Discovering My Dad #3: OMG! I have a sister!!!

After Las Vegas we headed to the Grand Canyon and it was time to make the call to Ariana Gardner Herrman! MY SISTER!

I felt the butterflies in my stomach as I pulled up her name to make the call. It's an interesting feeling discovering I have a sister you never knew of, from a father I've never met... 
The moment she picked up, the butterflies just turned to excitement. I am hearing the voice of my bloodline, and there is something to it, I never quite understood before... I felt a sense of connection different than any I have known before, a connection that drew me in and said 'I just need to be near this person, this person is a part of me!'. Her voice made me giggle (not only do I have a sister, but I have a sister with a thick southern accent!!! Yeah!!!) and her enthusiasm matched and exceeded mine. This was a pure moment.

We wasted no time and jumped directly into what she knew about the man I never met. Piece by piece the revelations of my own story were presented to me. The talent, the creativity and the energy of my life today was revealed along side the narcissism and self loathing of my past. As we navigated the many layers that mirrored my own story, one of my deepest fears was revealed in the tragedy that was my father's end. This sent me into an oblivion of tears. Tears of Sorrow, Tears of Gratitude and Tears of Letting Go. 
Although I am not ready to share publicly what that fear is, it is safe to say that my father's playing out of that specific fear is just the healing balm I needed to erase that possibility from my own story. For that I am sincerely grateful.

We ended our time searching for as many possibilities to see each other as possible along this journey. I trusted it will be sooner then later! and sure enough, it is! We will meet in one week!! This is so exciting!

It's been a few days now, and I am still vibrating from my connection with my sister and cannot wait to fill in more of the banks in person very soon...

Discovering My Dad #2: Show me who you married, and I'll tell you who you are :)

Las Vegas was the first stop planned on the #HolidayGratitudeTour. As it happens, it is also the home of the fabulous Heidi Thompson, whom just happens to be my dad's ex-wife... 

And although I have never met my dad, just talking to her on the phone got me thinking, anyone who married such an awesome, dynamic and talented woman has to be a pretty cool guy :)

Heidi invited us into her (Coolest Christmas Decorated) home for some food and conversation. I learned that my dad was a spiritual seeker. He studied Holistic Living, Kinesiology, Acupuncture and dabbled in Scientology amongst other things! Super duper cool!!! heheeh! Never been there myself, but awesome. I also learned that he was a great salesman and was a very charming, likable and playful guy.

She shared pictures, life stories and more and really we just connected, as she and her beloved are just an amazing people! A woman after my own heart :) We connected on love, relationships, music and life. One happy family really. It was super enjoyable. 

When I was looking at the pictures, I noticed that I have seen this man before. I truly felt like he had been in my life. Maybe he did. He lived in cali for a while..Hmmm... 

We left with music, laughter full bellies, full hearts and a few more pieces to the puzzle. I am very grateful for the opportunity to explore!

This is the Video of us first meeting:

And the journey continues...

Oh, and here's a funny video from one of their projects together: Tekno Penguins - Mandroid the Android

Discovering My Dad #1

Today I am very very grateful and thankful for my father, Rich Gardner. (Yes I did just say my father smile emoticon and today would have been his 65th birthday)

THE STORY

For many of you who know me, the first 38 years of my life when people would ask me about my father, I would tell them that my father was killed by a drunk driver in front of the Forum in Los Angeles a few months before I was born. He was a bassist and a lead singer for Hard Rock band called Buzz Bone and they released a single called "Magic."

The only person whom questioned the story was my beloved and super intuitive wife Mai Segev-Pohnke . So, over the years, she slowly begin to seek out and learn information about my father. I remained clueless and was not ready to go there as that was the story that I had told my whole entire life and that is what I believed.

Last May, with tears in her eyes, my beloved aunt sat me down and delivered the news that my father never passed away. Really, he never even knew I existed, as my mom, with the purest intentions, made the decision that it was better for him not be in our lives.

After a few long deep breaths, I let go, called everyone from my family and forgave them and opened up to the great possibility of having a relationship with this man!!

Two days after I found out, my aunt, my wife and I were sitting around a table and we decided to do a YouTube search for Buzz Bone "Magic." We had done hundreds in the past but today, A new video popped up!

In the description it stated that after 38 years, Shroom Records (Love the name) re-releases Buzz Bone "Magic."

With all the anticipation you could ever imagine, we watched the video of all the original members stream through in front of our eyes, pointing out player after player and wondering which one was my father. At the end of the video the names showed above the players, and with the picture below, you can see that the resemblance was uncanny!!

So we called the company and asked if they knew where Rich Garden was. They told us that he as the only member that they could not find.

So we continued to search for a while, uncovering many clues (special thanks to Si Thacker), but kept hitting roadblocks. Then, we decided to let go.

As we were beginning to prepare for the upcoming ‪#‎HolidayGratitudeTour‬, we realized that we would be going to Houston, Texas, which we discovered was his place of birth, and dig around a little bit and see if we could find some leads.

Then, three weeks ago, we are sitting and having dinner for my cousins birthday party and we find that one of our family members is a private investigator. She immediately latches onto the story and is excited to uncover the mystery. She took the information (may I add, very well research information, I think my wife could be a private investigator herself smile emoticon), and did her magic.

A few days later, we received phone calls, messages and texts uncovering pieces of this story. I have a sister in Dallas. I think I have a brother in California. I have an aunt in Houston and tomorrow, the first day of our two-month tour, our first stop will be at one of my dad's ex-wife's house, who, from our brief conversation already, said my Dad was an incredible musician!

Tomorrow morning, we will begin to uncover another story of this fun and wonder filled life!

I Truly am Looking forward to all the possibilities and very grateful to be alive and to share this with you, my dear friends and loved ones, many whom have shared this story of the first 38 years with me, and many new friends who share the new story.

Supposedly, he died two years ago, but I won't know for sure until I uncover each and every piece of the story. Stay Tuned at #HolidayGratitudeTour smile emoticon

Let the journey begin...