Well, I can't exactly call my letters 'childhood' ones, because I was already in my mid to late thirties when the Turtles came to be. However....yes, I did write. I did send. And on occasion, I got replies.
The one I'm going to tell about here is the first letter I sent. The one that launched me into a world I've never been able to leave....and yeah, I did try once, because it got so crazy....but that's another tale.
Actually, when I think back on this, my world was starting to change before this. Things were lining up. But you don't realize these things about life when they are happening to you a lot of times. It's only apparent in retrospect. One of these things was my childhood friend moving from the west coast to the east coast. It was because of that move, and an invitation from her to come visit, that I ended up writing to Mirage. I figured, since I was finally going to see New England, which was a passion my friend and I had shared...only now she was living it....I thought seeing the studio would be feasible. States are smaller in the east, and driving from one to the other is not the feat it is, like out west.
Anyway, this all took place in 1989. I wrote telling them when my visit to Maine was, and asked if there was a day I could come and see the studio. I really didn't think I'd get a reply, but about a week or two before my departure (Sept. 28th 1989.) a letter came. It's postmarked Sept. 15th 1989.....it's short, and rather cryptic. "Yes. Come Oct. 2. 9am-5pm......26 Center St., Northampton, MA 01060." Cheryl Prindle.
So, I left for my vacation....and my friend had rigged up a surprise for me. My first night I spent at her house in Old Orchard Beach. But the second night, she had me booked into a bed and breakfast, where I was the only guest....a place on Elm street... in a tiny town called Cornish. Where the house's cat was named Freddy Krueger......yeah, those Mainers.....some sense of humor they got. There was a graveyard up the street....and there was monument of a gravestone in it that caught my eye....because in big bold letters it said Eastman. "Weird," was all I said when I saw it. The whole experience in that place weird....I liked it, but it was weird. I felt like I was back in time. I didn't see any other people except the owners of the house. And the cat. But I digress.
I got to Center St. that Monday the 2nd of October. The street looked like a was zone because it was under construction for something. It was also raining really hard. The street and shops looked very much like the street in the TMNT story "The Unmentionables." I found the doorway and my friend and I went upstairs. The door was locked. We knocked, and a very short woman answered. She introduced herself as Cheryl Prindle. I noticed a lot of boxes and packing that had been going on. She explained that this was no longer the studio, it had been move to River St. and they were still in the process of moving stuff over.
I was disappointed by that, and wondered why she had said to come, but we began to converse and the real reason for me being there was, she was looking for an assistant and was planning on placing an ad for it that day. I didn't know what to think. It was inviting, yeah.....but holy cow....I had just started with the post office....my marriage was falling apart...I had kids....I'd have to move across the United States.....whoa! I said I'd think about it. It was a lot to swallow, I'm telling ya.
We got into a conversation about Maine Coon cats. I had one at home and she raised Maine Coons....I don't know how we got off on that....but somehow my friend Chris and Cheryl really hit it off. They talked for nearly two hours, and I'd just make a comment or two, while I looked at the art on the walls that was left....and then things were wrapping up between her and Chris.....and that voice in my head went off...."You have to stall...don't leave just yet." Don't ask where that comes from.....it's a sixth sense I have, and I've learned to listen to it. So to stall, I brought up food, what's in the area? And that started another long discussion.
About twenty minutes later we heard someone running up the stairs, keys going into the door....and bang! The door opens, and there's Kevin huffing and puffing. And here's where the weird factor goes off again....the first thing he says when he looks at me, is, "Hey! Wow! You're here!" And I'm looking at him, and I say, "Well, about time!" And then he says, "I'll be right back....I gotta go like a racehorse." "Sure. Don't forget to wash your paws." He laughed and went to use the restroom.
Chris and Cheryl were looking at me in disbelief.
"I thought you said you didn't know him."
"I don't. I don't know why I said that, or where it came from."
Go figure. I do a lot of weird things. But to make a long story short, and to tie this into letters, yes, that letter and trip set into motion a lot of things. It was a definite turn around the corner, and I have few regrets, if any.
