Grand Scale Ingenuity
A thin layer of mist had just set upon the forest as Ellery and I approach Brett’s cabin. His vast yard is piled with rejected furniture. I look around and chuckle at the unlit fireplace, which holds a pile of letters. On the dashboard of Brett’s truck, skillfully parked on a sloped driveway, sits a plate of cold, oily pizza. But regardless of the mess outside, the redwood house ahead seems like it emanates warmth and promises delightful treasures. A dog trots up to me, her heavy flank pushing against my legs, not letting me take a single step forward without paying attention to her first. In her jaws, the dog clenched a fistsized brown ball. She looked up at me with big brown, pleading eyes and panted with anticipation. I thought I understood, so I took the ball out of her mouth, realizing it was a worn down tennis ball covered in pine leaves and sodden mud. “Catch!” I shout, giving my best, 10 yard-ish throw. Kicking up a storm of dirt, she pounces off, stalking down the ball in no time. Brett’s house is filled with an eclectic collection of “ingredients” for his next invention. We ask him where he gets his inspiration.
Brett sits up a bit in his chair and look around for a simple explanation. His gaze finally ending up on Ellery who is standing above him, carrying the reflection board upon her shoulders behind her head. Brett starts describing that creative inspiration comes from the most basic visuals in real life; how Ellery’s simple positioning could be interpreted as a beautiful function with her limbs positioned and outstretched artistically. Halfway through his explanation, the dog reappears and reenacts the catch game with Brett. Brett takes the ball, fakes a throw to his left, so the dog instinctively runs off far into the forest, but then he actually pitches it to the right, into the clutter of unwanted furniture. “This’ll keep her busy”, he explains, “or else she’ll be back in no time”. Ellery and I are getting used to the dog re-appearing intermittently to ask for Brett to throw the ball. As we film, the dog has become a good humored but annoying disturbance. Why is the dog so obsessed with catching balls? I didn’t want to sound rude, but I wanted to make the dog stop. Brett’s voice falls lower and quieter, telling us the story of how after losing her puppies, Brett used the balls helped pull her out of her deep depression. I was really touched by Brett’s effort to help his dog. It truly showed how compassionate Brett is for everyone. Brett Packer is a stilt performer. Tall, broad shouldered, and wild haired, he creates a presence. Kelly, his younger sister of 4 years, explains Brett’s passion in her own understanding: “He stilts because it’s different, and he’s just so different from lots of other people, and I think he can make a statement”, which points to the truth that Brett uses his attention as a performer to introduce social issues, ecological problems, and sometimes political statements to the audience. Not only does Brett enlighten his community, he reaches out to each individual and brightens their day by bringing a bit of his gift and light. “When I’m performing, I can touch a lot of hearts and minds...and that feels good” Brett says.
“When I’m performing, I can touch a lot of hearts and minds. And that feels good” 1