#crossroads 5

In today's mail: the Crossroads 5 signed proxy covers!

Mark Sheppard: Writer's 2nd Drafts of 9.16 & 12.07 + 12.13 Production Draft

Alex Calvert: 13.09 Studio & Network Draft

He asked what sort of health issues, I told him I have a neurological condition as well as POTS. I started into my brief explanation of it, but he went ‘oh yeah, I know what POTS is’ which was a pleasant surprise. I told him it had been particularly bad today and showed him my fitbit, which was registering almost 180bpm at the time. He was like ‘I guess you’re excited to meet me!’ and I laughed and said yes. He asked a few more questions about it, like what my resting heart rate usually was, if I had any treatments or anything planned, that sort of thing. It was honestly kind of nice to just talk about it to someone who seemed curious and interested rather than dismissive, and who actually seemed to have a bit of knowledge about it. At one point I also mentioned that when I was younger my parents didn’t really give me any support for my health issues and were always very dismissive, so I was just trying to catch up on all my health issues now, and the face he pulled was hilarious. It told me everything I needed to know about what he thought of my parents attitude.

The last part of our conversation is a bit of a blur which is frustrating, because at the time I was just so surprised and so moved by what he said, but I remember the basic gist of it. He told me that just by talking to me, he could tell I was going to be ok, and that I would get through this and figure it out. I didn’t get the impression that he meant I would be cured or whatever, since there is no cure, and it wasn’t condescending or false positivity or anything, it was just genuine and kind and supportive. He asked how old I was and I said 26 and he said ‘oh yeah, you’re definitely going to figure this out! You’re still young and you’re strong, I can tell’ and that I would figure out ways of dealing with it, and ways to do all the things I wanted to do. It was honestly the loveliest conversation I’ve ever had with an actor at one of these cons before, and I’ve been doing them nearly 10 years. He was so genuine and so friendly and down to earth, it felt like talking to a friend, an equal, not a celebrity or anything. And with all the shit I’ve been through with my parents doubting me, making me feel like I’m not trying hard enough, this was honestly everything I needed to hear, so to hear it from him meant the absolute world.

Anyway, I wheeled myself away afterwards, parked myself next to a girl sat to one side of the room, and went ‘do you mind if I park up here and cry for a few minutes?’ and then took a few minutes to cry and had a really nice conversation with her after. It was not the first time I cried that weekend, and it was not to be the last!

He then goes on to say that one of his dads is "in love with his [Jack's] uncle" to which the crowd goes wild

And then Mark S says "Do you know what you've done?"

  a big rising sun on the misty mountain path of warriors dreams

©Vivian Zems

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai – Crossroads #5

Creating haiku fusion from two given Haiku by Basho

summer grasses all that remains of warriors dreams

scent of plum blossoms on the misty mountain path a big rising sun

© Basho (Tr. unknown)