Since the posts come up in reverse chronological order, I’m posting this correctly ordered list. It’s always best to start at the beginning.
10.2.1986: Twenty Years Ago Today
A guide to my Rick College journal entries
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Category Archives: Ricks College
12.11.1986
Note: My short-lived attendance at Ricks College in the small town of Rexburg, Idaho twenty years ago was a defining stage of my life. Mostly for unpleasant reasons. Taking an extremely impulsive anarchist skate punk from California and putting them in the Rexburg of 1986, what can you expect? My being an 18-year-old with the maturity of a 9-year-old didn’t help, either. But it was in Rexburg that I fell in love with photography and abandoned my academic career to follow my passion.
These entries are written from the journals I kept when I was 18. -Trent
Thursday, December 11, 1986
Today was my last day in Rexburg. I was going to drive home tonight. Pam would also be leaving for home, and her boyfriend.
Pam and I went to Pizza Hut for a garlic bread dinner. We talked for a while, and she made me promise not to “scam on Tina” on the drive home (I was dropping Tina off in Sacramento). We went to her place and hung out in her bedroom for a long time. We kissed and talked, we exchanged necklaces. Her boyfriend is coming out next semester and she’s worried that he’ll leave the church if she breaks up with him. She converted him, and I think she’s the reason he’s doing it. I was sad, but I understood; that had been the agreement of the ten-day fling. Ten days only, and this was the last one. It would soon be over. It was starting to hit me hard and then she grabbed my hand and wrote these words on my palm: “Trent… I love you, too.”
I can’t begin to explain how much those words inked on my hand meant to me.
It was curfew. I had to leave her apartment. We still had a half-hour where we could sit together in the lounge. But after that it was time to leave. We kissed a bunch and then I saw that Pam was crying. I was so touched. It made me feel so special. I knew right then that I had never loved another person as much as her.
I left, and parked alone on the hill by the intramural football fields. I cried so hard.
I saw Pam one more time before we left, at 2:30am when I picked up Tina. We exchanged letters, kissed, and I began the seventeen-hour drive home.
(38: The minute I got home I went out into the garage and stuck my hand on the copy machine, to preserve Pam’s words on my hand. And with that photo-copy the series ends.)
12.10.1986
Note: My short-lived attendance at Ricks College in the small town of Rexburg, Idaho twenty years ago was a defining stage of my life. Mostly for unpleasant reasons. Taking an extremely impulsive anarchist skate punk from California and putting them in the Rexburg of 1986, what can you expect? My being an 18-year-old with the maturity of a 9-year-old didn’t help, either. But it was in Rexburg that I fell in love with photography and abandoned my academic career to follow my passion.
These entries are written from the journals I kept when I was 18. -Trent
Wednesday, December 10, 1986
I woke up found that my car was attacked last night. Three tires were slashed and my license plates were stolen. I had the police make a report, got the car towed, and got new tires. I found out later that some returned missionary had been arrested in the parking lot, all hysterical and drunk. A random attack.
SNFU-Shoe spiked my hair (now a mohawk) and we took Tina and Pam to Idaho Falls. We came back and found that our band was playing at a party. It was at Duane’s. We played for a while, then the cops came. Pam had taken off with my car so I had to wait for her return. Some drunk “icky” girl tried to pick up on me, then Pam showed up and rescued me. We went over by K-mart and parked, talking for a while. I knew it was against the rules of our non-committal ten-day fling, but I told her I loved her. She didn’t say she loved me back.
We went to the Galleria just after midnight, getting in free. A lot of people were hassling me about my mohawk, so we left after just ten minutes.
Back at #20, Pam and I were in the front room. Roommate Charlie come out and wouldn’t leave, trying to be a chaperone. After a half-hour he finally left and we made-out on the couch, then went to sleep on my bed.
12.6.1986 – 12.8.1986
Note: My short-lived attendance at Ricks College in the small town of Rexburg, Idaho twenty years ago was a defining stage of my life. Mostly for unpleasant reasons. Taking an extremely impulsive anarchist skate punk from California and putting them in the Rexburg of 1986, what can you expect? My being an 18-year-old with the maturity of a 9-year-old didn’t help, either. But it was in Rexburg that I fell in love with photography and abandoned my academic career to follow my passion.
These entries are written from the journals I kept when I was 18. -Trent
Saturday, December 6, 1986
We rented a VCR and three movies: “Hitcher”, “Party Animal” and a tape of Captain America cartoons. Pam had faked her way into an overnight pass, so she was out for the night.
At about 3am, Pam and I went in on Joe’s bed. We made out and around 4am we went downstairs to my room at #20 and went to sleep in my bed. It was the first time I had ever shared a bed with a girl and I don’t think I ever fell asleep. Pam was out, and the whole night I was so worried about disturbing her peace that I just laid awake trying not to move.
Sunday, December 7, 1986
After sleeping in my room, Pam and I woke up at 4pm in the afternoon. But we couldn’t leave the room right away; Jud Miller from the Bishopric was in the front room, and we would have been in trouble if he found out that she was in my room.
I took Pam home and she made me a late breakfast. She also talked me into going to the Christmas Conference message. Pam is, I would say, very religious.
Monday, December 8, 1986
Bought three boxes of magic colors candy cigarettes (Hey man, cool!).
Band practice.
Went to my aunt’s house for dinner. Took Dave and SNFU-Shoe. Ate. Played guitar a little. Left. Went to dorms where we were supposed to be a lot earlier. Gave Tina and Pam Hershey’s Giant Kisses. They were appeased.
Called home.
Lit a smoke bomb in our room.
12.5.1986
Note: My short-lived attendance at Ricks College in the small town of Rexburg, Idaho twenty years ago was a defining stage of my life. Mostly for unpleasant reasons. Taking an extremely impulsive anarchist skate punk from California and putting them in the Rexburg of 1986, what can you expect? My being an 18-year-old with the maturity of a 9-year-old didn’t help, either. But it was in Rexburg that I fell in love with photography and abandoned my academic career to follow my passion.
These entries are written from the journals I kept when I was 18. -Trent
Friday, December 5, 1986
After the girls’ curfew a bunch of us, Jeff, SNFU-Shoe, Drake, Dave, Jay, Joe, Jeff, and I got a bunch of weapons and went out looking for rednecks to fight. We were walking down the streets of Rexburg in a large pack, like a gang. For weapons, everyone carried whatever they had been able to find. I was carrying tear gas, another guy had nunchucks, another a skateboard. One guy was carrying a kitchen knife.
We had pre-arranged what we would do if any campus police drove by, and when one did we all scattered in different directions like we were guilty of something. The cop jumped out with his gun and started yelling into the darkness, “I could have shot you!”
We found no further adventure.
12.4.1986
Note: My short-lived attendance at Ricks College in the small town of Rexburg, Idaho twenty years ago was a defining stage of my life. Mostly for unpleasant reasons. Taking an extremely impulsive anarchist skate punk from California and putting them in the Rexburg of 1986, what can you expect? My being an 18-year-old with the maturity of a 9-year-old didn’t help, either. But it was in Rexburg that I fell in love with photography and abandoned my academic career to follow my passion.
These entries are written from the journals I kept when I was 18. -Trent
Thursday, December 4, 1986
Pam and I went to Pizza Hut for garlic bread. It was nice. We went back to her dorm. Even though guys aren’t allowed into the girls’ rooms, she pulled me into her room. Tina and SNFU-Shoe were already in there, on Pam’s bed with the light off. Pam and I climbed into Tina’s bed and made out.
There is one week left in school before Christmas break. And when I go home to California for break, that’s when Pam and I will go our separate ways. She has a boyfriend back home, and I’m learning more about him. She has just converted him to Mormonism and he is going to be coming here to Ricks next semester, in January. I don’t know if I’ll be back. I keep changing my mind.
12.3.1986
Note: My short-lived attendance at Ricks College in the small town of Rexburg, Idaho twenty years ago was a defining stage of my life. Mostly for unpleasant reasons. Taking an extremely impulsive anarchist skate punk from California and putting them in the Rexburg of 1986, what can you expect? My being an 18-year-old with the maturity of a 9-year-old didn’t help, either. But it was in Rexburg that I fell in love with photography and abandoned my academic career to follow my passion.
These entries are written from the journals I kept when I was 18. Of course, at 38 today, I do not advocate any of the illegal activity discussed here. -Trent
Wednesday, December 3, 1986
I got up late (I’m pretty much not going to any classes anymore) and was going to lunch when I saw Drake. He had just been questioned by the police about Sean’s stolen VCR. He said he was going to have to take a polygraph test and that the police were coming with a search warrant to search our room. We quickly loaded up our contraband and put it in my car, which we parked somewhere else. The cops didn’t come so I went to lunch.
We had band practice at Somerset. It was pretty fun, though. We taped it, ate dinner, and went up to Tina’s.
Pam and I left together and went to Bogart’s for “all you can eat” pizza. It was the first time we’d been alone, like a date but not. The pizza was crap so we left. We drove around for a while. It wasn’t officially a date so I asked her if we were “scamming on each other”. She answered with, “Yes, but you’re not supposed to tell me.”
Since she has a boyfriend back home in Washington, we made a deal to have a ten day fling, at which point we go our separate ways. Very cool.
Since she had to be back at 10pm we returned to the dorms and sat in the lounge until curfew at 10:30 when all the guys had to leave.
Jeff and I went to the Galleria when it was late enough to get in free. Some guys were jock-slamming to Billy Idol. I started mocking them and they came up to me, two of them, ready to fight.
Jock: “I’ll kick your ass!”
Trent: “I’ll mace your ass!” (pulling out my tear gas cannister)
Trent: “You guys can’t slam! You wouldn’t last at a punk show!”
Jock: “You probably suck at football! You probably can’t fight, either.”
Trent: “I can’t, that’s why I carry mace!”
The big jock kept putting his face in mine and I’d do it right back. Three of their friends came over and mellowed them out. They left.
