- so I ordered a brand new reman crate engine for the beast since it was knocking.

And to be honest, this baby probably only cost me what a pair of pants and a t-shit would have cost on Rodeo drive... lol, okay -- so maybe I'm exaggerating a little but I'm sure they get the drift.

And Brandee still smiling! 

Now I won't lie to you Shawnee, I've been busier than a one legged pirate in an ass kicking competition since then!

Out with the old, and in with the new!

So if that wasn't obscene enough, look at all these new components -- the "while we're in there" extras here and there... PowerStroker will appreciate how many nice dinners out are attached to this new rebuild!

And now it's a running daily driver!

And before anyone says, "but hey, the right rear door is ajar" -- I've already sourced a new right rear door latch assembly on eBay for... wait for it -- $30! Used my refund money from the WGF! LOL!

So I'm not sore at all!

And Brandee? Well she drives around sitting up high in her F150 Lariat with a brand new re-man engine that is whisper quiet with her brand new exhaust manifolds and lifetime warranty Walker exhaust system!

Yeah, the truck has 400,000 miles on it, but the reman engine has a four year unlimited mile warranty on it from one of our main suppliers! And there is no truck payment!

So I guess things turned out okay... But not for California's tourist income! LOL

The truth is, I was going to lease Brandee a new company Tesla Model 3 -- but she insisted that she'd much rather have a 4X4 Ford Truck than any new death trap electric car!

So now she has her company Lariat... and she really seems to enjoy it. She just climbs in that massive beast and drives the wheels off it without a care in the world!

I must admit, it sucks getting into it after she drives it because the seat is always Smirfed (all the way forward). But thankfully Ford's automatically draws the seat back when you get in, then it slowly crushes you into the steering wheel! lol

But hey, just a quick flip of the seat switch stops me from being crushed.

In addition to this project, the shop has been pretty busy too! So that's a good thing.