The Wood
It’s not often you get to celebrate friendships just cause, well, this is one of those instances. It’s not really a “just cause” moment, but moreso wanting to take this time to congratulate my friend Nick on his recent engagement to his bride-to-be Carol! However, Nick isn’t the only one that makes up “The Wood”, it also includes our friend Aaron. Between the 3 of us, somehow, we adapted the name of the 1999 “bromance” comedy: The Wood. Starring Taye Diggs, Omar Epps, and Richard T. Jones, it explores the brotherly relationship of 3 best friends who’ve known each other since childhood, leading up to Taye Digg’s character getting married.
Speaking of Taye Diggs, I got to meet the man who was also on the original Broadway cast of Rent (and ex-husband of Rent cast member Idina Menzel), my favorite musical of all time (even moreso than Hamiltom). I was working at the location of his set for a TV pilot, and it was just chill. He had no security around him, and just chopped it up. We talked about different things, but it landed on ‘The Wood’ and just shared how special of a film it was for him.
That’s the feeling I have with Nick & Aaron, who I’ve known since elementary school. From Lomo Lodge, to West, to “ah ah ah” at Tahoe trips. Aaron used to work at In-N-Out, and when we would visit him on his shift, this man filled our bag up to the brim with fries. It took a minute for us to get to our burgers. Nick and I would get high and get lost in Vimeo or Blue Planet for hours or the countless nights jamming to ‘No Ceilings’ and Breezy Mixtapes.
Having that connection back home with them has been so key to my development and growth in Oregon. They were there for me at my lowest points, days I couldn’t even move, and just laid whining in the back of the car headed to a casino. We got to road trip together to Vegas and to Portland... or visit them when they were both at UC Davis. We got to celebrate Aaron’s wedding, the day he left for PT school in LA, and the countless creative potluck birthdays and intro to food spots. We got to celebrate Nick with his love of cars, his career and promotions, his slumpboyz phase, and now his engagement. And soon, we get to celebrate my graduation from my masters program, all together.
I can go on and on with stories, and one day I may because they’re all worth remembering. As I get older, all of these moments become more important to me. Appreciate and love you two brothas. Congrats to you Aaron for the new position in education. Congrats to you Nick for finally tying it down; Carol, you got a good one.
(Don’t pull a Taye Diggs and have us recreate The Wood, Nick)
“Mackin & Hangin” - The Wood
