I’ve been fortunate enough to have lots of good roommates over the years, but one of my favorite stretches kicked off in the spring of 2007 when my friend Mark and I decided to rent a little house in Bountiful with my future brother-in-law John. I had met Mark several years earlier, when we worked together at the Utah Statesman up in Logan. Back then, my future roommate worked as a features editor, handling my weekly columns and movie reviews during my second year of grad school at USU. He always had a thoughtful interest in movies, which paired well with his sharp sense of humor. We lost contact after graduation, but reconnected a few years later at a singles ward in Salt Lake. The year and a half we spent as roommates solidified our friendship through a series of memorable group dates and parties, all while Mark made his way through law school at the University of Utah. Eventually Mark graduated and moved to Provo, John married my sister, and I moved out of the house myself in mid-2009. Mark met his wife Holly down in Utah County, and started practicing law while building a family. In the years since, we’ve managed to keep up a steady tradition of holiday get-togethers and occasional Jazz games, and more recently, things have come full-circle as Mark has joined me at several of my press screenings in Salt Lake (most recently for Knives Out, which we both recommend). A couple of months back, we hit up Rusted Sun Pizzeria with our mutual friend Chidsey to eat calzones and catch up, and I finally got to add my old friend/editor/roommate to the Power Lunch Portrait Club.
Last May I was asked to speak in church on Mother’s Day, and as is usually the case, I probably got more out of the experience of preparing than my audience received from the address itself. My subject was the connection between motherhood and Christlike love, and it gave me a new perspective on a woman I’ve known my entire life. When I was younger, I would usually contextualize my mom in pop culture terms. I’d think of memories of going to see Return of the Jedi together when I was a child, or listening to Motown on the car stereo when our family would take long drives. It was the discovery of her teenage collection of original Beatles albums that sparked my interest in being in a band, and I wasn’t surprised at all to learn that my parents had been watching Saturday Night Live on an October evening when my mom went into labor with me. But as an adult, more important intangibles have become clear, such as her limitless generosity and instinct for unconditional love. I’ve also gained a better appreciation for what she did before I was born, joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a convert in her twenties, and moving from her home in Ohio to start a life with my dad in Utah. In the time since my dad’s death five years ago, my mom has become even more of a confidant than she was as I was growing up, and I’ve enjoyed watched her transition from Great Mom to MVP Grandma for my three nieces. My portrait project this year has been a great way to reconnect with old friends and cultivate new friendships, but on certain outings, like our afternoon drive up to Ruth’s Diner, it’s been a fantastic way of gaining perspective on the people who know me best.
If you dial up KSL Radio right now*, you’ll hear the impassioned tones of my friend Steve as he discusses this week’s new movie releases with Doug Wright. I don’t know what he’ll be saying, but if history serves I’ll agree with about 80% of it, unless you tune in on one of those random broadcasts when he references my dating life. I met Steve in January of 2013 when I joined the KJZZ Movie Show as a featured critic. For about three and a half years, he and I teamed up with host Melanie Nelson to review the latest releases and share our favorite movie recommendations on a half-hour TV show. After KJZZ was sold, our show was cancelled, but as we continued reviewing films for our other outlets, there have been very few weeks in the last seven years that haven’t seen us sitting together in at least one theater at a local press screening. I met Steve right around the time I made the switch from occasional contributor to weekly film critic, and I have benefited from his experience and generosity more times than I can count. I also can’t count the number of times we’ve flashed a knowing look as a movie has officially gone off the rails into Cloud Cuckoo Land. My favorite band experiences have always come when my bandmates and I were friends outside our practice space, and getting to know Steve has been a similar experience as we’ve gone from strangers to teammates to colleagues to friends. We even grab a bite to eat now and then, and though you might assume it, we don’t actually talk about movies the whole time. If I had to hang out with the same guy every week for seven years, I don’t think I could have made a better choice. *I’m posting this around 11am on a Friday morning.
