a cool cat

this is a picture of our former next door neighbor, robert thoren. he used to come over a few nights a week to chat and cook for harper and i. we'd play records as he'd experiment with new preparations for fish. we'd drink red wine, he'd take pictures of harper with funky old cameras, and we'd wind down the evening by dreaming up career paths for robert, who would soon be graduating from CU. he was, like so many, a bit rudderless and fearful of what his future held.

for a while he wanted to cook so i got him a job on the line at the kitchen. when that wore thin, he bought a moped and moved to chile. periodically, he'd send long epistles recounting his adventures in south america. and then there would be no word from him for a long time.

a few months ago, i received this picture with the following email:

in africa. working with 'cats'. all is well. this is where i am supposed to be. love, robert.