1983
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2002
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My Name Now: Paul Hemmerling
Location: San Diego, CA
Marital Status: gay, dating someone semi-seriously
Children: Nope. I'm so pushy and impatient and I have such high expectations- I'm afraid I'd ruin my kids life. My own childhood was such a train wreck, I can't see inflicting the same torture on someone else. On the other hand, I've been told that fear is what would make me a good parent. So I suppose I'm still considering it.
Have you or would you let your kids see Rocky: Sure. There's nothing in there that todays kids don`t already know. But I'd be that annoying dad who sat in the back making sure nothing got out of hand. Hmmm, after thinking about it - I'd sneak in and not tell him I was there, so he could relax. I remember being young. Sort of.
What I'm doing these days: I'm working at SDSU in the dorms as a manager in the custodial/maintenance department. I sit in a big comfy chair all day, telling everyone else what to do and making personal phone calls - then when I do walk around, I'm surrounded by hot 18/19 year old guys running around in their underwear. It's the job I was born for!!!
I worked at the Corvette Diner in Hillcrest for 9 years as the head night cook. Until the stress got to be too much. My doctor took a chest xray and saw that I had an enlarged heart. He said I should find a new job, or die. And since I hadn't had a raise in 6 years and was making just $8 an hour with no benefits - the choice was easy.
Now I make the best money of my life (still broke), at a job I enjoy (usually) at a place that will never close down (hopefully). And did I mention the hot young guys running around in their underwear all day? Heaven!
My hobbies are much the same as they always were: Sci Fi/ Fantasy books, movies and TV, Dungeons & Dragons, football, science, metaphysical and religious studies.
On the down side, I lost my mother to cancer in the winter of '95. She'd battled it for three years, but in the end she just couldn`t get her mind behind the idea that she could beat it. She died peacefully in her sleep. We all knew it was her last night, and we got to say all the things anyone in that situation would want to say. She and I had healed our relationship when I got in my 30's. A little therapy and some open communication can work wonders. I highly recommend it.
People from Rocky I've kept in touch with: nobody really; the only person I talk to from back then is John Martin. I had joined the Navy (big mistake I know, you all warned me) and met the man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with. One year later... Oh well, we were young, things were said, mistakes were made - it ended. I was discharged, honorably (can you believe our government couldn`t prove *I* was gay?), and fell into the grind of trying to keep a roof over my head. Rocky became something in my past.
Why I first went to Rocky: I was taken to a Halloween showing at The Strand my senior year of High School (class of '82). I was HOOKED!!! Oddly, none of the other people I went with that night really cared for Rocky. When it moved up to The Guild in Hillcrest, 5 blocks from my house, I was there every weekend.
How I started performing: I started dressing up right away. I loved Columbia. She was so bright and fun and crazy and free. One night at The Guild Debbie Golding urged me to join her on stage for Time Warp. Dueling Columbias, those were the days.
Food I ordered after the show: Back in the day we used to go to Gay Denny's or Topsy's. Before the permanent 86. I remember ice tea spoon deep throat contests and french fries. Who remembers Birdie, the old hostess at Denny's? She looked like Eleanor Roosevelt. Or Vy? The red-headed waitress who was allergic to clove cigarettes? Hell, who remembers being able to smoke in a restaurant?
I last performed: in December of '85. I did Columbia at The Ken.
I last saw Rocky: It was a showing at The Guild in the late '90s. I don`t remember the exact date. But it was terrible. They had half a cast and you couldn't hear a thing. Everyone was screaming and yelling. And for no reason. You couldn't make out a single line or call back. Then they had the *NERVE* to ask for cash donations to support their cast. I couldn't believe it.
Did I buy the Rocky DVD? nope, I don't own a DVD player
My favorite Rocky memories: has to be Doc at Gay Denny's, in full Frankie costume (those SHOES!) and make-up getting up and serving coffee to every table to the hoots and cheers of everyone. That was a sight.
Rocky stands out as one of the best times in my life. If I could go back in time and change things about my past, my Rocky days are one thing I would leave alone.
It was the first situation I was put in after High School. No one "had" to be there. No one was forcing us to attend. No one pretended to like you for whatever reason, if they didn't like you - they told you. It was my introduction to the "Real World". People were cool, or jerks, or political or phoney or enlightened or mean or needy or sweet or whatever - but they were real. And they accepted you for who you were. It was amazing |
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