Archive for May 15, 2007

“TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH IS EXPECTED”

May 15, 2007 by PT Rothschild.

IT’S THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE THE STORY, NOT THE STORY THAT MAKES THE PEOPLE – DISPLACE ME – Part 2, The ‘Backstory’

For the folks who read my embed report on the GNC a year ago, you might remember there was a story within a story, that being the section about 800 people being chosen to go downtown to be part of the filming for then forthcoming GNC DVD. With 8000 people spread out in Balboa Park in various color sleeping bags that all looked gray in the moonlight, how did my little bunch of sleepers become part of the ‘chosen’? Long story short, a young woman whose name began with an ‘H’. For the long story complete, see the archives. So this year, how did I get to be ‘displaced’ in LA when I ride a bicycle everywhere to protest the ‘war’? Once again, this adventure started with a young woman whose name began with an ‘H’. And once again there’s a ‘but wait, there’s more’ side to it.
Anyone who has been following my latest INVISIBLE CHILDREN adventure blogs knows the ‘H’ this time is TVHS English teacher, Ms. Lauren Hogerheiden. As the time came down to go to the ‘DM’ event, most of the people who said they were down had gotten caught up in their lives but I kind of figured that might happen. I still held faith in my heart because the whole ‘Invisible Children’ thing has a certain divine nobility spin to it*. For those of you unaware of magic or karma, ‘noble causes’ give you ‘brownie points’ you can’t imagine, or put the Christian way, God smiles on those He deems noble. I saw it at the GNC, on the faces of the young people standing or rather laying down for young people a half a world away. Young people they won’t know this side of Judgment. In today’s world that’s like finding ‘hen’s teeth’. But I digress.
Again it was down to two days and this time there was no Eddie. But when I went to the last ICU TVHS club meeting, Ms. ‘H’ says, “We’re all meeting here at the school at noon on Saturday. OK, I think to myself, great, transportation problem solved. But like a ‘Firefly’ plot, what looks smooth sailing going in, isn’t. I got to the school at 11AM after getting the rock bus donated to me and stayed till 1:30. There’s no one who remotely looks ‘Displaced’ and I’m bumming, plus I don’t have Ms. ‘H’s phone number on me and my son isn’t home to retrieve it for me. So back home I go, driving the ‘movie bus’ which gets me into a confrontation with the block ‘bully’, Rugburn McSweeney, who lets me know that he moved to my neighborhood to get away from things like the ‘movie bus’. Having been married to a ‘witch’, I don’t take intimidation well, besides nobody likes a rugburn.
I call Lauren, Ms. ‘H’, and she says the trip is still on. There is a student being taken up by her mom and Ms. ‘H’ is leading the way. The day has bottomed out! It’s back on the bus after a quick second shower for the sweat I worked up. Twenty minutes later as we roll up in the SUV with printed Google Map or Map Quest sheets, I find out that the weekend before, Ms. ‘H’ was at a funeral, burying a college friend who used to call her once a week to check up on his ‘bud’. Now this weekend she’s heading up to ‘Displace Me’ and pitch a cardboard tent for some kids in Uganda, where she hopes to teach this summer. Must be all the rock climbing she does. She is ‘discovery channel’ tough. But wait, there’s more.
Once we get up there the place is controlled commotion. People are everywhere. We stop to get a lay of the land. Alyssa Schaan and her mom are standing with my stuff, cardboard, SB, and backpack. But I have to get a shot of the front entrance sign and when I return, all those folks have disappeared except I have my cellphone with our numbers, ah ha, what did we ever do without cellphones?. Alyssa and mom have set up things in the back and so I look to see where Ms. ‘H’ is. Not too far into the crowd and just off the walkway I spot her talking with friends Kelsey Aschberger, and one of them is about my age. I say ‘hello’ to a man named John and say something like ‘it’s good to see another chaperone at this party’. We start to talk and lo and behold, he’s friends with Jason Russell. “Like to meet him?” I think, is the Pope German? He marches me right over there and says, “Jay? This is PT Rothschild.” I keep it in 25 words or less with a handshake, as duty calls and Jason goes back to directing things like a lion tamer in the middle of 20 cats, each one doing the right trick, then the next trick. And then John gives me the 411 on Jason Russell and all the pieces start to fall into place. Folks, this really isn’t your Grandpa’s March of Dimes.
Not many people may know that Invisible Children has a music side to it. They are now inchahoots with various new music shows that are benefit shows. Got a bunch of tour dates, too. Also the IC group has some videos out that have a theatrical touch to them, and I always wondered about this. Because this is such a serious and adventuresome cause, where did they get the inspiration to do a video where they bend their bodies like Plastic Man, and what’s with the Captain EO reference?
Well, it turns out the Jason’s father started the Christian Youth Theatre in San Diego. John has the branch CYT in T-town so they know each other. Lauren was part of the branch in T-town and also in the youth camp group which they were all part of where Jason was a counselor; and then there’s the Biola College connection, a Christian Liberal Arts college and home to Justin Wheeler & Matthew Provo (see GNC archive ‘The Shakers’), along with one Lauren Hogerheiden. ‘And so, the circle is now complete – D. Vader.’ They are all cut from the same cloth. Later when we all sat down for breakfast sans ‘Jay’ the next morning, I sat next to Dane, a surfer friend in the group as he talked of his traveling times. He had been to the GNC in Chicago where it rained buckets the whole time. Across from him sat Thomas who was at the Fort. Collins GNC and talked of how the bar drunks in the downtown city area had to step over all these bodies on the sidewalk. I had my tales to tell of SD’s perfect weather and our downtown film detour.
And what of the cloth of Jason? Well, he was there at the LA ‘Displace Me’ with his mother and eight month pregnant Danica, his wife. He led us in all our projects, film clips, dances, and film scenes. When the sun came up and everyone started heaping their used cardboard into the dumpster and the volunteer ‘war stoppers’ took preorders for the new ‘black’ Sunday bracelet, Jason was up and standing over by a white tent, directing like a lion tamer now with just two cats. It was time to go over and really say ‘hello’. It was the same ‘I’m glad you came’ and that same genuineness occurrence I recalled when I met Dr. King, when he came to my hometown to desegregate it with the ‘kids’ help. He, like Jason is there for the ‘cause’, not the name. 44 million people saw Jason, Bobby, and Laren on the Oprah show and what did she do? Go off and build a school somewhere else so she could put her name on it. Invisible Children is not your uncle’s United Way. Sooner or later these young adults and their movement are going to bust through the media barrier, and when they do it’s going to be BIG. This is a movement with personality just waiting to pop into the mainstream culture. You heard it here first. (PS: click on pictures to enlarge)