Family by choice
I can't stop traveling! Last week I went back to Cambridge to hang out with Brian for a couple of days. After reconnecting a in March when Tish and I went to see the Villanova game, I said I'd return soon.
And so back I went to Harvard Square, staying in a house just a few blocks away from the dorm I spent three years in, the place where he and his then-wife worked and where we spent many, many good times, and they let me into their family. On graduation day, they came with my family to eat the celebratory lunch, that's how close they were to me.
So much has happened since those days. Our lives changed quite a bit, for all of us. Brian and his wife divorced, I moved away and started a career, we made new friends and new lives, we kept up old dreams, and Brian and I stayed in touch.
Once I got into town, it was an endless parade of eating and drinking. I met Brian's friend Tara, whom he's living with. And I saw some of the old arty crew from the Harvard years. We had our Harvard talks and talked about films (including the screenplay Brian's writing), language, culture and sports, while catching up on each other's lives.
And the kids? Well, kids grow up.
Alexander and Gwenhwyfar.
Back in the Harvard days, I was Uncle Marvin, and I spent tons of time with them. Alex, 6, was precocious and funny. And 3-year-old Gwen was a real-life Boo from "Monsters Inc." She also was hopelessly in love with me - looking at me shyly, handing me Valentine's Day candy, or cavorting around the room like Britney Spears. Did I mention she was 3?
I last saw Gwen in 2005, but otherwise I had made very few trips up there. And so with great anticipation we were all reunited. Imagine, suddenly going from this:
To this!
Alex is about 5-foot-11 at age 13, smart as hell, plays piano, good at basketball, baseball and soccer, and about to attend a prestigious private school. Gwen is 10, does calculus and sudoku for fun, plays guitar, and loves the Celtics. Alex and I talked a lot about sports and movies. And Gwen is still in love with me; she'd hug me for minutes at a time, and say things such as "You're very comfortable" as she sunk her head in my chest. We stayed up half of Wednesday night watching basketball and clowning around.
Brian's an experienced photographer with a good amount of equipment still, so Thursday we went outside with some reflectors and took some shots with my Leica. Brian was very impressed with the lens and recommended I get their compact flash ... We got out, found a nice spot to shoot, and off we went.
I love my kids. They are among the people I choose to call family.
More photos from our shoot, and some scans of old photos, are up on Flickr.
And so back I went to Harvard Square, staying in a house just a few blocks away from the dorm I spent three years in, the place where he and his then-wife worked and where we spent many, many good times, and they let me into their family. On graduation day, they came with my family to eat the celebratory lunch, that's how close they were to me.
So much has happened since those days. Our lives changed quite a bit, for all of us. Brian and his wife divorced, I moved away and started a career, we made new friends and new lives, we kept up old dreams, and Brian and I stayed in touch.
Once I got into town, it was an endless parade of eating and drinking. I met Brian's friend Tara, whom he's living with. And I saw some of the old arty crew from the Harvard years. We had our Harvard talks and talked about films (including the screenplay Brian's writing), language, culture and sports, while catching up on each other's lives.
And the kids? Well, kids grow up.
Alexander and Gwenhwyfar.
Back in the Harvard days, I was Uncle Marvin, and I spent tons of time with them. Alex, 6, was precocious and funny. And 3-year-old Gwen was a real-life Boo from "Monsters Inc." She also was hopelessly in love with me - looking at me shyly, handing me Valentine's Day candy, or cavorting around the room like Britney Spears. Did I mention she was 3?
I last saw Gwen in 2005, but otherwise I had made very few trips up there. And so with great anticipation we were all reunited. Imagine, suddenly going from this:
To this!
Alex is about 5-foot-11 at age 13, smart as hell, plays piano, good at basketball, baseball and soccer, and about to attend a prestigious private school. Gwen is 10, does calculus and sudoku for fun, plays guitar, and loves the Celtics. Alex and I talked a lot about sports and movies. And Gwen is still in love with me; she'd hug me for minutes at a time, and say things such as "You're very comfortable" as she sunk her head in my chest. We stayed up half of Wednesday night watching basketball and clowning around.
Brian's an experienced photographer with a good amount of equipment still, so Thursday we went outside with some reflectors and took some shots with my Leica. Brian was very impressed with the lens and recommended I get their compact flash ... We got out, found a nice spot to shoot, and off we went.
I love my kids. They are among the people I choose to call family.
More photos from our shoot, and some scans of old photos, are up on Flickr.