14 or 15 more years? i don't quite get your math, but that doesn't sound so terribly bad. i did just hang out with Daniel in Waller the Saturday before Christmas, and i can report that he actually seems a bit healthier physically (he is completely off sugar) and sharper mentally. i'm sure a lot of it is his diet, and he seems to be getting pretty damn good care from his family, especially his brother Dick, who looks after his financial affairs, and his sister Margy, who has done an AMAZING job of organizing Daniel's massive quantities of toys, comic books, DVDs, records and, especially, VHS tapes. i was very impressed with what she's done and i was compelled to take about 25 pictures with my phone. next time i'm bringing a camera! the way she organized his toys, on every shelf in the kitchen, and in fact all over the house, shows that Daniel is not the only artist in that family.
it was great to see him again and hang out. in fact, we had all met in Houston the night before--Daniel, at least 15 members of his family, his bandmates in The Nightmares, Kathy McCarty and David Thornberry, and I all converged at Diverseworks to see Jason Nodler's latest Daniel-inspired play, Life is Happy and Sad, which was absolutely great, by the way. afterwards there was a Q&A and Daniel, Kathy, Dave, Jason and I, and the cast of the play answered questions. Daniel would often interject hilariously. i think he was at ease because he sat behind all of us, at the piano, and most of the questions were not directed at him, so he could kind of just riff. it was great fun, and went on for quite a while, because people kept asking questions, but finally during a pause Daniel asked, of everyone, "Does anyone want to go to Denny's?"
i should take a moment to say that non-actor (before this) Matt Brownlie was really really great as a young Daniel, sitting at the piano in a University of Texas practice room in 1984, composing a tape letter to his good friend Dave Thornberry. it's hard to imagine anyone doing a better job. i am also including a link explaining my involvement with the play.
anyway, i just wanted to report that Daniel is alive and well!
http://w3.catastrophictheatre.com/forums/forum-topic/39
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