Friday, June 10, 2005

 

What a Handsome Face!

(And the baby's cute, too.)

I don't have anything particularly new or interesting to say, but I've been meaning to post a couple of personal pictures on this site. I spoke to my friend Jon today, the one who originally encouraged me to start a blog. With a wife, three kids and an engineering job, he hasn't had time to read my blog lately, but today he "caught up" and told me that I need "more humor, humor, humor!" I suppose the last two entries have been rather dreary. (And one draft I'm trying to put together is called "Suicide Survivor," so that won't really be a giggle-fest either.) Anyway, I'm not feeling all that jocular, but this should at least pass for "human interest." Besides, showcasing some of the relationships I've been blessed with rather than dwelling on what is missing in my life may actually be therapeutic.

The picture below shows me holding Jon's newest child at his bris. I was given the honor of being the "kvater" (essentially the Jewish equivalent of "godfather"). My friend dubbed me "Tio Loco," or "Uncle Crazy" at the birth of his older son, who's four. I like it, and being a paralegal, I understand the importance of those truth-in-advertising laws. Circumcision is a custom dating back thousands of years. Not being Jewish, I'm not sure if I would have my son circumcised or not (moot point, regardless), though there are health benefits to it. The Mohel who performed the ceremony has an interesting web site that explains and answers questions about the procedure.


Elliot con su Tio Loco


My Friend Marty

This picture shows my friend Marty, whom I've known since high school. While I've never been a social butterfly, I will say that I've managed to keep the friendships with the people I've gotten close to going for years. I'm still friends with one guy I've known since the fourth grade, and I'm even still close to my ex of ten years ago. Marty and I met our sophomore year of high school and became fast friends. We both hated gym, so we'd spend the period talking and quoting lines from the British comedy The Young Ones, which used to play Sunday nights on MTV. When we were in college, we did a work-exchange program together in London, and that was one of the best summers of my life.


Marty's pants finally leave the '80s!

As you can see from this picture, Marty would make a perfect long-haired, art-fag twink. But, alas, he is straight and married to a lovely woman. (They did me the honor of asking me to me the Best Man at their wedding.) After years of marriage, Marty's wife finally managed to convince him to buy a pair of jeans (modeled above) that weren't black in color.

I recently read an old journal entry from July 7th, 1988:

Probably the most consistent friend I have had has been Marty [omitted]. He complements me almost perfectly, and I am genuinely glad that I got to know him. I hope to heaven that he will continue to be a part of my life after college. I pray that these four years won't make us so distant that we aren't able to re-establish our relationship when we're done.
I'm glad at least this wish from my youth was fulfilled. Marty lives in St. Louis, so I obviously don't get to see him or even talk to him as much as I want. But he is definitely still a part of my life, and that's a good thing. Of course I do wish that in the five years I've been in Los Angeles, Marty could have once taken the trouble to drag his skinny butt out here to visit me, especially since I flew out for one of his Halloween parties a couple of years ago. Feel free to send Marty an e-mail and tell him how he really should come out here to see such a loving friend as he has in me. Next month I will get to see Marty and his wife when we attend the wedding of our mutual high school friend Diana in Massachusetts. (The home of gay marriage!) I will close with a nifty poem Marty wrote about Diana wayback when.

WIRING

Oh, Diana.
Sometimes you’re
a banana.
Thinking I’m
too heavy for
Vanna.
Maybe you’re
in a cartoon world
where things are
backwards.
But who says
Dole and Chiquita
can’t have more
variety than Mita.
More unique
than a rare antique
and ineffably
more interesting:

Diana.

(Geez! After re-reading this poem I realize that anyone born after 1975 might not get some of the references. That makes me feel old! "Vanna" refers to the fluffy letter-spinner of Wheel of Fortune fame. And "Mita" was a photocopier manufacturer who ran an ad campaign extolling the fact that they only made copiers and nothing else.)

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