left coast adventures

I did a lot of running around in Los Angeles last week and rubbed shoulders with some pretty impressive people in the process. No, I didn’t meet any Hollywood celebs but Willie Nelson was on my plane from Austin to LAX. That, by the way, got me thinking about what would have happened if the plane went down. It would have been all over the news that an “iconic country star has died in a plane crash” without mentioning of the rest of us poor souls. Years from now, my relatives would be talking:

Epperson #1: “Do you remember Eric?”
Epperson #2: “Yeah, kind of… Isn’t he the one who died in that plane crash with Willie Nelson?”
Epperson #1: “Weird legacy, huh?”
Epperson #2: “You’re telling me. Let’s forget all about his other accomplishments and only focus on the fact that he died in the same accident as a celebrity.”
Epperson #1: “Sounds like a plan. By the way, can I get a lift to Sector 17? My neutron pack needs a new warp core compressor.”
Epperson #2: “Sure, but I have to stop by the Alpha Quadrant on the way.”

Luckily, the plane touched down in LA and that future conversation will be avoided. Derek and I met up with Daren to film some pick up shots for the Kingdom Worker documentary premiering at MOVE this summer. We ran from Malibu to Vasquez Canyon to Venice Beach and a few places in between all in a couple of days.



Along the way, we were able to share meals and catch up with some old friends, which brings me back to the whole impressive people thing. Our schedule was pretty hectic, and somehow we managed to meet up each evening with a native Californian.

We spent Wednesday evening at Dodger Stadium ($8 tickets on stubhub.com) with Michael Defazio watching the Dodgers play the league-worst Washington Nationals. Michael is a pastor at a church in the northern part of LA who has been an encouragement to me since I was a student at Ozark. As we talked in the left field bleachers, I was reminded of his love for people and for helping them discover truth in authentic community.



On Thursday evening, we met the Ackerman family at a BJ’s in Burbank. Mike leads a church planting organization called Mustard Seed Global Fellowship and happens to be in the States for a few months to rest and meet with supporters. Mike and Erin have had a few small boys since I had last seen them and it was nice to meet them in person after a couple years of watching them grow via facebook. Mike let me know how the ministry was grown and how he has done the same in the process. He claims that his Japanese is solid though he didn’t prove it.



Before we flew out on Friday night, Sky Owens met us at Venice Beach. Sky grew up next door to me in Muskogee and is finishing his last semester at USC. He is a pretty sharp screenwriting student and told me that he plans on sleeping on his friends’ couches until he lands a writing gig. The stint on the couch shouldn’t last long though. He’s a talented guy.

He also told me how much he loves LA.

After spending two and a half days there, I know why.