Separate Worlds

Or...Doctor Zak and Captain Darron

It's been a while since I've blogged, because it's been a while since I've had anything to blog about. The real world just keeps insisting on my time, and the progress towards moving into the RV has slowed to a glacial pace, until last night.


I live in two worlds.

In one, I'm a diligent, professional, slightly depressed body piercer named Zak. I work 6 days a week at the tattoo shop of my employ, live in my nice(ish) three bedroom house, have a dog and two cats, a car, a motorcycle, all the toys. This life comes with a select group of people, mostly coworkers, and this is the Zak that they see. Most of them aren't aware of this blog, or the plan to move to an RV, or much of anything about me really. I keep pretty quiet.

The other life, is a rarer spectacle. That's the show life. Captain Darron von Awesome of the Tinderbox Circus Sideshow. This is my id gone wild, set loose, and the world is of my own creation. A wild, homegrown circus of music and alcohol and loose morals. I'm surrounded by people who revel in the carnival weirdness that they've come into. Personal space is a myth, and nothing is taboo. A hug and kiss and a drink is just how you say hello, and in that world, the energy and emotion keep me floating until I have no other choice but to limp back into the other, sore, exhausted, and hungover.

Friday night was one of those glorious nights, a show night, where I got to be Captain Darron von Awesome, where every face was welcoming and friendly and inviting. Now, Captain Darron is not a character, I don't put "the real me" aside and become someone else. If anything, we have a classic case of Clark Kent and Superman. Superman is always Superman, Clark Kent is the disguise. I'm always Captain Darron, and Zak the piercer is my alter-ego, the public face masking the roiling outward explosion underneath.

Why is all this important?  Well, for two reasons. First, it gives you a bit of perspective on what I'm trying to do for my life by going through with this ridiculous idea. I'm not Zak the piercer guy, not really. I love piercing, it's been my job and my career for 12 years, and I have no intentions of stopping any time soon, but I'm not the person I am when I'm at work. In the RV, on the road, focusing more on my show and myself instead of the house and the bills, I get to be Captain Darron more, and Zak less.

Friday night was also important because of what was brought to me. The people I work with don't know my personal life, and don't care to, but the people at the show, the crowd of faces, they knew what I was trying to do. They poured their support and enthusiasm over me, volunteered to take ridiculous road trips with me, and most crucially, showed me that the people who know me, know the real me, are behind me 100%.

-Z

P.S. With less a month left on the Indiegogo campaign, I'm still only 2% to my goal of $3,500. Scrape your pennies together! Even if you can only donate $1, that goes a long way.