skrapnel

Several months ago, my mom brought down a box of stuff that I’d left at the house about 10 years ago. It includes stuff from Junior High, High School and College. When she brought it down, I barely dipped my toe into it; I couldn’t really handle all the emotions it might release.

I’ve always been kind of obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. In a box somewhere, I have some large reproductions of John Tenniel‘s illustrations from the 1st edition (1865) of Lewis Carroll’s classic novel. Wasn’t sure if it was the box that mom dropped off, so I started digging through it.

I eventually want to photographically chronicle some of this stuff, but for now I’m just going to list a few things I’ve found.

• A t-shirt I painted when I was 13. It’s so tiny–a boy’s medium. I remember it being way oversized. It has a yin-yang on the back.
• Contact sheets of the first modeling pics I took when I was 19. A famous photographer took them. They are in black and white. At the time, I didn’t understand why anyone would want to take my picture. Typical teenager, I didn’t think I was attractive. I was really happy and care-free, although in some pictures I’m def self aware. I still look basically the same except now my face is thinner and my body is not quite as cut LOL
• My photo scrap book from Senior Year in HS and the first 2 years of college. So young!
• 8th grade year book (1991). Shoved inside were 3 sets of matted photos from our district winning cross country and track teams. Someone’s parent took a lot of time to take the photos of us out on the track or on the cross country course. They also matted the pictures. Unlike the actual yearbook pics, these pictures are candid and feel more like real memories. I look at the pics and I can feel the polyester shorts, the cold wind and my tight lungs. Funny: I was so intimidated by most of the other guys on the team. Looking at them now, I realize how silly that was. I look sad and very unsure of myself. I started crying looking at these pics and thinking about how much I was going through at the time. Shocks me that that little boy was me.
• One of my sketchbooks from when I was 20. I was going through a cubistic phase.
• Le Journal de Mickey – a French comic book from 1988 in which Mickey and crew go to the Olympics!
• An autograph from 1990 from Jim Wright, former speaker of the US House of Representatives. When I was a kid, I loved him because he was from Fort Worth, went to my mom’s High School and went to UT.

Yeah, so that’s just a small sampling. My mom is going to bring another box down soon. Hoping it has those Alice in Wonderland prints.  If it does, that will also include all my wall decorations!!

Just got back from spending several days in Galveston for my grandfather’s 90th birthday. While there, I shot several pics of my grandmother. Thought I would share them with you!

My grandmother is the person who has inspired me the most. She has always been there to give me the emotional support and courage I’ve needed on my many voyages throughout life. A truly classy lady, she taught me to respect people regardless of their race, religion, social status or sexual orientation. She’s also extremely compassionate, which is why she was a superstar nurse before she retired.

A few years ago, she and my grandfather moved from their home in Dallas to an assisted living center in Galveston. Before the move, she had a very active life: personal trainer, book club, shopping at Central Market and eating healthy food.  Her life is completely different now. Not sure whether it was leaving her friends, downsizing from a house into an apartment or the stress of watching my grandfather suffer through Parkinson’s disease, but she’s been off-and-on depressed since the move.

When I was living in Berlin, she used to call me every day to chat. Those calls got me through the severe depression I suffered after having everything stolen. Now I call her almost every night with the hopes that I can lift her spirits.

While depressed, she had gained a lot of weight. A couple of months ago, she decided she needed to lose the weight so that she could regain a little esteem. Over this last visit, she looked like the granny I grew up with: active and fit. For a woman in her late 80′s, she looks amazing. I couldn’t stop taking pictures!

This one is probably my favorite of all the photos I took. We were in the elevator heading out to grab dinner. Surprisingly, the light was amazing. She looked strong.

This is obviously not the best quality picture–but the situation was so beautiful. We were walking to her car. It was sunset, and the sky was flushed with pinks and purples. We stopped to admire the splendor. When I turned to look back at her, she was bathed in the pink light reflecting off the sky, as if she was glowing. Behind her, a bush with pink flowers was blowing in the breeze. I snapped this picture to remember the moment.

This is a picture of my grandmother dressed to go to dinner. She loves pink and purple, and this outfit looked great on her!

This was her outfit for my grandfather’s birthday dinner. She reminded me of a Spanish Catalan woman.

This is my grandmother with Tennille, a family friend. I love this picture because this is her natural smile. It’s so peaceful and happy. It was the only time I captured it during the trip. The joy of having everyone there for my gfather’s b-day kinda shines through. And she loves Tennille.

This is my grandfather. He is also one of my heros. He taught me that I can create my own world.

Even though he’s 90, I think he still looks very handsome. I snapped this picture before we headed to the Lone Star Flight Museum. Because of the Parkinson’s, it was tough to take a picture of him. For this one, I hopped in front of him and said “Smile, Bobby!” He smiled, and I snapped the pic!

My grandfather is the love of my grandmother’s life. They’ve been together for 65 years. The compassion she has for this man is amazing. I can’t imagine what it’s like to watch as your loved one slowly deteriorates in front of you. But they have each other. And their love is so beautiful.

This is the best picture I think I’ve ever taken of them. My grandmother looks devoted and strong. <3