Princess Pan

Peter Pan was a fictional boy who never grew up. While Never Never Land was his home, he would have been very happy in NYC. Most of us are Peter and Princess Pans. We live hand to mouth. We are single, and if we are in a relationship it is more likely casual and just for physical comfort. We are broke most of the time. Despite degrees from fancy institutions like NYU, Weslyan, Vassar, Barnard, Oberlin, or a slew of others where students have Mayflower Blood and cost an arm and a leg we are broke. Yes, we are pursuing pipe dreams. Every time out parents come to town they buy us steak and feed us criticism. We see our high school classmates getting married and having kids on facebook. They have the house, the car. We don't have a house but perhaps when times get tough we could live in your Lexus, right?

I never really gave much thought to my Princess Pan status until recently. I was visiting my sister Skipper in Nashville where we were hanging out with her boyfriend Tucker. In order to have a relationship Tucker moved from Rhode Island to be closer to Skipper. It was because she was a resident, and she had to relocate. He didn't want to lose her. Not only are they in love, but they are talking about marriage. Of course my sister wants a house and kids. This isn't just talk. They have a forever plan of action. Some of it is trippy because this is my baby sister. Some of this is scary because forever is a very long time.

In contrast I have no one. My children include puppets,costumes,and projects where I have some performer, writer, and executive producer duties. Oh and not to forget my books and words, they are my spawn too. the bonus is I gained no weight producing them. Living on black coffee will do that. I don't think I would know what to do if I had a dude. Where would I have time? My future is uncertain despite the fact I work like a dog. I have a bunch of projects pitching and going here, there, and everywhere. Just did two auditions, both for network type things. Both you had to be invited for. Another project I did is being pitched again. I am excited, scared, and nervous. No significant other could ever understand being so stressed over what might not happen that there are chunks of your hair everywhere.

I was engaged when I was younger and it was a shitshow. Then after getting a PO box so my fiance would never find me, I dated several guys who would have married me in an instant. I didn't feel them or I wasn't ready. Just couldn't do it. Couldn't see myself going forever. Again, forever is a very long time.Maybe I could have with Holden Caulfield, but once he kicked the drugs and found God I just couldn't picture myself sleeping next to him without trying to murder him.

There are some people who can't imagine forever alone, I can. It's not bad. Your time is your own. Even when I get lonely I see how my coupled and married friends have to sacrifice in order to make the other one happy even if they don;t want to and they are miserable. Or people have kids which kill your dreams. They say they are happy but when you see them they look tired and miserable. Most of the time they are doing these things because they feel like they have to. It's not about what they want.

My life is about what I want. I want to tour again soon, play theatres. Ideally I want to do the spring and fall in New York to try to get on TV, and then spend the winter and summer touring when things slow down in my city. I have done the shitty bar shows and most of the clubs. Despite my TV time I don't have the respect I want. Plus a headliner friend of mine mentioned I belong in theatres and I agree. Touring requires time and energy. So does a family. I love touring more, end of story. I did a bunch when I was younger and saw the world. I stopped because I did some TV stuff, got a talking head job, and wrote a book. Plus I was earning shit money. Now I am in a position where I could do okay if I toured. My trip to Nashville made me realize how much I missed going to different states and countries, meeting different people. A husband and kids would murder that dream right quick.

My destiny is unknown. I don't know what is next. No man and his penis power could relieve my stress. There is a part of me that sometimes does want a partner. The pursuit of fame does get lonely. I love kids too. For Godssakes I do shows for them. But deep down, I love my carefree friends and selfish lifestyle. I love being able to fly where I want to whenever I need to and want to for work or play. I love being Wendy Darling to gay men who are more Lost Boys than James Barry could have ever dreamed.

I love being a kid forever.

I love never growing up.

I am Princess Pan

Love
April
I Came, I Saw, I Sang: Memoirs of a Singing Telegram Delivery Girl
www.aprilbrucker.com

Husband, Babies, and a Fireplace

I am a career woman. To someone like myself Hillary Clinton is a hero. While she is in the Oval Office and I am trying to break into entertainment, we both basically put our professional lives first and personal-what is that? Husband, well hers was fooling around and she was too busy running the country to notice. And then she probably stood by her man because she was too busy to leave. Where was she going to go? Divorce takes time and she had a health care system to clean up. I digress.

Anyway, I haven’t had a guy in sometime. Between writing and publishing a book, promoting that book, recording the audio version of that book and writing the musical version of the book I really haven’t given a guy a second thought. That is, until I was interviewed by a local magazine in my hometown where the guy asked, “Do you want a husband or kids in the future?”

The question threw me for a loop. The answer is I really don’t know.

Honest to God I didn’t know. In middle school I wasn’t allowed to date. My parents emphasized academics, goals, and achievement. My father was the first to get not only a college degree but an MBA and a law degree in a working class family, and both my mom’s parents were educated. My dad was a professor and my mom was a teacher. Television was not allowed until Friday so boys were out of the question completely. As a matter of fact some folks even thought I was gay because the story that April couldn’t date boys turned into April couldn’t talk to boys. But I had my puppets and my tablet with my thoughts. Better than any of the zit faced guys in my junior high class. Sure I had crushes, who didn’t. Still, they were a world away.

High school was more chasing my goals. When I wasn’t busting my behind in school I was taping shows at the cable access station, performing ventriloquism somewhere, writing a column for the local paper, going to a play practice, attending an acting or voice class, and then to support it all I bagged groceries at the local supermarket on the weekends. My dream schools were Smith College, Mount Holyoke, Brown University, New York University, Emerson College, and Carnegie Mellon University and perhaps Julliard. There was no time for a guy in my star chasing.  There was no time for anything that wasn’t getting me ahead. And the three guys I did like in high school all made it clear they didn’t return the favor. But the help with analyzing the Emily Dickinson, oh they gladly took that.

College was an adventure. My first year I was a miss all around. One guy invited me to his room to watch TV. The next thing I know he was all over me. Apparently watch television is code for lets have sex. I so didn’t know that. We didn’t have sex and he felt bad I was in the dark. Later we became good friends and joked about the incident. Still, that wasn’t a high point in my life.

The few guys I liked seriously rejected me in a pretty low way. One in particular was a favorite at an NYU extension and famous acting studio I was later asked to leave. This young lad was tall, dark, and handsome and slated to have quite the career. I, on the other hand, was being told that I wouldn’t. Well tall, dark, and handsome found out about my puppets and we connected. He assured me he had the same struggles and came out swinging. All the girls liked him. Well he used to seek me out to speak to me and even invited me to some theatre party but I was busy or something. Well one day I was taking a stress walk after writing a paper and saw him when it started to drizzle. I was wondering aimlessly, he was walking home. I ended up walking with him in my meandering. Once we got to his dorm he suddenly turned acting as if I was the unwanted overweight companion-I was in those days-rather than the pleasant surprise in the hood. After crying on the way home, risking pneumonia, and then showering I wrote him off and gave him the cold shoulder everytime I saw him.

The fucker capitalized on his short time with me by twisting the story on Gawker-not bad for someone slated to not have a career- about how I followed him home once and it was the most terrifying thing ever. Sir, you wish I were stalking you. Because unfortunately the bitter teachers who were jealous I had a shot and they didn't were wrong. You never had that acting career and never will. Trashing me on Gawker is the closest you will ever get to that career. Now tell me, how does it feel to know you peaked at twenty?

Sophomore year I had my heart broken by a few guys who were just shallow. But I was in a new studio extension and finding success there. Plus I found standup comedy and that took up most of my nights. There could be no man. There could only be Lee Strasberg. I simply had crushes on set up, premise, and punchline. May Wilson got all the action.

Junior year I found myself engaged to a much older man who was intimidated by the fact I was smarter than him and going places. His friends-stupider than he was-said things. First he told me what I could and couldn’t wear. Then he told me how I could and couldn’t dress. Next it was him or the puppets. I gave up my children for six months. The worst mistake of my life. Next he wanted to kill his mother so he could get the insurance money to be with me.

They left that part of the story out on TV.

 Same with the stalking and threatening. My mom hates when I talk about it, but I need to so women in the same situation can know that it will be fine. Plus I was lucky. He only talked about killing me. Yeardley Love probably wishes she could take my place. She probably wishes a separate mailing address was the least of her problems. This Sir Lancelot pops up to “make amends” everytime things go well in my life. Meanwhile he and whatever piece of trash with low self esteem he is stringing on goes on some message board to talk trash. Who would have known with all of his sleazing and sleeping with his stripper ex for money, I would be the ex his new girlfriends would all be jealous of? My ex also took credit for writing my act and my jokes. Watch him take credit for my book next, assweed. 

After that I dated a string of forgettables, one being a lawyer who couldn’t stop lying. Many being ex-cons who could at least tell the truth about the crimes they were committing. Some were nice, but my love of my career and my busy schedule always made things fizzle out. All were fun runs in the sun but nothing more.

Then my friend Chacho passed and I wanted to do everything I could do to make my life and career complete. I thought of all the things Chacho would want for me. Chacho wouldn’t want me to date losers, he had done that and it is what put him in an early grave. He would want me to pour that energy into being a superstar and hanging out with the most fancy people in the world. Chacho would want me to put that energy into nice clothes. Chacho would want me to live big. Well I did. I cut men out entirely, especially when the television time started rolling in. Needless to say, after a bunch of events the schedule became very full. I had no time for a man but ironically had a lot of male admirers. Male admirers who loved me and my puppet children. Maybe a guy could like me for being me.

And there was one who did. Yes, he did. I have blogged about him and gave him a fake name to protect him because I know he was in trouble somewhere. The truth is, he liked me for being me. No guy ever did. Unfortunately he was sick-bipolar he was not taking his meds for and abusing drugs instead. I had to let him go. Not because I wanted to, I had to. He didn’t want to take his meds and he didn’t want to get help. Sometimes I think that if he were to show up at my door clean, sober, and appropriately medicated I would take him back. But that probably won’t happen. Maybe that says a lot about the God I believe in. But unfortunately it’s reality.

I dated a former reality star and washed up comedian who I thought liked me but was just using my visibility to revive his dead career.

There is a part of me that knows I am damaged. I know I am scarred and have a hard time trusting guys. Actually, most of the time they are guilty in April’s Court ruled by the iron fist of Roman Law. I always assume they are cheating and sleazing around-in my mind. Not to mention I never tell them about my career because I am scared they will make me give it up and have their children. I am scared I will have to give up my whole life I worked for. And wait until they see some of the photos I take and the letters male fans write me. Then I know it’s over. Not to mention I am a lousy cook and clean as frequently as the Jets win because I am so busy with my career.

Translated, my relationships end badly for a reason. I could never make a guy happy, and a lot of it is my fault. At least I know that though, right? Apparently men don’t like it when you try to make them puppets.

On the flipside someday it might be nice to have someone to spend forever with. A special someone to have that big wedding with. A special someone to honeymoon with on some tropical island. A special someone to have children and grow old with. A special someone who watches football, snores, rakes leaves, and shovels snow. A special someone who even when I want to kill him makes me laugh a second later and I forget about my grudge. A special someone who lets me know the world isn’t a big, bad, dark, hole waiting to gobble me up.

It might be nice to have kids someday. Kids who are babies that I can dress in adorable outfits. Kids who don’t color in the lines and finger paint to the point that it gets on them. Kids who play Pee Wee football, Pee Wee soccer, Pee Wee dance and whatever other Pee Wee thing there might be to do aside from going to that perve’s playhouse. Kids that do spelling words, even if I have to force them before school. Kids who make me laugh with their explanations and schemes of why they did something. Kids who sparkle and make me smile. Kids who know they have puppet brothers and sisters and as a result can put up with anyone’s differences.

But both the husband and kids are fictional. They don’t speak in these dreams. Plus if they were real they would have to compete with my closet of costumes and room full of eleven puppets. My schedule is busy so they would be fending for themselves in the kitchen and doing all the laundry. And something tells me they would not understand being stashed under the bed when space was tight.

Oops, they aren’t puppets.

I guess for now it is my apartment that looks like a war zone, my puppets, my comedy, my video making, my book writing, my singing telegrams and my music that occasionally gets on the radio.

This week a guy took my number and he has been lukewarm basically letting me know he isn’t that into me. Sigh, just like high school. Now off to my guy free life of a bubble bath and trash romance novel. The guys in those books are what women want. Those fictional men can be into me if I make them into puppets. I better stop while I am ahead. I sound crazy. I can picture one of them writing in the next time I am written up in the Gawker. He can say I forced him into a bubble bath after a rain storm. 

Love 

April

I Came, I Saw, I Sang: Memoirs of a Singing Telegram Delivery Girl

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