Back when I was 17 and I desperately needed out so I took a road trip. That’s where I discovered the meaning of my life, the Roadside Trash Gala. That one car ride changed the path of my whole life. Made something absolutely meaningless into an amazing art.
Let me explain further. It was 1996 and I was senior in high school. I saw my life going nowhere. So, with 150 bucks in my pocket, and a million dreams in my head, I set out on my road trip. I drove from Maine to Florida because Florida was the trendy thing to do at the time. So there I am, in Florida, with 46 dollars and 37 cents.
I called my mom and dad from my cell phone. Of course they were pissed as hell. Wouldn’t you be if your daughter took off in the middle of the night with your car with no sign of coming back? I told them a little sob story about needing to “find myself” in the world and I thought Florida would be the perfect place to do so.
After much arguing, they let me stay. Turns out I have an uncle Rudy who lived in Orlando. I got to stay with him. He was my father’s brother that I had never heard of until that day. Why had they never told me about my uncle Rudy??
I know why. He was a total nut job. He was 28 years old, and lived in a mansion. Now I know you think that sounds cool, but trust me it’s not. Rudy wasn’t what I would call the “lady’s man” so he was single. So, it was only he and I in this monster size house. Rudy was cool I guess, he took over the role of my father.
Uncle Rudy was loaded, and I had no clue where all the money was coming from. But hey, I had nothing to complain about because it’s money, and we had it, and that’s a good enough explanation for me.
Now, the years go by, and it’s 1998, so that would make me 19 years old. I’m sitting in the kitchen and in walks Rudy. He informed me that he had bad news to tell me. I was ready for it to be delivered, but Rudy apparently wasn’t. He kept pacing around the room, rubbing his head. Finally, he sat down next to me and said “Beth, your parents aren’t with us anymore”. Of course I felt horrible. I sulked in my room for about a week. Then, I realized there was nothing I could do about it other then go on with my life, so that’s exactly what I did. I was also determined to find out Rudy’s money source because more and more had been coming in these days.
One day I was sitting in the living room and the doorbell rang. I figured it was for Rudy, so I ignored it. Rudy ignored it too. Do you have any idea how completely annoying it is when you are trying to read and some idiot keeps ringing the doorbell over and over. I decided to get the door and inform the person on the other side about it.
Upon opening the door I saw 2 of the most good-looking men I have ever seen in my life. The other three with them weren't the best beans in the bag, but they weren’t what I would call ugly. I sure as hell didn’t know what to say to these five guys standing there. All I could muster out was “What the hell do you want?”
I guess it was pretty rude, but I’d figured they would get over it. “We are here to see Rudy B. Liquori,” one said.
“Rudy Liquori?” I questioned. What the hell? When did Rudy change his last name without telling me? “Don’t you mean Rudy Blake?” I said
“No, Rudy Liquori” he answered
“Whatever, hold on” I said. I shut the door and ran to Rudy’s room. “WHO THE HELL IS RUDY LIQUORI?” I questioned.
“Oh, that’s my appointment, I forgot all about that” Rudy said, completely ignoring my question”
“WHO THE HELL MAKES APPOINTMENTS AT THIS TIME OF NIGHT?” I asked
“It’s only 11 Beth. Relax”
Rudy went downstairs and invited the five guys into the house. They sat in the living room talking with Rudy. I was in the kitchen trying to listen in on what was going on out there.
I gathered that the guys were Nsync. The good-looking ones were Justin and JC, and those other three were Joey, Lance, and Chris. I also gathered that Justin had a nice ass and I had the best view of it in the world at that moment.
Rudy is a photographer. Why the hell he never told me this I don’t know. He goes by Rudy B. Liquori in his little photography world. Why he couldn’t just use Rudy Blake I don’t know.
This is how my Gala comes into play. See, a year later, in 1999, Rudy died. I was completely devastated. I decided to take over his business, R.B.L Studios. It was unique, and quaint, but a fixer-upper in my mind. Little did I know some of Rudy’s clients consisted of Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Sisqo, and 98 Degrees. And of course, Nsync. Luckily, these clients stayed with R.B.L Studios as their photographer after Rudy’s death.
Even more luckily, these clients STILL stayed with R.B.L Studios after I revamped the place. It was perfect in my opinion. I also changed the name of the studio to Roadside Trash Gala. It was inspired by a photo shoot from Nsync were they posed on the side of a street overlooking the Orlando skyline
No one understood the beauty of the photographs. They looked at them, and the only focused on Nsync. They didn’t see the little pieces of trash on the road that sparkled in silvers, and golds, and metallic reds, blues and greens. The trash sparked something inside of me, and since that day all the photographs had some form of trash in them that went unnoticed.
