Hey, this is Zak, My mom was interviewed about Tim Barrus for The L.A. Weekly, and the City Pulse here in Lansing. I found all this Andy Kaufmann lives stuff researching the "Nasdijj" story. I think Steve Rocco, or whoever runs the Enrique/Claire Board, is simply using the idea of Tim Barrus as a great imposter/con-artist to bolster any idea that Andy may be alive, and to tie in Andy as aperson pulling a great hoax in the present day, which means he is still alive, or at least was. But pictures exist of both Rocco, and Barrus, and they are obviously not the same people, plus when Roco was running for school board, Barrus was not in hiding, and only after he was exposed did he suddenly become "God" of the website. Rob, sorry they are so mean to you on the enrique board! Wish I understood......
And I'll thank Sara and everyone else here who can easily tell that's not me posting under "my name" over there. It's strange that Claire isn't removing that stuff, since it's probably harming the overall tone of her board, but if she wishes to encourage it, oh well. Once upon a time she might have said "It's all about Andy," and none of that has anything to do with Andy.
The site has taken a strange turn... really, ever since the Steve Rocco thing. Now it seems to be all about finding the latest "odd character" of the day and making them the site's erstwhile "author." Most likely meant to encourage those trying to look up information on the web about these people to visit the site, maybe on the assumption that if they are interested in these oddballs, they might like reading about Andy. In my opinion, that could be detrimental to the "Andy Kaufman story" more than it might help it.
In thinking about this, I realize too that the whole Steve Rocco thing was rather sad and unfortunate. Steve Rocco, from all appearances and anecdotes, would appear to be someone punching at shadows for fear of enemies lurking within them. Pointing additional attention via allowing people to think he might be Andy Kaufman, just adds more to his burden. At least when Andy "Kaufmanized" someone, his targets would tend to be robust, healthy, ordinary citizens who could withstand a little tweaking... not the unfortunates of the world who could be actually harmed by it.
I only hope that Steve did not find another demon haunting him as a result of that nifty "practical joke" parading as a Kaufmanism. Yes, of course, let's get people to look for Andy Kaufman, alive and well, at this troubled man's house? Likewise, Tim Barrus and the Piano Man and any other number of people who, for whatever reason they are dealing with problems, certainly don't need another weight added to their shoulders.
