I met Adam when I was in eighth grade at Youree Drive Junior High. Our fledgling garage band needed a rhythm guitar player. We decided to give a good-natured 7th grader with a goofy laugh and a nice Gibson ES a chance. Adam could not have been a better fit! He was a little wide-eyed at the propsition of hanging with a bunch of 8th graders but made himself right at home. We gained a great player and a great friend. After a while we evolved into The I-20 Band, the first "real" performing band for all of us.

Adam was like a little brother to me. Steve Johnson (our drummer) and I used to plan and execute all manner of evil pranks on Adam. He always responded with that dimpled smile and contagious laugh. I have so many fond memories of Adam onstage working hard and having the time of his life. The three Captain Shreve Showboat performances, Red River Revel shows and countless parties for local schools were all so memorable. I remember one Revel where an overly exuberant (and slightly drunk) female fan did a "Mardi Gras" while were playing. I will never forget that dropped-jaw look on his face. However, my very favorite memories of Adam revolve around practice times.

Whether it was the living room of the Pennell's, Trowbridges or the garage at the Perkins' or the Johnson's home, practice was always a blast. My best talks with Adam usually occurred before practice at my house. He loved to come early to see what we had to eat and talk with my mom and me. In fact, he called her "mom". I always admired the ease with which Adam talked with anyone. He had a way of disarming you. I think it was his sincerity.

After high school we lost touch for the most part. Those of you who kept up with Adam and shared his latter years are so fortunate. About two years ago I called him and we talked for about an hour. He still sounded the same. We talked about our family and our faith. We talked about the old I-20 Band days and laughed until it hurt. I will always remember him as that happy-go-lucky kid who was amazingly sensitive and sincere.

I have tried to post some pics. I will attempt to post a music file of Adam singing Love is Alright by Rick Springfield. It never bothered Adam that the song was mostly out of his range. He still loved to sing it!

I will join you all in continued prayer for the Trowbridges.

Jeff Pennell

Oh, Yeah?

This action shot was from the same Mississippi road trip gig. Adam's trying to explain why we were 3 hours late getting on the road because he forgot we had a gig coming up. He also forgot his guitar. Truth be told, this picture is the look on Adam's face when we went back to pick him up at the rest stop. I don't remember who's idea it was, but it seemed like a funny thing to do at the time. "Hey...while Adam's in the bathroon, let's park on the other side of the rest stop and see what he does?" He was none too pleased about our innocent little joke. You can tell by the snarl on his face. Can you see it? Yeah, me neither.

Will Someone Please Help These People?

I can't recall what year this was, but based on the amount of hair and weight, I'd say this was sometime between '84 and '86. From left to right: Jim Malsch, Adam, Craig Falbaum and some hitchhiker who was at this rest stop. We pointed at the sign (click on it so you can read it) and then decided to join him. We panhandled enough money to get some beer, pork rinds and a couple of R/C colas for a caffeine kick. We were on our way to some "Loose Talk" gig somewhere in Mississippi for some reason.

Craig and the friends that I have reconnected with this week have reminded me that it is the times with Adam that I must hold onto and cherish...not so much when...or the amount...but that I was so fortunate to have had them...to have had Adam in my life. As I have read the Guest Book entries and blogs, the recurring items are so familar...his laugh...his smile and these two things keep magnifying his voice in my head-- his sweet, kind voice that always made me feel better. Even when he had would call so that I might make him feel better, he would wind up making me feel better, making me laugh and feel silly and sixteen all over again. I always benefited more than he did. So, I may be part selfish in begging for stories and pictures and video streams because I never want to not hear that laugh. For it was Adam's laugh...his smile...his voice, that got me through many dark and fearful moments. I always knew his laugh was a phone call away...whenever I needed it...no matter how many years had passed between swapping notes at Captain Shreve and him calling to make sure I made it through Hurricane Katrina...And that was one of the amazing things about our friendship...we always picked up right where we left off...and the next time I see him...we will pick up right where we left off.

And the Stories Begin...

Adam and I first met when he and his family moved two doors down from me on North Dresden Circle. The neighborhood, Town South, was chock full of a whole bunch of us who had gone to elementary school together since kindergarten. Adam, was starting 6th grade at a brand new school.

One of Adam's most memorable and endearing qualities was his laugh. It was like no laugh I had ever heard before. I remember trying to duplicate his laugh because all the girls would tell him they "loved his laugh". Being the girl-crazy 12 year old I was at the time, it was like I had discovered some secret button to push to get a girl to like me. It still works!

I digress...

Adam also had dimples that girls loved. I couldn't do anything about that, but I thought that if I hung around someone who had a great laugh and dimples, then maybe I'd meet some cute girls, too.

Then, I really got to know Adam. It wasn't the laugh or the dimples that people loved about him. It was his attitude. Not a whole lot bothered Adam. I can honestly say I never saw Adam get visibly angry. I never saw him get in a fight. Sure, there were the disagreements between Adam and his brother, Jim. But even then, he wasn't some big brother abusing his little brother with an iron fist. More like a fluffy pillow across the head.

I also got to know Adam's family. Adam's Dad had lived down the street from my Dad and his family in New Orleans when they were kids. How freaky is that? The cool thing about the Trowbridges was that they always sat down for dinner together...no TV, no scarfing your dinner down to jump up and watch TV, just good conversation amongst the family and anyone else who walked in the door. This was drastically different from dinner at my house. Although we always sat down at the same table for dinner, the conversation was anything but "good". I don't recall exactly when it happened, but we started watching old "Andy Griffith" re-runs on a TV we had in the kitchen near the table. Granted, that Barney Fife sure was entertaining, but it paled in comparison to sitting down at the dinner table at the Trowbridges.

News of the day, jokes, politics, religion and any other topic that we wanted to discuss was always the mainstay at the Trowbridge dinner table. And I'm talking funny stuff here...PG-13 kind of funny stuff which, when your 12, seems so mature.

So, most evenings, I would have dinner with my family, jump up after "Andy Griffith" and then tell the folks I was going to Adam's house to "study". Without knocking on the door (they had granted me "don't bother knocking" status), I'd walk in, grab a chair and then join the conversation which could consist of anything from giving Adam's Mom a hard time about burning dinner to talking about which girls had the biggest breasts in 6th grade. I think we talked about girls more than any other subject. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was the topic about 83% of the time.

Speaking of dinner, it's about time for my dinner. I wish I stilled lived two doors down from the Trowbridges...maybe I can convince them to move to Houston. I like blackened food anyway!

Welcome!

I decided to create this blog so all of Adam's friends and family can post stories (mostly true) about how our relationships with Adam Trowbridge affected us. Many of you probably hadn't seen Adam in 10, 20 or 30 years, but each one of us were touched by his kindness, generosity, humor and music.

If you have any photos or other momentos you would like to post, email them to me at williamcraig1964@yahoo.com and I'll be more than happy to do so. I also envision this venue to allow each and every one of us to maintain contact with each other. It's so easy for us to get caught up in our day-to-day routines and forget about how people from our past have had such a great influence on who we've become.

Let the games begin!