"Jenny's Journal"

It's been a convergence of sorts. It started more than 25 years ago when Jeff Bock and Jenny Jacobson were first graders together at a Sandpoint elementary school. Their paths weaved back and forth over the years as they continued on through high school. That's when they both became a part of my life as sophomore honors English students.

Jeff sat in the front row, right in front of my desk, during fifth period English. During sixth period, Jenny sat in the front row near the door just one seat in front of where her mother Carrie had sat when she was one of my sophomore honors students my first year of teaching back in 1969-70.

Both Jeff and Jenny participated in a major writing assignment during their sophomore year. Jeff wrote about Mrs. Nordgaarden who had 13 kids, while Jenny wrote about her grandfather Elmer Jacobson who ran a mill on his farm at Oden. I was extremely proud of the work they and their other classmates did to portray the lives of long-established people who had contributed so much to our community in both ordinary and extraordinary ways.

The students' works were eventually published in the first Beautiful Bonner history book, which was released the following year. Jeff continued on as one of my students for the next two years. He wrote a killer athletic column his senior year as a member of the Cedar Post staff. Students and teachers alike couldn't wait to read Jeff's next take on athletic happenings at Sandpoint High School because he caught nuances of big games while injecting his own brand of humor into each piece.

Jeff and Jenny went off to college (Montana State and Whitman, respectively) as I continued to teach. I didn't see much of either of them until Jenny returned to Sandpoint with a degree from the University of Idaho, where she had transferred midway through her college career. She married her classmate and soulmate, Jeff Meyer. He had been the outstanding athlete at SHS, while Jenny had been the outstanding student leader.

I saw Jenny from time to time when she'd come to school as a substitute teacher. Our friendship rekindled. I saw Jeff Bock less frequently, but one time he was home and visited the school to talk to the drama classes. By that time, he'd arrived in Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry.

One week I heard the news that Jenny and Jeff Meyer were expecting their first child. A few weeks later, I heard that Jenny had been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer and that it was possible that her baby might have to be terminated. Naturally, everyone who knew and loved Jenny was devastated, but she and Jeff considered the options and moved on with rigorous treatments. Happily, their baby reached full term, and beautiful Miss Grace Meyer entered the world on election day in November almost six years ago.

A few years ago, I called together a Christmas vacation Cedar Post gathering at Second Avenue Pizza parlor. Jeff Bock attended. During our conversations, I shared with him about an idea I had for a documentary or dramatic film series. He was taken with the concept and discussed it in more detail with me via email over the next few months.

The premise was for the hometown teacher to spend time visiting and documenting the lives of her students on location wherever they happened to end up after high school. It could include hundreds of students with fascinating stories, spanning my three-plus decades of teaching, so there were plenty of stories to be told.

We agreed that we'd need to work with a prototype, and that the prototype needed to be someone fairly accessible to both of us. My first choice was Jenny Jacobson Meyer because our friendship had grown, and I'd been following her struggles with cancer, with remission and with reoccurrence. Jeff was elated with the choice; after all, she'd been his good friend too.

So, about three years ago, we began the process of filming and interviewing Jenny in her day-to-day routines. We talked to family members. We talked to friends and church members at Cedar Hills. We interviewed Dr. Neher, who first discovered the cancer. We shot hours of video. Then, as we reached a point of where we'd have to boil down what we'd filmed, Jeff took the bull by the horns, transcribed all the footage and eventually dedicated all his extra hours to the project.

For three years, he has devoted his talent, his expertise and hundreds of hours in Los Angeles and in Sandpoint piecing together a documentary about Jenny, her struggles, her relationship with her husband and daughter, and her courage. Jeff received a great boost in this enterprise this past year while enrolled in a Master's program at the University of California at Northridge.

A few weeks ago, he sent Jenny and me the finished product, a 23-minute documentary entitled "Jenny's Journal." To say I was moved at seeing the film is a dramatic understatement. The story has been boiled down; it is accompanied by some very moving musical pieces donated by the artists, and it's a brutally honest, poignant portrayal of a brave and determined young mother who lives each day for her beautiful daughter Grace.

Jeff also told us when he sent the copies that, that with Jenny's permission, he wanted to enter the project in some Northwest film festivals, including Bozeman, Missoula, Portland and Sandpoint. We had no idea until yesterday that he had also entered it in the Calgary Film Festival, which occurs next month. We learned that piece of information yesterday because Jeff wanted us to know that the film was accepted, and it will have two screenings in Calgary, Aug. 12 and Aug. 14.

This convergence of individuals has led to a very special, intensified friendship, thanks to the visions, work and love that have gone into "Jenny's Journal." Next month Jenny and I will be in attendance when Jeff marries the love of his life Chrisianna on the shores of the Pend Oreille River. Who knows what the future brings for Jenny, for Jeff and Chrisianna or even for their old teacher!

For now, however, we all feel blessed that our lives have converged to produce this beautiful story about a brave young woman, who faces daunting challenges and defies them every day for the love of her daughter, her husband and her family. The great blessing is that her story has been recognized by critical eyes in film circles for its meaningful poignancy.

Congratulations, Jeff and Jenny. It continues to be a beautiful friendship and a beautiful story. I am honored to know both of you.