Daarstad keeping busy during retirement

I have been doing some reading of late and I notice a lot of those writing people start with a thing they call a “preface.” I think they use this preface thing to tell you about something they are going to tell you later, without doing it all at once, abrupt like. So, I can’t come right out and say I am disappointed because I have failed in realizing a life-long dream — that would be too abrupt. So sit back, let me preface you, and ease up to what I will finally get around to saying.

 I tentatively grew up in a small community in Alabama. There were two old gentlemen that lived in our town and they had a profound influence on my life. In fact, it was from watching them that the foundation of what was to become my secret ambition was formed. All of us kids called them Ol’ Pete and Ol’ Thomas because they were well up in years, 42 or so. To any kid, that meant they had one foot firmly planted over in the Promised Land.

Pete and Tom met daily at the courthouse square each carrying their lunch in a small brown bag, which they always shared. They would sit under their favorite magnolia tree and talk, sometime to each other. There would be long moments of silence broken only by an occasional giggle about something seen, or heard, only by them.

Tom and Pete seemed happy. They didn’t work; they were dependable because they always showed up; and they shared with each other. I asked my momma how they achieved this sublime state and she said, “They are in their dotage.” Whatever dotage meant, it became my dream for my retirement years.

Folks, I am finished prefacing and here is where my story starts. I wanted someday to experience that dotage business and the camaraderie it brought. I thought I had found it a few years ago when I had the opportunity to work with cinematographer Erik Daarstad while he was shooting the “Sandpoint Centennial” movie. We got along very well and I thought I had found in him a perfect “dotage” companion. I had visions of our meeting down where the creek used to run under the beautiful trees and spending the day talking. He would bring his lutefisk; I would bring my grits and red-eye gravy, and we would share. He would teach me a few Norwegian drinking songs and I would share some choice Southern expletives with him. What camaraderie!

But alas, it was not to be. I had my dream, but he had other ideas on how to spend his retirement. Oh, we met ever so often for lunch but I started noticing when I called and asked if he wanted to meet down by the creek, he had other things he just had to do. Below, I am going to share with you why Erik said he had to leave town; you be the judge as to their validity.

April 2005 — Flies to Landstuhl, Germany to start production of “Fighting for Life,” a documentary about combat care, and follow up, of a wounded soldier.

In November 2005, he attended the screening of “The Exiles” at the Yakama Nation Native American Film Festival in Toppenish, Wash. This documentary was the first Erik did, joined by several of his classmates, after finishing the University Southern California. The film depicts a group of Native Americans caught between two worlds — life on the reservation and life in Los Angeles.

January 2006 — It is back to Landstuhl, Germany and then to Balad, Iraq to film “Fighting for Life.” Part of the months of April, May, July, August, September, and November of 2006, were used for filming the documentary in the Washington D.C. area at Walter Reed Hospital, Naval Hospital, Uniformed Services University, and in Pennsylvania.

Nov. 2006 — He went to Butte, Mont. for the final shooting of “Butte, America,” a history of Butte emphasizing the Irish immigrants and the mining industry.

In 2007, he attends premiere of “Fighting for Life” at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Washington, D.C., a special screening of “Fighting for Life” in New York City, a special screening and premiere in Los Angeles. He also starts production of “Sing, Opera” in L.A. and starts production of “Lt. Watada: A Matter of Conscience” at Ft. Lewis, WA. He continued this film in Seattle and in Dec. 2008, he did the final shooting in Kent, Wash.

June 2008 — He started production of “Sing, China” in Los Angeles, and spent 2 1/2 weeks in Shanghai, XI’an, Beijing and Hong Kong. In Aug. 2008, he was back in Los Angeles for the final shooting of “Sing, China.”

So far, 2009 has been a slow year for Erik. The first three months found him in Butte attending the premiere of “Butte, America,” and at a film festival in L.A. for the screening of “The Exiles” and “Sing, Opera.”

In March, he made two trips — the screening and discussion of “The Exiles” at the Omak Film Festival in Omak, Wash., and at the 7th annual Native American Film Festival at the University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

I found those writing folk have an epilogue to kinda sweep all their words together in a pile and tell you how things turned out. Here is my epilogue.

Recently, I was in a cantankerous mood so I called Mr. Daarstad and said, “I know you are a busy man but I was wondering if you had an opening for lunch in November, this year?” He answered, “I know I will be in Lodz, Poland from November 28th till December 5th. I have been invited to an International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography. Hundreds of cinematographers, directors, editors, producers, and other film professionals will be there from all over the world. My friend, Terry Sanders, is getting an award for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking, and some of my films that I did with him will be reviewed.

We ended the conversation by Erik saying, “I’ll check my calendar and call you back.” When he calls and suggests a date, I am going to say. “I would like to, but I am thinking about spending a week or so in Athol, and then going on down to Ritzville, Wash., for a few days of sightseeing.”