Poop Shute

I thank God every day that I was raised by a hippie.

My mom is one of the coolest, most loving, caring, and interesting people I know.

Here are some of the reasons why:

When I was little we were never really allowed much refined sugar. We had mostly healthy cereals like Cheerios and Cracklin' Oat Bran, and Raisin Bran. Instead of chocolate candies, my mom bought carob-covered peanuts and yogurt-covered pretzels...

Mmmm yogurt-covered pretzels. (drools a little)

We also didn't eat out much and didn't eat much red meat.

As a result my palate tends to lean more towards healthier fare naturally. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still like a good greasy hamburger once in a while, or a bowl of ice-cream slathered in chocolate syrup every now and then, but notice the words I used.

"...once in a while.." "...now and then..."

I like these things, but I don't love these things, and I think I'm a healthier, happier, and certainly wealthier person because of it.

Wealthier meaning I don't blow what little money I have on over-priced fast food and sweet-tooth luxuries.

For this, mom, I thank you.



My mom was raised in a very strict home. Being the daughter of a mayor in the 1950's and 60's was not a carnival ride, I'm sure.

My mother and her sisters were to be "seen and not heard."

My grandfather is kind of a hard-ass. He's a good person with a heart of gold, but a hard-ass.

Because of this confining upbringing my mom jumped at the chance to marry out of that house.

When she had her first crack at parenting (that would be me) I think she went into it with the intent of raising me and my brother the exact opposite way she was raised.

Way to go mom!

I have always felt supported in everything I do, and even though I was always artistically inclined my parents never pressured me into something other than what I wanted to do.

I never got a "hey Joey, why don't you put that watercolor set down and learn how to do your taxes"

or a "learn a marketable skill, like something with heavy machinery!"

I always wanted to be a cartoonist or a painter, and they always encouraged it. They bought me pens, pencils, markers, charcoals, etc.

Every Christmas and Birthday was a visual artist's wet dream.

Then somewhere around the age of seventeen I discovered acting. I all but abandoned drawing and painting and put all my energies into the stage.

Not a peep of nay-saying from mom or pop.

For that, mom, I am very thankful.



My mom was really big into this meditation group thing. She would go to these conferences all the time. These conferences were a national event for these people. Hundreds upon hundreds of people came from all over the nation to Chicago to see this woman, Connie, speak and lead group meditations.

Very hippie stuff. Peace and love and all that. Very cool.

Whenever these conferences would happen we would invariably end up with visitors to our home for dinner, and sometimes even a house guest for a night or two.

These house guests were always very chill, very friendly people, and they were from all walks of life. There were blacks, whites, asians, gays, straights, vegetarians, vegans, omnivores, etc etc.

One guy named Jeff especially sticks out in my mind. He was this really laid-back guy with long blonde hair. He wore a bunch of those really thin plastic bracelets that were really big in the 1980's and he gave me one. Sweet.

Another woman, Mona, made me my first tofu-burger when I was like 5.

With all these good people with such a wide range of differences coming and going I grew up with a good sense of what's right with the world. Also, the desire to change as much of what's wrong with it as I could, and more importantly, to ignore what I could not.

With a childhood like this racism has always boggled my mind. I could never wrap my head around the idea of hating an entire type of people just because they look like this or they talk like that.

Hate at all, really. I just don't get it.

I mean, yeah, I use the word.

But I've never meant it. Never.

I just never got it. For that mom, I especially thank you.