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How I wrote my final chapter at the age of 20
A year ago, I was terrified.
In December of 2014, my family and I moved from my hometown of St. Louis to Little Rock, basically going from familiar and safe to the middle of fucking nowhere. Little Rock was too quiet, desolate and full of different people I didn’t know or recognize. This was crazy and it wasn’t a drill.
We settled into a new apartment complex that seemed like the set for Walking Dead or Breaking Bad(the desert scenes). Nothing was around. The closest thing to get a bite to eat was McDonalds, IHOP or Firehouse Subs(just shoot me). Change is a motherfucker because it upends everything you are close to and replaces it with other shit. Friends and family will tell you to stay busy and adapt, but it’s not that easy. It’s not a Matrix like upload or an easy progression. It takes time and usually involves panic.
We moved down here for my wife’s new job. A huge promotion. She was getting her own store and would truly boost the economic income of our household and also provide me with a chance to write for a living. It was a win-win professionally but personally it was a hardship. I freaked out. Big time. I questioned everything I thought was figured out in my life. Imagine your life is a large puzzle and then three kids go over to it and smash it apart and the pieces don’t fit they way they used to. It’s insane and threw me a curveball and truly hurt those around me. After 2-3 months of soul searching and mental ass kicking, I dug both feet in and stayed. I got used to my surroundings.
I found a gym, a coffee shop that didn’t produce slop, and a movie theater. The three needs a man like myself craves in order to truly fit into a hole. I’m sorry, Arkansas folks, but this place isn’t as good as St. Louis. Not even close. Missouri has this place beat in every area, including the area of “don’t ask me a 100 fucking questions at an auto shop while we wait for our cars to be worked on”. STL is still the center of my universe and a place I call home. I think of this Little Rock experiment as being stationed oversears for a couple years and simply a trial I must push through. No offense Little Rock. I am sure you would say the same thing of St. Louis if you were shipped there suddenly.
That was the reason it hurt so bad. No matter how I was prepared for it or ready to make the switch, a move out of state never feels normal. It feels like you are being taken, and there is no Liam Neeson coming to save you. It’s like being dumped somewhere where people talk differently, there’s several Mexican restaurants and basically no clear way out. You make do. It’s not like it has been easy folks.
*First, the in your face idea the people down here have is fucked up. I can be standing outside at a gas station or somewhere else in public and people feel like it’s time to get to know me and my whole life story. Before I can finish pumping gas, they are telling me good schools to go to and how this is good. The entire time, I have zero fucks to give. You find out how private you are when people invade your personal space every day. I don’t need to tell everyone my life story. Get in line.
*The food is mostly shit. Especially in a place called Maumelle. You know what your surrounding food is. David’s Burgers(Five Guys evil twin). Zaxby’s(KFC’s fucked up brother), McDonalds, IHop, Firehouse Subs(Subway’s demented cousin) and 2-3 Mexican places and shitty pizza joints. Your one truly good restaurant, Cheers, doesn’t know your fucking name and is crazy expensive. There are a few other places to eat that you won’t feel like some personal space with a toilet is out of the question later, but overall, it sucks.
*There is no hockey. People don’t even know what hockey is. They need to work on that.
*They don’t treat the roads during snow storms or freezing rain servings. Seriously, they shut the city down and call it. Like a rain shower dropping on a baseball field and the umps don’t even treat the field or anything. I am from St. Louis, where snow and ice are frequent and the roads are treated with salt and plowed. Down here, they do nothing. Sorry for all the people that actually have to drive to work. Get some ice skates or a sled.
*That no hockey thing….yeah..Fox Sports Midwest Blues hockey is blacked out down here.
Every place has its drawbacks, but the good thing is the more I look around the better things get. ARK can produce a fine sunset and has several good parks to run through. The people are nice. Too nice. Waffle House has grown on me so that is nice. There is good food. You just have to drive to it. So there isn’t all misery down here. It’s not as good as the Lou.
The important thing is I am fine. A year ago I wasn’t. My wife and I are happier than ever even though we bicker like Italians. My son and I get to spend a lot of time together. My writing is reaching new areas that are bringing me notoriety. Thing are good and they have gotten that way due to hard work and introspection.
For future re-locators, I have this advice. Keep it and store it or toss it into the infinite abyss of unneeded knowledge. It’s recycled through my experience but that doesn’t make it any less real or poignant. If you have to move or relocate to someplace completely different, give it time before you lose your shit completely. It’s okay to panic, as long as your feet are touching the ground and insanity doesn’t enter your mind. Know that every place has something for you, no matter how gray it seems at first. Trust me. It gets better.
Or you can always adopt Winston Churchill’s advice.
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Little Rock isn’t hell to me yet, but it’s not St. Louis. Not even close. However, these days, I am just fine.
Being a native of St. Louis, it’s always a kick to see your hometown in the movies. That moment when you smile at the sight of the Arch, Laclede’s Landing or perhaps Grand boulevard. It’s a small proud moment. Sometimes, films don’t actually film there but basically show an air shot that they put into their movie without actually shooting a single take there. Movies like the Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy comedy, Identity Thief. Parenthood, the 1989 Ron Howard film, was set in St. Louis but shot in Orlando.
Due to St. Louis’ high tax rate for film crews, a lot of films aren’t actually shot in St. Louis but the coverage is basically taken for a location device. Sometimes, a film uses exteriors and shoots in The Lou. Here are a few.
American Flyers(1985)-This Kevin Costner bicycle riding flick opened its film with a moving shot of Laclede’s Landing and the Arch. Before he became a star with No Way Out and his numerous baseball titles, Costner shot a movie in St. Louis with director John Badham.
White Palace(1990)-This James Spader-Susan Sarandon romance shot in numerous locations across St. Louis, including Duffy’s Restaurant, Laclede’s Landing, The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, and Lemp Mansion. They shot at a diner called White Knight(a place that still stands today at 18th Street and Olive) several times, renaming the diner in the film “White Palace”. I visited this place numerous times with my dad before school as a kid. A poster of the film hangs in the place.
Planes Trains & Automobiles(1987)-The John Hughes film starring Steve Martin and John Candy shot briefly at Lambert International Airport and featured a shot of the Arch.
National Lampoons Vacation(1983)-A scene where Clark Griswold drives lost through East St. Louis asking for directions and having his car vandalized was actually filmed on a Hollywood backlot and not in East St. Louis, which sparked a controversy. Only exterior shots were used for this film. The infamous scene where Chevy Chase utters the words “Excuse me homes” was not shot in St. Louis.
Manhunter(1986)-The Michael Mann classic with William Petersen chasing a serial killer shot at Lambert International Airport in a brief scene.
Up in the Air(2009)–The George Clooney film is the most recent and notable St. Louis film because it didn’t just show the Arch but shot in many locations in St. Louis. They shot at Afton High School, Cheshire Inn in Clayton, and at Lambert as well. They shot many scenes at business buildings right next to KSDK on Market Street off 7th, 8th and 9th street.
Escape from New York(1981)-The Kurt Russell adventure film shot scenes at Union Station, Chain of Rocks Bridge and the Fox Theater as well as featuring the Arch.
King of The Hill(1993)-Steven Soderbergh’s indie shot set in the Depression Era in Soulard’s Market as well as other locations around St. Louis.
Mississippi Grind(2015)-The Ryan Reynolds gambling film features several locations in St. Louis but has a long single take where Reynolds talks with Sienna Miller on a boat going down the Mississippi River and the Arch and Riverfront are in the background.
Showing the Arch is one thing but it’s extra special when actual famous locations in St. Louis are used in films. Sometimes a film just wants exterior shots but sometimes they want both. I hope you enjoyed this list as much I did bringing it to you.
On Thursday night at The Coliseum in downtown St. Louis, a couple miles from Scottrade Center where playoff hockey was getting fired up, a local band 1917 Soundtrack was starting their live stage experience. The Coliseum is a showcase for a number of artists, featuring painters, models and musicians. In a special event hosted by RAW, an enterprise designed to give indie bands and artists a shot at stardom, 1917 Soundtrack didn’t waste their opportunity. Mario Mathon, Jordan Mays and Amonte Henry hit the stage with precision and verve and had the crowd engaged for their full 30 minute set. This is the land of the free and home of the independent artists who strive every day to make their next day the moment they take off. All three men work regular everyday jobs and get their feet dirty. That’s the game. Work your way by day and reach towards the future by night. They came to the stage dressed as hardcore blues brother gangsters Thursday, with stylish button up collared shirts and vests to go with shiny slacks. In order to impress, you have to look the part as well. While their sound is still coming together and there were some technical difficulties regarding the vocals, Mathon and company didn’t waste a second Thursday night.
Mathon is the true character of the group, a man who uses every inch of the stage to let his body express the words that are flowing from his mouth. He will talk to the audience in between songs, promoting the bands social media pages while he catches his breath before the next song. Henry is the beast behind the drums, setting up the pace and raising the roof. Off the stage, he is the rock of the group. He holds the three body tripod of musical synergy together. Mays is the silver lining, playing the guitar like the room and life of the song depended on it. He is a man of few words, a gunslinger with an electric lady in his hands. With additional help from local musicians, 1917 Soundtrack were playing the first of hopefully many live shows at The Coliseum with many family and friends in tow. The longer they were on stage, the harder it was for faces to keep their eyes off the stage. That’s a true band for you trying to make it big. They draw you in slowly with the performance and lock you in before they exit the stage. With a million different things happening in the room and with competing artists awaiting their chance right off the stage, 1917 Soundtrack played like they didn’t want to leave.
Tonight, they take the stage as the headliner artist at Cicero’s. 1917 Soundtrack will be touring extensively this summer and hope
to hit Las Vegas before they stop. Everything with a local band like this carries the audacity and allure of a dreamer. Mathon, Henry and Mays are making their play to be full time musicians. I can relate to that because I work a 40 hour gig every week while pushing my writing. Without dreams in this life, you may as well lock yourself in a room and throw away the key. You can find love in this life but you need to have something to chase. 1917 Soundtracks chases the dream every time they step on stage, whether it’s The Coliseum, Cicero’s or the Las Vegas strip.
This is the time you want to get in on the act. Follow this band now. Don’t wait until they explode. There isn’t a more special feeling than finding good music. Get out to Cicero’s tonight at 7 p.m. and see what I am talking about.
IMAGE CREDIT-Pro
Dose of Buffa 