The Thunderdome

As many of you know, I had the party house for many years in Duluth.  Over Easter weekend, the party house of MSU--known as The Thunderdome--burnt down randomly.  Four of my friends are now homeless and living with girlfriends or friends.  But they are healthy and safe, which looking above at the ruins of their house, is incredible.   Eric, the composer of Abiyoyo and dear little brother of mine, lived there and lost all of his gear.  Thousands of dollars lost in musical equipment and years of compositions lost.  Jeff, who plays Howie in Rabbit Hole with me, is a brilliant graphic designer who lost a lot of his work, but luckily got out with his laptop.  Mathias, who played The Husband/CPA in See What I Wanna See this fall, lost everything he owned as well.  Cody was the fourth and while he hasn't been in any of my shows, he is graduating this spring and is a great guy.  The department and community has been amazing with them.  They have had an incredible outpour of generosity and support from everyone.  

The amazing thing about this is that the guys have taken it amazingly well.  Eric has taken it as a sign towards Buddhism and figures he's practically a Bodhisattva. :)  The saddest thing about all of it, is not the loss of stuff, but the loss of creation in Eric's music and Jeff's designs.  

If anyone wants to donate or offer any help, let me know.  They are great guys.