Office space
“Where I lived, and what I lived for…”
Good morning! It’s 5:30am, and I can’t sleep. So I thought I’d better get up and do something productive. Like write a letter to ya’ll.
I’ve been up North for two months now, living in tiny, isolated Covelo, California. It is a town of about a thousand in the middle of a flat, round valley, surrounded 360 degrees by mountains. To get into and out of the valley, you have to drive a windy canyon road for about 50 minutes. The nearest Bank of America or Movie Theater is an hour and a half away! So as you can imagine, there have been few things to distract me from my script writing.
…Which is going very, very well. I am almost done outlining the 2nd draft, and will begin implementing the changes next week. I’m actually really excited about how it’s shaping up, and am aiming to be done with version 2 by the end of April.
It’s been fascinating to try out some of Thoreau’s ideas in the process. He was a huge advocate of minimizing one’s housing expenses — of living in a simpler “box” — in order to pursue one’s dreams and goals. (Not having to work for pay frees up time for your own pursuits, is the idea.)
I have to admit, it was pretty amazing to get up here, do the math, and realize my expenses had dropped by 60 or 70%. Thoreau built his cabin on Emerson’s land near Walden Pond and lived on less than $62 per year. I’m coming in around $500 per month…! (Times have changed, eh?) Our ‘cabin’ is a 33-foot trailer, so it’s tight quarters for my mom and I. But we’re making it work. And it’s been amazing to get up each morning and work on something I feel so passionately about, minus the stress of working 2 or 3 jobs on top of it.
And, it’s beautiful here! I literally get to lie in the sun in a field of yellow flowers while I work. It’s ridiculously extravagant. And it’s very restorative after a couple of extremely stressful years. I’ve craved balance for the last 8 years or so… ever since my stressed-out college days inspired “Marbles” in the first place. I would say this is the closest I’ve come to having a balanced life. I always wondered if it was possible.
I make it sound all picturesque and perfect. Truth is, it’s hard for me to be here. I do get restless and turn into a complete angst-fest (just ask my mom). Whereas Thoreau went to the woods by choice, I went kicking and screaming out of financial necessity. I’m trying to embrace contentment, which is what the script is all about. But it’s definitely a discipline, and not a warm fuzzy stuffed animal.
But anyway. It’s been an amazing journey so far. That being said, I can’t wait to get back to L.A. I miss my friends and my church… and my movie theaters.
I feel like I’m back in High School…
I’ve been working part time at the local high school to cover my (significantly reduced) expenses. That in itself has provided some rather weighty food for thought. This community, tiny as it is, has plenty of issues (drug abuse and domestic violence being at the top of the list). It’s just heartbreaking to start to understand some of the negative forces at work in these kids’ lives. My mom works at the elementary school and has 8-year olds already showing disturbing violent tendencies, who will probably end up in jail before they’re 21. It’s demoralizing because it seems like a lost cause. Hearing 7-year olds sing obscene lyrics or imitate Michael Jackson’s sexual gestures just kind of kills you inside, you know? And what can you do? A hug here, a compliment there. Try to help them feel valued and loved somehow. It’s drops in an ocean, when their home lives are so bad. This is where real Christian love can (and needs to) make a difference. But when it comes down to it, I find myself entirely inadequate to the task… sorely lacking when it comes to practicing all the fancy principles I profess. And it would take a whole army of mature, loving people to make a difference at this school.
But we pray for them each night… and do our best during the day.
My mom says we’ve created an absolute monstrosity in this generation. It is the product of broken families and marriages, distracted parents, hyper-sexualized media coursing out of every available outlet, and a greed-motivated faux-opulence disguised as the American Dream. We’ve come to call light darkness and darkness light.
It scares me. I’m coming face to face with my own powerlessness against evil in the world, and realizing only God can work the kind of redemptive miracles this society needs. That realization is probably a good place to start. But we all have our part to play… Going home and writing a script about Thoreau hardly seems like the answer right now. Yet I think it will open opportunities for ministry down the road…
So I’m trying to channel all of this into the writing.
Needs
I think we would all agree that Chris Ackerman was fantastic in the role of Thoreau, and I would absolutely love to pay him what he deserves for his work. We had a generous donor sponsor our other two union actors, but still need to raise $2100 to pay Chris. If you’d like to donate toward his payment, make checks out to Handwritten Pictures and mail them to 22830 S. Airport Rd. Covelo, CA 95428. Just memo it “Chris Ackerman fund.” If you’d like your donation to be tax-deductible, send me an email and we’ll set it up. Remember, even $10 or $20 helps a lot! And thank you so much.
Me, I need chiropractic care. Doctor says 4 times a month, but I can only afford once or twice. It’s $45 a pop; if anyone wants to sponsor that, I’d really appreciate the help.
Please continue to keep the writing process in your prayers.
With love,
“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” – Thoreau
