A lot of people that knew Adam later in life did not realize that he and I were friends. In fact, early in life for a short while Adam and I were pretty close friends. I do not remember when Adam and I first met but, I can remember that when we were in the second grade we had bold plans to create a comic book club. I can remember our first club meeting in the play fort in his backyard. Back then Adam lived on Levin lane off of Horton Avenue. Even though Adam moved probably before we were in the 5th grade, every time I pass his old house on Levin, I think of it as Adam's house.
I don't ever remember Adam being mean or rude or inconsiderate to anybody - ever. Come to think of it, I can scarcely remember Adam ever being mad for very long. If you know Adam's family that probably wouldn't surprise you. I think the best word I can think of to describe the Trowbridges is the word "Gracious." Here is a picture of our second grade class. Adam is the one in the second row almost in the middle. He is the one in the light colored shirt with the dark blue collar. I am one row up, second from the right in the white turtleneck.
I have only have a few distinct personal memories of Adam that for some reason or other stick in my mind. I remember Adam's interests in performing. When we were seven, Adam wanted to be a magician. Adam was the first person to show me a card trick and then teach me how the trick was done. He told me that magicians were not supposed to tell how to do the trick but he was such a good friend that he taught me anyway.
I read in Adam's blog that he began to learn to play the guitar when he was 9 years old and remembered almost to the day that beginning. I remember riding the First Methodist Church bus from the front of Riverside Elementary after school to attend choir and guitar lessons. I remember how excited Adam and I were at the opportunity to learn guitar. Adam's guitar was barely more than a toy guitar (I think it may have had plastic strings) and my first guitar that I was so proud of was a guitar made of unfinished rough wood with a plastic neck and strings that I could barely push down. I remember my mom purchasing my guitar downtown from Britain's Pawn Shop. I bet that is the first and last time my mother ever bought anything from a pawn shop. Neither of our first guitars could carry a tune and in retrospect our parents must have been embarrassed by the guitars. Within just a couple of years my parent's had bought me a Gibson Les Paul and Adam's parents had given him that beautiful maroon Gibson SG. I can still see him playing that guitar all through high school and early into college with his bands: I-20 and Loose Talk. Both of our second guitars we sweet and today would be collector's items. I never really learn to play guitar well and traded my 1977 Cherry Sunburst Les Paul for a bass guitar in 1979. Adam learned to play very well and I'm pretty sure Adam never sold or traded his guitar. I recently read in his blog that Loose Talk was the house band for his fraternity at Ole Miss. I also read that Adam jammed all night once with the Eagle's Joe Walsh. I can think of almost nothing more cool than that!
Adam and I were only close friends as little boys. We drifted apart almost as soon as he moved from Levin Lane but, Adam never forgot his friends. Other than seeing him play in bands throughout high school and some into college, I only have one high school memory of Adam that sticks in my mind. By high school Adam had remain in the main stream and began to be a part of the popular kids while I had kind of started to hang out with the geeks and nerds. I think my choice to go to Caddo Magnet High School the first year it opened and then transfering back to Captain Shreve had a lot to do with how and why my social ties developed the way they did. I have no regrets about those choices. I hope any of my nerd friends that may be reading this do not take offense. Not all of my friends were nerds but, hey, some of us were. There are certainly more important things in life to worry about. That settled, I will get back to my high school memory of Adam. Adam was always in the most popular bands and his best friend Craig Falbaum was probably the most popular guy in my graduating class. Craig and Adam and I were in large combined American History/English-American Literature team class that required lots of projects. I learned through one project that Adam's perspective on life must have been that once you were his friend, he was always your friend. He proved that perspective when it came time for our 1960s project. Adam organized a group to play music, the music of the 1960s. The group consisted of him, me and Craig Falbaum. He and Craig could have easily done the project without me playing the bass but he allowed me to step in the spotlight with him. That was the best project that anybody has ever done in the history of team class. Our math teacher, Coach Poole, sat in the auditorium during our sound check and offered to get us paying gigs. You could see dollar signs in his eyes. I am glad that Adam's blog is still up nearly 2 and 1/2 years after his death. I regret not keeping up with Adam over the years. To be fair, when Adam had his first bout with Cancer I was in the hospital having my left kidney removed and then recovering for the next year. Even if I had kept up with Adam, I know I would not have been able to reconnect then, when we were in our early 20s. I have heard from a mutual friend of ours, a girl that was also in our second grade class, that Adam had two children that adored him but that he had gone through a difficult divorce not long before his death. The Adam Trowbridge that I knew deserved the adoring children but not the difficult divorce. Adam Trowbridge will be missed. Your friends love you Adam and look forward to reconnecting with you one day in far better place.
