When Wanzie asked me to fill in for him and write his Note From portion of the gram, I was more than happy to pitch in and do my part for the sake of art. A few hours later, after it had sunk in, I was asking myself what I had gotten myself into? How could anything I write even compare to what his readers get from him each week?

That's when I saw the light. I can do this. Because he asked me to and because it is just one more thing on a long list of things that I can accomplish because of friends in my life like Wanzie. Friends that encourage me, challenge me and, most importantly, lead by example.

I decided to write about Wanzie. How we met, the impact he has had on my life, and what keeps us all coming back for more. After all, he is the reason that we are all here.

And because the only thing that he likes more than tooting his own horn is tooting the horn of someone else, I give you A Note About Wanzie...

On the second day of shooting we suddenly found ourselves with a few hours of downtime while we were made to wait for something. The arrival of actors , maybe? So I decided to curl up and take a nap on one of the bunk beds being used as part of a set for some play the theater was doing.

"Could I be dreaming," I thought as I tried to open my eyes and focus on what was happening to me.

My eyes opened to find two of the show's actors, Disney Dancers by day, rubbing me while a portly man was trying to figure out how to turn on my video camera. I immediately sat up on the bunk, pushed the pretty hands away and the sleep clouds from my head.

I instructed the guy with my camera to put it down. He didn't know what he was doing and it was a very expensive piece of equipment. He handed me my camera and stuck out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Wanzie."

Come to find out, Wanzie was producing the show (along with Margaret Nolan) and they had been having a hard time finding someone to willingly put a condom on their hard penis while on video. So they decided to try their luck on a sleeping videographer.

Now, depending on when you ask him, Wanzie may or may not recall the preceding events exactly as I do. Regardless, that is my recollection of the first time I laid eyes on Wanzie. Other than an opening night after party for the show that I believe was held at Wanzie's then apartment, it would be years before our paths crossed again.

Flash forward to Wanzie's production of Carolina Moon starring him and Tommy Wooten and directed by Kenny Howard. I was going to write a piece for Watermark on the show so, Wanzie invited me to join him and Kenny in the Footlight Theatre Lounge for some face time.

Wanzie and I had reconnected long before this meeting at various community events, but I remember this as the day when I started feeling a connection, a kinship even, with Wanzie. It was also the first time that I really started to get to know Kenny Howard. We did the interview and then decided to sit and drink and talk for hours. By the end of it we had bonded over such things as our shared contempt for organized religion (Michael and me), a love for the TV show Fame (Kenny and me), and an undying and almost lifelong affinity for all things Broadway (all three of us).

Michael and I also discovered that we were both New England boys at heart and that both of us had aunts in Connecticut with a connection to Katharine Hepburn (the only celebrity that I love more than Cyndi Lauper). What more could I ask for in a friend?

Today I consider Michael and Kenny brothers of mine in this offbeat family that many of us seem to have formed. Through Wanzie I have come to meet and know incredible people like Kenny and Barry, David Lee, Monique and Tom, the Fisher-Swanberg clan, Doug, Val and Gary, Don and Susan and so, so many more.

My life is fuller, richer and way more interesting with Wanzie in it, and I want to say Thank You. For constantly been a sounding board for my ideas and my frustrations. For teaching me, through example, the importance of being charitable. For entertaining me with funny stories, juicy gossip, movie reviews, and some of the most touching theatre I have ever experienced. For having a giving and loving heart even when it may be hard to do so. For standing up for yourself and others no matter the foe, be they religious leaders in need of a calling out, or deranged and publicly drunk elected officials. For sending work my way and feeding me great ideas for articles. For being an advocate for Queer youth. For being you. For having such a wonderful sister and a wonderful niece who I would be glad to call family.

This year at the Orlando Fringe Festival I am teaming up with Barry and Kenny and Michael to produce a show that has the potential to raise thousands of dollars for GLBT youth in Orlando. Let's Make A Gay Deal will have seven performances in the Orange Venue this May, and I would not have had the faith in myself to pull this off if not for Michael Wanzie and the incredible people I have come to know through him. Having watched Wanzie, Kenny, and so many others put on countless shows over the years has given me the courage to try things that I might not normally do.

So thank you Michael Wanzie, Kenny Howard, Barry Miller, and all the rest of you inspiring folk who have made our life in Orlando a better one.

I haven't had this much fun since grandma died. Really!