"Go West Young Man!"

Hi Folks! Will Here. And, here is another title that is more like a riddle. Let's dive right in and find out what's up!

Although Bloomingdales was a beautiful and exciting place to work, the internal politics were not. As soon as word got out about my nom de plume, Will Seagers, and being a former star of stage, screen and bathroom wall, everything changed! It's funny how queens can be such prudes! But, that was OK... “Je ne regrette rien.” All of you Edith Piaf fans will get this one. But, for those who neither speak French or "Piaf"—"I have no regrets!" I love my past.

So, having the summer off did give me lots of time to contemplate my next job. I came to the realization that I am a quirky guy who doesn't fit into every work situation. I needed to find a more off-center and hopefully artsy calling for my next work adventure. A friend came to my rescue.

To be more accurate, it was a friend of a friend of a friend. The ex-lover of my Alan's best friend heard that I was looking for work. He hooked me up with an interview at one of the branch stores of a made-to-order furniture company. I'm not sure if they are still in business, so I'll keep the name of this company on the QT.

My first assignment (during my interview) was to take a dozen or so objets and decorate an étagère. I got a lukewarm response from my interviewer. That didn't bother me as the objets were rather unrelated and tacky. Next, I was asked if I could sketch or draw on graph paper. To that I responded, "Yes!" I had some graphics courses in engineering school (that I knew would come in handy someday!). That perked up my potential new boss and I got the job. 

I went to their "academy," located across the Hudson in New Jersey at their factory/headquarters. This was a rather tedious week of repetitious sketching and learning the different styles they manufactured. Truth be told, I thought all this Formica furniture belonged in a John Waters movie. But, hey! I have sold many things with which I wasn't enamored.

I was a quick learn. And, within a couple of months, I was running one of their stores in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. Oh...did I mention that more than half the employees of this outfit were gay?! Hallelujah! No pretenses...and lots of that artsy feel I wanted from most everyone. I was at that location for about six months and then was promoted to one of their flagship stores in the Upper East Side.

Two men owned the company. One was very handsome and had a very beautiful wife. Oddly enough, they used to be regulars at Fujiyama Mama's restaurant and were devoted clients of my Alan. I only found this out when Alan and I attended the company's Christmas party, and the three of them started screaming when they saw each other. This whole company was a party group. That's what made it fun to work there. But, all fun things come to an end.

The company ran into financial troubles and was bought out by a rather run-of-the-mill investment company. The new head honcho did not like gay people, and my neck was on the chopping block. Not only did I lose my store and manager position, but they wanted me to commute to New Jersey and work as a salesman at one of the stores over there. When I figured out that this move to working in New Jersey was grounds for me to leave and collect unemployment, that's just what I did. It was time for some serious thinking. And, I had some help from above...the stars!

I remained in touch with my friend Bob, the Vedic Astrologer in South Beach. It was his couch and apartment that I called home for my last few weeks in Florida before heading to north. He had family in upstate New York and would always drop by for a few days to visit Alan and me in New York City. One of his visits came right after I left the furniture company. I was distraught. I couldn't contemplate growing old in the harsh and helter-skelter climes of the city. I thought about moving back to San Francisco...it had been my rock for 14 years. Bob intervened. He very brusquely said, "No! You've already done that." Next, he put an astrology "map" together for Alan and me. It was called Astro-Cartography. With our combined birth data, he found that both Alan's and my Venus lines went straight down the middle of New Mexico. "New Mexico?" I said. He said this was great, in that Venus ruled relationships, and most people's Venus lines ran through unreachable places, like the middle of the Pacific Ocean or up in the Arctic circle!  A synchronicity began to happen. A good friend and co-worker of Alan's at Good Enough to Eat restaurant had family in Santa Fe. This friend promptly made arrangements with her mother for us to have a place to stay while we investigated this new proposal.

We were only there for a week, and we both fell in love with "The Land of Enchantment"! In that week, we found ourselves a lovely, brand new casita right across the street from our friend's mother. I even went job hunting and landed a position with Home Depot. It was there and waiting for me when I arrived a month later. That job was another shortstop in my resume...but, N.M. wasn't.

It was late September of 1999. There was a slight chill in the air. And, after taking a sentimental drive around town to say goodbye to my favorite spots in the Big Apple, I pointed my lovely Saab 9000 towards the George Washington Bridge to "Go West Young Man"! I started my cross-country trek solo...to be joined by Alan later that week. Please check in to see how this odyssey unfolds!