I've known Zia Hassan and Frank Cervarich for ten years now, which is somewhat astonishing. In the decade (DECADE) we've known each other, this past Sunday was the first time the three of us had ever hung out together, just the three of us.
It's a pretty amazing thing to happen after 10 years.
The idea that I've known Frank and Zia for that long kind of astounds me, despite the fact that I've gone through so many significant eras since first meeting them - The Ranch, The Scene, WMUC, UMD Theatre, Apache, DC Theatre, Flying V. They still feel like somewhat new additions to my world, even though they have both been a part of my life longer than most people I know now. I think that's because we met during the Wootton era, a brief but impactful blip on the radar of my life that served as a transition period between the 12 years before at JDS (all I'd known) and The Ranch (the utter disappearance of all I'd known). In the span of about 7 months I went from knowing absolutely no one at this school to becoming a fixture and then suddenly being ripped away. Given how short a time I was at Wootton it is amazing to me how many people I met, how many stories I have, the relationships that I forged then, and how many (large, small, deep, and shallow) are still in play today.
I started at Wootton going into 12th grade, after being pulled from JDS for failing Jewish History the previous year. I was not happy, to say the least. For all that JDS was and wasn't (and it certainly may not have been the best place for young Schlaffy, in retrospect) I was a lifer there, having started in Kindergarten and made my way up through the ranks. After years and years of being one of the freaks and weirdos I finally found myself and and an incredible group of friends in high school - I still consider so many of them at the core of my life, and I'll be the MC at one of their weddings in less than a month. The thought of losing all that, and who I finally was, and starting over was pretty devastating.
Frank actually has the very first Jason Schlafstein Wootton story as on the first day of school I stormed in late to an acting class. Frank has told me he remembers clearly a girl named Elena (for whom social skills was not always a strong point) gently teasing me saying "Way to be late for the first day of school." I apparently glared back at her and monotoned "way to not know I was going to this school until a week ago," and then settled back into my hate.
I became very close friends with Frank, to the point where he felt like a little brother to me that year. We hung out a lot and I amusingly regret that he met me during my full on "do wrestling moves to anything that moves" phase, as he was the brunt of WAY too many submission moves, as well as the time I threw him and his girlfriend in a shower with their clothes on and turned the water on while Andrew Stiles and I wouldn't let them leave.. I once actually smashed a pie in his face at a talent show, the only time I've ever done that and it was an amazing moment I treasure forever, so thanks buddy. I actively avoided what felt like a sure thing New Years Kiss because he and the girl had feelings for each other and I did not want to interfere. They ended up dating, we kissed years later anyways, and that whole thing is a story all it's own.
But my most vivid memory of Frank is a moment he wasn't even there for. I was sitting on the plane to New Mexico, finally looking at the one thing my parents had given me as I was being shipped out of the house - a copy of the Beatles' Rubber Soul. I looked at the track list and saw Norweigan Wood. I remembered Frank doing a pantomime performance of that song in acting class, and I burst into tears.
It's hazy, but I still have a mental picture of him lip synching that song indian style on the stage, and I still think of Frank first when I hear This Bird Has Flown.
We went to college together and saw each other a lot, but didn't hang out as much and weren't as close. I'm really happy that over the last few years we've been making up some of that lost ground. He's a great guy and a good friend.
I met Zia during auditions for Grease, when I walked in as the new kid and promptly got the role of Danny out of nowhere, a role very widely assumed was Zia's to lose. Given that I was some nobody out of nowhere waltzing in to take the lead and upset the natural hierarchy, it would have been real easy for a lot of high school drama kids to hate me. And some did. But even though I know he wasn't happy, and he's told me as much since, Zia was a class act and a super cool guy and I really appreciated it. I definitely looked up to him while I was starting out in Wootton drama. We were never super close that year, but I have a bunch of memories of us watching Homestarrunner on the Chorus Room computer, recording the worst song in existence (Serpentina - Devil) in his basement, and talking music. I still have his "Radio Cures" mix in my car, which was my first real exposure to radiohead, Bjork, Jeff Buckley, Dunan Sheik, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Jump Little Children.
It would have been very easy for Zia and I to lose touch, but somehow we never did. Our lives kept intersecting in different ways - whether as my go to producer while I was still making music, to a very random surprise when I went to visit my friend Jess as she came home from college. But it took a bit of effort on both our parts also - I've followed his music, he's followed my theatre, I've been impressed with his drive and especially his wedding proposal, he came out to see Devil Blues this summer. Over the course of a decade we've established that some how and in some way our paths will always cross, and I'm really appreciative of that. He's also a great guy, and becoming a better friend now than we were in the past.
I'm not sure the story of Frank and Zia's relationship, and it's not my story to tell. But my guess is that it's similar - waxing and waning over the years, but somehow always there.
Which led us to the other night, where three old friends hung out for the very first time on a beautiful balcony overlooking Silver Spring and Washington DC, talking about art, life, self improvement, relationships, work, and whatever else. It was my favorite night I can remember in quite some time.
So I decided to do something special so I'd have a reason to commemorate it here on this blog, and tried Hookah for the first time (which I have steadfastly avoided in the past). If I was going to try it, I wanted it to be on this night, with these two, with that view. I'll probabbly never do it again, but here it is.
To 10 more years, with more intention.
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