Photo by Bret Brookshire
The article below is written by Mike Burns, an artist at Imagine Art. — ed.
Mike Burns: Mop Boy
Life is a real roller coaster.
Sometimes I’m an artist and performer.
Other days I’m the mop boy.
As a young man I had a serious car accident. I was in a coma for a month and a half. 30 years later, I walk, I talk, I paint. I mop. I graduated from UT with a BA in psychology. I worked there for 17 years and had to retire because of brain complications.
Last June I went with Actual Lives to Washington DC to perform at the VSA arts International Festival. The crowds loved us, it was a real high. When I got back home, I went back to my job as a mop boy.
In July, I went with Imagine Arts to New Orleans for an art show. I sold 3 of my paintings right off the bat. We had a great time on Bourbon Street eating all that great food. We were on a roll! When I got back to Austin, I resumed the mild mannered mop boy.
In October, Actual Lives did a show at UT for about 300 students, professors and staff. It felt great to be back there as a performer. The next day, yep, it was back to the mop job.
One day I’m in front to 800 people, cooking on all cylinders. A 54 year old man, brain injured, dancing to strip tease music, bringing down the house. The next day, I’m cleaning bathrooms, emptying trash, and of course mopping, back at the SHAC, a self-help advocacy center.
Life’s a roller coaster, and I’m on it. And God says “Hang on.”
