Moving Helper, Mechanic & General Handyman

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. I'm not sure how many customers realize just how many amazing, interesting, beautiful, remarkable and even delightful people you meet when you do this. It's a new adventure every time I get the chance to do it.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. 1) Very little about my services is written in stone; there's always room to negotiate or adjust.

2) I'm not only a gay friendly service, I'm a gay bear myself.

3) If you really need it, I can do a job for you even during the most unheard of hours of the night while other handymen are merely sawing wood.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. One of the greatest things about doing this is the satisfaction, not only for my customers but for me, that comes with knowing that a cherished item, on which somebody had sadly given up on ever being able to use again due to its state of disrepair, is now fully restored and working again just like new. I feel as delighted as they do.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before, like on TV or in a movie?"

Chances are, you have (I don't use my celebrity "day job" name when I do these handyman gigs on the side).

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"Why is a celebrity doing handyman work on the side?"

I never stopped loving physical and mechanical work. I've always loved working with my hands. If I didn't love show business so much, I'm sure I'd be a full time mechanic or handyman. Plus, it's never a bad idea to earn money between movies and seasons of web or television series.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. Not sure if it's a good idea to tell this one but, okay, you asked.

Many years ago I did a moving job involving theatrical scenery, furniture and other large stage props and set pieces. The backdrops were so huge that they protruded at some length out of the open doors at the back of our truck. Lifting big rolls of backdrops required squatting to lift them onto your shoulders, then hoisting them up using mainly your legs, keeping your back upright and keeping that all important curve in your lower spine maintained ("Respect the 'S'", as I'd learned from physical fitness training). It was during a heatwave so I wore no shirt; just a pair of sneakers and denim shorts. Because of the overhang through the opened back doors of the truck, I had to manage them from the rear during our drive so that they would not bump their way out and into the traffic behind us. There were two overhanging rolls and one shorter one right in the middle that made it just to the edge of the truck's cargo hold. I sat on the end of the middle one while I gripped and held the others, each with one leg, to keep any of them from rolling around. Then I leaned back enough to secure them from behind with my arms. Now I just had to pray that I didn't get bounced out of the truck right along with the rolls. Fortunately I had everything under my control and we made it with no mishaps. However, it was so hot and clammy that, although we were moving at a pretty good pace, I could feel no breeze whatsoever on my face or body because of the aerodynamic "pre-wake" of suction which kept my pocket of hot, steamy air stationary and right where I sat. I began to notice the car behind us. There was an elderly lady at the wheel and it was clear by now that she was straining greatly to stare at me and I didn't know why. For a good portion of the trip through traffic, and every time we stopped and she pulled up behind us, she continued to crane her neck over her steering wheel to look intently at me as I straddled these oversized rolls, sitting right at the truck bed's edge. It was only when I looked down that It occurred to me what must have been the reason for her curiosity. With the intense heat and no breeze, I hadn't realized that, upon squat lifting so much weight, I had ripped my pants wide open. Ever since I was 19 I'd always gone "commando" and so there was Mr. Happy who had apparently been hanging out with us for the entire trip. I had no idea that I had been lugging around an extra piece of scenery the whole time.