4/18-20- The Arrival & The Book of Trent

Oh, how the time goes.

We plowed through Virginia on the last day aboard the veggie bus. With one beautiful side road detour from a mysterious warning light on the bus, we soon found ourselves entering the capitol of our nation in a freshly frisked bus. Navigating the streets of DC we managed to get turned all the way around, from The Mall back to the outskirts by the Beltway back in to The Mall again. Docking momentarily for Todd and I to hop off, say goodbyes with email exchanges, and get our last picture taken together, we soon were off on our own with packs strapped upon our backs.

Todd's a big ole Dr. King fan, so our first bit of business as we waited for Trent (I hope y'all are reading Todd's posts too, because mine won't make sense on their own) was to visit the Reflecting Pool and the I Have a Dream/Lincoln Memorial.

We meandered through there, snapping off pictures at every turn, then began wandering over to the Vietnam Memorial when Trent called. Being completely brain dead I had suggested he pick us up at The Mall as an easy landmark in the city, and a good one to explore while we wait. The trick there being that its so large that there should be plenty to do and see. The flip side being that vague references to vast acreages of land is probably not best suited for meeting places. When he called, it turned out that he had happened to park probably two miles from where we were.

I haven't seen Trent in almost ten years, since I got out of college. Even then, he had always been someone I really respected both as a filmmaker as well as an individual, though we rarely hung out as friends but more as close acquaintances in similar circles. I knew some things about his life and interests then, but was surprised about his passions today.

Once we got in the car, around 4pm, and driving back to his house in Maryland the conversation that would take us through to 4am began. Trent believes the cities in America are, in many cases, dead or dying due to a siphoning off of interest in the '50s and '60s to the safe havens that are suburbs. Suburbs, as we then discovered by the '80s and '90s, became a cemetery for passion and culture and birth place to crimes of boredom and concealed frustration. The most famous of which being Columbine, in my opinion, but I know plenty of cases of basement meth labs and white picket prostitution. Gives life that spice you can't seem to find. Todd and Trent bonded immediately over a whole variety of these social, and later in the night, political issues.

Meagan, Trent's stunning ballerina girlfriend of a few years, came over as well and the couple made us dinner while we talked. Still dabbling in video, Trent decided to break out the camera and have the two of them interview us. The both of them probed into our intentions, methods, and lives with engaging questions that inspired us to ask them back to them at times.

What I found most interesting was our mutual admiration for the others life. Trent is one who, likewise, grew up running around in the woods. He seems to have that same zeal for life in all its curiosities and adventures. I think we're quite similar in that way. My admiration mostly comes from this amazing family he has. From designing and building the house he lives in with his father, to living in it with his daughter. I remember feeling a pang of lost family when I worked on a beautiful film back in '99 about Trent feeling he had deserted his daughter while he went to NYC for college. That was the first time I met Cassidy at 4 years old, and his father was right there again helping along.

I shouldn't get too gaga about admiring his tight knit family. I do feel very close to my family as well, particularly my Mom and sister. My Dad and I are also in a good process right now of closing a gap that took me a long time to realize was there. The difference, though, is that I'm close to them as individuals, not as a family, and I'm realizing now that that is significant. Its starting to dawn on me why having so many close friends spread around thousands of miles is easy, yet hard, for me to accept. What I saw in my glimpse at Trent's life was a very happy, successful version of what I sought to set up for myself last year in Denver. I write all of this on a mobile keyboard, under a rain soaked tarp, on a bed of leaves in Maryland.

That's the interesting part for me, because that adventure is what seemed to be Trent's admiration for my life. Sunday morning we talked a bit about this dichotomy of interests in both our lives. Trent suggested everyone feels this way, but I don't agree. I certainly don't think we're rare, but I know many, such as my Nana and Papa, who were quite happy just being in their home in their town. In fact they went on a big road trip at one point at everyone's encouragement. When they got back and were asked what they thought Nana said, "the world is the world over." That was her polite way of saying, "thanks, but I could just as well have stayed home."

Sunday afternoon I got to re-meet Cassidy again as a teenager now. She fits perfectly into that family's tradition of well placed, thought- out questions. She, of course, didn't remember me from the shoot in her toddler years. From some pictures I'd sent Trent while cleaning out my apartment she was able to recognize me as the guy who had blinded himself for a day by getting sun tan lotion in my eyes. I tried to remind her that I was the one who spent most of the down time keeping her entertained playing dolls with her. Alas, she didn't remember.

After that, we road with Trent up to Annapolis to roam the town while he and Meagan attended a fundraiser. Most of that time was in a coffee shop where I wrote some letters to folks back in Denver. When we returned home again Trent showed us a really nice documentary he and Cassidy did of a road trip through the South they took last year.

The next day, Monday, I woke up early and arranged things to meet up with my friends Bill & Laura in DC. I also got some nice Happy Birthday calls from my Dad and my friend, Rachel, in California, and another, via email, from Shivalik in Philly. Todd and I then packed up our digs and after some to do we piled back into the car.

On our way to DC we visited with Trent's parents at the house he grew up in. It was supposed to be for lunch, but we dilly dallied too long. His sister was there as well with her two little ones while we all told stories of our travels. It was nice seeing Trent's Dad again as he reminds me quite a bit of my own. After checking out Trent's childhood fort, which his nephew is inheriting, we were off.

Click here for Todd's perspective.