![\"Ivans](\"http:\/\/www.toxicshock.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/ivans_rainbows.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWow. Over a month of silence from Dougie. Six day work weeks, and a three week visit from
\nMrs. Laurie has left me unable to sneak to this smelly internet cafe and
\nshare the stories that are piling up.<\/p>\n
But those stories have to wait for just a moment. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even think of telling funny quips until
\nI can release my joys and sorrows regarding one young person who has left a deep impression
\non me here in Budapest.<\/p>\n
IVAN RICCI<\/p>\n
It was mid-June, just after the production started filming. Driver Joey was dropping me
\nat my hotel entrance after another long day at the studio. As I was saying goodnight to
\nhim, climbing out of the car, a deep voice speaking English but laced with Italian enthusiasm
\ncame from behind me on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What time will your wake up call be for tomorrow?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he asked.<\/p>\n
I whirled around wondering who in tarnashions would be asking me that here on the street.
\nAnd there stood a tall, smiley, angular, 28 year old Italian fellow wearing a silver choker,
\nt-shirt with jeans that were barely clinging to his little hips, and a white baseball hat. Never
\nsaw him in my life before this, so you can feel my curiosity as to why he was asking me this
\nquestion. So, I told him \u00e2\u20ac\u01533 in the morning, why do you ask?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ah\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said with a big smile, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That is a little better than your 2:15 wake up call from today!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Not sure who or how, all I could say was, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 wait \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 how did you know that?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am the hotel night auditor who took your wake up call last night \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Hello\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, he replied.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153OH, yes, OK, now I see. Hi, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m Doug Jones,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as I shook his hand.<\/p>\n
With grinning pride, he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes, I know.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Which left another question \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Wait \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 How did you know that was me getting out of the car?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Simple\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, he said, not losing an ounce of his posture, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I recognized your voice from the phone.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Amazed by this boy, I had to flashback to the night before: It was around 10:30pm and I
\ncalled down to the front desk for my insane wake up call. I remembered the receptionist
\nbeing a very animated and jovial voice I had never talked with before, as I told him that I
\nwasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t kidding, I honestly need to wake up at 2:15am to get outside to my driver by 2:30am.
\nHe chuckled with me, and wished me a good few hours of sleep. When 2:15 came, the phone
\nrang with the automated computer voice telling me to have a nice day. Ugh, the drudgery at
\nthis hour! I hung up the phone and lay there in the darkness for a couple of dangerous
\nbetter-not-drift-off-again minutes. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when the phone rang again. Again? The system
\nnever calls twice. When I picked up, I heard that jovial voice from the night before, asking
\nif I got my wake up call, and am I going to be OK. Something no one has ever done at any
\nhotel I have ever stayed at.<\/p>\n
Now let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s jump ahead to the following night again at the hotel entrance. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh! So that was
\nYOU who called me this morning to make sure I was OK! Do you do that for all your wake-up
\ncalls?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he replied, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine why anyone would have to get up that early, and I
\nknew the temptation to fall back asleep would be too great, so I had to call.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Yes. THIS
\nwas Ivan Ricci.<\/p>\n
Ivan walked with me up to the door of my suite, and in that short time I learned that he was
\nfrom Italy, but living and working at this Italian-owned hotel while in Hungary to fulfill a life-long
\ndream of recording his first music CD at a studio here in Budapest. Also in that short walk, he
\nasked all about me, and clutched his heart when he heard that I was here in Budapest as Abe
\nSapien working on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hellboy 2\u00e2\u20ac\u00b3. Turns out he was also a huge fan of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Labyrinth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and
\ncouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wait for the Silver Surfer, as well. Before he walked away from my door, he informed
\nme that he just lived one floor up, and that if I need anything, or if I have free time when he
\ndoes, all that.<\/p>\n
I have always said that angels come in two forms. The actual wing-flapping kind sent from
\nHeaven who protect us, and the people God places in our lives at the right place and time.
\nIvan didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know it, but he was an answer to prayer. I had been quite lonely in my first few
\nweeks here, not knowing where to go, or how to get there, and feeling very out of sorts with
\nthe language barrier. And here in a matter of minutes \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 plop \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m blessed with a local friend.<\/p>\n
Over the next two months, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to recount how much Ivan was in my life. Some snapshot
\nmemories would include:<\/p>\n
– Ivan grabbing me from the lobby as I limped in from another long day, dragging me behind the
\nfront desk, and insisting that I sit with him, David (another night auditor), and Gyorgy (Night
\nManager) whom I have also grown to know and adore. Ivan would have room service bring me a
\nmilkshake right there at the desk, and look up songs on YouTube that we could sing together.
\nIf I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to work the next day, this could go on until the sun came up.<\/p>\n
-Ivan making me get down on one knee in front of Night Manager Gyorgy and him as they did a
\ncomical knighting ceremony and presented me with my very own hotel employee badge with
\nDOUG on it.<\/p>\n
– Ivan continued phoning minutes after my wake-up calls any night that he was on duty.
\nOne wee-hour morning, he wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hang up until he talked me through all this \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a
\nbeautiful day. Sit up now. Smile because you are alive. Put your foot on the floor.
\nNow the other one. Turn on a light. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be a great day on the movie. OK?
\nOK. Now come downstairs and hug us before you go.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
– Ivan showing me where to buy tickets for the city trams and metros, then taking me for
\na test ride to a mall where I needed to buy a tea pot for my room.<\/p>\n
– Ivan taking Selma Blair and me to an Italian restaurant for his favorite dish there, Gnocchi
\nwith Gorgonzola. Heavenly comfort food. He and I re-visited this place many more times,
\nand always got the same thing. A creature of habit, just like me. We would sit in there and
\ntalk for hours about his dreams, his wishes, his passions. A young life with so much potential
\nand creative energy.<\/p>\n
– Ivan talking about his parents back home in Milano, and how his one top goal was to make
\nthem proud of him by fulfilling their wish for him to own his own house one day. As he spoke,
\nhe needed to take a pause as his eyes filled with tears. He told me he hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cried in front of
\nanyone in years, but how comfortable he was in front of me. Such an enormous compliment
\nfrom such an enormous heart.<\/p>\n
– Spending an evening with Ivan and his gorgeous Hungarian girlfriend Adrienn. Watching him
\npoint out her cute little nose and stunning green eyes was adorable. Later he told me that
\ngetting her to smile or laugh is one of life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s biggest pleasures. I learned that brightening
\nanyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s day is what that boy lived for.<\/p>\n
– Running my lines for a scene with Liz Sherman with the deep-voiced, Italian-accented Ivan.
\n He insisted that we keep going over the scene again and again until he was satisfied that I
\nknew it well enough. I can still hear his charming voice doing Liz\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s line \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Shut up Abe\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Shut-a Hup Habe\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
– Seeing his face as I gave him signed glossies of Abe, The Faun, and Silver Surfer. You would
\nhave thought I just gave him 3 gold bricks. Best of all, was knowing that he would have been
\nthe same Ivan with me if I was a bus driver.<\/p>\n
– Ivan telling me one of the things he loved most about me \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that even though I could wear
\nany designer label I wanted, I was most comfortable that day in my cut-off jeans, t-shirt with
\na stain on it, a tourist fanny pack, and a filthy ball cap that I pulled out of my friend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s salvage
\nyard in Texas. Yep, he fully \u00e2\u20ac\u0153got\u00e2\u20ac\u009d me.<\/p>\n
– Wherever we would be with piped-in music, Ivan stops everything, points to the ceiling and
\nsays, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love this song\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, followed by his fearless singing out loud to it. Of course I always
\njoined him.<\/p>\n
– Hearing him go on about style, colognes, food, and romance, starting every thought with
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Please \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m Italian!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, which totally justified all his opinions and tastes to the point where I
\nwanted to get a pen and jot down notes.<\/p>\n
– Watching him listen intently with a tilted head after he asked me to share why I believe
\nthere really is a God.<\/p>\n
– Seeing his face so proud of himself when he put one of his numerous pairs of designer
\nsunglasses on me. He stepped back, told me they were better on me than him, and sent me
\nback to my room with them.<\/p>\n
– Watching any store clerk or food server\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s barriers break down as Ivan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s charm would get
\nthem all to giggle within minutes.<\/p>\n
– Having Ivan take me to his music producer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (the delightful Achilla Sparta) radio show on a
\nwhim, and ending up staying and chatting on the air with Achilla and Ivan for 2 hours between
\nsongs about the Hungarian opening of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153F4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n
– Ivan telling me that when he got a call from the daytime desk manager asking him to cover a
\nday shift right after one of his night shifts, he understandably wanted to cuss. But instead, he
\nsaid that he heard my voice in his ear, and even affected my sing-songie tone to tell her, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why
\nyes, I would LOVE to.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
– Singing with Ivan, then him looking at me in all sincerity to say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You should do a song with me
\non my CD.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
– Watching Ivan charm the socks off of Mrs. Laurie the day after she arrived here. Over our
\nusual Gnocchi with Gorgonzola, he told Laurie that he has never known anyone like me, that he
\nnever thought he would meet someone 20 years older that would be this much like him, and
\nthen playfully pondered the possibilities of moving in with us in Los Angeles. By then, Laurie
\nwanted to know how soon he could get there.<\/p>\n
– Ivan telling me that even on his worst days, getting to see me somehow made all his troubles
\ndissolve away, and how talking with me always made him feel that anything was possible. I
\nhad no idea.<\/p>\n
So many moments to savor with this exuberant young man in the short span of only two
\nmonths. <\/p>\n
It was Sunday morning August 12th, just a couple of weeks ago, when my phone started
\nringing. I got out of bed to find three missed calls. Upon returning these calls, I spoke with
\ngirlfriend Adrienn and Linda, a long time friend of Ivan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family. What they told me left me in a
\nheap on the floor staring at the carpet.<\/p>\n
Ivan was in a coma. That Friday night, he and four friends were driving on the highway to the
\nbeautiful Lake Balaton. He left his job and living arrangement at the hotel a couple of weeks
\nbefore this, and told me that he had accomplished more with his song writing and vocal
\nrecording in those two weeks than he had in the entire last year that he has lived here. But
\nnow without a day job, he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sure if he could afford to stay. Ivan had told Laurie and me
\nhow his time at the Lake inspired him and gave him hope to continue his dream of finishing this
\nCD album of his. So it was no surprise that he took his friends up on an offer to return to the
\nlake for this weekend. Little did any of them know what was about to happen. While at top
\nspeed on the highway, and attempting to pass another vehicle, the car rolled, throwing Ivan
\nfrom the back seat, and leaving him with many injuries to his head, neck, stomach, and one
\nlung. Enough so, that the prognosis after surgery was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hopeless.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Now it was almost two days after the accident, and Ivan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friends and family found my number
\nin his cell phone. I was so humbled to hear friend Linda say that since the first day Ivan met
\nme, every time they spoke, he would spend half the time talking about this Dougie guy. She
\ntold me what a huge impact I had on Ivan, and said she simply had to contact me. Again, how
\nvery humbling to hear. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think any of us will ever fully know what effect we leave on
\nothers.<\/p>\n
All I could think to tell Linda was to please kiss Ivan on the forehead for me, whisper that
\nDougie loves him, and that God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s angels are all around. Holding him. Holding all of them.<\/p>\n
By 10:30 that night, the call came telling me that Ivan had indeed passed away.<\/p>\n
I was a mess.<\/p>\n
How could a 28 year old with such promise, such energy, such passion for life, such passion
\nfor people \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 how could his young life be over? So hard to wrap my head around. At my age,
\nhaving people in my life for 20, 30, 40 years, how did this boy make it so far into my heart in
\nonly 2 months.<\/p>\n
Let me share one last snapshot with you.<\/p>\n
One morning at around 3am, I was leaving the hotel for work as Ivan was heading back into
\nthe hotel after a party night off from work. He figured out what day it was and excitedly
\nsaid, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to work tonight either \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 may I come to the set with you?!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d So, he got in
\nthe Mercedes with Driver Joey and me, and off we went.<\/p>\n
Thus began a day that he referred to as a dream come true. Not only had he finally gotten
\nonto the set of a big Hollywood production, but he also got to witness the filming of that
\nscene with Selma that he helped me rehearse, and sat in my make-up trailer watching the
\nwhole Abe getting ready process. When our Hungarian assistant Nora stepped out for a
\ncigarette, Ivan joined her, leaving me alone for a minute with my make up artists Thom Floutz
\nand Simon Webber. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when Thom said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can see why you two get along so well \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a
\nyounger Italian version of \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 YOU.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Just then Ivan came bursting back into the trailer with a child-like excitement telling us we HAD
\nto come outside to see this!!! So, make-up half done and feet in slippers, I went outside with
\nall of them to witness the most beautiful double rainbow. By now it was around 6am, and the
\nsun was just rising in the east with a gray cloud cover over us that created the most beautifully
\nserene lighting over the sunflower fields that surround Korda Studios out in the country. And
\nthat rainbow \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d never seen. As I stood there taking it all in, Ivan came up behind me,
\nput his arm around my shoulder, and spoke with all the Italian charm he had in him, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153See what
\nhappens when you bring me to work with you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
I did see.<\/p>\n
To me, rainbows have always meant a sign of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s promises. And as I look at the attached
\npicture taken that morning by make-up artist Simon, I feel joy in the midst of all the sorrow. <\/p>\n
All that hope that Ivan spoke of. So happy that he got to record 5 songs before he left us,
\nthat producer Achilla will finish mixing and have available on MySpace soon. So happy that I
\nhad the chance to know this remarkable young man, who was an angel to me. So satisfied that
\neven though he never got to show his own house deed to his parents, he did own so much real
\nestate in people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hearts like mine. So happy that he got to see a double rainbow, marking
\nGod\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s promises to him so close to his own going home to Heaven.<\/p>\n
Please enjoy this beautiful photo with me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And if you get the chance, you may click on this link to see Ivan in a music video he made
\non a shoestring budget here in Budapest about 2 years ago. Goran MC \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s him.<\/p>\n\n
Thank you for indulging me in this very long catharsis. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll check in again soon to continue more stories from \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hellboy 2\u00e2\u20ac\u00b3, I promise.<\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Love!!! \u00e2\u20ac\u201d Dougie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wow. Over a month of silence from Dougie. Six day work weeks, and a three week visit from Mrs. Laurie has left me unable to sneak to this smelly internet cafe and share the stories that are piling up. But those stories have to wait for just a moment. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even think of telling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[900,899,173,448,174],"class_list":["post-2051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-release","tag-abe-sapien","tag-blog","tag-doug-jones","tag-guillermo-del-toro","tag-hellboy-2"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n