I have been carrying a note 

from actor John Schneider.

It has been in my purse since

 the day I recieved it.It was

 sent to me by a ex who is also

an actor in Hollywood and 

worked with John on the set of "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman". 

I met John in 1979. I was a runaway teen trespassing on the

Burbank Studio lot. I mistakenly walked on the Hazzard County

set during filming.  By the time I got to the "Courthouse", John

 was taking a break, sipping on a cup of coffee and walking in my

direction.  Behind me was a motorcycle security guard fast

 approaching me.  

My stomache

was in knots as I

knew trouble

 was following me.

 John and I crossed

paths just

as the guard pulled

up to me.

I was so scared, I

couldn't look

in the direction of the

 motorcycle  when

he yelled for

to me to stop.

 I'd guess the look of

 desperation

on my face gave John

 the quick thinking idea

to save me.

John spoke fast and

yelled to the

guard , She's with me."

Those were the nicest

three words

I'd heard in a very long

time. I'd been in Hollywood

for only two weeks. 

Left my home and

family in New Orleans.

Caught the Grayhound

 bus with a one way

ticket and seven

dollars in my pocket.

Ofcourse if my parents

had known this they,

would never

 had let me go.

My eldest sister Angie

and her husband drove

 me to the Grayhound bus

station thinking I'd only

be gone for

 two weeks. Little did they,

or anyone in my family

 know, I had no

intentions on going home

 soon.

I was in search of Shaun

Cassidy and my American

 dream.

I had the crush on Shaun

Cassidy that gave me the wild

urge to plan this trip to

Hollywood since I was sixteen. 

The Hardy Boys was a staple

on my television. I worked

at a local Pizza resturant to

 afford his records and played

 them over and over again

til it made the rest of

my sibling muffle their ears

with pillows or hum loudly

 their own favorite

tunes.

At age sixteen I also

joined a "The New

Orleans Police

Law Enforcement

Explorers"

I, along with other

teens volunteered

and worked side

by side with the

Police Personal

of their Community Relations

Division. We assisted Police

with croud control at the

Superdome, the Mardi Gras

and other City Wide functions and road with them

to simple community calls. At age seventeen I won the

 nomination for President of Explorer Post 560. Was

award at a Police Banquet as "Explorer of the Year"

 and "Most Outstanding Explorer".

At age eighteen I resigned my position along with my

job to go to Hollywood. It was a very long, and scary

three day bus ride. I was cold at night and hungry most

of the time.  Afraid to spend my money as I didn't know

 when the next time will come that I'd have any again.

I felt alone, I missed my family, and visions of being homeless

and begging for food entered my mind more than once.

All those feeling changed when I saw the sign on the

 freeway reading "Welcome to California".

After the guard left, John and I shook hands in an official

introduction. He invited me to watch the Dukes of Hazzard

 being filmed.  He introduced me to the cast then offered me his

directors chair.  

 I remember sitting

in it proudly, like I

was suddenly

crowned Queen of

Hazzard County.

The chair had John

Schneider monogramed

on the back

and pockets on each side

that hung

halfway to the ground

which housed his script.

 I don't think I laughed

as much in my life as I did

watching Bo and Luke

 being chased by Roscoe in

the General Lee.

When they broke for lunch I decided to say goodbye

to John and thank him for his kindness. John invited me

 back and said if I had any trouble at the gate just call

for him on the set and I'd get in, no problem.

 John, really had no clue what he had done for me.

 I was a lost soul when I walked on that studio lot. 

I had no friends, I was home sick and lonely. Depressed

from an interview I had with Actor Cornel Wilde when I

 went on my first casting call the day before. And to top it

off, I had a big fight with a live-in relative of my new boss

just that morning.While waiting for the bus to Hollywoodland

 where I lived as a housekeeper and nanny for the

family of Director

Robert Lieberman

 I met a runaway. 

His bed just happened

to be the bench I was

 occupying. 

 He was a teen about

the same age as I.

Eighteen or

nineteen.  He told me how to sneak on the studio lots

without getting caught. That was how my mission started

at Burbank Studios.Most of my day was spent watching

 television and game shows being filmed.I was a regular

 at tapings of "The

Dating Game", "The

 Newlywed Game",

"Hollywood Squares",

"The Love Connection",

"The John Davidson Show",

"That's My Momma",

"The Facts of Life","Sanford and Son", "Good Times". 

 If there was a free ticket to be gotten, I was there.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed. There I sat, in each of

the shows, smiling and laughing and having a jolly old

time.As soon as the tapings were over and the laughter

stopped I had to go back to reality. I followed the crowd

 outside of the studio doors. My question to myself was

always, "What am I going to do now?"

I'd  take a walk to the Farmers Market behind CBS

Studios just to droll at all the goodies for sale to eat. 

 I had no money to buy any so I convinced myself that

 the smells would suffice. Then, I'd walk to the corner

 looking left and right down the four way street on

Sunset Boulevard, wondering which one of the four

directions I should walk next. It really didn't matter

which one I chose.

Atleast three of

them would take

me to another new

place.

Left was Beverly Hills, right

 was downtown Los Angeles,

behind me was the Wilshire

District.

In front of me....The fourth was the way to my Uncles

apartment on Argyle.

 The only home I knew

at that time but the last

 place I wanted to go.

I didn't like him and he

hated me.  He was a stranger,

 a cousin to my mom. I had never met him, nor spoken

 to him, nor heard my mom talk of him til I

decided to go to California. When mom told me she

 had a cousin in California, I had a one track mind.

He immediatly turned into my favorite relative. My ticket

to a warm bed. My only connection to Holywood.

So I was willing to meet him, live with him

 (after all it was only for two weeks).To him,

 I turn out to be just an intrusion. A homesick

 teenager who ate all his food and took away his

privacy in his small one bedroom apartment and ran

 up his phone bill calling long distance to New orleans.

My only solice, my only friend, was in Burbank on the

Warner Brothers Studio lot.John showed me compassion

that I had not had in years. I was a stranger in trouble

and he came to my rescue. The next time I went back to

the studio I

went straight

to the guard

shack and

had them call

John to ok my visit.

 This time they were in a big wharehouse like studio.

Not outside as they were the first time.

 When John and mine eyes met he was way across on

 the other side of the room finishing a taping. He looked at

me and smiled.

Then he raised

up his arms and

 held them high

across the room til

we were face to face. 

 John leaned over and gave me a hug. The tightest bear

hug I had ever experienced. He literally lifted me off

 the floor and he said hello to me

and how nice it was to see me. I didn't like him and he

hated me.  He was a stranger, a cousin to my mom.

I had never met him, nor spoken to him, nor heard my

mom talk of him til I decided to go to California.

When mom told me she had a cousin in California,

I had a one track mind. He immediatly turned into

 my favorite relative. My ticket to a warm bed. My

only connection to Holywood. So I was willing to meet him, live

with him (after all it was only for two weeks).

To him, I turn out to be just an intrusion. A homesick

teenager who ate all his food and took away his

privacy in his small one bedroom apartment and ran up

his phone bill

calling long

 distance to

New Orleans.

My only solice,

my only friend, was in

Burbank

 on the Warner Brothers Studio lot.John showed

 me compassion that I had not had in years. I was

a stranger in trouble

and he came to my rescue. The next time I went back

 to the studio I went straight to the guard shack and had

 them call

John to ok

my visit.

 This time they

were in a big

wharehouse like studio.

Not outside as they were the first time.

 When John and mine eyes met he was way across

on the other side of the room finishing

a taping. He looked at me and smiled. Then he raised

up his arms and held them high across

the room til we were face to face.  John leaned over

 and gave me a hug. The tightest bear

hug I had ever experienced. He literally lifted me off the

 floor and he said hello to me

and how nice it was to see me.The feeling I got from

that hug was powerful to say the least. I had awakened

on the wrong side of the bed that day but after that hug

I was dancing on air.

 When they started

 filming again, I

watched them til

 the next cut and

had to leave

to find the bathroom.  

Walking in the bathroom I recognized actress Jane

Wyman at the sink washing her hands. 

I recognized her from the television show "Falcon Crest"

 and followed her to the set

in hopes to get a

glimpse of Lorenzo

Lamas.

 He was more

handsome then

I ever imagined him

 to be. I was too scared to talk

to him but I'll never forget the chill I felt when he smiled at me.

 I didn't feel comfortable inside that set so I quickly left.

That day, I also watched a filming of "The Love Boat"

and "Fantasy Island".

Actor Mark Harmon whizzed by me on a bicycle and I

wondered what he was doing

 there. I thought about chasing after him but decided not to.

After chasing James McNichol the week prior, my

running days were over. (Well, except for the day

Andy Gibb recieved his star on the Hollywood Boulevard

 "Walk of Fame".

That day I was amongst hundreds of "Shadow Dancing"

fan sprinting down Hollywood Boulevard after Andys limo.

I was window

 shopping on the

 boulevard when I

saw James

McNicole.  "Family"

 was one of my favorite

 television shows back then and I had

not long ago sat in on a live taping. Kristy McNichole,

James' sister, was

top on my list back then.

Just getting a glimpse of him walking in my

path was not satisfying

enough for me so I

decided to follow

him. I had

never followed a famous

person before, just the thought of it excited me.

It was as if I were in a Pink Panther movie,

da dum, da dum, ...my adrenaline

sky rocketted. After a half block or so he caught

on to me. I know this because

his pace doubled after he looked back in

my direction. And my ducking into a

nearby store peaking out one eyed didn't

 help my situation.

 His doubled pace went from a fast walk to a slow

 sprint.  I kept up with him alright.

But when his sprint became a full blown Olympic

Gold Medal chase I lost him when

he short cutted in a alley behind one the the

stores near Highland Boulevard.

 I used my 19 year

old psychology on

the next

star I got to see close

up. It was

Willie Aames. I decided I'd do the opposite.

Be calm, not chase, or act like I was crazy

mad to see him. It turned out to be a pretty

 inmature stunt though. I felt really bad

afterwards but there was no way for me to

appologize for my yes,

stupidity.

Willie Aames had a

small concert at

Disneyland. I was

 there, front row center.Perfect spot.

I can see him, he can see me. The screaming in my ears

were deafning.I remember the floor of the stage opening,

girls yelling to the top of their lungs, pulling at

their hair and dancing to the sudden beat as if there

were at a Beatles concert. The noise of the crowd was

 at it's max by the time the stage was at it's peak.

Willie started singing to his hearts content, girls pushing

in every direction trying to get closer to the stage.

They were singing along with him, beepbopping,

swaying to the beat. Then, there I was,a stick in the

 mud. Making my own statement.

I just stood there, like a bump on a log.

Front row center.Not singing, not dancing,

not even smiling. Staring straight up into

Willies flaring nostrils.

Making him

uncomfortable

 and loving the

moment.

I knew, without a

doubt he noticed me.

During each song he sung, our eyes met. 

I could tell I was making him

uncomfortable. That gave me power. I had his

attention.Between his sweet

singing words 

and his foot

tapping he

was secretly

mores coding,

"and what the heck is your problem?"

From the start of his first note to the end of

his last song I stood there.

Like Kroptonite to Superman. Taking  some of

his power. He had a second concert that night,

 I was still in the park but I know

he was happy he didn't see my face when he rose again.

My high only lasted til I got in my car. It was a

long drive home that night and as I replayed the

concert in my head I felt bad for my actions.

Mr. Cornel Wilde wasn't impressed with me during

 our interview that day

and told me to go back to New Orleans. He told me,

I'd never become an actress.

I decided to join an acting school. The

 Theatre of Performing and

Related Arts on

Wilshire in Los

Angeles.

Within a month

I was cast to work

 in a Coca Cola

commercial with Ray Parker. 

 Soon after I was cast to be a roller skater in the movie

 "Roller Boogie"

with Linda Blair. (I had a lot of fun working in

that movie.)Jimmy

Van Pattern

taught a bunch of

us extras how to

juggle) and

within a few months I had a

character role in the movie "Fullmoon High" with Adam

Arkin and worked several

episodes of the television show "Making a Living "

with Actress Ann Jillian.

After my last day of filming "Making a Living".

I wrote a note to

Mr. Cornel Wilde telling him how I had become an

actress and told

him of all my accomplishments since our interview.

During the time I was cast to work in movie

"Beastmaster" I recieved a letter

personally from Mr. Wilde. It was a letter of apology.

He also congratuated me

for jobs well done.

I turned down

the work in

"Beastmaster"

because

I was really acting to

prove a point.  After Mr. Wildes letter,

I did not continue my

studying at Theatre

of Arts nor did go on anymore casting calls.

 In the beginning I would go to the studio to see

John and the Dukes

film two or three

times a week.

Whenever I was

feeling down

and I had a bad day. I'd

go the see John.No matter where he was when he first

saw me he'd hold up his arms and keep

them raised til we were face to face and he'd again

 give me a big teddy bear

hug lifting me off the ground.

The more I started liking myself, the less I was going to

the studio. The more

love I felt, the less I needed that hug.The one hundred plus stairs

that led from the bottom of Beachwood Drive to the top which was Hollyridge.

One day after visiting John and having my (Last bear

 hug theropy session) I decided to

take the steps. The only view up the long steps

were the wooded back yards of the homes on Hollyridge.

 I was half way up the steps and heard someone

 crying further up in a yard near me.  When I looked

through the trees

I could see a

figure of a man

kneeling, crying

near a newly covered

patch in the ground.

It was getting dark so We could see eachother . 

 I asked him what was wrong? He told me that his

 favorite cat just died. I told him

that I was sorry to hear it and went on my way. 

By the time I

 was almost to

the top of the

steps I was still

thinking about

the crying man

and started to cry myself. I had held back tears

for a long time, trying

to be stronger than I was, but that really set me off. 

I started crying so hard I couldn't seeing

the steps in front of me.  So I just sat there,

balling my eyes out for the stranger and his cat.

Then I started thinking about my parents and

sisters and brothers and started crying even harder

 because I had missed them so much. My "poor homesick

me" cries soon turned into cries of guilt and I cryed

out loud for all the people I had hurt in my life and

all the people I was mean to.I cried about chasing

Jimmy McNichol and playing the staring game with

Willie Aames at his concert at Disneyland. I cried

so much my eyes hurt and my nose was running

with no tissue at hand. I can imagine I was a sore sight to see.

By the time I

regained my

composure and

made it to the top

of the steps I felt so many burdens were lifted from

my shoulders during that cry. I felt, to say the least,

reborn. I felt an incredible happiness come over me.

 I sat at the top of the steps I found myself thinking

 about the guy again crying for his cat. Out of the clear

blue I heard myself say, "Why can't he be as happy as I am?" 

Those words really

shocked me. I never

though of my self as

 being really happy.I

remember the last time I went to see

John and the Dukes being filmed Enos was getting

ready to film his own show.  He invited me to watch his

show being filmed as well. An entire year had past and

what a diffence a year made for me. The first time I walked

 on that lot I was lonely, alone, depressed and homesick.

The last time I saw John and the Dukes film I was happy,

still working for the

Liebermans, seperately this time. I was still living in

 Hollywoodland with

Mrs. Lieberman and her two kids and working as a

housekeeper for Robert and his partner Ed Shapiro.

I was also working for Director John McTiernan at the

 time as a housekeeper for he and his wife and

volunteering at three different places helping the

poor, sick, elderly and runaways.  On my last day

at the studio as I was about to enter the exit gates

I recongized actor Sidney Poitier walking across my path.

When I stopped to say hello he invited me to

watch him direct the movie

"Stir Crazy" with Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder.

What an adventure

I had that year. 

I also met

Greg Evigan and

Jack Klugman

at the Universal Studios and watched B.J

and the Bear and "Quincy" being filmed.

I met Richardo

Montalban and

many, many

famous

people in that industry.

I went to Hollywood right after high school in 1978.

I was working for actor

LeVar Burton in 1984 when I quit my job to elope in

 Las Vegas with my now

husband Sgt. Steven Alexander. Steven was

 a diver in the Canadian Navy when we met.It

was definately love at  first sight. We got married

on our third date.It will be thirteen years this August.

 After we married he joined the United States Army.

He has served our country in Bosnia, Aphganistan,

Korea and will soon be serving his second one year

deployment in Iraq. We live on a military base and have

 four beautiful children. 

Ages 20, 12, 09, 1nd 02 our 09 year old was named after

LeVars wife Stephanie and daughter Michaela. 

 Living in Hollywood was a one in a life time experience for me.

 I loved going to the studios and watching the shows

 being filmed.



But..............



Nomatter what show I watched or what actor I met.

Nothing or no one compared to watching

Boss Hogg, Crazy Cooter, Uncle Jessy, Enos, Daisy,

and the Duke boys and getting bear hugs

from John Schneider.