update
The Goonies
Coasting down the hill, neutral, I’m excited about these prospects; searching, seeking out, it’s always another adventure. That which is sought after may or may not be where we are going. The rumble of the tires over the cobblestone wakes me from my thoughts, "We’ll park in the gravel lot if that’s ok with you and Dara". Traction slipping a little under the winter treads, not quite as sporty as usual but they get the job done.
"That bridge, are we crossing over that? I’ve never told you but I don’t particularly like walking on bridges," a child like fear creeps into Jason’s eyes and all of a sudden I imagine myself as a parent and Jason a child holding my hand, an innocent pout just beginning to quiver in his chin, tears building up, and a quiet ache in his scared voice.
"Kate! You’re the only one on the other side!" in my hands I’m holding my white canvas Keds mom got me for $5 at the PX on base. The water beneath the fallen tree is rushing with an urgency that reminded me of when we are late to church early Sunday mornings. I don’t like waking up that early to listen to some boring old stuffy dude lecture us about God, Jesus, the Good Samaritan, or any of those crazy disciples. I mean really, who believes in that stuff anyway? Back to waking up, yeah, I don’t like it and I don’t like the idea of falling into this dumb small river. I could hear the water roaring over the rocks, mini rapids teasing me.
"Will you hold my hand while I cross over?"
"Will you hold my hand while we cross over?" Jason said, a touch of embarrassment blinking in and out of existence in his bright clear blue eyes. It is memories like this I fear forgetting; overcoming weakness, learning about each other, and growing together. I make it a point to remember that the sky is grey which gives us a nice even diffuse light for shooting, Jason is wearing his skate shoes just in case he gets wet or muddy, his eyes are a brighter blue than I’ve ever seen, he’s acting shy about the issue, it’s absolutely adorable, and his grip is a lot stronger than usual. My left hand is weighted down by my camera while the other is in Jason’s hand.
"Hold on tight. We’re in for a ride," smiling up into the sky blues and we’re off.
"Can we start the movie already?" Lily and Daniel are impatiently waiting for the popcorn to finish exploding out of the ancient tower shaped popcorn maker.
"Yeah hold on, we need to add more butter." They’re always impatient when it’s not them making the popcorn. The steel bowl that’s just a little less wide than the TV is now filled almost to the brim with popcorn drowning in melted butter. The TV is just a little wider than I can stretch my arms, perfect for getting sucked into when watching a movie, especially when it’s The Goonies in the VCR.
"Get the soda yourself man. I can’t carry everything at the same time."
"Man, this reminds me of the good old days." Jason is smiling as he sets foot on Belle Isle and off the God forsaken bridge. "My friends and I used to BMX in places just like this." I can almost see the memories playing back in his eyes, I want to sit back and relax with a bag of popcorn and soda as he retells his own adventures, visuals like movies building up in my mind. Through playful nagging and gentle suggestions I’ve finally gotten Jason to seriously pick up his camera again which leads us to now, where we play at competing when we shoot together. Once the lens caps are removed the nerdage begins. "Where should we go? This place is like the land time forgot."
The faded maroon carpet worn by our little feet, dirty shoes, and constantly moving furniture acts like a massive placemat for the bowl big enough for me to sit in filled with popcorn. It’s always a fight to get a seat on the futon; I’m one of the losers so I take my place next to the bowl. Mine. All mine. The sun shining through the curtains can’t reflect off the TV screen and ruin the movie for us because the huge screen is hiding in the even huger wooden cabinet; the cabinet that was always locked back when we lived on Guam. "Man those were the good old days," and they were. The three years before 1991. Dad was stationed on Guam, a long 30 minute plane flight from Saipan where most of mom’s family lived. The never ending boonies and jungle called to us during the day and whispered at night. We answered by playing and making up adventures that kept us out past sunset and mom yelling at us until we knew we were in deep deep trouble.
"Can you imagine the parties and games that could be thrown here? The state’s largest hide-and-go seek party in history. The dance parties would be bigger than Northern Virginia has every known. Aw man, I wonder what it would take..." Jason’s train of thought runs into his camera rising like the sun in front of his face as he peeks to see what this composition or that shot looks like. I’m torn between watching Jason at work, having fun, looking like a kid in a candy store and keeping up with this pseudo unspoken competition we are having. When Jason isn’t looking I break from the obvious path and run into the weeds gone wild, they look like a million arms reaching for the sky, almost as tall as me. My hood is up, crushing my curls and keeping my neck safe from the wind, cold fingers sending shivers down my spine when they caress my skin. I turn hearing Jason’s muffled voice say something and am greeted by his amateur paparazzi lens not far from my smile staring at me. The sound of his shutter releasing and snapping back sends my mind into what feels to be a not too distant memory.
[to be continued...]