Point B: Spot of the Year (2020)

When I wrote of holiday travel and spending time with my dad while he was in the hospital, I had no way of knowing it would be the last time. I did not know in May of 2020 his decade-long battle with cancer would end. Knowing what happened after this trip made it even more profound and special. It also cemented a belief within me. Our time is not promised and neither is the time of those we love. Take advantage of every opportunity before you to let them know how you feel. The easiest thing you can do is show up for those special moments.

Point B: LAX to OKC to SEA to LAX

My Dad’s Health

I spent much of my Christmas holiday in the hospital with my father who has had cancer for well over a decade. Complicating matters this time around were pneumonia and renal failure. As I walked into the ICU after being picked up from the airport, I had never seen my father look so weak. It was a shocking and jarring experience. It is an image I will not soon forget and serves as a reminder that we are in a race against the clock. In the next couple of years, I plan to make more trips to Oklahoma for unexpected visits. In no shape, form, or fashion whatsoever do I find myself prepared to let this man go, but I would never be able to forgive myself if I watched him slip away from afar.

Matt Patterson

Matt Patterson has been a constant in my life since our Freshman year of college. For eight years, we were roommates and nearly inseparable. When life gets chaotic or I have big news to share, he is the first person I must tell. He will be the best man at my wedding and will be there for a thousand more adventures. Standing next to my father in the hospital, Matt was the first person I called. I do not know where he was in the city. I do not know if I interrupted his plans. But once again, he dropped everything and was there for me. Matt, I do not know if you will ever read this, but I must thank you for continuing to be the very definition of a friend.

Family Dynamics

As my father started to feel better, he was able to have more visitors. When I arrived back at the hospital after some last-minute Christmas shopping, I found a room filled with my brothers, nephews, and nieces. It was overwhelming and probably exactly what my father needed. For over a decade, we have each had a special role to play in my father’s health. My mother is the medical expert. Clayton is the muscle and physical support. I am the rational one. The nephews and nieces are there with love and laughs. To see all those dynamics on display in one room exemplified family. 

Mark Scott

Not far behind Matt Patterson is Mark Scott. Mark and I share a deep love and appreciation for music, love a good strong drink, and find ourselves lost in laughter for hours. When we meet up after some time apart, we pick up exactly where we left off from the last time we were together. We fight like brothers but have each other’s back through thick and thin. Just like Matt, I cannot vividly picture my life without him in it.

Different Christmas

I love Christmas. I am not one of these people who starts playing Christmas music in August, but I dearly love the holiday. I love gathering with family, eating way too much, opening gifts, and getting things I do not deserve. This Christmas was a little different though. With my father in the hospital, the house was not decorated. Gifts were not under the tree. Food for the giant family meal had not been purchased. Wanting to make the best of a difficult situation, I launched into planning mode. I helped my mother wrap presents, decorated the tree, and cooked a small meal. It was not the holiday we were used to, but we were together and that is all that mattered.

Back in Seattle

After leaving Oklahoma, I headed to Seattle to spend time with Brandon and his family. While I was in town, Brandon had to work. This meant I was free to explore the city. I visited our old neighborhood around Alki, walked Seattle Center, and drove without any destination in mind. As I did, all the things that made me fall in love with this city in the first place started coming back to me. In September of 2020, I will be returning here for good and I cannot wait to make this home once again.

SIFF Uptown

SIFF Uptown Theater is such a special place. Here, I have watched countless movies. Here, I have cried, laughed, explored, and been tested in unimaginable ways. I have not loved every movie, but I loved the experience of contributing in some small way to an organization dedicated to the craft of independent filmmaking. For as long as I am able, SIFF will count me as an audience member and a supporter. In some small way, I see myself repaying a debt for everything they have given me over the years.

Buying a House

Brandon and I are starting to have serious conversations about buying a house. Saving and wading through the Seattle housing market is overwhelming, but we are committing ourselves to the investment. More than actually owning something that is ours, I am proud of this tremendous step in our relationship. It is a display of commitment. It means we are building a life together and thinking of the future. For the first time in my life, I can see beyond just dating a person. I can see forever.

NYE

New Year’s Eve is overrated. We spend all year building up the celebration in our minds and most of the time find ourselves disappointed. With the exception of a year-end celebration spent in Las Vegas, I have never attended an event or party that lived up to the pictures in my mind. After years of disappointment, I am choosing to get rid of the expectations. All I want is to be surrounded by people I love and welcome in the new year. Anything beyond that is the icing on the cake.

Reclaiming Seattle

As my plane took off from Sea-Tac Airport and Seattle became smaller and smaller below me, I was filled with sadness and optimism. When I return here to reclaim Seattle as my home, I want to bring the best of LA with me. I want to build a bigger network of friendships. I want to get involved in my community. I want a career focused on something near and dear to my heart. I want a home. I want adventures that mean returning home. I want to be filled with pride about the place I hang my hat. I want Seattle to be mine all over again.

Be good to each other,

Nathan 

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Point B: Spot of 2019

LA in the Rearview

As I head to the airport, I can see the towers of glass and steel that define downtown Los Angeles in the rearview mirror. With each mile, they become smaller and fainter. This trip is just for the weekend, but it is a precursor of things to come. In less than 300 days, I will enter downtown for the last time to go to work. Everything I own will begin making its way back to Seattle. I will head in the opposite direction toward the US/Mexican border and begin a 5-month journey toward home via the Pacific Crest Trail. Very soon, my whole life will change.

Easy Street Records

Easy Street Records isn’t the biggest record store in the world. They won’t have every title you are searching for as you dig through crates and shuffle through albums. Yet, what they lack in size, they more than redeem in charm and character. Without a doubt, this little store on California is the thing I miss most about living in West Seattle. As we eat breakfast, album covers from the room over beckoned me. On my visit, I was drawn toward some new releases placed front and center that I just had to have. On more occasions than I can count, I have found myself lost upstairs with stacks of vinyl at my side. Soon, this place will be my sanctuary again.

The Seattle Charm

I have heard it said that Seattle has lost its charm. With the explosion of Amazon and the remaking of the downtown core, the city has become unrecognizable to some. I moved there in 2011 and left in 2017. I will return in 2020, so I don’t cling to some nostalgic version of the Emerald City. The city I knew was always in transition, always growing, and always welcoming new people to its neighborhoods. In fact, this constant sense of change is what I loved about it. It made me feel like I was a part of a movement; something bigger than myself.

Brandon

At some point in the future, Brandon and I will do battle with the Seattle housing marketing. Looking at home prices, talking with friends, and trying to get finances in order has made me a mixture of excited and nervousness. Beyond figuring out how to make this work, I am overjoyed to be considering such a monumental life decision with the person that I love. It feels surreal. I didn’t know if this conversation would ever come, much less the actual action.

Movies

It doesn’t matter where I am. It doesn’t matter where I am traveling. It doesn’t matter the occasion. I will always find a reason to escape and go to a movie theater. Some people go to church. I go to the cinema. After nearly 800 movies in a theater, I cannot vividly picture my life without my weekly visit. If I am ever forced to miss, I become like a drug addict waiting for his next hit.

Kent Friends

Kent was my first home away from Oklahoma. While I only lived there for a year, working there for six in a highly visible role made me entangled with the community. The people of this South King County community became friends and family. It is them that I dearly miss. It is them that are motivating me to move back. It is them who will be there to greet me upon my return. I can’t wait for that day. Some days, it is what keeps me going and fighting forward.

Green and Gray

Seattle can be defined by two colors, green and gray. The gray of winter and spring gives birth to an explosion of green in every shade as the season’s turn. When you leave the airport, it is the first thing you notice about the city. Driving north on I-5, the nickname “Emerald City” isn’t hard to conceive. In the air, there is a freshness. It is these colors and these smells I miss. Seattle isn’t a perfect place, but its setting is nearly there.

New Hiking Idea

Seattle and Washington state are where I fell in love with hiking. I have walked hundreds of miles there and will hopefully walk hundreds more. On this trip, I returned to the North Cascades. As I hiked a trail with Brandon and his brother, a new idea was born for me. I have often struggled with how to capture these moments: essays, photography, and videos have been my weapons of choice. On this trip, a new idea was born; an essay series called, “Out/Back.” In the series, I would review trails and offer tips on reaching your destination with maximum impact. As someone who is always looking to test his writing abilities, I am overly excited about this new project.

The Rotary Club of Kent

For six years, I was a member of the Rotary Club of Kent. From a new member to President of the Club (for a brief moment), Rotary made me fall in love with service to my fellow man. Now, I cannot imagine my life without it. Wherever I roam, I seek Rotary out, search for new ways to give back, and source ideas to impact my community. These actions were not born because of Rotary. I knew them long before becoming a member. Rotary provided an opportunity to channel this passion. For that, I am forever grateful.

Goodbye, For Now

Just like that, the skyline of Seattle is becoming faint in the rearview mirror. Soon, I will be at a cruising altitude headed south back to Los Angeles. This trip was about more than getting away for a few days. It was about reconnecting to a place I dearly love all in an effort to finalize some much-needed motivation. As I close the book on LA, begin hiking, and eventually make my way north, it will be this trip pushing me forward and beckoning me home.

Be good to each other,

-Nathan

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