Media of the Week – The Documentary

Pin It I know that I usually post links to music, humor, or something that brings a tear to your eye and a smile to your heart.

This week I’d like to do something just a little bit different than any of that, because a few years ago I created a documentary.

No, I’m not a filmmaker…that’s one thing for sure; however, I wanted to give a crack at it. At the time we had this amazing after-school coordinator, Melanie Bliss (yes, my longtime friend and once-upon-a-time cowriter at Four Perspectives). You see Melanie had started up a program a few years back called “Stories on Stage.”

In a nutshell, it was dramatics programs like you’ve probably never seen before…loaded with awesome and just a smidge of ‘whoa.’

Yeah, I thought that it was simply amazing.

I could go on and on right now—telling you all about it—but then this sixteenish minute documentary I made would be rather pointless now, wouldn’t it?

Yeah, that’s just what I was thinking.

Why do I do it?

Pin It People have asked me that many times.

Why do I spend hour upon hour making videos for the school I work at? Most people don’t know that a video such as the one I create for the sixth grade graduation usually takes me between 15 and 20 hours to put together. But why? Why would I want to spend that many hours of my life on something like that?

I’ll tell you.

Tonight I received yet another reminder of why creating something like this is so important…

I had come home from work a bit later than usual, grabbed a quick bite, and then had planned to leave when there came a knock at the door. Thinking it was my friend, Gregg, or perhaps my sister, I opened it and instead found myself facing two high school-aged boys, both about seventeen years old.

“Hey guys, what can I do for you?”

The first boy started to talk. “We’re wondering if you’d be interested in trying out the Daily Herald for a month—free.”

I really wasn’t interested in this, but I was trying to be polite. “Well, to tell you the truth, I usually read the news online, or listen to the radio in the morning when I am getting ready.”

One of the boys looked hard at me and asked, “Mr. Z?”

I looked at him…I had no idea who this kid was.

“It’s me, Ryan…I went to SSV!” I strained my memory to remember just who this kid was…he didn’t look familiar to me at all. I mentally tried to peel away the years from his face; trying to see the sixth grade boy there. Then I saw him.

This boy hadn’t been in my class, he’d been with one of the other sixth grade teachers. The other boy added, “I’m Coby.” Once-again, I tried to mentally turn back the effects of time from the young man’s face; trying to see the student who’d once walked the hallways of my school. He was harder to place, but as both boys talked, I began to remember.

As these young men stood on my front steps, they both began to reminisce about the “good old days” when they were both elementary-aged kids, and spoke of the programs we’d had for them: the all-night read-a-thon, the BYU Mentor Program, MountainQuest, Red Rock, Phase, and on went the list with both of them interjecting comments about their fond memories about elementary school.

One of them said, “I never did want the MountainQuest DVD when I was a kid…I just didn’t care. I really regret that now because I want to remember it all better.”

I mentioned that I’d made the DVD and had the master copy. “Do you want a copy of it?” I asked. A few of my friends and I were getting ready to watch a movie, but we turned on the MountainQuest DVD instead. All I can say is I received yet another reminder of why I do this. To watch their expressions and how they would both say, “Do you remember so-and-so?”

“Boy, they’ve changed so much!”

“I was so little back then!”

This was so rewarding.

It wasn’t long before these two former students left, however, I couldn’t help but find myself deep in thought long after the boys had gone. I thought about the many hours I’ve put into these videos and realized that it was all worth it in the end. Not only did it help me to remember, it was also a vehicle which helped both of these boys look back through the conduit of time, and more easily remember how it once was for them.

At the end of the MountainQuest video I’d put the phrase, “Childhood is brief, but memories last a lifetime.” I now see the truth in that simple, little statement I’d written nearly six years ago.

Oh, and by the way, I will be getting the Daily Herald for a month…

Only because you asked

Pin It I’ve been asked several times for this, and I put off even looking for it.

However, I found it on accident.

Yes, I used to have long hair.

As I was rummaging about my basement office looking for something entirely different, I stumbled across a box I hadn’t seen for quite some time. I was instantly “sucked in,” looking at a lot of different items in that box. One of these items was a newspaper clipping from when I was in a play called “Gifts of the Magi” at the Woodland Theatre up in Kettle Falls, Washington.

As I was reading over the accompanying article, I found some photos of fellow cast members, but alas, none of yours truly with his hairstyle akin to Fabio’s. It’s strange, I remembered just how much I loved drama growing up and enjoyed being in productions. I don’t have the time to do it now, but it is fun to remember. As I looked at the photos of cast members from other productions, I found myself wondering just where they are now. What paths did they take in their lives? What kind of adult are they now?

I really miss some of those people.

The lady in the photo was a good friend of mine at the time, Kathy Blevins. I haven’t seen or heard from her for several years. We played every role in the play with the exception of the 4 leads. “City Him” and “City Her.” It was a fun production and I loved being in it. I still am haunted by the songs from that play as well…they take me back to another time and place when I think about them.

A time when I used to have long hair…

and liked it.