Geez. Hm. Well, for me, the Cubby begins with Jol ... or rather, Joel, back then.

It was at my first ATA (Artists’ Television Access, for the uninitiated) meeting that I first saw Joel. He was adorable, with his newly discovered baby-gay hormones causing him to trip over the folding chairs he was trying to set-up for the meeting. I was more than a little taken. Not sure how I managed it, but I ended up walking him home, and stealing a kiss on the steps of what would soon become Cubby Control. Did my head in a bit when he told me he had a boyfriend (sorry, Todd).

From that awkward starting point, I soon found myself unknowingly immersed in The Wonderful World of The Cubby. If Joel was the ambassador that introduced me, then Brian would have to be the mayor that welcomed me into Cubbyland. Being the reluctant loner I’ve always been, to find myself accepted into this new group of people ... to become friends with folk like Rhachel, Joe, Emily, Bill, Jason, Felipe, Tristy, Matt, Karl (HBD!) ... so many others ... getting a bit emotional here ... Forgive me, while I regroup.

Cubby Origins: I was, at best, an ignorant bystander. I had no idea the significance of what was happening. Initially skeptical of the pseudo-religiosity, I was a slow adopter. However, I eventually found myself pulled in by the antics of Huck Forest and that Bonemaker guy (RIP), excerpts from the Cubby Bible, and enraptured by the lore of the Black Madonna and the reality of Craft Church. When the Catholics took note of the Cubby Missalette ... well ... obvs, there was something to this Cubby thing.

I truly had no idea. I just knew that I had come to love this new circle of diversely talented friends with their quirky and creative forms of self-expression ... people who possessed a freedom of being that was certainly rubbing off on me ... and encouraging me to bring my own flavour to the mix. Pushing past deeply felt insecurities, I found myself entertaining the notion of go-go dancing as Bean the Cat for a Cubby Creatures show (never happened), and actually participating as Walker, the Dolphin-Spirit-Seer in a CubbyVision episode. Brian even put music to one of my poems, manifesting a long held dream.

Yet, with all that still, it’s only been comparatively recent that I’ve fully recognized my connection to/place within The Cubby Pantheon. When the call for this piece went out, I excluded myself, thinking I had no place in the Origins. Then Jol called me out, specifically, and here we are.